The recently described taxon Negevirus is comprised of a diverse group of insect-specific viruses isolated from mosquitoes and phlebotomine sandflies. In this study, a comprehensive genetic characterization, molecular, epidemiological and evolutionary analyses were conducted on nearly full-length sequences of 91 new negevirus isolates obtained in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama, USA and Nepal. We demonstrated that these arthropod restricted viruses are clustered in two major phylogenetic groups with origins related to three plant virus genera (Cilevirus, Higrevirus and Blunevirus). Molecular analyses demonstrated that specific host correlations are not present with most negeviruses; instead, high genetic variability, wide host-range, and cross-species transmission were noted. The data presented here also revealed the existence of five novel insect-specific viruses falling into two arthropod-restrictive virus taxa, previously proposed as distinct genera, designated Nelorpivirus and Sandewavirus. Our results provide a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology, evolution, taxonomy and stability of this group of insect-restricted viruses.

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The predatory mite Phytoseiulus macropilis is a potential biological control agent of the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) Tetranychus urticae on strawberry plants. Its ability to control TSSM was recently assessed under laboratory conditions, but its ability to locate and control TSSM under greenhouse conditions has not been tested so far. We evaluated whether P. macropilis is able to control TSSM on strawberry plants and to locate strawberry plants infested with TSSM under greenhouse conditions. Additionally, we tested, in an olfactometer, whether odours play a role in prey-finding by P. macropilis. The predatory mite P. macropilis required about 20 days to achive reduction of the TSSM population on strawberry plants initially infested with 100 TSSM females per plant. TSSM-infested plants attract an average of 27.5 ± 1.0% of the predators recaptured per plant and uninfested plants attracted only 5.8 ± 1.0% per plant. The predatory mites were able to suppress TSSM populations on a single strawberry plant and were able to use odours from TSSM-infested strawberry plants to locate prey in both olfactometer and arena experiments. Hence, it is concluded that P. macropilis can locate and reduce TSSM population on strawberry plants under greenhouse conditions.

Resumo O sistema de defesa induzido de plantas é ativado quando herbívoros se alimentam das mesmas. Alternativamente, herbívoros podem se adaptar a espécies de plantas filogeneticamente pró-ximas ao seu hospedeiro de origem. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar o desenvolvimento de Thyrinteina arnobia em plantas de goiaba (hospedeiro de origem) e de eucalipto (hospedeiro novo) em campo. Adicionalmente, estudou-se a biologia deste inseto em laboratório fornecendo folhas de eucalipto previamente danificadas por lagartas de T. arnobia e folhas sem danos. A sobrevivência larval em eucalipto, 78,00%, foi superior à de goiaba, 29,33%. O ciclo larval foi de 27,90 dias em goiaba e de 30,30 dias em eucalipto. Em testes de laboratório, o ciclo larval em eucalipto limpo, 36,39 dias, foi maior do que em eucalipto danificado, 32,89 dias. A mortalidade larval em eucalipto danificado foi de 30,00% e de 10,00% em eucalipto limpo. Os resultados indicam que a goiaba não é um bom hospedeiro para T. arnobia possivelmente por apresentar um sistema mais efetivo de defesa. Embora o eucalipto possa ser um hospedeiro mais favorável ao desenvolvimento e estabelecimento do inseto, pode também reduzir populações do herbívoro ativando o seu sistema de defesa induzido.Termos para indexação: mortalidade larval, goiaba. Adaptation of Thyrinteina arnobia to a new host and herbivore induced defense in eucalyptusAbstract The induced defense system of plants is activated when herbivorous start to injury plants. Alternatively, herbivores may adapt to plants that are phylogenetically close to their original host. This work aimed at comparing the life history of Thyrinteina arnobia on guava plants (origin host) with eucalyptus (the new host) in the field. The biology of the insect in the laboratory on both eucalyptus leaves previously injured by the caterpillars of T. arnobia and on clean leaves was also studied. In the field, the larvae survivorship of T. arnobia on eucalyptus was 78.00% and on guava was 29.33%. The larvae cycle was 27.90 days on guava and 30.30 days on eucalyptus. At the laboratory, tests showed that the larvae cycle on clean eucalyptus leaves lasted 36.39 days while on previously injured leaves, only 32.89 days. The larvae mortality on injured eucalyptus leaves was 30.00%, and 10.00% on clean leaves. The results indicate that guava plants are not a suitable host for T. arnobia probably due to a more effective defense system. Although the eucalyptus may be a better host, it can also reduce the herbivore population by activating its herbivore induced defense system. Index terms: larval mortality, guava.(1) Aceito para publicação em 22 de janeiro de 2003. E-mail: aholtz@insecta.ufv.br, hamilton@insecta.ufv.br, pallini@ufv.br, zanuncio@ufv.br, claudinei@insecta.ufv.br (3) UFV, Dep. de Biologia Animal, Setor de Entomologia. Bolsista do CNPq. E-mail: janne@insecta.ufv.br IntroduçãoAs interações tróficas entre planta e insetos herbívoros são importantes na determinação, distribuição e ocorrência dos organismos em ecossistema natura...

This work investigated the influence of two alimentary sources: aphids and mites, in the morphology of the fat body of E. connexa. Results showed that fat body cells of individuals fed with aphids presented areas more than three folds higher (511 ± 98,7µm2 ) than those of beetles fed with mites (162 ± 34,9µm 2 ). Histochemical tests showed that nutrient amount stored in fat body was higher in lady-beetles fed on aphids.

-Plants can develop mechanisms of defense that reduces the effects of herbivore attacks. In response, the herbivores evolve to breaking the defense mechanisms of plants. Herbivores may also escape from the plant defense system by migrating to other host whose defense is not effective against them. In Brazil, outbreaks of the defoliator caterpillar Thyrinteina arnobia Stoll in Eucalyptus sp. are frequently observed. However, the native host of this insect is guava, Psidium guajava where outbreaks are not registered. The absence of outbreaks in P. guajava may be related to the development of defense mechanisms in that specie of Myrtaceae, which has apparently not yet occurred on eucalyptus. Here we investigated the performance of T. arnobia reared on its origin host plant, in comparison with those reared on its exotic host, Eucalyptus sp. The intrinsic growth rate of T. arnobia was higher on eucalyptus than on P. guajava. It is possible that the defense mechanism on guava plants acts as a chemical barrier, probably reducing the digestibility of the insect, which could affect the development of the current population and the next generations.KEY WORDS: Constitutive defense, Eucalyptus cloesiana, Psidium guajava, herbivory RESUMO -As plantas podem desenvolver mecanismos de defesa que reduzem o efeito do ataque de herbívoros. Em resposta, os insetos herbívoros evoluem de forma a quebrar os mecanismos de defesa das plantas. Uma das formas que os insetos têm de escapar do sistema de defesa das plantas é migrar para outros hospedeiros cujo sistema de defesa não seja eficiente a seu ataque. No Brasil, em plantios de Eucalyptus spp., observam-se surtos freqüentes da lagarta desfolhadora Thyrinteina arnobia Stoll, cujo hospedeiro nativo é a goiaba. A não ocorrência de surtos populacionais em goiaba pode estar relacionada ao desenvolvimento de mecanismos de defesa, nessa espécie de Myrtaceae, o que aparentemente ainda não ocorreu com o eucalipto. Por isso, investigou-se neste trabalho se o desempenho de T. arnobia criada em seu hospedeiro de origem, plantas de goiaba, difere do seu desempenho em hospedeiro exótico, o eucalipto. A taxa intrínseca de crescimento populacional de T. arnobia (r m ) foi maior em eucalipto do que em plantas de goiaba. O pior desempenho de T. arnobia em plantas de goiaba possivelmente se deu por atuação do sistema de defesa constitutiva dessas plantas. Barreiras químicas das plantas de goiaba podem estar atuando principalmente na redução da digestibilidade do inseto, afetando o desenvolvimento da população atual e, por conseguinte, o das próximas gerações.

-Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard is an important pest of solanaceous plants, including tomatoes. This mite is characterized by a high reproductive rate, which leads to high population growth in a short period of time causing important economic damage. Control of T. evansi is mainly through synthetic acaricides. In searching for environmentally friendly control measures, we evaluated the effi ciency of alternative products to control T. evansi on tomato plants under greenhouse conditions. The products tested were lime sulphur and neem based products. We fi rst estimated the lethal concentration (LC) and instantaneous rate of increase (r i ) of T. evansi exposed to different product concentrations in laboratory conditions, and later tested the effi cacy of LC 95 and the concentrations that restrained mite population growth (r i = 0) in greenhouse conditions. The following treatments were repeated three times: NeemPro (81.0 and 71.6 mg a.i./l), Natuneem (31.1 and 20.4 mg ai/l), Organic Neem (39.1 and 30.4 mg a.i./l), lime sulphur (1.0 and 0.6%) and water (control). For all products, control provided by LC 95 was higher than provided for lower concentrations (r i = 0) one day after spraying. However, after fi ve days, for both concentrations, the percentage of T. evansi population reduction was superior to 95% and increased over time. Only plants sprayed with Natuneem (31.1 mg a.i./l) showed symptoms of phytotoxicity. Lime sulphur and neem based products, applied in appropriate concentrations and formulations, bear out as a viable alternative to control T. evansi on tomato plants.KEY WORDS: Acari, Azadirachta indica, lime sulphur, effi ciency, phytotoxicityThe tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard, is an important pest of solanaceous plants, especially tomatoes (Flechtmann 1983, Bonato 1999, Ferragut & Escudero 2002. This mite is characterized by a high reproductive capacity, which leads to high population levels in a short time, causing important economic damage (Moraes & McMurtry 1986). Additionally, the mite produces large quantities of webs on the infested plants, hampering the action of natural enemies (Gerson 1985, Sabelis & Bakker 1992. The control of T. evansi in tomato is done mainly with application of synthetic pesticides. Despite its relative effi ciency, chemical control has several negative impacts as the selection of resistant individuals due to the continuous use of certain active ingredients, the reduction or elimination of benefi cial species, the high toxicity of products to applicators, and the presence of residues in food (Picanço et al 2007, Maniania et al 2008.A viable alternative to the problems arising from excessive use of synthetic pesticides in tomato production is the use of methods that provide control with social and environmental safety. In the search for such methods, natural enemies are being evaluated as biological control agents of T. evansi (Wekesa et al 2005, Furtado et al 2007, Brito et al 2009. Another strategy that has been used where con...

Tetranychus urticae is an important pest associated with strawberry, due to its high densities and plant damage. Farmers use acaricides in large volumes without complying with the window between the last application and harvest, resulting on toxic residues in fruits, as well as pest populations resistant to pesticides, decrement of beneficial organisms, mammalian toxicity and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to generate new alternatives for the control of this mite. The aim of this work was to evaluate the toxic effect of commercial neem-based products on the mites T. urticae and Phytoseiulus macropilis, through a combined analysis using both, lethal and sublethal concentrations. Tetranychus urticae populations were controlled in strawberry plants when neem was used at or below LC 95 concentrations. The application of the neem-based products, Neem Pro, Organic Neem and Natuneem at CL 95 , and when the instantaneous predator's rate of population increase ri = 0.1, represents a viable alternative to be considered for the control of the phytophagous mite T. urticae.