Morfología del desarrollo larval de Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) en cultivos de citrus de Tucumán

Abstract

“Morphology of larval development of Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) in citrus growing of Tucuman”. Phyllocnistis citrella is a serious pest in citrus growing of the NOA region. During larval development it feeds on young leaves producing galleries, and constraining trees growth which in turn increases the susceptibility to bacterial diseases, affecting the production. Due to the economic importance of the citric industry in Tucumán and the damage caused by this pest, in the present work, we perform a study on histological larval development of P. citrella and its effect on the crop, providing information for integrated pests management programs. The larvae were collected in a lemon growing free from pesticides control of leafminer. They were fixed in Bouin’s solution, preserved in n-butilic alcohol and the tissues were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin. Based on the feeding behaviour, the cephalic morphology and body length of the larvae, three stages were established. In the second stage the cellular-tissue features and the presence of symbiotic bacteria in the intes- tinal lumen would indicate full system activity that together with development of abdominal skeletal muscles would allow the pest to voraciously eat the leaves causing reduction in pho- tosynthesis. During larval development increase of the fat body and histological feature that allow us to infer lipids synthesis. In the third stage the silk glands produced abundant acidophil secretion. Testes with single follicle and genitalia in second stage and ovaries with growing ovarioles in third stage were differentiated. These results will assess the effect of control methods in the normal development of this species