In the state of Acre, Brazil, family-based agriculture is predominant and although it has less economic impact in relation to large-scale plantations, it is also subject to biological imbalances, such as the attack of pests, generating economic losses for producers. Phytosanitary knowledge in the state is still incipient and becomes an obstacle to production, often resulting in mistaken management decisions. In this context, this work aimed to present a history of research carried out in the field of Agricultural Entomology, especially in the areas of integrated management and biological control of pests of the most relevant crops grown in the Acre state. In this review, 55 scientific papers related to Agricultural Entomology were presented, 23 on new insect records and/or new insect associations with host plants, 16 on insect control using plant extracts from the Amazon region, 13 on integrated pest management and three on bioecology and population dynamics of pests in the state of Acre. Through this review, it is observed that research in the area  of Agricultural Entomology in the state of Acre is characterized by basic research (surveys, registration of new species, bioecological and dynamic population studies). However, there has been a notable advance in scientific studies aimed at integrated pest management in the state in the past ten years. Still, there is a need to concentrate efforts on research aimed at prospecting and using Amazonian biodiversity (fauna and flora), which subsidize applied programs for integrated pest management of the main crops grown in the Acre state.

The objectives of this study were to carry out a survey of families of Hymenoptera, with emphasis on Ichneumonidae, in an area of Caatinga, and register the occurrence of new species, if any, for the biome. Samples were taken with Malaise traps between September and November 2008 in a native area of vegetation of Serra do Lima, municipality of Patu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. 7,562 hymenopterans, from 11 superfamilies and 31 families, were collected. The most abundant superfamilies were: Chalcidoidea (2,887 specimens / 38.33% of the total), Platygastroidea (1,572 / 20.87%) and Vespoidea (1,131 / 15.02%) which constituted more than 70% of the captured hymenopterans. A total of 160 specimens of Ichneumonidae from 17 subfamilies were sampled, of which four are new records for Rio Grande do Norte: (Lycorininae, Nesomesochorinae, Phygadeuontinae and Tryphoninae). Altogether, 26 genera were recognized, with 16 new records for the state. Cryptophion espinozai Gauld & Janzen (Campopleginae) and Labena marginata Szépligeti (Labeninae) were registered for the first time in Caatinga. The obtained data demonstrate a considerable diversity of the studied groups in this area and also affirms the necessity of additional studies to establish the richness of this fauna in a more extensive and conclusive way.

Anopheles darlingi Root and Anopheles aquasalis Curry are the main vectors of malaria that occur in the State of Maranhão. Entomological surveys based on the behavior and infectivity of these vectors are important for the elaboration of disease control strategies. The objectives of this work were to study the behavioral patterns of mosquitoes, determining population and hematophagic peaks, dietary preferences, infectivity rate and characterization of breeding sites in two municipalities in the State of Maranhão: Buriticupu and São José of Ribamar. Larvae and pupae were collected in breeding sites and adult females in home environments. Mosquito behavior, their dietary preferences and Plasmodium spp infection rates were analyzed. The vegetation and physicochemical patterns in the breeding sites found are in agreement with those described for species from the Amazon region and the Brazilian Atlantic coast. Anopheles darlingi was the most prevalent mosquito in Buriticupu breeding and home environments. This species was found mainly fed on human blood and naturally infected with Plasmodium vivax Grassi & Feletti and Plasmodium falciparum Welch. Anopheles aquasalis was more frequent in breeding sites in São José de Ribamar, as well as in home environments, whose specimens were mainly fed with human and bird blood. The main peaks of mosquito occurrence in Buriticupu were between 6 pm to 9 pm and in São José de Ribamar we did not record a definite peak. In the first municipality A. darlingi showed dominance over Anopheles albitarsis Lynch Arribálzaga s.l., Anopheles oswaldoi Peryassú, Anopheles nuneztovari Gabaldón and Anopheles evansae Brèthes,, besides presenting a correlation with rainfall. In the second municipality, A. aquasalis was dominant over A. albitarsis s.l. and there was a correlation between these two species and the rainy season. We conclude that the collected data contribute to elucidate the dynamics of malaria transmission in the region and guide the control actions directed to the elimination of the disease in the country.

The current study aimed to test how aqueous neem Azadirachta indica A. Juss. extract affects the attractiveness, feeding and development of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) on different: peanut cultivars. Tests were carried out under laboratory conditions with the cultivars IAC 503 and IAC 147 and aqueous neem extract in concentrations (mass/volume) of 5 and 10%, obtained from seeds and dried in an oven at a temperature of 35 to 38 °C for 15 days, with caterpillars offered a food choice preference test. For this, leaf discs from each treatment were placed in Petri dishes into which three first instar caterpillars were released. To assess resistance biology, single newly-hatched caterpillars were transferred to individual Petri dishes, where the following biological parameters were measured: larval mortality after 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 days; pupal mortality; total mortality; weight of 10-day-old caterpillars; pupal weight at 24 hours; and adult longevity. The main conclusions of the work, include: cultivar IAC 147 was less attractive and consumed less; cultivar IAC 503 plus 10% neem extract reduced leaf consumption; cultivar type did not affect caterpillar biological development, and 10% neem extract caused 100% mortality in S. frugiperda.

Espírito Santo is a Brazilian state that has a wide variety of habitats, providing a high biological diversity of fauna and flora. However, few reports had been shown about the insect diversity of this region, especially of heteropterans insects that inhabit on pasture ecosystems. In the present study, forty-three species of Heteroptera belonging to thirteen families were collected on pastures on Espírito Santo state, Brazil: Alydidae (1 sp.), Berytidae (3 sp.), Blissidae (1 sp.), Coreidae (7 sp.), Miridae (16 sp.), Nabidae (1sp.), Pentatomidae (3 sp.), Pyrrhocoridae (1 sp.), Reduviidae (6 sp.), Rhopalidae (1 sp.), Rhyparochromidae (1sp.), Thaumastocoridae (1 sp.) and Tingidae (1 sp). Among the species; Cebrenis tenebrosa (Brailovsky, 1995) is recorded for the first time in Brazil. The range extension is also included for several heteropterans collected on the Espírito Santo state. The following species: Blissus aff. antillus (Leonard, 1968); Collaria oleosa (Distant, 1883); Oebalus ypsilongriseus (De Geer, 1773), and Trigonotylus tenuis (Reuter, 1893) were observed causing damages on pastures, therefore, in this study, we suggested those species as potential pastures pests. This study aims to increase the knowledge about the heteropterans and to show the presence of some pest species that may cause serious damage to pastures and consequently affect the economy of cattle breeders on the state.

Taxonomic identification is essential in the field of forensic entomology. Insects are important in the decomposition of cadavers. The flies are generally attracted to cadavers and one of the most important contributions is to estimate the postmortem interval. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allows rapid and accurate identification of different species of forensics flies, has been highlighted as it allows better visualization of the external morphology of immature and some adults. The purpose of this study was to examine in details the morphological aspects of sensilla on the antennae of female and male of Xanthacrona bipustulata Wulp using SEM, since many of them could not be observed just by the use of light microscopy.

Social insects use different strategies to defend their colonies, including camouflage. In order to expand knowledge, regarding the strategy of camouflage in social wasps, information is presented on the camouflage pattern of the species: Parachartergus smithii (De Saussure), Parachartergus wagneri Du Buysson, Chartergellus communis Richards, Metapolybia cingulata (Fabricius) and Mischocyttarus anthracinus Richards.These species are uncommon in inventory studies in Brazil. Records occur in different Conservation Units, between 2011 and 2019, in the Minas Gerais State, Brazil Southeastern. Camouflage seems to be the main defense strategy for these species, due to the color and shape of their nests in line with the substrate, as well as their docile behavior. The exception is Metapolybia cingulata, which in addition to camouflage shows aggressive behavior in some situations, which suggests the use of different strategies in the colony defense.

The Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia comprises a zone of high levels of biodiversity and endemism of plants, vertebrates and insects. However, there are still several gaps on the knowledge of the local Lepidoptera diversity. The objective of this study was to conduct an inventory of butterflies in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil to provide information on species richness. Butterflies were sampled with insect net from March 2018 to March 2019, and November 2019 to February 2020, totaling 150 h of sampling effort. Additionally, we used Van Someren-Rydon traps for collecting frugivorous butterflies in September 2018 and February 2019 representing 1,080 trap-hours. A total of 228 butterfly species were recorded. Hesperiidae (86 spp.) and Nymphalidae (77 spp.) were the most representative families, followed by Riodinidae (32 spp.), Lycaenidae (21 spp.), Pieridae (10 spp.) and Papilionidae (2 spp.). The local butterfly fauna is composed of species found in open or disturbed forest edges, and secondary vegetation. Most of the sampled species is broadly distributed in Brazil Morpho menelaus coeruleus (Perry, 1810) (Nymphalidae), Jemadia hospita hephaestos (Plötz, 1879) (Hesperiidae) and several species of Lycaenidae and Riodinidae represents a new record for northeastern Brazil.

Fire is a frequent agent of disturbance in tropical savannas (e.g., Brazilian Cerrado), but relatively few studies have analyzed how the arthropod community responds to fire disturbance. Following the incursion of an accidental fire into a Cerrado fragment in Central Brazil, we investigated whether the arthropod community is structured by abiotic (climate or fire) or biotic (succession) factors. Our study commenced one week after fire and during the six months afterward. We found 22 arthropod orders, of which Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Blattaria and Coleoptera were the most representative. More than 40% of the arthropod abundance was recorded 40 days after the fire event. The overall arthropod abundance and richness fluctuated in the six months following the fire and does not seem to be related to climatic variables. Temporal beta diversity was explained by a reduction in richness differences along the intervals of time, but the community recovery needs to be treated with caution. The increase in replacement in the last intervals in relation to the fire event indicates that biotic interactions may occur with the arrival of late colonizers and suggest that arthropod communities need a long time to be restructured. These results indicate that the processes of restructuring of the arthropod communities after human-induced fire events are temporally complex, involving loss, gain and taxon replacement, but long-term studies are still needed to understand the dynamics of communities.

Collections carried out for a period of 10 weeks from October to December 2013 in two fragments of Cerrado (experimental farm of Embrapa Gado de Corte and Private Reserve of Natural Heritage belong to the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (RPPN-UFMS)) located in the municipality of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwestern Brazil, with traps baited with decomposing beef liver, and collections conducted for a period of 15 days in January 2014 in the RPPN-UFMS, using Shannon traps baited with dog corpses, resulted in 32 flesh fly species of eight genera, with the first record of the genus Blaesoxipha and 15 new species records to Mato Grosso do Sul.