Agrilozodes suarezi (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) as secondary colonizer of a Sclerolobium sp. branch girdled by Oncideres saga (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

Abstract

A large number of invertebrates use dead wood as shelter, food, and as a microclimate refuge. Ecological succession in this substrate depends on primary colonization, stimulating or inhibiting future successions. Twig girdler beetles girdle and lay eggs inside the bark of branches and trunks of different host plants. Branch girdling blocks the phloem flow, making it more nutritive for offspring and future colonizers. This study, in the State Park of Rio Doce (PERD), Minas Gerais, Brazil, is the first report of a secondary colonization by borers on a Sclerolobium sp. branch girdled by Oncideres saga (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). A Sclerolobium sp. branch, girdled by O. saga was collected in Rio Doce State Park, cut into pieces, and brought to the laboratory, where it was stored in a cardboard box and moistened monthly. A total of 28 adult beetles of 4 species emerged from this branch. Agrilozodes suarezi was found for the first time developing inside a branch of its first host plant. The life history of insects of the genus Agrilozodes is poorly known, because this is the first report of aspects of its biology.