Field sampling was carried out in Ouro Preto d'Oeste Rondônia (10°45'S and 62°15'W) to evaluate the mycobiota associated with Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari [cuticle, mouth, prothorax (mycangia), gut and feces] and its galleries on berries of Coffea canephora Pierre. Ten genera (201 isolates) were directly related with the insect while five genera (20 isolates) were related with galleries on berries. All the genera identified in the insects were also present in their galleries, what indicates that boring may be an active way of fungi inoculation by H. hampei. The fungi genera were more diverse in the mouth and prothorax of borers, and lower in feces. Fusarium, Penicillium and Geotrichum, with abundance of 55.7, 24.3 and 10.8%, respectively, were dominant genera. In the galleries Fusarium, Geotrichum, Trichoderma and Aspergillus with abundance of 33.3, 29.6, 18.5 and 14.8%, respectively, were dominant genera. The overall presence of Fusarium in coffee berry borer and its galleries) reinforces previous indications of a close interaction between H. hampei-Fusarium. The presence of Aspergillus and Penicillium emphasizes the possibility of "ochratoxin dispersion" by the borer. This work provides the first record of the mycobiota associated with H. hampei in C. canephora. Among the identified genera, Cephalosporium, Geotrichum and Oidiodendrum were recorded for the first time in association with H. hampei and its galleries in C. canephora.
Coffee berry borer; Mycobiota; coffee; ecological interaction
