Insect (Hexapoda) diversity in the oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil: updated taxonomic checklist and new records

Abstract

16.9 km 2 is the main island (Lopes and Ulbrich, 2015), and the remaining area is distributed among 20 smaller islands, of which Rata Island is the largest with 0.8 km 2. The archipelago has suffered major ecological disturbances due to several human interventions. In 1737, fortifications were built, and the archipelago was transformed into a penal colony for almost 200 years. During this period, a large part of the native vegetation was devastated while exotic plants and animals were introduced to serve as food (Teixeira et al., 2003; Serafini et al., 2010). The human population in the archipelago increased significantly in 1942 through military occupation (i.e., World War II). Afterwards, significant changes were observed in the archipelago due to: • Several insecticide applications campaigns (i.e., DDT) for mosquito-control; • Wild animal introductions, such as the Teju lizard (Salvator merianae Duméril & Bibron) and the Mocó cavy (Kerodon rupestris Wied-Neuwied); • Release of birds seized in trade fairs and public markets of Recife (i.e., Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus)), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus (Linnaeus)), and the White-bellied seedeater (Sporophila leucoptera (Vieillot));

First record of Pachybrachis Chevrolat, 1836 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae) on Spermacoce verticillata L. (Rubiaceae) and synthesis of its plant associations in Brazil

“…The characteristics of the exact locations of occurrence are barely presented. Most (Baly 1877, Bowditch 1913, Albertoni 2008, Dias 2016, Guedes et al 2019, Rafael et al 2020 do not provide any information about plants. Only one study reports the presence and collection of immatures.…”

Insect (Hexapoda) diversity in the Oceanic Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil: Seasonality and Populational Density of Tabanidae (Diptera)

“…The Brazilian oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is located at the equatorial South Atlantic region (Figure 1). It is under the jurisdiction of the state of Pernambuco, but it is also a federal preservation area (i.e., National Park) managed by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade -ICMBio (agency of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment) (Rafael et al 2020). Fernando de Noronha is located c. 360 km from the nearest continental Brazilian coast in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Figure 1).…”

“…In total, the archipelago has 21 islands, encompassing 18.4 km 2 . The only island inhabited by humans is the main island, Fernando de Noronha, encompassing 16.9 km 2 (Teixeira et al 2003, Rafael et al 2020.…”

“…There are only a few studies on the insects of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago and the publication records for all groups of insects occurring there were summarized by Rafael et al (2020). The first flies recorded from the archipelago were one species each in Dolichopodidae, Sarcophagidae and Syrphidae (Kirby 1890).…”

“…Cordeiro et al (2008) added one species of Culicidae; Oliveira et al (2009Oliveira et al ( , 2010 added seven species of Drosophilidae and Carmo & Vasconcelos (2014) added one species of Calliphoridae, totaling 31 species of Diptera. The last paper was published recently treating all groups of insects and increasing the number of Diptera to 134 species/ morphospecies (Rafael et al 2020).…”