The aim of this paper was to determine the species diversity and frequency of foraging performed by bees in fragment of degraded forest in a Cerrado-Atlantic Forest ecotone area, also considering the nesting habit of each species. The foraging frequency of each bee species in the main floral sources was recorded for 12 consecutive months. The nesting site was used to sort the bees into guilds: above-ground nesting bees, ground-nesting bees, and both below and above-ground nesting bees. The guild of ground-nesting bees had 24 species and accounted for 17.48 % of the foraging rate, while above-ground nesting bees were represented by 12 species which made 8.89 % of the foraging rate, and both below and above-ground nesting bees comprised five species which made 0.43 % of the foraging rate. Africanized honeybee performed 73.20 % of the foraging flight, and presented a broad food niche. Therefore, in the forest fragment studied, two types of impacts which make difficult the survival and maintenance of the native bee fauna were observed: the dominance over floral resources by the exotic species the Africanized honeybees; the small number of large trees.

Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) is a vector of arboviruses associated with dengue, chikungunya, zika and yellow fever. Based on empirical knowledge, plants belonging to genus Crotalaria (Fabaceae) attract dragonflies, which are the main natural predator to A. aegypti and help controlling populations of this mosquito. The aim of the present study is to investigate (i) whether Crotalaria is a food source for A. aegypti and (ii) whether Crotalaria attracts predators to this mosquito, mainly dragonflies. The study was carried out from January to March 2018 in two Crotalaria spectabilis Roth (Fabaceae) cultivation fields, which covered 100 m2 (each) in Missal County, Paraná State, Brazil. Samples of all arthropods foraging on C. spectabilis were collected. Observations in situ were carried out to investigate whether A. aegypti individuals visit C. spectabilis flowers. In total, 14,967 arthropods were recorded foraging on C. spectabilis (288 in cultivation field 1 and 14,679 in cultivation field 2). Dragonflies and damselflies were recorded foraging on C. spectabilis crops, but no A. aegypti individual was recorded in active collections and observations in situ. These results indicate that C. spectabilis works as food source and/or place used by several arthropods to find preys. The incidence of dragonflies and damselflies flying in C. spectabilis monocultures indicates that these plants attract dragonflies, as well as that Crotalaria can help indirectly controlling A. aegypti populations.

Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) is an important pest worldwide. Methods of monitoring and control using baited traps are not yet established in coffee plantations in the Brazilian Amazon. The objective of this work was to record, for the first time, results of the use of baited traps in coffee plantation located in Rondônia, in favor of the control and pest monitoring. Two areas were delineated: i) with use of the traps baited with  ethanol/methanol (1:1), treatment; ii) without use of traps (control). For comparison of results, two factors were considered: damaged fruits (damage by H. hampei) and infested (H. hampei inside of fruits). It was observed higher levels of damaged fruits per plants in the control area compared to the area where traps were used. The density of the pest population per plants found on infested fruits was also higher in the control area compared to the trapping area. These results suggest that traps baited with ethanol/methanol (1:1) are an effective alternative for population control of pest also in the coffee plantations in Rondônia, where there is no such management with this tool. Use of the baited traps to monitor the insect accurately revealed that the flight stimulus of the colonizing females is influenced by values of the environmental variables. According to the results, colonizing females are more active in the afternoon. Therefore, in order to achieve more efficient control of H. hampei, the best time to apply control agents is between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

Hexacladia hilaris Burks (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid associated to several stink bug species in Costa Rica, Porto Rico and United States. In April 2018, at the Passo Fundo (28º15’46” S / 52º24’24” O), Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, specimens of H. hilaris were collected from Chinavia erythrocnemis (Berg) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). This is the first record of this parasitoid in South America as well as its association with C. erythrocnemis.

The objective was to assess the selectivity and sublethal effect of botanical extracts on adults of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Plant species used: Rosmarinus officinalis L., Mikania glomerata Spreng., Varronia curassavica Jacq., Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Vermonia polyanthes Spreng., Plectranthus amboinicus Spreng., Tetradenia riparia Codd., Artemisia absinthium L., Cymbopogon citratus Stapf. Plant material were reared in laboratory and leaves collected during the morning were used to prepare the extracts as following: 100 g of leaves from each plant were macerated and immersed in 300 mL of triple-extracted methyl alcohol and evaporated on rotavapor. Then, 250 mg of crude extract was diluted in 1000 mL of water. The experimental design for selectivity was done in randomized blocks with five repetitions, following a standardized protocol of the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) and accordingly classified. In sublethal effect, the design was completely randomized with twenty repetitions, where the eggs exposed to parasitism were sprayed with the treatments. In both experiments the control was twofold (water and chlorpyrifos). Regarding selectivity, the botanical extracts of M. glomerata, C. ambrosioides, V. polyanthes, P. amboinicus, A. absinthium and C. citratus were classified as slightly harmful (class 2), chlorpyrifos as moderately harmful (class 3). In the evaluation of sublethal effects, the botanical extracts of C. ambrosioides and C. citratus initially presented reduced number of parasitized eggs, reduction in total parasitized eggs and female longevity. It can be concluded that C. citratus botanical extract has small selectivity and causes sublethal effects on T. pretiosum adults.

Evaluation of resistance of Vigna unguiculata L. landraces, used as green beans, to Aphis craccivora Koch was tested. Eleven landraces and standard genotypes were used in a free choice protocol: BR 17-Gurguéia, VITA 7 (susceptible), BRS Guariba and TVu 408P2 (resistant). A completely randomized blocks design was used with six replicates. Seedlings were infested with five six-day-old adult insects. The number of alive adults after 48 h and of alive nymphs after 96 h was evaluated. The results evidenced that there are high genetic diversity among the landraces, the antibiosis as the main mechanism of resistance. By means of multivariate analysis we suggest crosses among the commercial cultivar BRS Guariba and the most dissimilar varieties CCE-088, CCE-075, CCE-013 and CCE-062 to obtain superior hybrids.

The family Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) comprises over 6,000 described and widely distributed species. However, studies on interactions with other insects such as ants, parasitoids, and with food plants in the Neotropical region, are still scarce, even though such information are fundamental for better understanding the natural history of this taxonomic group. This study reports a new food plant to larvae of Lycaenidae species in the neotropics, as well as its parasitoid. A Lycaenidae larva was found and collected for immature stage observation under laboratory conditions. The larva fed on petals and seeds of Zornia latifolia Sm. (Fabaceae). Nineteen days after pupation in laboratory a larvipupal parasitoid of the genus Conura (Chalcididae) had egressed. This is the first report of tritrophic relationship amongst Z. latifolia, a Lycaenidae larva and its larvipupal parasitoid of the genus Conura in a periurban area near remnants of the Atlantic Forest, in Northeastern Brazil.

Two strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) were first described in the United States; in Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, and western Paraná they have also been reported. This study was aimed at identifying these strains in Norte Pioneiro and Campos Gerais, in the states of Paraná and southwestern São Paulo. Larvae of S. frugiperda were collected in the cities of Ponta Grossa, Tibagi, Arapoti, and Wenceslau Braz in Paraná, and in the city of Itaberá, in São Paulo. PCR-RFLP genotyping of the COI gene was carried out using sixty-six specimens. Based on their electrophoretic pattern, 51 individuals were identified as corn strain, five as rice strain, and 10 as hybrids (Rice in MspI and Maize in SacI). Our findings indicate that both S. frugiperda strains are present the study areas.

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.

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.