Biotechnology Centre of Azores

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Diversity of Lepidoptera recorded in a forest nursery of Nordeste county on São Miguel Island (Azores)

Publication . Vieira, Virgilio; Oliveira, Luísa; Soares, António O.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Borges, Isabel; Tavares, João

The diversity of moth species (Insecta, Lepidoptera) recorded in the forest nursery of Nordeste county on São Miguel island (Azores) is given. Adults were sampled between March and December 2019 using three methods: (i) light trap to caught Noctuidae species, (ii) open-sided delta trap baited with a synthetic female sex pheromone lure to attract Epiphyas postvittana males and (iii) entomological net to identify microlepidopteran moths. A total of 10160 adults belonging to 33 lepidopteran species were recorded and listed by families, including: Argyresthiidae 1 (3%), Crambidae 4 (12%), Erebidae 1 (3%), Geometridae 5 (15%), Noctuidae 18 (55%), Sphingidae 1 (3%), Tineidae 1 (3%), and Tortricidae 2 (6%). The families Noctuidae, Geometridae and Crambidae were the most diverse. Those with the highest abundance of adults was the Noctuidae family followed by the Crambidae, Trotricidae and Tineidae. The number of caught adults was consistently higher during spring and summer, decreasing sharply in late fall. For 14 species caught in the light trap the adult sex ratio was favorable to females, except for Xestia c-nigrum which was favorable to males. An analysis of the colonization status, feeding and primary hosts of these endemic, native or exotic moth species suggests that plants reared in forest nurseries, being attacked by such insects, facilitates our understanding of the diversity of lepidopterans that establish in Laurel Forest environments and to what extent there is a need to monitor and control them mainly with biological control agents.

2022-06Dataset

Open access

Diversity of Lepidoptera (Insecta) recorded in a forest nursery of Nordeste County on São Miguel Island (Azores)

Publication . Vieira, Virgilio; Oliveira, Luísa; Soares, António O.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Borges, Isabel; Tavares, João

BACKGROUND: The diversity of moth species (Insecta, Lepidoptera) recorded in the forest nursery of Nordeste County on São Miguel Island (Azores) is given. Adults were sampled between March and December 2019 using three methods: (i) light trap to catch Noctuidae species, (ii) open-sided delta trap baited with a synthetic female sex pheromone lure to attract Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) males and (iii) entomological net to collect microlepidopteran moths. This contribution focuses mainly on the diversity of moths present in one forest nursery of Nordeste County of São Miguel Island (Azores), especially on the species associated with endemic and native plant species. It also contributes to better plan strategies for integrated protection and conservation measures, since nurseries host a great diversity of plants from the Laurel Forest, which may attract many lepidopteran species. NEW INFORMATION: A total of 10160 adults belonging to 33 lepidopteran species were recorded and listed by families, including: Argyresthiidae, one species (3%), Crambidae, four species (12%), Erebidae, one species (3%), Geometridae, five species (15%), Noctuidae, 18 species (55%), Sphingidae, one species (3%), Tineidae, one species (3%) and Tortricidae, two species (6%). The families Noctuidae, Geometridae and Crambidae were the most diverse. Those with the highest abundance of adults were the Noctuidae family, followed by the Geometridae, Crambidae, Tortricidae and Tineidae. The number of caught adults was consistently higher during spring and summer, decreasing sharply in late autumn. For 13 species caught in the light trap, the adult sex ratio was favourable to females. An analysis of the colonisation status, feeding and primary hosts of these endemic, native or exotic moth species contributes to our understanding of the factors that may lead to their establishment in Laurel Forest environments and to what extent there is a need to monitor and control them mainly with biological control agents.

2022-10Journal article

Open access

Contrasting Phenotypic Variability of Life-History Traits of Two Feral Populations of Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae) under Two Alternative Diets

Publication . Borges, Isabel; Oliveira, Luísa; Durão, Ana C.; Arruda, Patrícia Melo; Figueiredo, Elisabete; Franco, José Carlos; Lucas, Éric; Soares, António O.

Tuta absoluta is a major pest attacking tomato crops. This invasive species emerged in Europe (Spain) in 2006, and 3 years later it spread to Portugal. In 2009/2010, it was recorded for the first time in the Azores archipelago. Macrolophus pygmaeus is a predator widely used as biological control agent against the tomato leaf miner. This study contrasted the life-history traits and population growth parameters of two feral populations of M. pygmaeus, one from Portugal mainland and one from the Azores archipelago. The predators were tested on single prey diet, either of Ephestia kuehniella eggs, a factitious prey used for mass rearing of mirids, or T. absoluta eggs. We predicted that populations would express differences in its phenotypic characteristics, with the Azorean population displaying low performance due to likely low genetic diversity, as expected for insular populations. Our results revealed the inexistence of phenotypic differences in several life history traits, such as immature developmental time, female longevity, males’ body weight and sex ratio. Contrary to our predictions, traits with direct impact on fitness, such as lifetime fertility (95.78 ± 14.23 vs. 61.38 ± 13.52 nymphs), explain better performances for the population of the Azores. Azorean M. pygmaeus females were larger, matured earlier and reproduced at a higher rate for longer periods, than mainland females. Therefore, population growth parameters show a positive advantage for the population of the Azores, fed on T. absoluta (time required for doubling the population Azores, Ek: 8.42 ± 0.50, Ta: 5.76 ± 0.31 and mainland, Ek: 10.88 ± 1.94, Ta: 12.07 ± 3.15). Biological performance of M. pygmaeus was similar when fed with T. absoluta or E. kuehniella that could be beneficial both to optimize mass production of the predator and biological control of the pest. Our results are discussed as well in a fundamental perspective, seeking if differences in biological performance can be explained by lower genetic diversity driven by geographic isolation.

2022-12Journal article

Open access

Abundance of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) and its natural enemies on tomato crops in greenhouses of different production modes (Azores, Portugal) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Publication . Oliveira, Luísa; Borges, Isabel; Silva, Dário; Durão, Ana C.; Soares, António O.

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a major pest of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops produced in the Azorean greenhouses. Despite the major concerns, no systematic study is available to describe population dynamics of T. absoluta and its natural enemies. The objective of this study was to compare the abundance of the pest (eggs and larvae) and its native natural enemies, in greenhouses of tomato crops produced under different production modes (biological, traditional and intensive). A sampling program was carried out during 2020-2021 and two production seasons of spring-summer and fall-winter. The abundance of eggs and larvae of T. absoluta were higher in tomato crops in intensive production and lower in biological production mode. Infestations by eggs and larvae were higher in spring-summer seasons. The natural enemies recorded were Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur, 1839) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Dicyphus cerastii Wagner, 1951 (Hemiptera: Miridae) and Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja & Nagarkatti, 1960 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). The abundance of natural enemies were very low and, virtually, do not occur during the fall-winter seasons. We found no significant difference between the abundance of M. pygmaeus amongst tomato crops from different production mode but D. cerastii was more abundant on greenhouses of biological production mode. Parasitism rate by T. achaeae does not differ between production modes and crop seasons. Considering the major concerns of the growers by the infestation levels of their crops, together with low abundance of native natural enemies, we suggest the use of biological production mode or an inoculative or augmentative strategy to control the pest in intensive and traditional productions modes.

2023-03Journal article

Open access