Biology and phenology of three leaf beetle species (Chrysomelidae) in a montane forest in southeast Brazil*

By

Flinte, Vivian
Hentz, Ethel
Morgado, Barbara
Monte Lima, Anne Caruliny do
Khattar, Gabriel
Monteiro, Ricardo Ferreira
Macedo, Margarete Valverde de

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

547

Pages

119-132

Subjects

altitude , Climate , host plant , population fluctuation , viviparity

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.547.9015

 

Abstract

The population phenology of the cassidines, Coptocycla arcuata and Omaspides trichroa, and the chrysomeline, Platyphora axillaris, was studied at Serra dos Órgãos National Park, State of Rio de Janeiro, southeast Brazil. Monthly surveys of larvae and adults were conducted between 2008 and 2011 at approximately 1000 m altitude on their respective host plants, Cordia polycephala (Boraginaceae), Ipomoea philomega (Convolvulaceae) and Solanum scuticum (Solanaceae). This is the first observation of larviparity and host record for P. axillaris. Although having different life history traits, all species showed similar phenologies. They were abundant from October to March, months of high temperatures and intense rainfall, with two distinct reproductive peaks in the same season. Abundance dropped abruptly during the coldest and driest months, from May to August. Frequently none of these species were recorded during June and July. This phenological pattern is similar to other Chrysomelidae living in subtropical areas of Brazil. Temperature and rainfall appear to be the major factors influencing the fluctuation of these three species.