Derbid Planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) Associated with Coconut and Oil Palm in Brazil

M Dollet,L C Diniz,F Da Silva,B Bahder,D A Schurt,E Dos Passos,C R Bartlett,H P Aberlenc,E G Fidelis

doi:10.1007/s13744-020-00788-5

Abstract

We present surveys of derbid planthoppers associated with coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) collected in Northeastern (Sergipe) and North (Pará and Roraima) Brazil. The surveys were intended to contribute to our knowledge of possible vectors of phytoplasmas or other phloem-restricted plant pathogens. Eight derbid taxa were found, two in the subfamily Cedusinae, tribe Cedusini (Cedusa yipara Kramer and C. yowza Kramer) and six in the subfamily Derbinae, tribe Cenchreini: Herpis sp., Persis pugnax Stål, Omolicna anastomosa (Caldwell), O. nigripennis (Caldwell), and two new species in the genus Agoo Bahder & Bartlett are described here. Genus-level features between Omolicna and Agoo are discussed and a key to the species of Agoo is provided.

Highlights

Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera L.) is the fourth most important perennial fruit tree in Brazil, with approximately 158,477 ha of cultivated area (IBGE 2018)
Eight taxa from the family Derbidae were found associated with palms in these surveys (Table 1)
Cedusa has previously been suggested as a possible vector of lethal yellowing phytoplasmas in Jamaica (Brown et al 2006)

Summary

Introduction

Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera L.) is the fourth most important perennial fruit tree in Brazil, with approximately 158,477 ha of cultivated area (IBGE 2018). Over the last 20 years, coconut water has become one of the most important high value-added products of the agroindustry of Brazil (Fontes & Wanderley 2006) and the country is the world’s fourth largest producer of coconuts (FAO 2020). Given the importance of coconut in Brazil, the arrival of a serious disease such as lethal yellowing (LY) would be catastrophic (Dollet & Talamni 2018). LY was reported in more than 30 species of palms in Florida (Dollet & Talamani 2018, Sullivan & Harrison 2013), suggesting that the disease may be a broad threat to indigenous palms in Amazonian region. Valuable palms that might be threatened include the açai palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart. and E. precatoria Mart.), the buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa L. f.), babaçu (Attalea speciosa Burret), pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), and others that are important sources of food and other products (Balick 1979, Kahn 1991, Mtiiz-Miret et al 1996, Brondizio 2011, Tunçer & Schroeder 2017)

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