Seasonal Abundance of Hemipterans onCaryocar brasiliense(Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) Trees in the Cerrado

Abstract

Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) trees have a wide distribution in the cerrado. This plant is protected by federal laws and is untouched in deforested areas of the cerrado. Under these circumstances, the damage to leaves, flowers, and fruits from sucking hemipterans has increased. We studied populations of sucking insects and their predators on C. brasiliense trees in the cerrado during each season for 3 successive years. The numbers of sucking insect individuals on C. brasiliense trees were similar among the seasons of the year. However, the highest number of species and greatest diversity occurred in winter. Predators were most abundant in spring and winter, with highest diversity and number of species in winter. We observed 7 rare, 2 common, and 1 constant species of sucking insects; and 4 rare, 8 common, and 1 constant species of predators on C. brasiliense trees. The greatest numbers of various sucking insect species were observed by seasons as follows: Aconophora sp. (Membracidae) on fruits and Frequenamia sp. (Cicadellidae) on leaves in the winter; Aphis gossypii (Glover) (Aphididae) and Mahanarva sp. (Cercopidae) in the spring; and Dikrella sp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) on the leaves in the summer and autumn. For predators, Crematogaster sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) had the lowest abundance on the leaves in the summer, and highest abundance in the flowers in the winter and spring, while in spring it was most abundant on the fruits, and in the autumn Trybonia sp. (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) on the leaves was the most abundant. Higher number of ants Crematogaster sp. was observed in Caryocar brasiliense trees that presented large numbers of Dikrella sp.. Higher numbers of predators Trybonia sp., Chrysoperla sp. (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), and total of predator thrips were associated with decreasing numbers of Dikrella sp., A. gossypii, and total of sucking insects respectively. The increase in the numbers of individuals and species of predators were correlated with the reduction of these same ecological parameters of the sucking insects. We argue that this differential temporal distribution of sucking insects and their predators was influenced for phenology of plant and weather.