The phytosanitary problems leading to lower citrus production in the state of Rio de Janeiro are due to the insufficient knowledge on insect species affecting citrus orchards. The objective of this research was to study the geographic distribution of phytophagous insect species, associated with citrus production, in 17 municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, from January 2000 to June 2001. The municipalities are located in four regions: Baixada Fluminense (the lowland region), Região Serrana (the mountain region), Região das Baixadas Litorâneas (the citrus producing marshland region) and Região Noroeste (the Northern region). Samples were collected from one orchard in each municipality by means of the presence or absence methodology. Eleven species were found in three municipalities and six species were found in three others. The species Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell) and Selenaspidus articulatus (Morgan) were found in 16 municipalities. Lepidosaphis beckii (Newman) and Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy) were found in only seven and 10 municipalities, respectively.
Bionomy; ecology; hemipterous; whitefly; scale insect
