The objective of this work was to study the spatial distribution of Calacarus heveae Feres (Acari: Eriophyidae) on rubber tree crop based on a monitoring realized with a pocket magnifying glass. The experimental area, localized in Marinópolis, São Paulo, with 1,000 plants of the RRIM 600 clone, was divided into 100 plots of ten plants each. Sixteen samplings were performed from December 2007 to June 2008. Two plants per plot were sampled, and a 30-cm stem was removed from each plant. Mites were evaluated in laboratory using a 20X power pocket magnifying glass in six leaflets per plot, three of each branch. The counting of the mites was carried out in two 1 cm² areas on the upper side of leaflets, one on each side of the main vein. The dispersion indexes used were the following: variance/mean relationship (I), index of Morisita (Iä), coefficient of Green (Cx) and k exponent of negative binomial distribution. C. heveae showed aggregate distribution in the area of rubber tree crop. Spatial distribution of the mite is fitted to negative binomial distribution.
Hevea Brasiliensis; Acari and Eriophyidae
