Abstract.Brazil is the second world largest cassava producer and the largest one in South America. The aleyrodids, commonly known as whiteflies, are pests that affect cassava crops and might induce economic losses, due to high infestation levels. The objective of this work was to survey the whitefly species that occur feeding on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) crops in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Leaf samplings were conducted in five municipalities of the State and the species identification was realised according to morphological characters of the 4 th instar nymphs. Among the 16 aleyrodid species described feeding on cassava in the Neotropical region, Aleurothrixus aepim (Göeldi), Bemisia tuberculata Bondar and Trialeurodes manihoti (Bondar) were identified occurring in the State. The species B. tuberculata and T. manihoti are reported for the first time in the State of Rio de Janeiro, where they were found feeding on cassava crops.Keywords: Aleyrodid; monitoring; sampling. Ocorrências de Moscas-Brancas (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) em Lavouras de Mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) sob Condições de Campo no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.Resumo. O Brasil é o segundo maior produtor mundial de mandioca e o maior produtor do continente sul americano. Os aleirodídeos, insetos comumente conhecidos como moscas-brancas, são pragas que acometem esta cultura e podem causar prejuízos econômicos, em decorrência de altas infestações. O objetivo deste trabalho foi levantar as espécies de moscas-brancas que ocorrem na cultura da mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foram realizadas amostragens de folhas em lavouras localizadas em cinco municípios do estado e a identificação das espécies foi feita por caracteres morfológicos das ninfas de 4.º instar. Das 16 espécies de aleirodídeos descritas na região Neotropical em plantas de mandioca, três foram identificadas ocorrendo no estado, Aleurothrixus aepim (Göeldi), Bemisia tuberculata Bondar e Trialeurodes manihoti (Bondar). É registrada pela primeira vez no estado a presença das espécies B. tuberculata e T. manihoti em lavouras de mandioca.Palavras-Chave: Aleirodídeo; levantamento; monitoramento.

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae), is currently grown extensively throughout the intertropical zones of the world, including Brazil, where it constitutes an important source of income for growers. Although whiteflies are not normally considered coconut pests, these insects can damage crops directly by sucking the sap, which weakens the plant; indirect damage may be caused by sooty mold formation over the excreted honeydew and by the transmission of pathogens. Whiteflies have infested coconut plants in the northeastern, northern, and southeastern regions of Brazil. Infested materials were collected and the causative insect was identified as Aleurodicus pseudugesii Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). This is the first report of A. pseudugesii in Brazil as a pest of the coconut palm.

The fish Trachelyopterus striatulus (Siluriforms: Auchenipteridae) used to sample insects in a tropical reservoir. The study of aquatic environments is sometimes difficult to do with normal sampling methods that use gears. Insectivorous fishes represent good users of these ecosystems and analyzing the aquatic organisms present in fish stomachs, is an alternative way to determine resource abundance and utilization. In this paper, the potential of Trachelyopterus striatulus as an insect sampler was examined through dietary analyses of 383 individuals caught between April 1999 and March 2000 in Lajes Reservoir, a 30 km 2 oligotrophic impoundment in Southeast Brazil. We estimated frequency of occurrence and Schoener's index of similarity. Diet changes among seasons and reservoir zones were addressed with DCA and ANOVA analyses. Its diet was 92.1% insects (ten orders and nine families). Hymenoptera (57.90%), Odonata (39.76%), Trichoptera (27.41%), Ephemeroptera (26.25%) and Coleoptera (28.96%) were the most common groups. Highest insect occurrence and richness were recorded in autumn-summer, a period of greater rainfall and insect activity. Formicidae, the dominant prey item in all seasons, appeared to be especially important in spring, a season marked by shortness of food resources. Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera were the most consumed prey items in the other seasons. Highest insect occurrence and richness were recorded in the middle and upper reservoir zones, respectively. Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera prevailed in the upper zone, where small pristine rivers and tributaries are abundant, whereas Formicidae and Belostomatidae predominated in the lower and middle zones. Because of its abundance in many freshwater ecosystems of Brazil, the ubiquity of insects in its digestive tract and the low level of prey degradation, T. striatulus has potential as an insect sampler of Neotropical reservoirs. However, conventional sampling in Lajes Reservoir is necessary to compare the effectiveness of T. striatulus with other insect sampling methods.

A new species of the lucanid genus Sclerostomus Burmeister, 1847 (subgenus Altitatiayus Weinreich, 1960), S. trifurcatus sp. n., from the Itatiaia Mountains of the Brazilian Minas Gerais State, is described and illustrated. This new species is readily distinguished from all other species in the genus by the trifurcate apex of the mandible, and by the presence of a conspicuous tubercle on the frons.

Bromeliads harbour a great diversity of fauna species. The epiphytic habit of bromeliads is subject to higher temperatures and higher incidence of light than is the epigeic habit, so we expected individuals of the Vriesea neoglutinosa species to differ in terms of the composition, richness and abundance of their fauna associated with different bromeliad habits. We carried out a study in a restinga area on Marambaia Island, Brazil. We collected 32 bromeliads, of which 16 were epigeic and 16 were epiphytic, and found a total of 1125 individual animals of 88 morphospecies. Arthropods stood out in the sample, among which 68.2% were insects. Aquatic fauna was richer in epigeic bromeliads, and terrestrial fauna was richer in epiphytic bromeliads. As expected, species composition was different for aquatic and terrestrial fauna. The heterogeneity of the restinga environment and differences in the development stages of the fauna may be factors that influence its composition. Both bromeliad habits sustain fauna with several trophic guilds that compose a complex food web and depend on the bromeliad environment. As different habits lead to different fauna types, both epigeic and epiphytic bromeliads play a role in the maintenance of local biodiversity and are important for macrofauna conservation in restingas.