Cacao pollination in Costa Rica. 2. Breeding sites of ceratopogonid (Diptera, Nematocera) midges. In: Theobroma v. 11 p. 119-123, 1981.

Abstract

In the search for breeding sites of ceratopogonid cacao pollinators in cacao pIantations at Turrialba, Costa Rica, rotting leaves (mulch), decaying banana pseudostems and bracts, humid moss from cacao trunks and decaying mushrooms taken from stumps were processed in Berlese funnels in the laboratory. Thirty-seven Atrichopogon midges, 12 Forcipomyia, one Dasyhelea and one Stylobezzia were reared from decaying banana. Seven adult specimens of Lasiohelea were reared from moss. Six Forcipomyia adults were reared, four from cacao pods, one from banana bracts and one from leaf mulch. Few Culicoides midges were obtained from cacao husks. Decaying mushrooms did not render any kind of ceratopogonid midges. Midges in the subgenus Forcipomyia (Euprojoannisia) the main cacao pollinators in Costa Rica, were absent in the sampIe studied. The numbers encountered were not very high, probably as a consequence of the short duration of the sampling period.