Diversity of Anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the Chaco Biome.

Species of the genus Anastrepha cause injuries to several fruits and vegetables in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. Among these species, many are present in Brazil. In this study, we surveyed the existing Anastrepha species in the Brazilian Chaco Biome. We evaluated possible influences of climate and vegetation on the occurrence of Anastrepha spp. For this, we used traps and hydrolyzed protein as bait. Collections were carried out in three distinct floristic compositions in the Chaco biome, from permanently dry areas to flooded sites. We identified Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830), A. sororcula Zucchi 1979, A. undosa Stone 1942, and A. daciformis Bezzi 1909. The dry and flooded environment did not influence the occurrence of Anastrepha species. The presence of multiple hosts increases the number of species. The richness and abundance of Anastrepha species are lower in the Brazilian Chaco than in other native environments.

Ecotone effect on the fruit fly assemblages (Diptera: Tephritidae) in natural and anthropized environments.

Various species of fruit flies are important pests of fruit cultures and in some crop of vegetables worldwide. Studies of their population patterns, ecological processes and mechanisms that influence their sampling and distribution in the ecosystems, provides important information to support researches on species diversity and ecologically based pest control programs. The aims of this paper were to analyze the patterns of fruit fly species: diversity, abundance and composition in the margin and inside of a fragment of native forest (35 ha); on the margin and in the inside a commercial orchard (2.5 ha). This research was carried out in transects in a fragment of semideciduous forest and in a commercial orchard in the region of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. A total of 1,918 adult fruit flies: 1,350 Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (♂♂+♀♀) and 568 of the genus Anastrepha Schiner (275♂♂ + 293♀♀) from six infrageneric groups and 12 different species were captured. C. capitata (80%), and Anastrepha sororcula Zucchi were the most abundant species, being this last one representing 50.68% of individuals in the genus Anastrepha. There are significant differences in species diversity of fruit flies caught in the traps installed in the edge and inside of both environments: traps installed in the forest edge had higher diversity index (H' = 2.13) in compare to the inside of forest (H' = 1.67), with the same pattern repeated in the orchard: edge (H' = 0.55) and inside (H' = 0.41). The results in this paper corroborate with the prediction that in ecotonal areas between environments there are higher diversity in compare with the inside of each of the confronting ecosystems. The technique proposed here saves time, effort and resources in rapid inventories for sampling fruit fly species richness in natural forests and large fruit tree orchards.

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in three landscapes in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in three landscapes in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Dung Beetles are important for biological control of intestinal worms and dipterans of economic importance to cattle, because they feed and breed in dung, killing parasites inside it. They are also very useful as bioindicators of species diversity in agricultural or natural environments. The aims of this paper were to study the species richness, and abundance of dung beetles, helping to answer the question: are there differences in the patterns of dung beetle diversity in three environments (pasture, agriculture and forest) in the municipality of Dourados, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. A total of 105 samplings were carried out weekly, from November 2005 to November 2007, using three pitfall traps in each environment. The traps were baited with fresh bovine dung, and 44,355 adult dung beetles from 54 species were captured: two from Hyborosidae and 52 from Scarabaeidae. Five species were constant, very abundant and dominant on the pasture, two in the agricultural environment, and two in the environment of Semideciduous forest. Most of the species were characterised as accessories, common and not-dominant. The species with higher abundance was Ataenius platensis Blanchard, 1844. The indexes of Shannon-Wiener diversity were: 2.90 in the pasture, 2.84 in the agricultural environment and 2.66 in the area of native forest. The medium positive presence of dung beetles in the traps in each environment were: 36.88, 42.73 and 20.18 individuals per trap, in the pasture, agricultural environment and in the native forest, respectively. The pasture environment presented a higher diversity index. The species diversity of dung beetles was superior where there was higher abundance and regularity of resource (bovine dung).