Seven decades of studies with Asopinae predators in Brazil (1933●-○2014)

• Autor(a) principal: Pires, Evaldo Martins
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Soares, Marcus Alvarenga, Nogueira, Roberta Martins, Zanuncio, José Cola, Moreira, Paulo Sergio Andrade, Oliveira, Marco Antonio de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Bioscience journal (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/27335
• topic: Biology. Biochemistry. Mass rearing. Ecology. Taxonomy. Toxicology.; Agricultural Sciences

Studies of Asopinae predators in Brazil were initiated in the 1930's, focusing on the use of these insects in biological control programs. However, the beginning of a period of major contributions to the knowledge on Asopinae predators started in the year 1986, with the release of the first research results, in the Proceedings of the X Brazilian Congress of Entomology in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. In 1991 the first scientific paper was published on the predator Podisus connexivus Bergroth [= Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas)] (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), with study of the biological parameters of this predator for alternative feeding of the caterpillars Bombyx mori Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) and larvae Musca domestica (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Muscidae). The first master thesis studying Asopinae predators in Brazil was defended in 1990 at the Federal University of Lavras, which focused was on biology and predatory capacity of Podisus nigrolimbatus [= Brontocoris nigrolimbatus = Brontocoris tabidus] and Podisus connexivus [= Podisus nigrispinus] in the laboratory. Throughout all these years of research and investigations, advances with Asopinae predators occurred in several fields that resulted in a better understanding of these insects, making them an effective tool for controlling insect pests in the agriculture and forestry sectors.