-Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) is an important pest of several crops, but especially on maize in Brazil. The implementation of biological control measures hinges on the identifi cation of its predators and other natural enemies. As a means of identifying predators, antibodies against S. frugiperda eggs were generated by inoculating rabbits with macerated S. frugiperda eggs, and the production of antibodies against S. frugiperda egg proteins was verifi ed by double immunodiffusion (DID). These antibodies were then utilized in another serological technique, counterimmunoeletrophoresis (CIE), to identify insects that could have ingested S. frugiperda eggs. Macerates of entire insects collected in maize plantations and of individual parts of their digestive tract, including the crop, were the source of antigens in the CIE, while predators fed S. frugiperda eggs in the laboratory served as the control. Antibodies produced by the inoculated rabbits were effective in detecting S. frugiperda egg proteins, especially if crop macerates were used as antigens. Among the species of insects collected from maize plantations, Lagria villosa Fabricius (Coleoptera: Lagriidae) and a species of Lygaeidae (Hemiptera) were identifi ed as possible S. frugiperda predators.

The Dengue virus is the main arbovirus that affects man in terms of morbidity and mortality. The detection of the virus is very important for epidemiological surveillance, so here we propose to standardize and compare the immunodot blot (IDB) and multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (M-RT-PCR) techniques to detect and characterize the dengue virus (DENV) serotypes in samples of Aedes aegypti larvae. Thus, the IDB and M-RT-PCR techniques were standardized using macerated samples of larvae collected in nature. The use of monoclonal antibodies in IDB has not shown great results, but DENV detection through this method was possible using polyclonal antibodies. The distinction of serotypes 1, 2 and 3 was carried out by M-RT-PCR