Abstract:The aim of this study was to characterize galls of three species of the Copaifera genus (C. sabulicola, C. luetzelburgii and C. depilis), which occur sympatrically in a Cerrado area from Bahia state. A total of 23 gall morphotypes were found, 9 morphotypes on C. sabulicola, 7 on C. luetzelburgii and 7 on C. depilis. Galls predominated on leaves and stems. The most abundant colours found among galls were brown and green. Regarding the period of the year, from 35,511 leaflets analysed, 16,322 were collected in the dry season and 19,189 in the rainy season. In the dry season, 1,635 leaflets having galls were observed, and the highest proportion was observed on C. luetzelburgii (16.31%). In relation to the rainy season, there is statistical difference in the incidence of leaflets with galls between C. sabulicola and C. depilis, these two species are affected differently during the rainy season. In general, most of the gall morphotypes were more abundant in the dry season. The gallers of 18 morphotypes cannot be determined, because the gall samples were collected occupied by parasitoids or without dwellers. Cecidomyiids induced galls in five morphotypes. Associated invertebrates belonging to the orders Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Acari were found among all gall morphotypes. The results obtained here indicate that the three species of Copaifera have an expressive number of galls, but lower than reported in the literature for C. langsdorffii, which is considered a super host. Keywords

Among the plant diversity of the Cerrado, the genus Copaifera is commonly associated with galling insects. Here, we expand the knowledge about insect galls on Copaifera sabulicola J.A.S Costa & L.P. Queiroz (Fabaceae) by characterizing their occurrence in a stricto sensu vegetation area of the Brazilian Cerrado, Western Bahia, Brazil throughout the year. We randomly sampled 60 branches (50 cm long) from individuals of C. sabulicola, from April 2015 to March 2016. We found 11 morphotypes for C. sabulicola, of which 5 are new records. Further, we identified six gall-inducing insects, all belonging to Cecidomyiidae family. Regarding other arthropods associated with C. sabulicola, we observed inquilines, successors, and parasitoids, belonging to the orders Collembola, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera and Acari. The parasitoid fauna included three families of the order Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Encyrtidae and Eulophidae.

RESUMO Copaifera sabulicola é uma espécie endêmica da região centro-oeste da Bahia e extremo norte de Minas Gerais e ainda possui lacunas nas informações botânicas. O presente trabalho caracterizou anatomicamente o folíolo e peciólulo de C. sabulicola, com ênfase nas estruturas secretoras e histolocalizar as substâncias biologicamente ativas. Amostras de folhas foram fixadas em FNT, desidratadas em série etílica e incluídas em metacrilato. Os cortes histológicos foram corados com azul de toluidina e montados em lâmina permanente. Foram realizados testes histoquímicos e fitoquímicos, dissociação e diafanização da lâmina foliolar. Cavidades secretoras foram encontradas ao longo do mesofilo, nervura central e peciólulo. Foram observados feixes vasculares circundados por bainha fibrosa e cutícula ornamentada na nervura central e no bordo foliolar. Nos testes histoquímicos foram detectados compostos fenólicos, alcaloides, proteínas e lipídios estruturais, e na análise fitoquímica, taninos catéquicos, flavonas, flavonois, xantonas, esteroides e terpenois. Tais caracteres auxiliam na correta identificação da espécie.