List of plants with galls induced by insects from the UNILAVRAS/Boqueirão Biological Reserve, Ingaí, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Tumors caused on vegetal tissues, named galls or cecidiens, may occur due to the action of several organisms such as bacteria, viruses, nematodes, fungi and insects. The main inductors are insects and this is a highly complex kind of herbivory. Most of the insects that induce the formation of galls are specific to their host plant, i.e., they do it only in a species or in a closed relation of a group of host species. From August 2007 to July 2009 a survey on galls was carried out in the UNILAVRAS/Boqueirão Biological Reserve, located in the municipality of Ingaí/MG, in the environments Cerrado, rocky field and riparian forest. Fifth-seven galls morphotypes were registered in plant organs, distributed on 18 families. The vegetal families that presented the highest amount of galls were Myrtaceae, Asteraceae e Melastomataceae. Galls were observed on the following parts of the plant: leaves, stem, fruit and petiole and the leaves represented the most attacked organ by cecidogens.