Abstract
This study inventoried and characterized the richness of galling insects based on gall morphotypes and their host plants in two Cerrado sensu stricto areas of Caetite municipality in Bahia State, Brazil, to aid the identification of galling insects and their host plants, as well as to contribute to the knowledge and conservation of local biodiversity. The survey was conducted in the Moita dos Porcos archaeological site and Joao Barroca Farm site, adopting the random walking methodology for sampling, during 12 months. We recorded 98 gall morphotypes on 42 plant species belonging to 36 genera and 22 families. Leguminosae, Malpighiaceae and Myrtaceae demonstrated the greatest richness of galls, and the Copaifera langsdorffii was the super-host species, with 16 gall morphotypes. Most galls occur on leaves, and may be globoid, glabrous, grouped, and are usually unilocular, and brown. The galling insects identified belonged to Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Thysanoptera. Eight plant host species and eight gall morphotypes were recorded for the first time in Cerrado areas in Brazil. The areas surveyed demonstrated high richness of gall morphotypes and host plants, evidencing the importance of studying and preserving different areas of the same biome.
Highlights
Brazilian Cerrado is a hostpost of biodiversity, which is formed by mosaic of different phytophysiognomy, demonstrating elevated levels of species richness
The gall richness in João Barroca Farm (JB) and MP were high in comparison to other areas with Cerrado sensu stricto vegetation (Araújo et al 2007, UrsoGuimarães et al 2003, Coelho et al 2013, Nogueira et al 2016), corroborating other studies that indicate that the Cerrado has the richest fauna of galling insects in Brazil (Araújo 2018, Cintra et al 2020)
Leguminosae, Malpighiaceae and Myrtaceae were the main host plant families of galls in the two Cerrado s.s. areas, a result similar to reports of other inventories realized in the Bahia Cerrado (Nogueira et al 2016, Vieira et al 2018)
Summary
Brazilian Cerrado is a hostpost of biodiversity, which is formed by mosaic of different phytophysiognomy, demonstrating elevated levels of species richness. It hosts more than 12,330 plant species (BFG 2018, 2021) and one third of Brazilian biodiversity, with a high level of endemism, making it the most biodiverse savanna in the world (Klink & Machado 2005). The Cerrado of Bahia is distributed in higher regions forming small patches interspersed by Campos Rupestres, Caatinga and Seasonal Forests and transition areas, as occurs in Chapada Diamantina (Harley et al 2005), and Serra Geral of the Caetité municipality (Bahia State, Brazil). The Cerrado areas of the Caetité municipality have been subjected to constant environmental impacts (Rodrigues et al 2017) due to iron ore and limestone rock extraction (DNPM 2014), the construction of wind farms (Prudente et al 2017), and amethyst mining
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