Insect drift and the case of Mayrinia curvidens (Mayr) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) drift on the southern Atlantic Coast of Brazil

Abstract

Insect drift on shore of lakes and seas is a relative common phenomenon although apparently not frequently reported in the literature. Here we review the worldwide occurrence of insect drift with emphasis on Heteroptera, and speculate on possible causes to explain such phenomenon. The dramatic drift of million of specimens of the pentatomid Mayrinia curvidens (Mayr) on the shore of the southern coast of the Atlantic ocean in Brazil is reported for the first time. This drift, previously observed to occur in the mid 70's on the coast of Paraná state with minor intensity (A.R. Panizzi, unpublished) was again observed on January 2006 along the Atlantic coast of Paraná (latitude 25° 45' S), where an estimated population of 16 to 18 million of dead specimens of the bug were observed forming a windrow for at least 15 km along the ocean shore. The circumstances of such event are analyzed in detail considering meteorological data and the possible build up of populations of the bug on cultivated and non-cultivated host plants along the coast of the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina.