Phaseolus lunatus L., the new host of Gargaphia torresi Lima, 1922 (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in Brazil

Fabaceae plants are important crops, and their grains are widely used in human and animal nutrition (Ruiz-Santiago et al., 2021). The fava bean Phaseolus lunatus L. (Fabales: Fabaceae), is an essential grain in nutrition and food security (Lustosa-Silva et al., 2023). This plant is cultivated mainly in family farming in several regions, especially in the Northeast Brazil (Araújo et al., 2010).

Insect pests use plants as shelter, food source and breeding sites and can cause damage (Pinheiro et al., 2022). Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) causing wilting of flower buds, leaves and fruits of P. lunatus due to sap sucking (Pinheiro et al., 2020). Other sap suckers, such as Aleurodicus dispersus Russell, 1965 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister, 1835) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Brachyplatys subaeneus (Westwood, 1837) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), Chinavia hilaris Say, 1832 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Halyomorpha halys Stål, 1855 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois, 1818) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagnall, 1913) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), Planococcus citri Risso, 1813 (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel & Miller, 1996 (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) (CABI, 2023) have been reported in P. lunatus.

Species of the family Tingidae Laporte, 1807 (Insecta: Hemiptera) are minor insects, approximately 0.5 mm long, feeding on plant sap. The habit of these insects is gregarious, generally concentrated on the abaxial part of the host leaves and, in large infestations, they reduce the photosynthetic area and cause withering and premature senescence of leaves of host plants (Santos and Freitas, 2008; Santos, 2014). The genus Gargaphia Stål, 1862 (Hemiptera: Tingidae) with approximately 80 species, it has been recorded as a pest of cultivated and non-cultivated plants of the orders Fabales, Magnoliales, Malpighiales and Solanales (Guidoti et al., 2014). This genus insect is monophagous, generally completing their life cycle on one plant species (Livingstone, 1977).

This work aimed to record the first occurrence of Gargaphia torresi Lima, 1922 (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in P. lunatus plants in Brazil and its current distribution.

In the experimental planting of P. lunatus in a semi-controlled greenhouse (50% light) on Campus I of the Universidade Estadual de Alagoas (UNEAL), urban area of ​​the municipality of Arapiraca, state of Alagoas, Brazil (09°45'09'' S; 36°39'40'' W, 264 m.al.s.) and average temperature of 25°, where plants were monitored weekly to verify the occurrence of insect pests.

Lace bugs were observed on the abaxial part, damaging the leaves of P. lunatus during its vegetative phase until harvest. Specimens of these lace bugs were collected using brushes and 70% alcohol, classified and identified based on published terminologies: Lima (1922), Bondar (1924), Monte (1937), Rego et al. (1952), Silva and Barbosa (1986), in the multi-user laboratory of the “Grupo de Estudos Ambientais e Etnobiológicos”(GEMBIO).

The lace bugs infesting and damaging P. lunatus plants in a greenhouse, from 30 days of planting, observed throughout the cycle of this plant until harvesting at 90 days, was identified as G. torresi. Individuals of this lace bug were found on the abaxial part of the host leaves, where darkened spots originate from this insect's fecal excrement. Numerous whitish spots caused by the lace bug inserting its mouthparts were also observed on the adaxial part of P. lunatus leaves, which can reduce the photosynthetic area. This lace bug also damaged the flower buds, flowers and pods of these plants (Figure 1A, B, C, and D). This insect was found only during the summer, and this is its first report in the municipality of Arapiraca, the Agreste region of the state of Alagoas (Figure 2).

Figure 1
Lesions caused in the adaxial (A) and abaxial (B) parts of Phaseolus lunatus L. leaves by nymphs (C) and adults (D) of Gargaphia torresi Lima, 1922 in the municipality of Arapiraca, Agreste de Alagoas, Brazil.

Figure 2
New occurrence of Gargaphia torresi Lima, 1922 in Alagoas in 2019 and its distribution in Brazil. Legend: AL: Alagoas; CE: Ceará; PB: Paraíba; PE: Pernambuco. Yellow star: new occurrence; red circles: registered occurrences.

The record of the lace bug G. torresi on P. lunatus expands the number of hosts of this insect reported in cultivated plants, such as Helianthus annuus L. (Asteraceae), Carica spp. (Caricaceae), Ipomoea sp. (Convolvulaceae), Croton sincorensis Mart. (Euphorbiaceae), Canavalia obtusifolia DC., Glycine max (L.) Merr., Phaseolus vulgaris (L.), Vigna unguiculata (L., Walp.) (Fabaceae), Dombeya wallichii (Lindl.) Benth. ex Baill. (1885), Gossypium spp., Sida cordifolia (L.) (Malvaceae), Zea mays L. (Poaceae) and Solanum lycocarpum Saint Hilaire (Solanaceae) (Moraes, 1979; Costa Lima, 1940; Cordo et al., 2004; Hamity et al., 2006). The record of G. torresi expands the occurrence of this insect to the Alagoas state after its first report in the municipality of Santana do Ipanema, a hinterland region of this state (Silva and Barbosa, 1986). Furthermore, this lace bug has been reported in the municipalities of Quixadá (Ceará), Sousa (Paraíba), and Petrolina and Afrânio (Pernambuco), respectively, in the Northeast Region of Brazil (Moraes, 1979). The primary method of controlling lace bugs is chemical control with pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides (Agrolink, 2024).

Gargaphia torresi was reported for the first time on P. lunatus plants in Brazil, in addition to a new record of occurrence in Arapiraca, in the Agreste region of the state of Alagoas. The record of host plants and areas of occurrence helps in decision-making and in defining management methods for this lace bug. A precise distribution of G. torresi in Brazil was also provided, and the species occurs in the states of Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba and Pernambuco.

Acknowledgements

To “Grupo de Estudos Ambientais e Etnobiológicos (GEMBIO)” and the Universidade Estadual de Alagoas (UNEAL), Campus I, Arapiraca, the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Financial code - 001), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)”.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  31 Mar 2025
• Date of issue
  2025

History

• Received
  22 Aug 2024
• Accepted
  16 Jan 2025