Ocorrência, disseminação e inimigos naturais de Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby, 1915 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) em citros e novas plantas hospedeiras no Estado do Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

Abstract

Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby, 1915 (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) is an exotic species, had been recorded by the first time in Brazil in 2001 in the state of Pará. However, it is widely disseminated in Brazil, but it is still considerate an A2 quarantine pest. This insect has great preference to citrus, but others botanical species has already been recorded as host of this pest in Brazil. The participation of state of Rio de Janeiro on citric fruits in the Brazilian scenery is small; however, there is still public politics for increasing the production of citrus in new areas of the State. In September, 2010, there was the confirmation of the occurrence of A. woglumi in the State, at the beginning in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu. Because the citrus is one of the fruits with great government incentives, and A. woglumi to be still an A2 quarantine pest, studies about this pest become so important. In this scenery, the objectives of this work were to determinate the spread of the dissemination of A. woglumi in the State of Rio de Janeiro from the municipality where it was recorded by the first time, survey new species of host plants, as well as, to identify its agents of natural biological control in two orchards of "Tahiti" acid lime (Citrus latifolia Tanaka, Rutaceae) in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ infested by the pest, during the period of August, 2012 to July, 2013. Collections of leaves of citrus and others plant species with the presence of aleyrodids were performed in different municipalities with help of the technicians of the Coordenadoria de Defesa Sanitária Vegetal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (CDSV-RJ), whom also help to installed the adesive traps to capture the adults of these insects. In the surveyed orchads in Cachoeira de Macacu, leaves of acid lime were collected to confirm the specie of aleyrodids, and if was A. woglumi, to collect natural enemies associated to this pest. Tha identification of these aleyrodids was carried out at the Departamento de Entomologia e Fitopatologia of the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. The obtained results showed that A. woglumi is already disseminated in 12 municipalities of the State: Cachoeiras de Macacu, Casimiro de Abreu, Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Magé, Niterói, Nova Iguaçu, Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro, São Gonçalo, Silva Jardim, and Tanguá. Three new species of host plants of A. woglumi were identified in the State: Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (jackfruit, Moraceae), Pouteria caimito (abiu, Sapotaceae), and Struthanthus flexicaulis (Mart. ex Schult. f.) Mart (mistletoe, Loranthaceae). In Cachoeiras de Macacu, a new species of parasitoid of A. woglumi nimphs was recorded: Encarsia pergandiella Howard, 1907 (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae), while the insets of the family Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) were common as predators. From the group of entomopathogens, it was found fungi of the genera Aschersonia Mont. and Aegerita Pers. parasitizing nymphs of A. woglumi, and it was observed the presence of Phaeophragmeriella (Leptomeliola) sp. as hyperparasite fungus of Aschersonia sp., being the first record of this association in Brazil and around the world