30 years of research on insect galls in Brazil: a scientometric review

Abstract

The first systematic studies on insect galls in Brazil date to the early 20th century, after which research on insect galls remained dormant in the country, with interest not reviving until the 1980s. The aim of this study was is to document historical trends in publications about insect galls in Brazil over the last 30 years. Papers about insect galls and galling species in Brazil published in peer-reviewed journals from 1988 to 2017 were compiled. A total of 1,378 papers were analyzed, of which 182 addressed insect galls in Brazil. The results showed that the number of publications on the subject has been increasing over the last 30 years, and especially in the last decade. The diversity of journals that published on the subject has also been increasing. The studies were concentrated on the following topics: ecology (94 papers), inventory (29) and taxonomy (27). Most of the insect gall inventories in Brazil took place in the Southeast Region (29 papers), followed by the Central-West and Northeast regions, with eight papers each. This study documents a trend toward increasing scientific production on insect galls in Brazil, but with significant geographical bias: the researchers involved are concentrated in the Southeast Brazilian region.

Are Fabaceae the principal super-hosts of galls in Brazil?

“…Three Brazilian journals, Biota Neotropica, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, and Brazilian Journal of Biology, were the most relevant in terms of number of publications. These were the same scientific journals that published the most papers about Brazilian insect galls during the last 30 years (Araújo 2018). Different aspects of insect gall induced on Fabaceae have been studied in Brazil, approximately 86% of the publications described the insect gall diversity and their plant hosts at different sites.…”

Mapping the habitat suitability of Andira humilis Mart. ex Benth. (Fabaceae) as a means to detect its associated galling species in Brazil

“…Research on galling insects have significant geographic bias (Araújo, 2018;Maia, 2013). Analyzing the last 30 years of research on insect galls in Brazil, Araújo (2018) noticed that more than 60% of the studies of gall inventories are carried out in the southeastern region, which coincides with researchers living in this region and that more than 50% of Brazilian states do not have studies on the occurrence of galling insects.…”

“…Research on galling insects have significant geographic bias (Araújo, 2018;Maia, 2013). Analyzing the last 30 years of research on insect galls in Brazil, Araújo (2018) noticed that more than 60% of the studies of gall inventories are carried out in the southeastern region, which coincides with researchers living in this region and that more than 50% of Brazilian states do not have studies on the occurrence of galling insects. Although our study here displays the habitat suitability for L. andirae, a poorly known and perhaps threatened species, to guide taxonomists during data collections, the lack of researchers interested in taxonomy might be a major limitation to record and map gall insect diversity in Brazil.…”

Distribution of gall-inducing arthropods in areas of deciduous seasonal forest of Parque da Sapucaia (Montes Claros, MG, Brazil): effects of anthropization, vegetation structure and seasonality

“…Gall midges of the Cecidomyiidae family are the richest and most abundant gall-inducing insects in the Neotropical region (Gagné, 1994). Despite this, evidence indicates that the diversity of this group is underestimated due to the large number of species that remain unknown, and to the insufficient number of taxonomists working with the group (see Espírito-Santo & Fernandes, 2007;Araújo, 2018;Hebert et al, 2016).…”