Amphicerus bimaculatus na cultura da vinha em Palmela, Portugal: contribuições para o estudo da sua bioecologia

Mestrado em Viticultura e Enologia - Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Faculdade de Ciências. Universidade do PortoAmphicerus bimaculatus (Olivier, 1790), grape cane borer beetle, is a xylophagous beetle from the Bostrichidae family that feeds on the woody tissues of its host plants. When it comes to Vitis spp., this species can lead to substantial economic losses. In recent years in Palmela, Portugal, this problem has been of increasing concern, becoming urgent to gather more information regarding this pest as well as developing ways to deal with it. Black and white flight traps, along with transparent traps baited with or without ethanol, as well as a Lindgren funnel trap baited with α-Pinene were used to test for A. bimaculatus attraction. These traps did not capture any specimens, suggesting its ineffectiveness or that the sampling period did not match the flying period for this species. In line with this experiment, several specimens were collected on the field, by searching for damage on the leftover branches of vines from pruning, therefore confirming the biological agent responsible for the damage. The sampled specimens were taken to Instituto Superior de Agronomia, where they took part in several experiments. A subsample of these specimens were placed in the presence of a host. Several behaviors were observed, such as feeding, habitat and host prospection for breeding purposes and the first record of these species’ eggs is presented. It was also studied the color preference on a short range for A. bimaculatus for both female and male. Females did not show a preference in color, however in males some differences were observed, which may be explained by distinctive life motivators in both genders. In conclusion, hypotheses were stated for the number of generations on an annual cycle in the Palmela region. It was given advices for the pest control that are basically physical crop practices. It was also presented suggestions for further researc