The community of Diptera (Insecta) colonizing axils of Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G.Don (Araceae), with records of Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in urban areas of Manaus, Amazonas

Abstract

Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G.Don grows and proliferates in shaded areas in several forest fragments in urban zones. The adult plant has axils that accumulate rain water (phytotelmata) and serve as breeding sites for several families of aquatic insects. The objective of this study was to determine the composition of the entomofauna associated with water accumulations in axils of A. macrorrhizos in urban areas of Manaus, Brazil. Individuals of A. macrorrhizos were sampled in five forest fragments, between April/2005 and March/2007 in urban areas of Manaus, totaling 184 sampling units. A manual suction hose was used for the removal of entomofauna. A total of 1,941 immatures of Diptera were collected representing the following families: Culicidae (96.5%), Chironomidae (2%), Psychodidae (0.7%), Ephydridae (0.7%) and Corethrellidae (0.1%). Five Culicidae species were identified: Wyeomyia melanocephala Dyar & Knab, 1906 (91.7%), Wy. ypsipola Dyar, 1922 (4.3%), Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) (2.3%), Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) (1.5%) and Johnbelkinia longipes (Fabricius, 1805) (0.1%). The members of Culicidae were the most abundant, confirming the importance of this group in communities associated with phytotelmata, with a positive relation to the volume of water (p < 0.05). The occurrence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in axils of A. macrorrhizos demonstrates the potential of this Araceae as a breeding site of these medically important species. However, the real contribution of this Araceae in the maintenance and dispersion of populations of these two species of mosquitoes throughout the year should be further studied.

Bromeliad phytotelmata: the first scientometric study

“…From 2003 onwards, there was significant growth in South American publications and a progressive increase in papers published, making this region, especially Brazil, the largest producer of scientific publications on phytotelmata in bromeliads in the world. This reflects the fact that South America is the region with the greatest distribution of bromeliad species in the Neotropical region, mainly in the Atlantic and Amazon forests (Blum et al, 2011;Ferreira-Keppler, 2017;Giongo et al, 2019). Another important point that may have influenced the increase in the number of publications was the creation and expansion of ecological research centers in South America.…”

<b>Trends in the scientific production on aquatic microhabitats phytotelmata: a scientometric study

“…Aquatic microhabitats called phytotelmata can be found in hollow parts of plant branches, bunching of leaf axils, flowers, fallen fruits and bracts (Brouard et al, 2012;Ferreira-Keppler, Neiss, Torreias, & Campos, 2017) where there is accumulation of water, debris and decomposing organic matter, which maintains a complex trophic chain (Panizon, Oliveira, & Bosa, 2014). These environments are colonized by different taxonomic groups, such as: bacteria, fungi, mites, algae, macroinvertebrates and some vertebrates, such as anuran amphibians (Safar, Gomes, Marques, Lachance, & Rosa, 2013;Robaiana, Souza, Gomes, Cardoso, & Almeida, 2015).…”