We surveyed 58 scientific articles published between 1987 and 2018 to evaluate the representative nature of the Fabaceae as hosts of insect galls in Brazil, and to gain a better understanding of the interactions between gall-inducing insects and plants and the evolutionary ecology of those insects and their plant hosts. A total of 438 gall morphotypes were reported as being generated by gall-inducing insects on 178 Fabaceae host species belonging to five subfamilies Caesalpinioideae (22 genera and 79 spp.), Cercidoideae (1 genus and 11 spp.), Detarioideae (6 genera and 17 spp.), Dialioideae (2 genera and 2 spp.), and Papilionoideae (26 genera and 69 spp.). The plant host genera demonstrating the greatest richness of gall-inducing insects were Inga, Bauhinia, and Copaifera; the super-host species were Copaifera langsdorffii, Bauhinia brevipes, and Copaifera sabulicola. Most of the galls were observed on leaves; they were mostly globoid, green, glabrous, isolated, and unilocular. The principal gall inducers belonged to Cecidomyiidae; the associated fauna was represented by Collembola, Coleoptera, Diptera, Formicidae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Pseudoscorpionida, and Thysanoptera. Fabaceae are the principal super-hosts of galls and one of the most diverse families of angiosperms in Brazil, aggregating evidences for the hypotheses of floristic richness and taxon size.

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

Most Neotropical species of Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) have been described from Brazil, but a list of species with occurrence in the country has never been published. Little is known about their distribution and richness in the Brazilian phytogeographic domains. Additionally, a list of host plant species has never been gathered. The present study aims to fill these knowledge gaps and provides an overview of this family in Brazil. For this, data were obtained mainly from the literature, but also from the Cecidomyiidae collection of Museu Nacional and two herbaria (RB and R). Based on the site "Flora do Brasil 2020", botanical names were updated and plant species origin and distribution were verified. A total of 265 gall midge species have been recorded in Brazil, most from the Atlantic Forest (183), followed by Cerrado (60), and Amazon Forest (29). The other phytogeographic domains shelter from five to ten species. Phytophagous gall midges occur on 128 plant species of 52 families, almost all native, being 43 endemic to Brazil (21 endemic to Atlantic Forest, five to Cerrado, and one to Amazon). Although, the taxonomical knowledge is focused on the Atlantic Forest, each domain has its own fauna composition and these informations can be useful for environmental conservational purposes. About 58% of the Brazilian fauna are known only from the type-locality. In order to fill these gaps, it is necessary and important to collect in uninvestigated areas.

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Cecidomyiidae (Diptera, Insecta): richness of species and distribution in Brazil

Inventories of insect galls in gallery forests in Northeastern Brazil have been quite infrequent, and the richness of gall-inducing insects in that vegetation type has been little unknown. To contribute to our knowledge of galls, galling insects, and their host plants from gallery forest habitats in Northeastern Brazil, we documented and characterized the macroscopic aspects of the galls, identified the plant hosts and their endemism level and surveyed the associated fauna in an area of gallery forest in Caetite, Bahia State. We found 30 different gall morphotypes on 20 host plant species belonging to 17 genera and 13 families. The main host families of galls were Leguminosae and Myrtaceae with ten and four morphotypes, respectively. Most galls occurred on leaves and were globoid, green, glabrous, and grouped. Most of the gall-inducing insect species found belonged to Diptera (Cecidomyiidae) and Coleoptera, while the associated fauna was represented by Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Collembola, and Thysanoptera. We recorded galls the first time on six plant species. These results reinforce the importance of gall inventories in gallery forest areas not yet examined to better understand gall richness, galling insects, and their host plants in that vegetation type.

Insect galls and their host plants in gallery forest in Bahia State, Brazil

Galls on Bauhinia cupulata (Fabaceae) were investigated in two physiognomies of the Cerrado, riparian and dry forest, in the municipality of Barreiras (Western Bahia, Brazil) from October 2012 to July 2014. Four insect gall morphotypes were found. They were characterized based on shape, color, indumentum, plant organ of occurrence and galling taxon. A new galling species, Schizomyia barreirensis, is described, illustrated (larva, pupa, male, female and gall) and compared to other Neotropical congeneric species.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbent/v63n4/0085-5626-rbent-63-04-0356.pdf

Insect galls on Bauhinia cupulata (Fabaceae): morphotypes characterization and description of a new species of Schizomyia (Cecidomyiidae, Diptera)

Several records of associated fauna, including parasitoids, inquilines, predators, and successors, have been reported by insect gall inventories in Brazilian restingas. Although most guilds are well established, inquilines have frequently been misinterpreted. In this paper, the inquilinous fauna of insect galls is revised based on five criteria: food habit; coexistence with the inducer; modification of gall tissues or production of new tissues; phylogenetic relationship with the inducer; and mobility. Gall inventories dated from 1988 to 2019 were examined, totaling 16 publications, eight of them with inquiline records. This guild was reported in 53 gall morphotypes in 44 plant species and four morphospecies distributed among 36 genera of 24 host families for a total of 65 records. Most inquilines were repositioned into the cecidophage guild and others into the kleptoparasite guild, resulting in a large reduction in the frequency of inquilines (from 65 to five records), and in first reports of cecidophages and kleptoparasites, with 46 and 13 records, respectively. Cecidophage was the most diverse guild with insects of five orders (Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Thysanoptera) while kleptoparasites were represented only by two orders (Diptera and Hymenoptera) and inquiline solely by Hymenoptera. Other results indicate that Leptothorax sp. (Formicidae) could be a successor and not an inquiline.

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Review of the inquilinous fauna associated with insect galls in Brazilian restingas.

In this study, we report the first records and morphological characterization of galls in a Cerrado area in western Bahia, Brazil. The data were collected monthly over two hours between March and September 2015. Fifteen gall morphotypes were found in twelve plant species distributed among seven families. The plant family with the greatest richness of galls was Fabaceae (n = 8). The following gall morphologies were found: globoid, lenticular, marginal leaf roll, conical, cylindrical, fusiform, spherical and pocket shaped. Cecidomyiidae induced globoid, lenticular, conical, fusiform, spherical and cylindrical morphotypes. In addition, species of microhymenoptera belonging to the Eulophidae, Eurytomidae and Encyrtidae families were found. Marginal leaf roll and pocket-shaped galls induced by Thysanoptera were also verified. Springtails were also identified as a successor. Undescribed species of Schizomyia and Lopesia were recorded in B. cupulata and Andira humilis, respectively.

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D. Calado

Papers

Morphological characterization of insect galls and new records of associated invertebrates in a Cerrado area in Bahia State, Brazil.