The Plusiinae subfamily has many polyphagous species, many of which occur in South America. Chrysodeixis includens and Rachiplusia nu are two representatives that mainly occurs in soybeans, cotton, common beans, sunflower and alfalfa. 2 A population genetic study of C. includens and R. nu collected in the Southern Cone of America was performed using a partial COI gene sequencing data and compared with specimens from other American countries. 3 Six haplotypes were identified in C. includens populations of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, organized within a star-like haplotype network, with the most common haplotype identified as Chin_MC. 4 R. nu populations are more diverse and stable in comparison to C. includens.Populations from Argentina and Uruguay had the highest haplotype diversity, sharing five haplotypes and putatively indicating haplotype exchange. 5 Demographic change analysis suggested a recent population expansion of C. includens over the American continent. 6 Some C. includens haplotypes were country-specific, suggesting population expansion in the countries where specimens were collected.

The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus, an Australian native insect, has become a nearly worldwide invasive pest in the last 16 years and has been causing significant damage to eucalypts (Myrtaceae), including Eucalyptus spp. and Corymbia spp. its rapid expansion leads to new questions about pathways and routes that T. peregrinus used to invade other continents and countries. We used mtDNA to characterize specimens of T. peregrinus collected from 10 countries where this species has become established, including six recently invaded countries: Chile, Israel, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, and the United States of America. We then combined our mtDNA data with previous data available from South Africa, Australia, and Europe to construct a world mtDNA network of haplotypes. Haplotype A was the most common present in all specimens of sites sampled in the New World, Europe, and Israel, however from Australia second more frequently. Haplotype D was the most common one from native populations in Australia. Haplotype A differs from the two major haplotypes found in South Africa (D and G), confirming that at least two independent invasions occurred, one from Australia to South Africa, and the other one from Australia to South America (A). In conclusion, Haplotype A has an invasion success over many countries in the World. Additionally, analyzing data from our work and previous reports, it is possible to suggest some invasive routes of T. peregrinus to predict such events and support preventive control measures.

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Conservative biological control (CBC) has received increasing attention in the recent years as an alternative method to other kinds of pest management as it uses native natural enemies to control pests (Straub, Finke, & Snyder, 2008). Some advantages of CBC include, for example, preventing the use of pesticides or the introduction of foreign natural enemies, both being associated with

Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) es la chinche predominante en los sistemas de rotaciones cultivos-pasturas del Uruguay. Esta especie provoca pérdidas en soja y leguminosas forrajeras y existen escasos registros de controladores naturales. Entre 2004/05 y 2006/07 se realizaron muestreos de huevos en Soriano, Paysandú y Colonia para determinar la incidencia de parasitoides en P.guildinii, en cultivos de soja y leguminosas forrajeras representativos de la región tradicional de producción del litoral oeste. Los parasitoides encontrados fueron: Telenomus podisi (Ashmead), Trissolcus brochymenae (Ashmead), Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston), Trissolcus urichi (Crawford) y Trissolcus teretis (Johnson). Telenomus podisi predominó, alcanzando, en promedio, el 93,25% de los parasitoides emergidos de los huevos colectados.

Crocidosema (= Epinotia) aporema (Walsingham) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) é uma broca das axilas que se alimenta de soja e leguminosas forrageiras. Sua importância econômica é restrita à América do Sul onde pode alternar, ao longo do ano, entre leguminosas forrageiras e grãos. O feromônio sexual das fêmeas de C. aporema é composto de uma mistura 15:1 de (7Z,9Z)-dodeca-7,9-dieno-1-ol e acetato de (7Z,9Z)-dodeca-7,9-dienila. Com o intuito de desenvolver uma ferramenta para monitoramento deste inseto praga, os dois componentes do feromônio foram sintetizados e avaliou-se, em um experimento de campo no Uruguai, a captura de machos em armadilhas iscadas com diferentes misturas do feromônio sintético. Os dienos conjugados foram obtidos a partir de 2-pentin-1-ol e 1,7-heptanodiol, através da oxidação do primeiro, seguido pelo acoplamento de Wittig e redução da ligação tripla catalisada com Zn. A mistura 1:1 testada no campo foi a mais eficiente na captura dos machos. As armadilhas de feromônio foram atrativas por mais de 40 dias, mesmo com pequenas quantidades dos compostos (0,1 mg) impregnadas nos septos, e com baixas densidades populacionais dos insetos no campo.Crocidosema (= Epinotia) aporema (Walsingham) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a bud borer that feeds on soybean and forage legumes. Its economic importance is restricted to South America, where it can alternate throughout the year between forage and grain legumes. The sex pheromone of C. aporema females is composed of a 15:1 mixture of (7Z,9Z)-dodeca-7,9-dien-1-ol and (7Z,9Z)-dodeca-7,9-dienyl acetate. Aiming at the development of a monitoring tool, it was synthesized both components of the pheromone and evaluated male captures in pheromone traps baited with different blends of synthetic pheromone, in an experimental soybean field in Uruguay. The conjugated dienes were obtained from 2-pentyn-1-ol and 1,7-heptanediol, by oxidation of the former, Wittig coupling and Zn-catalyzed reduction of the triple bond. The 1:1 mixture was the most efficient in capturing males. The pheromone traps were attractive for up to 40 days, even with small septum loads (0.1 mg) and low population levels.Keywords: sex pheromone synthesis, Crocidosema (= Epinotia) aporema, pest monitoring, pheromone traps IntroductionSoybean production in Uruguay has increased dramatically in the past decade, 1 resulting in an expansion of legume-specialized insects such as Crocidosema (= Epinotia) aporema (Walsingham) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). This trend correlates with a significant increase in the use of insecticides, which has risen up to three-fold between 2001 and 2011. 2 C. aporema is a stem and bud borer that has become a major pest of legumes in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Southern Brazil.3-6 Originally from Costa Rica, this speciesSynthesis and Field Evaluation of Synthetic Blends of the Sex Pheromone of Crocidosema aporema J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 1998 is now widely distributed across South America. The insect is active throughout the year, going through 5-6 generations per year conce...

Entre agosto de 2005 y septiembre de 2007 se realizó la prospección de enemigos naturales de áfidos en alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), trébol rojo (Trifolium pratense L.) y lotus (Lotus corniculatus L.). La misma incluyó semilleros comerciales de cada leguminosa en La Estanzuela (Colonia) y un área de lotus de pastoreo en EEMAC (Paysandú). Los muestreos se realizaron con frecuencia quincenal y consistieron en corte de plantas en 30 cuadrados de 30 x 30 cm. En laboratorio, los áfidos muertos se separaron de las plantas y se conservaron individualmente hasta identificar la causa de mortalidad. Se identificaron los áfidos presentes y sus poblaciones se estimaron mediante método volumétrico. Las especies de áfidos registradas en los diferentes cultivos y situaciones, en el período, fueron: Therioaphis trifolii (Monnell), Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Acyrthosiphon kondoi Shinji, Aphis craccivora Koch y Nearctaphis bakeri (Cowen). Los principales agentes de mortalidad fueron parasitoides y el hongo Pandora neoaphidis (Remaudière y Hennebert) Humber (Entomophthoromycotina: Entomophthorales). Tanto las poblaciones como la mortalidad natural de áfidos tuvieron variaciones amplias entre años y en las diferentes situaciones muestreadas. El hongo provocó mayor mortalidad que los parasitoides, aunque su acción estuvo restringida a los meses de otoño e invierno, en los dos años. Los parasitoides estuvieron presentes en todas las situaciones de muestreo. En lotus, en ambas regiones y zafras el total de parasitoides colectados fue igual o mayor que el de P. neoaphidis. Contrariamente, en trébol rojo y alfalfa la colecta total de este hongo fue siempre significativamente mayor que la de parasitoides.

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