Tibraca limbativentris (rice stem bug) is an insect highly injurious to the rice crop in Brazil. The aim of this research was to define the spatial distribution of the T. limbativentris and improve the sampling process by means of geostatistical application techniques and construction of prediction maps in a flooded rice field located in the "Planalto da Campanha" Region, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. The experiments were conducted in rice crop in the municipality of Itaqui - RS, in the crop years of 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12, counting fortnightly the number of nymphs and adults in a georeferenced grid with points spaced at 50m in the first year and in 10m in the another years. It was performed a geostatistical analysis by means adjusting semivariogram and interpolation of numeric data by kriging to verify the spatial dependence and the subsequent mapping population. The results obtained indicated that the rice stem bug, T. limbativentris, has a strong spatial dependence. The prediction maps allow estimating population density of the pest and visualization of the spatial distribution in flooded rice fields, enabling the improvement of the traditional method of sampling for rice stem bug

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Telenomus and Trichogramma species stand out as agents for the biological control in rice crops, and the main strategy for preserving them is the use of selective pesticides. This study aimed at evaluating the toxicity of pesticides used in irrigated rice crop on Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) and Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Adults of these parasitoids were exposed to dry residues of pesticides, in a completely randomized experiment, with 25 treatments (24 pesticides + control) and four replications. The insecticides clorantraniliprole, flubendiamide and diflubenzuron and the biological insecticides based on Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae were harmless to T. podisi and T. pretiosum. The harmless herbicides were: 2.4-D amine, profoxydim, quinclorac, ethoxysulfuron and saflufenacil. The fungicide epoxiconazole + kresoxim-methyl was also harmless to these two biological control agents. Therefore, these pesticides are indicated for the integrated pest management, in flooded rice areas.

Insect-resistant cultivars are essential for improving the management of pests such as Oryzophagus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which significantly decreases flooded rice yields. However, the degree of benefit brought to the crop varies with the type of resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance of rice cultivars to O. oryzae, inferring about antixenosis and antibiosis effects on the development of larvae and adults. Under natural infestation conditions, a biennial experiment was carried out using a latin square design, with six treatments (cultivars) and plots with 30 plants (five rows of six plants equidistant 20 cm) irrigated with water depth of 15 cm. The number and weight of larvae by size, as well as the number, weight, emergence rate, and sex ratio of adults, were evaluated using standard soil, plant and root samples. Except for adult sexual ratio, the cultivars differed (p ≤ 0.05) for the other variables, whose relationship evidenced antibiosis effects at the larval stage, making possible to conclude that: the BRS Firmeza cultivar has resistance to O. oryzae due to antixenosis and/or antibiosis effects; BRS Ligeirinho is susceptible to this insect species, resulting in a relatively higher number of well-developed larvae and adults; and IRGA 417 shows an antibiosis action, restricting the adult emergence rates. The weight of adults gives a greater accuracy to the evaluation of the harmful effects of rice cultivars on the O. oryzae development.

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Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is an important agent for the biological control of stink bug eggs in irrigated rice areas and the best strategy for its preservation is the use of selective pesticides. The aim of this study was to know the side-effects of pesticides used in Brazilian irrigated rice areas on egg parasitoid T. podisi. We evaluated, under laboratory conditions, 13 insecticides, 11 fungicides, 11 herbicides, and a control (distilled water) in choice and no-choice tests. In the no-choice tests, the pesticides were sprayed at pre and post-parasitism stages (egg and larval stages of T. podisi). In the choice tests, sprays were conducted only at pre-parasitism stages. For all tests, we prepared cards with 25 eggs of the alternative host Euschistus heros (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) non-parasitized (pre-parasitism) and parasitized (post-parasitism), which were subjected to pesticide sprays. The parasitism and emergence rates of T. podisi were determined classifying the pesticides in terms of the reduction of parasitism or emergence rates compared to the control. The neurotoxic insecticide cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, zeta-cypermethrin, etofenprox, thiamethoxam, thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin, acetamiprid + alpha-cypermethrin, and bifenthrin + alpha-cypermethrin + carbosulfan were more harmful to T. podisi and, therefore, are less suitable for the integrated management of insect pests in irrigated rice areas.