Palmistichus elaeisis (Delvare & LaSalle, 1993) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), possible agent for the biological control of Urbanus proteus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Mariposas diurnas de Madrid.

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Foraging Behavior of the Swarm-Founding Wasp, Polybia (Trichothorax) sericea (Hymenoptera, Vespidae): Prey Capture and Load Capacity

The main component of the protein diet of P. sericea was larvae of Lepidoptera (75.38%), with predominance of the following Families: Noctuidae (30.99%), Hesperiidae (19.01%); Pyralidae (19.01%) and Nymphalidae (11.98%). The average weight of the prey captured was 14.2 mg, a value equivalent to 24.7% of the average wasp weight. The average glucidic food load was 28.61 mg, corresponding to approximately half the wasp weight (49.64%). The weight of the load transported in the crop varied according to the food density, which, in turn, influenced the time spent in its collection (Pearson: n=64; r=0.64;p<0.05). Polybia sericea showed predatory interactions against Lepidopteran caterpillars, who are known to be agricultural pests. P. sericea has potential to be used in Integrated Pest Management.

Natural history of an ant-plant-butterfly interaction in a Neotropical savanna

Non-myrmecophilous lepidopteran larvae using plants bearing ant attractants such as extrafloral nectaries are good models for studying morphological and behavioural mechanisms against ant predation. Udranomia spitzi (Hesperiidae) is a butterfly whose larvae feed on leaves of Ouratea spectabilis (Ochnaceae), a plant with extrafloral nectaries. We described the early stages of U. spitzi, and used field observations and experiments to investigate the defensive strategies of caterpillars against predatory ants. Larvae pass through five instars and pupation occurs inside larval leaf shelters. Ant-exclusion experiments revealed that the presence of ants did not affect significantly caterpillar survival. Predation experiments showed that vulnerability to ant predation decreased with increase in larval size. The present study showed that predatory ants are not as relevant as demonstrated for other systems, and also illustrates how observational data and field experiments can contribute to a better understanding of the biology and ecology of a species of interest.