High population levels lead Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) to unrecorded feeding and oviposition behaviors on Eucalyptus urograndis plants.

M H F A Dal Pogetto,J C Zanuncio,M V Masson,L R Barbosa,C F Wilcken,P J Ferreira-Filho,W S Tavares,W M Silva

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.250931

Abstract

The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore, 1964 (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), an insect pest originating in Australia and which feeds only on Eucalyptus L'Hér. (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) plants, has spread to several countries. The populations of this insect commonly reach high populations on Eucalyptus plants since its entry into Brazil, and also indicated an unrecorded behavioral. The objectives of this study were to describe a peculiar adaptation in the feeding habit of G. brimblecombei and to register the new habit. The oviposition and feeding by G. brimblecombei, commonly, on the leaves of Eucalyptus, started to occur, also, on lignified twigs. This suggests a not yet recorded adaptation of this insect to reduce insect × plant intraspecific competition.

Highlights

The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore, 1964 (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) is native to eastern Australia (Tuller et al, 2017; Yurt and Karaca, 2018) and feeds only on plants of the Eucalyptus L’Hér (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) genus (Petro et al, 2017; Jere et al, 2019)
Experimental site The feeding habit of G. brimblecombei was examined on two-year-old clone hybrid plants of Eucalyptus urograndis (E. urophylla × E. grandis) in Bom Despacho, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil (19° 44’ S × 45° 15’ O, 768 m above sea level) and on one year old E. camaldulensis clone plants in Luiz Antônio, state of São Paulo, Brazil (21° 33’ S × 47° 42’ O, 638 m above sea level)
Leaf fall was more pronounced from plants with a high population density of G. brimblecombei, with drying of the entire twig and a greater reduction on the emission of new leaves by the plants (Figure 1H), than in those with damage, by this pest, which was restricted to the leaves

Summary

Introduction

The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore, 1964 (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) is native to eastern Australia (Tuller et al, 2017; Yurt and Karaca, 2018) and feeds only on plants of the Eucalyptus L’Hér (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) genus (Petro et al, 2017; Jere et al, 2019). The G. brimblecombei prefers species from the river red gum group, especially Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. It has adapted to other species of this genus, such as Eucalyptus blakelyi Maiden, Eucalyptus brassiana S.T. Blake, Eucalyptus bridgesiana R.T. Baker, Eucalyptus camphora R.

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