A Lepidopteran defoliator attack on Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) in Central Amazonia, Brazil

Abstract

This paper describes a severe outbreak of a Lepidopteran defoliator, Lusura altrix (Stoll 1782), on Brazil nut trees in Central Amazonia. The pest outbreak appeared to succeed abnormal weather conditions, and defoliation was sufficient to disrupt normal phenological patterns.

Defoliator Pest to Caboclos and Gourmet Food to the Suruí Indians: Contrasting Amazonian Perspectives of Lusura sp. Caterpillars

“…It is also likely that they belong to the altrix species, considering the morphological similarities between the specimens I collected among the Suruí and this species, which has an ample distribution in the south-central portion of the Amazon, having been observed in Brazil nut collecting areas in caboclo communities located in the region of the Purús River in Amazonas state (Haugaasen 2009), the Madeira River in Rondônia state (Santos 2011), and the Bolivian lowlands (Hurtado 2010).…”

“…The article (Haugaasen 2009) describes the defoliating action of the moth larva Lusura altrix Stoll (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) on the canopy of the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. Lecythidaceae) 1 (Figure 1).…”

Defoliator Pest to Caboclos and Gourmet Food to the Suruí Indians: Contrasting Amazonian Perspectives of Lusura sp. Caterpillars

“…From the entomological point of view, the mamnégéy caterpillars pertain to the Lusura genus (Notodontidae). It is also likely that they belong to the altrix species, considering the morphological similarities between the specimens I collected among the Suruí and this species, which has an ample distribution in the south-central portion of the Amazon, having been observed in Brazil nut collecting areas in caboclo communities located in the region of the Purús River in Amazonas state (Haugaasen 2009), the Madeira River in Rondônia state (Santos 2011), and the Bolivian lowlands (Hurtado 2010).…”

“…Reading a recently published article in Biotropica brought back memories of my first years of fieldwork among the Suruí Indians in Rondônia, Brazil, in the 1980s. The article (Haugaasen 2009) describes the defoliating action of the moth larva Lusura altrix Stoll (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) on the canopy of the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. Lecythidaceae) 1 (Figure 1).…”

Arthropods and Nematodes: Functional Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems

“…Lepidoptera are also cited as major defoliators of tropical forest trees and there are actually an increasing number of publications dedicated to the attack in neotropical forest environments (Nair, 2007;Haugaasen, 2009). …”