First report of the microlepidopteran Caloreas cydrota (Meyrick, 1915) (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae) in Brazil.

Abstract

The microlepidopteran Caloreas cydrota (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae) was first time recorded in Colombia in 1915 (Meyrick, 1915), but after it has not been documented in other regions of the world. Among the host plants of Choreutidae belong to the families of Lamiaceae and Boraginaceae, and, to a lesser extent, the families of Umbelliferae, Scrophulariaceae and Moracea (Heppner, 1977; Rota and Miller, 2013 ). However, this family has been poorly studied, with limited information being available about this group of insects (Alipanah, 2008). Therefore, this work presents the first documentation of C. cydrota in Brazil, and is the first to report its association with argentina fleabeane Conyza bonariensis (Linnaeus) (Asteracea).Individual insects were collected from damaged C. bonariensis plants cultivated in a greenhouse at the Embrapa Soybean Research Institution, Londrina, Parana, Brazil. The specimens were collected with the branches during the larval and pupal stages, to avoid any disturbance to the normal development of the insects. After collection, the material was kept in BOD chambers under controlled environmental conditions (25 ± 2 °C temperature, 60 ± 20% humidity, and a 12 h photophase). After the moths emerged, they were killed by freezing (–5 °C) in a freezer for 24 h. Subsequently the material was sent to a specialist at the Uiracu Institute to confirm their identification. The moths were subsequently kept at the entomological museum of the Uiracu Institute.This study presents the first record of the natural occurrence of C. cydrota in Brazil, and in addition, also confirms that C. bonariensis is a host plant of C. cydrota. It is an important report, because until the present, the literature no reports information about plant hosts of this insect. In greenhouse was possible observe that the larvae cause characteristic foliar “folding” in argentine fleabane which then serves as a shelter, damaging the midvein region of the leaf and weave a web. According Aiello and Solis (2003), this behavior represents a camouflage strategy for protection against natural enemies. In addition, C. cydrota larvae caused a superficial damage in the plants by “scraping” the leaf tissue, resulting in a typical brownish appearance of leaves.This injury caused by C. cydrota in argentine fleabeane is important due increase the knowledgement about this insect behavior, and we believe that this report can allow identified this microlepidopteran in other regions. Finally, this study indicates that this insect species might be widespread in other parts of the South America, as C.bonariensis is also common in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina (Vargas et al., 2007).