Insect galls associated with Leguminosae in the vicinity of riacho Jatobá, Caetité, Bahia, Brasil

Abstract

The Leguminosae family stands out as one of the principal host groups of galls in different ecosystems in Brazil. The little information available about galls on species of this family comes from only two studies, and this was the principal motivation for undertaking this study, whose objective was to characterize the insect galls associated with Leguminosae in the vicinity of riacho Jatobá, Caetité, Bahia, Brazil. Fifteen morphotypes of insect galls were observed on eight host plant species. The genus Bauhinia L. stood out, presenting the largest number of morphotypes. Galls occur primarily on leaves and are generally isolated, globoid, unilocular, glabrous, and brown. For the first time, four plant species are recorded as host of galling insects in Brazil. Among gall inducers, Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) was the only identified galling family.