Análise comparativa dos surtos e danos causados pelos besouros desfolhadores Costalimaita ferruginea (Fabricius, 1801) e Costalimaita lurida (Lefévre, 1891) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) em plantios de eucalipto

摘要

The leaf beetles Costalimaita ferruginea (Fabricius, 1801) and Costalimaita lurida (Lefévre, 1891) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are important eucalyptus pests. The biology aspects and pest behavior of C. ferruginea have already been characterized by previous works, but there are no studies about C. lurida potential to cause damage to eucalyptus yield. This work evaluated and compared the pest outbreaks and injuries caused by C. ferruginea and C. lurida to young eucalypt plantations. We have monitored 202.8 thousand hectares of clonal eucalypt plantations in Espírito Santo, Bahia and Minas Gerais states in Brazil during the critical period of pest occurrence (warmest and rainiest seasons). The pest peaks were characterized by the measuring of samples regarding the pest occurrence, the severity of attack and the absolute and relative population of insects per attacked plant. In general, C. lurida pest behavior was similar to C. ferruginea regarding the period of occurrence and injuries patterns. However, C. lurida has shown heavier infestations considering absolute peaks (insects per plant), relative outbreaks (ratio between number of insects and plant height) and was also distributed in a bigger area, thus causing more damage than C. ferruginea. The beetle C. lurida should be monitored in the same way and making use of the same criteria and control premises developed to C. ferruginea. Additionally to the obtained results, this work recorded for the first time the occurrence of C. lurida in Bahia State and damages caused by this insect on wild guava plants of Psidium guineense Swartz (Myrtaceae).