Performace Comportamental e Larval de Neoleucinoides elegantalis (GUENÉE, 1854) (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE), em Diferentes Hospedeiros

Abstract

The tomato fruit borer, Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée, 1854) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is considered an important pest of solanaceae. This pest colonized fruits in development, remaining within these as they grow. The colonization of the fruits makes them unsuitable for market and industrial processing. The fact that the larvae of N. elegantalis demand a short time for colonization of the fruits limit the possibilities of strategies of control of this pest. Little has been investigated about the larval behavior of this pest in the different hosts. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the influence of different hosts (tomato, jilo, eggplant, sweet pepper and potato) on the behavior (the time spent until the larvae find a colonization site, the time spent in the penetration, the total time of colonization as well as the region of the fruit where the larva colonized the fruit) and larval performance (duration and viability). Differences were observed in the behavior of the larvae in different hosts. The larvae of N. elegantalis spent less time to find a colonization site when the hosts were jilo and tomato. The larval digging time and total colonization time were lower in tomato fruits. The site of colonization of the larvae varied according to the type of host. In tomato, 75% of the larvae used the apical region; in the jilo, 55% of the larvae colonized the fruit by the basal region, and in the pepper, eggplant and potato, the highest percentage of larvae colonized the host by the middle region (45, 40 and 40 %, respectively). Jilo fruits provided a faster development of the larvae. However, the highest larval viability was observed when larvae developed on tomato fruits. Although it is not a natural host, N. elegantalis developed in the potato, yet with very low viability.