Occurrence and injury levels of Costalimaita ferruginea (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Eucalyptus clones in Alagoas state

The yellow beetle, Costalimaita ferruginea (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is commonly related in Eucalyptus species causing injuries, especially in the early stages of the crop. Due to the lack of information about this insect in the state of Alagoas, the objective of this study was to report the occurrence of Costalimaita ferruginea and to analyze the levels and the spatial distribution of injuries in an experimental clonal stands of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla (clone VE 41, I 1 44, TP 361 and VC 865). The injuries of Costalimaita ferruginea on clones were evaluated in an experimental stand located in the municipality of Rio Largo, Alagoas state. To evaluate the injuries, 25 plants of each clone were analyzed. The levels of injuries of Costalimaita ferruginea were visually estimated by a scale of injury levels ranging from 0 to 100% (Score 1 to 4). For the spatial distribution, the percentage of injuries on the apical, median and basal regions of the plants were evaluated. The mean injury level caused by Costalimaita ferruginea on the different clones of. Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla ranged from 1.32 for clone VE 41 to 2.04 for clone TP 361. As results, the clones presented different vertical distributions of injuries among the apical, median and basal regions, except the clone 11 44. In general, the apical region showed a percentage of injuries ranging from 60% to 18.6%. For the median region the variation was from 62.6% to 31%. The basal region had the lowest percentages, ranging from 16.6% to 8.6%. Thus, the first occurrence of Costalimaita ferruginea was found at experimental field of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla in the state of Alagoas, revealing different levels of injury to the clones, with clone TP 361 being the most attacked one. The median region presented the highest percentage of injuries.