A febre maculosa foi identificada no Estado de Sâo Paulo e Minas Gerais na primeira metade deste século38914.

The European pepper moth Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller, 1847) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), despite being among the principal pests of strawberries in Brazil. However, biological control methods are rarely documented for this pest. In the current study, the goal was to select promising Trichogramma strains to enable the control of D. fovealis and to determine the acceptance of different ages of host eggs by the parasitoid. In the first bioassay, evaluations were done on the biological parameters of five strains of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and one of Trichogramma galloi Zucchi (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). The best performance came from the strains, Tp18 (T. pretiosum) and Tg (T. galloi), showing parasitism and viability higher than 50 and 90%, respectively. Another bioassay revealed the acceptance of both these species (Tp18 and Tg) for different ages of D. fovealis eggs. All host ages were accepted by T. pretiosum (Tp18) and T. galloi, with a preference for younger eggs (65% parasitism). Adult emergence, number of individuals per egg and sex ratio revealed no significant differences with respect to the host age. The current study provides pertinent data on the selection and performance of Trichogramma species on D. fovealis eggs of different ages.

In this study, the effect of temperature on the growth of the European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller), was assessed at five constant temperatures (18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 °C). The European pepper moth was observed to complete its developmental stages (from egg to adult) at all the temperatures evaluated. From the results, it was evident that temperature affected the rate and development time of all the growth stages, to a significant degree. The length in time of the embryonic, larval, pupal and total (egg-adult) stages was observed to drop as the temperature rose from 18 to 24 °C, but remained constant between 27 and 30 °C. The developmental time in the pre-pupal stage dropped between 18 and 30 °C. The European pepper moth takes 454 degree-days to complete development at 11.7 °C temperature threshold. The D. fovealis survival was thus inversely proportional to temperature over range of 18 to 30 °C. On assessing the number of annual generations for the five largest strawberry-producing municipalities in Espírito Santo State, an average of 5.5 generations per year was estimated. This is a first report of temperature on D. fovealis development.

The objective of this work was to determine the functional response of the parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum on Trichoplusia ni eggs at different temperatures (20, 25, and 30ºC) and egg densities (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 eggs). The logistic regression showed a type-II functional response for all temperatures. The search efficiency of T. pretiosum was reported as 0.049±0.0019, 0.069±0.0042 and 0.068±0.0033 per hour, and the estimated handling times were 1.82±0.0424, 1.69±0.0398, and 1.54±0.0498 hour at 20, 25 and 30ºC, respectively. Females of Trichogramma pretiosum show greater efficiency at 30ºC and a type-II functional response. The parasitism rate decreases, when host density increases.

The Ponkan tangerine (Citrus reticulata) has wide acceptance by consumers due to several properties; it is a colorful, sweet, and easy to peel fruit. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ecophysiological aspects of the response of plants of Ponkan tangerine to shading, according to relative intensity of light, in order to assess the adaptability of this species to shade. Leaves were collected from the upper canopy (sun) and lower canopy (shade) to determine the ecophysiological aspects. Cuts were by hand made to assess the thickness of palisade parenchyma, number of stomata (mm 2) and total thickness of the leaf. Cross-sections of the middle part of leaves were obtained to assess the parenchyma, using a body-of-evidence, and for the stomata cuts were made on the abaxial surfaces. Chlorophyll was extracted from the leaves of Ponkan Tangerine and subsequently measured in a spectrophotometer at wave lengths 645 nm and 663 nm. The ratio between chlorophyll a and b tended to increase with increased intensity of light. Shading did not affect the anatomical characteristics of Ponkan tangerine plants. However, chlorophyll levels were different in sun and shade leaves. RESUMEN Ponkan mandarina (Citrus reticulata) tiene una amplia aceptación por los consumidores debido a varios aspectos: es una fruta colorida, cáscara dulce y fácil de pelar. El propósito de este estudio fue evaluar la respuesta a la sombra de las plantas de Ponkan mandarina (Citrus reticulata) respecto de sus aspectos ecofisiológicos, de acuerdo con la intensidad relativa de la luz, a fin de evaluar la capacidad de adaptación de esta especie para dar sombra. Las hojas se obtienen de la cubierta superior (sol) y la cubierta inferior (sombra) para la determinación de los aspectos ecofisiológicos. Cortes en las manos se hicieron para la evaluación del espesor de parénquima de empalizada, número de estomas (mm 2) y el espesor total de la hoja. Las secciones transversales de la parte media de la licencia se obtuvieron, para la evaluación de la parénquima, utilizando un cuerpo de evidencia, y para el estomática se hicieron cortes en la superficie abaxial. La clorofila se extrajo de las hojas de mandarina Ponkan y posteriormente se mide en espectrofotometría a longitudes de onda de 645 nm y 663 nm. La relación entre la clorofila a y b tendía a aumentar con una mayor intensidad de luz. El sombreado no afectó a las características anatómicas de las plantas de mandarina Ponkan. Sin embargo, los niveles de clorofila fueron diferentes en "sol" y se va "sombra". Palabras clave: Ponkan mandarina, características anatómicas, clorofila, sombreado.