Abstract
ABSTRACT The coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella (Guerin-Meneville & Perrottet) is a key pest in coffee producing countries. During their development, the larvae feed on the palisade parenchyma of the leaves, forming mines and necrotic areas. As a result, the photosynthetic area of the plant decreases, affecting coffee production. Despite the severity of the damage caused by coffee leaf miner (CLM), morphological aspects of the larval development and the adult genitalia remain unknown. This work presents the first morphological description of the four larval instars and the adult genitalia of L. coffeella. In each larval instar, we measured the Mean ± SD (mm) of the cephalic capsules (1st 0,14±0,03; 2nd 0,25±0,04; 3rd 0,32±0,03; 4th 0,42±0,03) and observed the following morphological details: primary setae, prolegs, crochets and ecdysial line of the cephalic capsule. In the adults, we show how to differentiate adult sexing and observed the sexual structures present in both genitalia: male - bulbus ejaculatorius, valva, gnathos and aedeagus, and female - ovipositor, sclerite and corpus bursae.
Highlights
More than 160 million coffee bags are consumed on all continents (Conselho Nacional do Café, 2019)
We present a detailed study on the morphology of larvae for the identification of the four larval instars and description of male and female genitalia of L. coffeella
Notley (1948) declared that L. coffeella has four larval instars, there is no description of the morphological characteristics of each instar
Summary
More than 160 million coffee bags are consumed on all continents (Conselho Nacional do Café, 2019). Coffee is produced in the countries of the neotropical region in America, where the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville & Perrottet, 1842) occurs (Mey, 1994; Pereira et al, 2007). Even though Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, the coffee leaf miner (CLM) is a key pest causing damages every year (Medina Filho et al, 1977; Vieira et al, 2006; Consórcio de Pesquisa do Café, 2020). The CLM is a monophagous pest (Reis and Souza, 1986) which feeds exclusively on coffee leaves, seriously compromising the health of the plant. The defoliation of the coffee plant can reach up to 75% (Reis and Souza, 1996; Neves, 2006)
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