Interação indireta: a herbivoria de ácaros aos frutos de coqueiro interfere na história de vida de Atheloca bondari (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Abstract

Interaction mediated by phenotypic changes in plants is a frequent event in the most diverse ecosystems and import for the formation of herbivore communities. Attack by herbivores can reduce the amount of food available, or induce chemical, structural, morphological and phenological changes in its host. These changes in the plant potentially interfere with the distribution, performance and behavior of other species that share the host plant, even if spatial-temporally separated. The arrival of a first herbivore may decrease the amount of food available for a subsequent herbivore, or induce chemical, structural, morphological, phenological changes in the host plants. The change in the external region of the coconut fruit (Cocos nucifera) potentially changes the pattern of herbivore occurrence in the plant. In coconut palm, Aceria guerreronis (Acari: Eriophyidae), Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum (Acari: Tarsonemidae) and Atheloca bondari (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) develope under the perianth of coconut fruits. A taxonomic study was performed to confirm that At. bondari is the species that occurs in Brazil. The mites cause necrosis in the epicarp of coconut, where Ac. guerreronis necroses often cause cracks, while necroses of S. concavuscutum do not. Atheloca bondari larvae use the cracks of necrosis caused by Ac. guerreronis to infest the coconuts. The distribution of At. bondari in the coconut field is influenced by the presence or absence of Ac. guerreronis, moreover, we show that At. bondari infestation is correlated with the largest fallen fruits. Mites-infested fruits distinctly affected the performance and preference of At. bondari, where Ac. guerreronis-infested fruits received a larger number of eggs and improved the performance of At. bondari. Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum-infested fruits modified the oviposition preference of females but did not affect the performance of At. bondari larvae. The importance of At. bondari as a coconut palm pest is directly related to the presence of mites.