Inventário da entomofauna associada à Eichhornia crassipes e Eichhornia azurae (Pontederiaceae) nos rios Curuá, Caxiuanã e Puraquequara na Estação Científica Ferreira Penna (ECFPn) em Caxiuanã, Melgaço-PA

Abstract

Aquatic macrophytes are important resources for thousands of insect species. Each part of the plant becomes a food source for some kind of insect. The present work aims to record and sample the invertebrate fauna associated with the aquatic macrophyte communities of the ECFPn in Caxiuanã. The entomofauna associated with the plants was collected with the help of entomological shovels and the identification was done at the family level. Samples were also collected from the plants under study to verify their damaged parts and to collect the associated insects. In the aquatic ecosystem of the Flona Caxiuanã, the Pontederiaceae family is represented by the species Eichhornia azurae, with no record of Eichhornia crassipes. The Curuá River is characterized by the low occurrence of the aquatic plants under study. This fact is attributed to the small amount of sediment in its black waters. The macrophytes studied were characterized by the presence of eaten leaves, with intact stolons, without holes or borers. They presented a characterized by the orders: Orthoptera, Diptera, Homoptera and Odonata, as well as Arachnids and Crustaceans. The bay of Caxiuanã is characterized by the large occurrence of Eichhornia azurae, due to the deposition of sediments in its white waters. Its leaves were little damaged, with absence of holes and borers in its stolons and roots. The entomofauna was represented by insects of the orders Orthoptera, Odonata, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, also associated with Arachnids and Crustacea. From the evidence of leaf damage of the few plants observed, it is assumed that Eichhornia azurae is being preyed upon by chewing insects of the order Ortoptera.