Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Hernndez, M. Cristina
South American Biological Control Laboratory, USDA-ARS. Bolvar 1559, (B1686EFA) Hurlingham,
Buenos Aires, Argentina; e-mail: crisher@speedy.com.ar
INTRODUCTION
The specimens were collected by H. A. Cordo, A. J. Sosa and the author from 1995
to 2004, during trips in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ros, Corrientes,
Chaco and Formosa, on the Paraguay-Paran Rivers basins. H. A. Cordo also
surveyed on E. crassipes in the upper Amazon River, near Iquitos in Per (6-22
Nov. 2001), and near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (5-25 Apr. 2000) (Cordo, unpubl.).
These trips were part of the explorations for the natural enemies of waterhyacinth
performed at the South American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL), in
Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Petioles and stems of Eichhornia crassipes, E. azurea, Pontederia cordata and P.
subovata with mines of Thrypticus sp. were gathered. They were kept at room
temperature in opaque bottles with a translucent vial in the cap. The newly
emerged flies were collected from the vials once a day, and preserved in 80 %
ethanol in the SABCL collection. The species identification was carried out by the
author, based on the male genitalia characters. To discover the mine's
characteristics and the larval feeding habits, sections of the petioles were cut and
the mines were traced using a stereomicroscope.
RESULTS
Figs. 1-9. Thrypticus mines in their host plants. 1, Aerenchyma of Eichhornia crassipes. ac, air-filled
cell;,di, diaphragm; ep, epidermis; sp, septa; vb, vascular bundle. 2, Thrypticus truncatus in E.
crassipes. 3, T. sagittatus in E. crassipes. 4, globous petioles of E. crassipes with T. circularis
mines. 5, detail of T. circularis mines, orifices to exterior. 6, T. romus in E. azurea. 7, T. formosensis
in Pontederia cordata. 8, sub-aquatic rhizome of P. subovata with T. taragui. 9, T. taragui in P.
subovata stem. Arrows in Figs. 2, 4, 6 and 8, signal the mines. Scale bars = 1 cm.
The mines are made by a series of adjacent air cells connected by the holes made
in the septa by the larvae. The size of the holes is always equal to the diameter of
the larval body. There are indications that suggest that when the larva is burrowing
the mine, it may choose the direction of the mine according to the size of the aerial
cell in front of its head. The larva rests its body in the septa of the aerenchyma,
therefore if the size of the airfilled cell immediately ahead is longer than the length
of the first part of the body, it changes direction and moves towards a more closely
positioned septum. Larvae of all the observed species have similar feeding habits,
obtaining their nourishment from the sap of the feeding holes scraped in the
vascular bundles.
DISCUSSION
The truncatus group species share morphological and bionomic characters. They
are all associated to the Eichhornia and Pontederia genera, and use the
microenvironment inside the aerenchyma to develop. This habitat provides them
with nutrition and protection from predators and parasites. Such specialized way of
life associated with two genera of plants, belonging to the same family, can reflect
an ancient insect-host relationship. This assumption is supported by the fact that 7
species in the truncatus group were found on the genus Eichhornia, ancestor of
Pontederia, on which only two species were found.
Thrypticus truncatus, T. sagittatus, T. circularis, T. yanayacu and T. chanophalus,
all of them associated with Eichhornia crassipes, are sympatric in several places
(Bickel & Hernndez, 2004); they use the same environment, the aerenchyma, and
seem to have the same niche, as sap feeders developing enclosed in the
aerenchyma.
Thrypticus circularis has differentiated utilizing only globular petioles, but the other
species live in the same part of the elongated petioles and seem to have similar
behavior. More detailed research is necessary to understand if they really have
overlapped niches, and if they experience inter-specific competition.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My gratitude to Dr. Axel O. Bachmann for his professional example and unconditional help in
different times during my career. I also want to thank Hugo Cordo and Alejandro Sosa for the
survey's trip; to Guillermo Willie Cabrera, Joaqun Sacco and anonymous reviewers for reading the
manuscript and providing valuable suggestions.
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Recibido: 11-05-2007;
aceptado: 4-09-2007
Laboratorio de Entomologa
Instituto de Investigaciones de las Zonas ridas (IADIZA-CONICET)
Centro Cientfico Tecnolgico CONICET-Mendoza
C.C. 507, (5500) Mendoza
Repblica Argentina
Tel.: (54 261) 524-4023
Fax: (54 261) 524-4101, 524-4001
sea@mendoza-conicet.gov.ar