ABSTRACT. We investigated aggregation patterns in three fruit fly species economically important in Brazil, namely Ceratitis capitata, Anastrepha fraterculus, and A. obliqua. The study was carried out in a buffer zone and two neighbourhoods by comparing two-time series associated with the management strategy of fruit flies (systems approach). The abundance of these three species significantly decreased over the years with a negative binomial regression model describing the relationship between abundance and time in the entire area, buffer zone, and their neighbourhoods. In addition, the negative binomial model was also well fitted to the frequency distribution data of fruit flies in all analyzed scenarios. Anastrepha obliqua showed the highest aggregation degree, considering both the entire area and time series. A. fraterculus exhibited the lowest aggregation level, and C. capitata showed an intermediate degree. The buffer zone exhibited the highest aggregation degree for all species, and neighbourhood 2 exhibited the lowest aggregation degree. The aggregation degree was higher in the time series impacted by the systems approach than the series in the first years of its implementation.

ABSTRACT The garden fleahopper, Microtechnites bractatus (Say) (Hemiptera: Miridae), is associated with several cultivated plant species and, despite its economic importance, little is known about its development and performance in such hosts. We described here, the morphology of immature stages, and evaluated the biology of M. bractatus in beans, potatoes, white clover, alfalfa, and wheat. The bioassays were carried out in the laboratory under controlled temperature (25±2ºC), humidity (UR70±15%), and photoperiod (12L:12D). The eggs of M. bractatus are elongated and slightly curved, without respiratory projections and light yellow in color, becoming dark at the end of the incubation period. Nymphs present an oval-shaped body, a reddish color that intensifies along with the development and dimorphic wing pads in the fifth instar. In the bioassays, the host plants influenced the biological aspects of M. bractatus, both in the immature and adult stages. Nymph survival was higher in clover and alfalfa, while in wheat, it was lower. Clover-fed insects had the longest longevity. The fecundity parameters and egg viability were favored in insects that fed on clover and alfalfa. The fertility life table showed that feeding M. bractatus with clover provides a higher net reproduction rate (R0) and a higher finite ratio of population increase (ʎ). This study contributes to bioecological and behavioral studies on M. bractatus and provides data for the recognition and characterization of individuals in the immature stage.

RESUMO: Ocorrências de Anastrepha barbiellinii Lima, Anastrepha connexa Lima, Anastrepha consobrina (Loew), Anastrepha kuhlmanni Lima, Anastrepha leptozona Hendel e Anastrepha xanthochaeta Hendel são registradas pela primeira vez no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. As espécies foram capturadas em armadilhas do tipo McPhail com um atrativo alimentar de proteína hidrolisada (5%) em três pomares de espécies cultivadas e um remanescente de Mata Atlântica no município de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, ou obtidas por meio de levantamento de espécies de Tephritidae depositadas no Museu Regional de Entomologia (UFVB) da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Viçosa, estado de Minas Gerais.

ABSTRACT: Occurrences of Anastrepha barbiellinii Lima, Anastrepha connexa Lima, Anastrepha consobrina (Loew), Anastrepha kuhlmanni Lima, Anastrepha leptozona Hendel, and Anastrepha xanthochaeta Hendel are recorded for the first time in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The species were captured in McPhail traps baited with hydrolyzed protein (5%) in orchards of cultivated species and in a remnant of the Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, or obtained from the collection of species deposited in the Regional Museum of Entomology (UFVB) of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Viçosa, in the state of Minas Gerais.

Foi realizado um estudo morfométrico com Platyscytus decempunctatus (Carvalho 1945) coletados durante as estações seca e úmida no município de Viçosa, MG e em 23 municípios distribuídos pelos estados de Minas Gerais e Rio de Janeiro. Foram utilizados 30 machos e 30 fêmeas por estação no estudo de Viçosa e insetos adicionais (20 machos e 20 fêmeas) de cada um dos 23 municípios amostrados. Foram analisadas 27 características morfológicas a fim de verificar a influência sazonal e diferenças no dimorfismo sexual em indivíduos de Viçosa e diferenças entre as populações amostradas. As fêmeas de P. decempunctatus coletadas em Viçosa foram maiores que os machos na maioria das características avaliadas em ambas as estação (seca e úmida). Os machos apresentaram somente duas características corporais maiores que as fêmeas. Diferenças morfométricas interpopulacionais em P. decempunctatus se correlacionaram à distância geográfica entre os locais de coleta.

A morphometry study was carried out with Platyscytus decempunctatus (Carvalho 1945) collected during the dry and wet seasons in Viçosa county, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil and in other 23 counties from the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. A total of 30 males and 30 females were collected in Viçosa at each season and additional insects (20 males and 20 females) were collected at each county surveyed. The analysis with 27 morphological traits was carried out to verify the seasonal influence, differences between sexes and among populations in specimens from Viçosa. The females of P. decempunctatus collected in Viçosa were larger than the males in most of the traits evaluated in both seasons (dry and wet). The males showed only two body traits larger than the females. Interpopulational morphometry differences of P. decempunctatus were significantly correlated with geographic distance among sampling sites.

Um total de 293 espécimes de Oxelytrum discicolle foram amostrados semanalmente num período de dois anos usando uma armadilha tipo "black light". O estudo foi feito em uma reserva de Mata Atlântica localizada próximo à cidade de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil. O período de pico de abundância de O. discicolle ocorreu durante a estação úmida, entre os meses de outubro e março. A análise estatística mostrou que a abundância dos indivíduos foi significantemente e positivamente correlacionada com a temperatura, mas não com a precipitação e umidade relativa. De 28 características morfológicas tomadas em cada espécime coletado, sete foram encontradas sexualmente dimórficas, entretanto, nem morfologia nem o grau de dimorfismo sexual variaram significantemente entre as estações.

A total of 293 specimens of Oxelytrum discicolle were sampled weekly over a period of two years using a black light trap. The study took place in an Atlantic Forest reserve located near Viçosa city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The period of peak abundance of O. discicolle occurred during the wet season between the months of October and March. Statistical analysis showed that the abundance of individuals was significantly and positively correlated with temperature, but not with rainfall or relative humidity. Of 28 morphological measurements taken on each collected specimen, seven were found to be sexually dimorphic; however, neither morphology nor the degree of sexual dimorphism varied significantly among seasons.