Phoracantha recurva (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): First Report in the Atlantic Rainforest of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The expansion of the area planted with Eucalyptus species and the trade of its products in the world have been accompanied by accidental introduction of exotic insects. The genus Phoracantha Newman (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), from Australia and New Guinea, has 40 borer species that use trees and freshly cut logs of the genus Angophora, Corymbia, and Eucalyptus. The objective of this report is to document the occurrence of P. recurva damaging weakened C. citriodora trees in an urban area of the Atlantic rainforest in Vicosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Extensive feeding galleries and the presence of a P. recurva male adult were found in the trunks of weakened trees of C. citriodora logs in an area near the forest nursery of the Universidade Federal de Vicosa. This is the first report of this borer species in this climate zone of the Atlantic rainforest biome of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This suggests that P. recurva has high plasticity to establish in regions with different climatic conditions, being able to survive in most regions of Brazil. The record of P. recurva infesting C. citriodora trees in the Minas Gerais Atlantic rainforest region increases its distribution in Brazil. This knowledge is important in reducing or preventing its damage in Brazil.