Emergence and Infestation Level of Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Coffee Berries on the Plant or on the Ground During the Post-harvest Period in Brazil.

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the most important coffee pest in most of the coffee growing countries. CBB females leave old dry berries after harvest and search for dry noninfested berries on the plant or on the ground to lay eggs or to use as refuge until new berries are available on the coffee trees in the following season. The CBB infestation level and emergence from berries on the ground or on the plants were evaluated in two fields post-harvest in the Spring in Brazil over two seasons. Twenty infested or noninfested berries in separate cages (250 ml plastic cups) were placed on the plants or on the ground under the tree canopy, in each field. The number of infested berries and CBB females that emerged from the infested berries were recorded weekly. CBB emergence was higher from berries on the ground than those on the coffee trees in both seasons, whereas CBB infestation was higher on coffee berries on the plants than those on the ground in season I. Insolation (hours of sunlight) and temperature were the main covariates that affected emergence and infestation by this insect. The results are discussed for monitoring CBB during the time of dispersal with implications on integrated management of this pest.

Complete genome sequence and structural characterization of a novel iflavirus isolated from Opsiphanes invirae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

Opsiphanes invirae (Lepidopera: Nymphalidae) is a common pest of the African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) in Brazil. Dead larvae were collected in canopy of oil palm trees cultivated in the amazon region (Para State) and analyzed for viral infection. Electron microscopy of caterpillar extracts showed an icosahedral picorna-like virus particle with 30nm in diameter. Total RNA extracted from partially purified virus particles was sequenced. A contig of 10,083 nucleotides (nt) was identified and showed to encode one single predicted polyprotein with 3185 amino acid residues. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the new virus was closely related to another lepidopteran infective virus Spodoptera exigua iflavirus 1(SeIV-1), with 35% amino acid pairwise identity. The novel virus fulfils all ICTV requirements for a new iflavirus species and was named Opsiphanes invirae Iflavirus 1 (OilV-1).