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Insect galls of the Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

We surveyed insect galls and their host plants in areas of Caatinga and Cerrado in the municipality of Rio de Contas, in the extreme south of the Chapada Diamantina (Bahia state), between 703 and 1,897 m altitude, in order to contribute to the knowledge and conservation of local biodiversity. The survey was conducted in eight locations, adopting the random walking methodology for sampling, four in Caatinga and four in Cerrado, covering distinct phytophysiognomies (cerrado sensu stricto, gallery forest, shrubby caatinga, riparian forest, and rocky field). Eighty-four different insect gall morphotypes were reported, 48 (57.14%) of them on 42 host species in Cerrado and 36 (42.86%) on 24 host species in Caatinga. Most galls occurred on leaves (48.72%) and were globoid (53.76%), glabrous (52.92%), isolated (55.44%), usually one-chambered (61.32%), and brown (25.2%). The gall-inducing insects identified belonged to Lepidoptera (n = 1), Thysanoptera (n = 1), Hemiptera (n = 2), and Diptera (Cecidomyiidae) (n = 16). This was the first inventory of galls in the Chapada Diamantina, so all records are new for the region. We also recorded the first occurrences of galls on two Cerrado plant species and on two in the Caatinga. We found a significant positive correlation between gall richness and plant species richness, suggesting that radiation of gall-inducing insects may be associated with plant species richness.

Keywords:
Cecidomyiidae; Fabaceae; Gall-inducing insect; Host plant; Semi-arid

INTRODUCTION

Gall inventories are essential to know the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants, moreover they provide reliable data on the identification of the host plants and of gall-inducing insects, plus the detailed characterization of the gall. As example, we can mention some recent inventories: Campos et al. (2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
), Maia & Mascarenhas (2022Maia, V.C. & Mascarenhas, B. 2022. Insect galls from the Serra Negra do Funil Natural Heritage Private Reserve, Rio Preto, MG (Southeastern Brazil). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 94(4): 1-22, e20200900. 10.1590/0001-3765202220200900.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652022202...
), and Proença & Maia (2023Proença, B. & Maia, V.C. 2023. Insect galls from Amazon rainforest areas in Rondônia (Brazil). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 95(4): 1-35 e20190869 ,. 10.1590/0001-3765202320190869.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652023201...
). Furthermore, new species of gall-inducing insects (as Clinodiplosis cecropiae Proença & Maia, 2020 and Distinctamyia matogrossensis Proença & Maia, 2021, for example), as well as the associated fauna, can be discovered during these inventories (Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
; Maia & Mascarenhas, 2022Maia, V.C. & Mascarenhas, B. 2022. Insect galls from the Serra Negra do Funil Natural Heritage Private Reserve, Rio Preto, MG (Southeastern Brazil). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 94(4): 1-22, e20200900. 10.1590/0001-3765202220200900.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652022202...
; Proença & Maia, 2023Proença, B. & Maia, V.C. 2023. Insect galls from Amazon rainforest areas in Rondônia (Brazil). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 95(4): 1-35 e20190869 ,. 10.1590/0001-3765202320190869.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652023201...
), thus contributing to knowledge about the biological interactions between different guilds. In addition, these studies increase knowledge of regional biodiversity and help in the search for patterns of distribution of the gall-inducing species involved; these data can be used in the preparation of management plans and biodiversity conservation of both natural and priority areas for conservation of flora and fauna (Silva et al., 2011Silva, P.S.D.; Knoechelmann, C.M.; Tabarelli, M. & Almeida-Cortez, J.S. 2011. Richness of gall morphospecies along a secondary successional gradient of Atlantic Forest in northeast Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biociência, 9(3): 270-277.).

Investigations on the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants have been carried out in different phytophysiognomies in Brazil (Araújo et al., 2019Araújo, W.S.; Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. 2019. An overview of inventories of gall-inducing insects in Brazil: looking for patterns and identifying knowledge gaps. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 91(1): 1-19, e20180162. 10.1590/0001-3765201920180162.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652019201...
), including cerrado s.s. (e.g.,Araújo et al., 2014Araújo, W.S.; Cuevas-Reyes, P. & Guilherme, F.A.G. 2014. Local and regional determinants of galling-insect richness in Neotropical savanna. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 30(3): 269-272. 10.1017/S0266467414000121.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646741400012...
; Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
), caatinga (e.g.,Santos et al., 2011aSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2011b. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology (Impr.), 71: 47-56. 10.1590/S1519-69842011000100008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-6984201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
), restinga (e.g.,Maia, 2001Maia, V.C. 2001. The gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) from three restingas of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia , 18(2): 583-629. 10.1590/S0101-81752001000200028.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-8175200100...
, 2018Maia, V.C. 2018. Gall-inducing insects of restinga areas (Atlantic Forest) in Brazil: economic importance. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia , 58(03): 1-66, e20185850. 10.11606/1807-0205/2018.58.03.
https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2018....
), rocky fields (e.g.,Carneiro et al., 2009bCarneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.S.A.; Braga, C.E.D.; Almada, E.D.; Borges, R.A.X.; Araújo, A.P.A. & Fernandes, W.G. 2009b. Insetos indutores de galhas da porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 53(4): 570-592. 10.1590/S0085-56262009000400007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626200900...
; Coelho et al., 2013aCoelho, M.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.A. & Fernandes, G.W. 2013a. Gall-inducing insects from Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 13(3): 102-109. 10.1590/S1676-06032013000300013.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-0603201300...
), dry tropical forest (Coelho et al., 2009Coelho, M.S.; Almada, E.D.; Fernandes, G.W.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Santos, R.M.; Quintino, A.V. & Sanchez-Azofeifa, A. 2009. Gall inducing arthropods from a seasonally dry tropical Forest in Serra do Cipó, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 53(3): 404-414. 10.1590/S0085-56262009000300015.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626200900...
), montane fields (Coelho et al., 2013bCoelho, M.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.S.A.; Borges, R.A.X. & Fernandes, G.W. 2013b. Gall-inducing insects from campos de altitude, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 13(4): 139-151. 10.1590/S1676-06032013000400015.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-0603201300...
), and moist forest (e.g.,Julião et al., 2005Julião, G.R., Fernandes, G.W.; Negreiros, D.; Bedê, L. & Araújo, R.C. 2005. Insetos galhadores associados a duas espécies de plantas invasoras de áreas urbanas e peri-urbanas. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 49: 97-106. 10.1590/S0085-56262005000100010.
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; Almada & Fernandes, 2011Almada, E.D. & Fernandes, G.W.A. 2011. Insetos indutores de galhas em florestas de terra firme e reflorestamentos com espécies nativas na Amazônia Oriental, Pará, Brasil. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Naturais, 6(2): 163-196. 10.46357/bcnaturais.v6i2.620.
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). There are still large gaps in our knowledge about the richness of gall-inducing insects of several phytophysiognomies of Northeastern Brazil, due to the large area and scattered studies concentrated in two of its nine states, Bahia and Pernambuco (Santos et al., 2011bSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, W.G. 2011a. Richness of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 55(1): 45-54. 10.1590/S0085-56262011000100009.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
; Costa et al., 2014aCosta, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santo-Silva, J. 2014a. Galhas entomógenas associadas à Leguminosae do entorno do riacho Jatobá, Caetité, Bahia, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 12(2): 115-120. https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbrasbioci/article/view/114848.
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, bCosta, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2014b. Galhas de insetos em uma área de transição Caatinga-Cerrado no nordeste do Brasil. Sitientibus - Série Ciências Biológicas, 14: 1-9. 10.13102/scb481.
https://doi.org/10.13102/scb481...
; Nogueira et al., 2016Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2016. Insect galls from Serra Geral, Caetité, BA, Brasil. Biota Neotropica , 16(1): 1-10, e20150035. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2015-0035.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Alcântara et al., 2017Alcântara, J.A.; Souza, E.B. & Braga, P.E.T. 2017. Ocorrência e caracterização de galhas em duas áreas do noroeste do Ceará, Brasil. Natureza On Line, 15(1): 33-40.; Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
; Santos et al., 2018Santos, I.M.; Lima, V.P.; Soares, E.K.S.; Paula, M. & Calado, D.C. 2018. Insect galls in three species of Copaifera L. (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae) occurring sympatrically in a Cerrado area (Bahia, Brazil). Biota Neotropica , 18(1): 1-5, e20170356. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2017-0356.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Silva et al., 2018Silva, A.R.F.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Occurrence and characterization of entomogenic galls in na área of Cerrado sensu stricto and Gallery forest of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 90(3): 2903-2919. 10.1590/0001-3765201820170522.
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; Vieira et al., 2018Vieira, L.G.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Insect galls in Rupestrian fields and Cerrado sensu stricto vegetation in Caetité, Bahia, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 18(2): 1-11, e20170402. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2017-0402.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Santos et al., 2019Santos, D.S.S.; Maia, V.C. & Calado, D. 2019. Insect galls on Bauhinia cupulata (Fabaceae): morphotypes characterization and description of a new species of Schizomyia (Cecidomyiidae, Diptera). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 63(4): 356-362. 10.1016/j.rbe.2019.07.002.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbe.2019.07.00...
; Santana et al., 2020Santana, C.A.G.S.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Silva, J.S. 2020. Insect galls and their host plants in gallery forest in Bahia State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Botany, 43(4): 989-998. 10.1007/s40415-020-00641-4.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00641...
; Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
; Santos-Silva et al., 2022Santos-Silva, J.; Santos, G.A.B. & Santos, J.C. 2022. Soils and seasonality influence the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants in a tropical dry forest. Journal of Arid Environments, 196: 1-11, e104651. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104651.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021....
). Recently, Cintra et al. (2021Cintra, F.C.F.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Araújo, W.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Venâncio, H.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2021. A compilation of host plants and their gall-inducing insects for the Caatinga Biome. Biota Neotropica, 21(4): 1-8, e20211215. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2021-1215.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-202...
) compiled the occurrence of 100 host plant species and 156 morphospecies of gall-inducing insects for the Caatinga based on information available in the literature. The true numbers of gall-inducing insects and host plant species in the Caatinga, however, should be greater because many areas of the region have never been inventoried including the Chapada Diamantina (northern portion of the Espinhaço Range, Bahia).

The Chapada Diamantina, located between the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes, has different phytophysiognomies that change over short distances, including rocky fields, cerrado s.s., caatinga and forest (Neves et al., 2016Neves, S.P.S.; Funch, R.; Conceição, A.A.; Miranda, L.A.P. & Funch, L.S. 2016. What are the most important factors determining different vegetation types in the Chapada Diamantina, Brazil? Brazilian Journal of Biology , 76(2): 15-333. 10.1590/1519-6984.13814.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.13814...
). This mosaic of vegetation hosts a great wealth of species of fauna and flora important for the biodiversity of mountains in Brazil (Neves & Conceição, 2010Neves, S.P.S. & Conceição, A.A. 2010. Campo rupestre recém-queimado na Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brasil: plantas de rebrota e sementes, com espécies endêmicas na rocha. Acta Botanica Brasilica , 24(3): 697-707. 10.1590/S0102-33062010000300013.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-3306201000...
) and for the study of how plants and gall-inducing insects interact. Despite this, the Chapada Diamantina was considered an extremely unknown region by the Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA, 2002Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima (MMA). 2002. Biodiversidade brasileira: avaliação e identificação de áreas e ações prioritárias para conservação, utilização sustentável e repartição dos benefícios da biodiversidade nos biomas brasileiros. Brasília, MMA/SBF. 404p.) and therefore a priority for scientific research.

Given this context, the present study aimed to inventory for the first time the gall-inducing insects and their host plants in phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes in the municipality of Rio de Contas, extreme south of the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia. Considering that gall-inducing insects are highly specialized on their host plants and dependent on the occurrence, abundance and distribution of plants (Cuevas-Reyes et al., 2003Cuevas-Reyes, P.; Siebe, C.; Martínez-Ramos, M. & Oyama, K. 2003. Species richness of gall-forming insects in a tropical rain forest: correlations with plant diversity and soil fertility. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12: 411-422. 10.1023/A:1022415907109.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022415907109...
; Carneiro et al., 2009aCarneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.S.A.; Braga, C.E.D.; Almada, E.; Costa, M.B.M.; Fernandes, G.W. & Maia, V.C. 2009a. Are gall midge species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) host plant specialists? Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 53(3): 365-378. 10.1590/S0085-56262009000300010.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626200900...
, 2014Carneiro, M.A.A.; Coelho, M.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2014. Galls in Brazilian Mountains: new reports and perspectives. In: Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. (Eds.). Neotropical insect galls. Springer, The Netherlands. p. 129-156. 10.1007/978-94-017-8783-3_16.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8783-...
), we evaluated if plant species richness is an important factor determining the species richness and composition of gall-inducing insects in adjacent habitats that differed in humidity, vegetation, and leaf phenology.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The present study was carried out in the municipality of Rio de Contas (13°34′44″S, 41°48′41″W), which comprises 1,071 km² and is located in the extreme south of the Chapada Diamantina, in the state of Bahia (Fig. 1). This municipality has a mild mesothermal climate, Cwb type, characterized as semi-humid tropical, with rainy summers and dry winters. The rains occur more frequently in summer (November, December, and January), with a secondary peak from March to April; and the rains decrease from August to November (Harley, 1995Harley, R.M. 1995. Introducion. In: Stannard, B.L. Flora of the Pico das Almas, Chapada Diamantina, Brazil. Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens, 1995.; Nascimento et al., 2010Nascimento, F.H.F.; Giulietti, A.M. & Queiroz, L.P. 2010. Diversidade arbórea das florestas alto montanas no Sul da Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasilica, 24(3): 674-685. 10.1590/S0102-33062010000300011.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-3306201000...
). The vegetation is formed by shrubby caatinga, rocky fields, cerrado sensu stricto, and gallery and riparian forests, which grow on quartzite and sandstone soils, at altitudes from 700 m (SEI, 2016Superintendência de Estudos Econômicos e Sociais do Estado da Bahia (SEI). 2016. Perfil socioeconômico do município de Rio de Contas. Available: Available: http://www.sei.ba.gov.br . Access: 24/10/2018.
http://www.sei.ba.gov.br...
) to 1,970 m altitude (Pico das Almas - the third highest mountain in the Northeast region of Brazil).

Figure 1
Geographical overview of the Chapada Diamantina, showing the location of the study areas.

In order to sample a large geographic area like the municipality of Rio de Contas, the sampling effort was distributed over as many phytophysiognomies as possible. The study areas are inserted in the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes, four in each biome, covering all the phytophysiognomies of the municipality, cerrado sensu stricto, gallery forest, shrubby caatinga, riparian forest, and rocky fields (Andrade-Lima, 1981Andrade-Lima, D. 1981. The caatingas dominium. Revista Brasileira de Botânica, 4: 149-153.; Ribeiro & Walter, 2008Ribeiro, J.F. & Walter, B.M.T. 2008. As principais fitofisionomias do bioma Cerrado. In: Sano, S.M.; Almeida, S.P. & Ribeiro, J.F. (Eds.). Cerrado: ecologia e flora. Brasília, Embrapa, 2008. p. 151-212.; Moro et al., 2016Moro, M.F.; Lughadha, E.N.; Araújo, F.S. & Martins, F.R. 2016. A Phytogeographical Metaanalysis of the Semiarid Caatinga Domain in Brazil. The Botanical Review, 82: 91-148. 10.1007/s12229-016-9164-z.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-016-9164-...
; Table 1, Fig. 2). Ten collections were made along the trails at eight different locations during the period from July to October 2021 (Fig. 1). A team of three individuals spent four hours at each collection point, totaling a sampling effort of 40 hours. All plant habits (subshrubs, trees and creepers) up to 2 meters high were surveyed. When found, the galls were photographed, collected, stored, and labeled in plastic bags. All morphological information about the galls was recorded, including coloration, host organ, pilosity, and shape, using the terminology proposed by Isaias et al. (2013Isaias, R.M.S.; Carneiro, R.G.S.; Oliveira, D.C. & Santos, J.C. 2013. Illustrated and annotated checklist of brazilian gall morphotypes. Neotropical Entomology, 42(3): 230-239. 10.1007/s13744-013-0115-7.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0115-...
).

Table 1
Collection sites of the galls and their host plants occurring in the municipality of Rio de Contas, extreme south of the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.

Figure 2
Sampled area of the Chapada Diamantina, Rio de contas, Bahia, Brasil. (A-C) Rupestrian field; (D-E) Riparian forest; (F) Cerrado s.s.; (G) Shrubby caatinga; (H) Gallery forest; (I-J) Shrubby caatinga. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Some of the galls were stored in plastic containers in the laboratory together with moistened paper towels to maintain humidity. This allows the emergence of the gall-inducing insects and any associated fauna, which was classified according to Luz & Mendonça-Júnior (2017Luz, F.A. & Mendonça-Júnior, M.S., 2017. Guilds in insect galls: who is who. The Florida Entomologist, 102(1): 207-210. 10.1653/024.102.0133.
https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0133...
). Other samples were dissected under a stereomicroscope to determine the number of chambers in each gall and to extract the larvae. Both the larvae and the emerging winged insects were preserved in 70% ethanol. In the empty galls, the identifications of the insect species were undertaken by comparisons with the morphotypes of known gall-inducing insects in host plants species previously identified in Cerrado and Caatinga environments in Brazil (e.g.,Santos et al., 2011aSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2011b. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology (Impr.), 71: 47-56. 10.1590/S1519-69842011000100008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-6984201100...
, bSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, W.G. 2011a. Richness of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 55(1): 45-54. 10.1590/S0085-56262011000100009.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
; Costa et al., 2014aCosta, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santo-Silva, J. 2014a. Galhas entomógenas associadas à Leguminosae do entorno do riacho Jatobá, Caetité, Bahia, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 12(2): 115-120. https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbrasbioci/article/view/114848.
https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbrasbio...
; Nogueira et al., 2016Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2016. Insect galls from Serra Geral, Caetité, BA, Brasil. Biota Neotropica , 16(1): 1-10, e20150035. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2015-0035.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
; Vieira et al., 2018Vieira, L.G.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Insect galls in Rupestrian fields and Cerrado sensu stricto vegetation in Caetité, Bahia, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 18(2): 1-11, e20170402. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2017-0402.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
).

The host plants were collected, field-pressed, dried, and mounted according to the methodology of Peixoto & Maia (2013Peixoto, A.L. & Maia, L.C. 2013. Manual de procedimentos para herbários. Recife, Editora Universitária, UFPE. 23p.). The identification of the plants was done with the help of analytical keys found in specialized literature, and by comparing with the existing material in the herbarium of the Universidade do Estado da Bahia (HUNEB - Caetité Collection). Plant nomenclature was verified in the Flora e Funga do Brasil (https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br), and the names are presented in alphabetical order by family, following APG IV (2016). The circumscription of the Fabaceae family was based on classification proposed by LPWG (2017)LPWG - Legume Phylogeny Working Group. 2017. A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny. Taxon , 66: 44-77. 10.12705/661.3.
https://doi.org/10.12705/661.3...
. The preliminary conservation status of the plant species was verified in the Flora e Funga do Brasil, and it was defined according to the categories proposed by IUCN (2022)International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. Available: https://www.iucnredlist.org . Access: 30/08/2022.
https://www.iucnredlist.org . Access: 30...
(EN = endangered, LC = least concern, NE = not evaluated, NT = near threatened, VU = vulnerable).

The total number of plant species sampled was used as the explanatory variable of gall-inducing species richness (Carneiro et al., 2014Carneiro, M.A.A.; Coelho, M.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2014. Galls in Brazilian Mountains: new reports and perspectives. In: Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. (Eds.). Neotropical insect galls. Springer, The Netherlands. p. 129-156. 10.1007/978-94-017-8783-3_16.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8783-...
). To analyze the relationships between plant species richness and the gall-inducing species richness (y-axis) was adjusted using a zero-truncated model (Hilbe, 2014Hilbe, J.M. 2014. Modeling Count data. Oxford, Cambridge University Press. 541p. 10.1017/CBO9781139236065.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139236065...
). The likelihood ratio test was used to compare goodness of fit of the models. The analyses were performed using the R software package (R Core Team, 2023R Core Team. 2023. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available: https://www.R-project.org.
https://www.R-project.org...
).

RESULTS

We recorded 84 gall morphotypes on 42 species belonging to 37 genera, and 26 plant families along the eight trails of the Rio de Contas (Table 2, Figs. 3-8). Galls were recorded for the first time for Brazil on individuals of Combretum glaucocarpum Mart. (Combretaceae) (Table 2, Fig. 4H-I) and Mimosa hypoglauca Mart. (Fabaceae) (Table 2, Fig. 6O), both growing in caatinga vegetation, and on Lippia alnifolia Mart. & Schauer (Verbenaceae) (Table 2, Fig. 8H), and Drimys brasiliensis Miers (Winteraceae) (Table 2, Fig. 8K) both found in rocky fields. Most of the host species are native to Brazil, of which 12 are endemic (Table 3). In addition, a stem gall was recorded in the exotic species Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae) (Table 2, Fig. 3B) in riparian forest. Concerning IUCN (2022)International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. Available: https://www.iucnredlist.org . Access: 30/08/2022.
https://www.iucnredlist.org . Access: 30...
conservation categories, plant species were classified into NE (n = 35), LC (n = 5), VU (n = 1), and DD (n = 1) (Table 3).

Table 2
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. PA = Pico das Almas. CBJ = Capela do Bom Jesus. SC = Sitio das Cachoeirinhas. CF = Cachoeira do Fraga. CR = Cachoeira do Raposo. CVN = Cachoeira Véu da Noiva. ER = Estrada Real.

Figure 3
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A) Astronium fraxinifolium Schott ex Spreng.; (B) Mangifera indica L.; (C) Duguetia furfuracea (A. St.-Hil.) Saff.; (D) Annonaceae Indet.; (E-F) Annonaceae sp.; (G-J) Aspidosperma tomentosum Mart.; (K) Baccharis minutiflora Mart. ex Baker.; (L) Mikania sp.; (M) Eremanthus erythropappus (DC.) MacLeish; (N) Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Less.) G. Sancho; (O) Bignoniaceae indet.; (P) Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Figure 4
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A-F) Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess.; (G) Parinari obtusifolia Hook. f.; (H-I) Combretum glaucocarpum Mart.; (J) Diospyros sericea A.DC.; (K-L) Erythroxylum suberosum A. St.-Hil.; (M) Croton adamantinus Müll. Arg.; (N) Bauhinia sp.; (O-P) Bauhinia catingae Harms. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Figure 5
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A-D) Bauhinia pulchella Benth.; (E) Calliandra sp.; (F) Calliandra dysantha Benth.; (G-K) Copaifera depilis Dwyer.; (L-N) Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.; (O-P) Copaifera luetzelburgii Harms. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Figure 6
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A-B) Copaifera luetzelburgii Harms.; (C-F) Copaifera sabulicola A.S. Costa & L.P. Queiroz; (G) Dalbergia miscolobium Benth.; (H) Hymenaea courbaril L.; (I-J) Hymenaea martiana Hayne; (K-N) Mimosa gemmulata Barneby.; (O) Mimosa hypoglauca Mart.; (P) Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Figure 7
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A) Fabaceae Indet.; (B-D) Byrsonima guilleminiana A. Juss.; (E) Malpighiaceae Indet.; (F) Sida cordifolia L.; (G) Leandra reversa DC.) Cogn.; (H) Miconia ibaguensis (Bonpl.) Triana; (I) Miconia sp.; (J) Miconia alborufescens Naudin; (K) Pleroma stenocarpum (Schrank et Mat. ex. DC.) Triana; (L) Tibouchina sp.; (M) Myrsinaceae Indet.; (N) Myrcia tomentosa (Aubl.) DC.; (O) Ouratea sp.; (P) Piper sp. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Figure 8
Insect gall of the da Chapada Diamantina, Rio de Contas, Bahia, Brazil. (A-B) Piper sp.; (C) Roupala montana Aubl.; (D) Serjania glabrata Kunth.; (E) Serjania erecta Radlk.; (F) Trigonia nivea Cambess.; (G) Lantana camara L.; (H) Lippia alnifolia Mart. & Schauer; (I-J) Vochysia elliptica Mart.; (K) Drimys brasiliensis Miers. Photos: Tainar Araújo.

Table 3
Origin and endemism in Brazil of the host plants of galling insects occurring in Chapada Dimantina, Rio de Conta, Bahia State, Brazil. NE = Not Evaluated, DD = Data Deficient, LC = Least Concern, VU = Vulnerable.

The number of gall species increased with the number of plant species in the studied sites (equation: gall-inducing species = exp(1.01218+0.16583*plant richness), X 2 = 18. 170; p < 0.001; Fig. 9). A total of 48 gall morphotypes was found in the Cerrado biome on 36 plant species belonging to 24 genera and 18 families (Table 2, Fig. 10). Species of the families Fabaceae (n = 11), Melastomataceae (n = 4 species), Annonaceae (n = 3), and Asteraceae (n = 3) hosted the greatest gall richness with 19, four, four and three morphotypes, respectively. The genera with the greatest richness of gall morphotypes were Copaifera L. (Fabaceae) (n = 7), Bauhinia L. (Fabaceae) and Mimosa L. (Fabaceae) with four morphotypes each. The species with the highest richness of gall morphotypes was Copaifera depilis Dwyer (n = 4, Fig. 5G-K).

Figure 9
The relationship between richness of gall-inducing insects and plant richness (equation: gall-inducing species = exp(1.01218+0.16583*plant richness), X 2 = 18. 170; p < 0.001) for area of Caatinga and Cerrado in the municipality of Rio de Contas, extreme south of the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.

Figure 10
A Venn diagram representing the number of insect gall morphotypes exclusive and common to the cerrado sensu stricto (green), gallery forest (blue), shrubby caatinga (grey), rupestrian field (orange), and riparian forests (yellow), Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.

For the Caatinga biome, 36 gall morphotypes were found on 24 plant species belonging to 20 genera and 14 families (Table 2, Fig. 10). The plant families that hosted the greatest richness of gall morphotypes were Fabaceae (n = 8 species, 14 morphotypes), Calophyllaceae (n = 1, 6), and Piperaceae (n = 1, 3). The plant genera with the highest richness of gall were Calophyllum L. (n = 6), Copaifera (n = 6), Bauhinia (n = 3), and Piper L. (n = 3). The superhost species was Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess (Fig. 4A-F) with six morphotypes.

Among the morphotypes found, four them were observed in both shrubby caatinga and cerrado s.s. (Fig. 10): the globoid leaf gall induced by Myrciaryiamia admirabilis Maia (2007) (Cecidomyiidae) on Erythroxylum suberosum A. St.-Hil. (Erythroxylaceae), the globoid leaf gall on Mimosa gemmulata Barneby (Fabaceae), the globoid leaf gall on Bauhinia pulchella Benth. (Fabaceae), and the conical leaf gall on Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Fabaceae).

The greatest gall richness (36 morphotypes) by life form was found in shrubs, followed by subshrubs (30 morphotypes), trees (17 morphotypes), and liana (1 morphotype), represented by 24, 24, 6 and one plant species, respectively (Table 2). The average number of gall morphotypes by plant species was 1.5 in shrubs, 1.25 in subshrubs, 2.8 in trees and 1.0 in lianas.

Galls were found on vegetative and reproductive organs: leaves (n = 58, 30 in Caatinga and 28 in Cerrado); stems (n = 23, 18 in Cerrado and 5 in Caatinga); buds (n = 2, one in Cerrado and one in Caatinga) and fruit (n = 1 in Caatinga). The most frequent shapes were globoid (n = 64, 39 in Cerrado and 25 in Caatinga); conical (n = 7, five in Caatinga and two in Cerrado), and fusiform (n = 5, three in Caatinga and two in Cerrado). Most of the galls were glabrous (n = 63, 35 in Cerrado and 28 in Caatinga), one-chambered (n = 73, 40 in Cerrado and 33 in Caatinga), and isolated (n = 66, 38 in Cerrado and 28 in Caatinga). The colors of the galls were brown, green, yellow, white, gray, black or rarely red or pink, brown being the most frequent color (n = 30, 18 in Cerrado and 12 in Caatinga). Some galls may change color during their development. The conical leaf gall on Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand (Burseraceae) can be black or green (Fig. 3P) and the color of the lenticular leaf gall on Copaifera sabulicola A.S. Costa & L.P. Queiroz (Fabaceae) varies from white to black (Figs. 6C-F).

The identified inducing insects belonged to the orders Diptera (Cecidomyiidae) (n = 19, eight in Caatinga and eight in Cerrado), Hemiptera (n = 2 in Cerrado), Lepidoptera (n = 1 in Cerrado), and Thysanoptera (n = 1 in Cerrado) (Table 2). The associated fauna was found in 12 morphotypes (n = 10 in Caatinga and eight in Cerrado) composed of parasitoids (Hymenoptera n = 9, five in Caatinga and four in Cerrado), inquilines (Coleoptera [n = 2, one in Cerrado and one in Caatinga], Lepidoptera [n = 3, two in Caatinga and one in Cerrado], Thysanoptera [n = 1 in Caatinga]), and successors (Formicidae n = 2 in Cerrado; Psocoptera n = 1 in Cerrado). Moreover, pseudoescorpions were observed in marginal roll galls induced on Piper sp. (Piperaceae) in Caatinga.

DISCUSSION

The Cerrado biome in the municipality of Rio de Contas showed a higher density of galls than the Caatinga of the same region, corroborating studies confirming that the Cerrado biome is the richest in terms of gall morphotypes among Brazilian biomes (Araújo, 2018Araújo, W.S. 2018. 30 years of research on insect galls in Brazil: a scientometric review. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 58(34): 1-11, e20185834. 10.11606/1807-0205/2018.58.34.
https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2018....
; Cintra et al., 2020Cintra, F.C.F.; Araújo, W.S.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Venâncio, H.; Andrade, J.F.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2020. Plant galling insect interactions: a data set of host plants and their gall inducing insects for the Cerrado. Ecology, 101(11), e03149. 10.1002/ecy.3149.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3149...
). To date, it is estimated that the Cerrado has approximately 968 gall morphotypes induced on 505 host plant species (Cintra et al., 2020Cintra, F.C.F.; Araújo, W.S.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Venâncio, H.; Andrade, J.F.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2020. Plant galling insect interactions: a data set of host plants and their gall inducing insects for the Cerrado. Ecology, 101(11), e03149. 10.1002/ecy.3149.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3149...
). In contrast, Caatinga has 156 distinct morphotypes of gall and 100 host plant species (Cintra et al., 2021Cintra, F.C.F.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Araújo, W.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Venâncio, H.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2021. A compilation of host plants and their gall-inducing insects for the Caatinga Biome. Biota Neotropica, 21(4): 1-8, e20211215. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2021-1215.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-202...
). The difference in the richness of gall-inducing insects between these biomes can be explained by several factors. The first factor is the difference in sampling effort, in other words, differences in sampling effort confound comparisons of species richness between local habitats or on large scales. For example, there are more than 32 inventories of galls for the Cerrado in Brazil (Cintra et al., 2020Cintra, F.C.F.; Araújo, W.S.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Venâncio, H.; Andrade, J.F.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2020. Plant galling insect interactions: a data set of host plants and their gall inducing insects for the Cerrado. Ecology, 101(11), e03149. 10.1002/ecy.3149.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3149...
), while there are only ten one-off studies inventories for the Caatinga (Santos et al., 2011aSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2011b. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology (Impr.), 71: 47-56. 10.1590/S1519-69842011000100008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-6984201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
; Luz et al., 2012Luz, G.R.; Fernandes, G.W.; Silva, J.O.; Neves, F.S. & Fagundes, M. 2012. Galhas de insetos em habitats xérico e mésico em região de transição Cerrado Caatinga no norte de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 7(3): 171-187. 10.4013/NBC.2012.73.04.
https://doi.org/10.4013/NBC.2012.73.04...
; Costa et al., 2014aCosta, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santo-Silva, J. 2014a. Galhas entomógenas associadas à Leguminosae do entorno do riacho Jatobá, Caetité, Bahia, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 12(2): 115-120. https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbrasbioci/article/view/114848.
https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbrasbio...
, bCosta, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2014b. Galhas de insetos em uma área de transição Caatinga-Cerrado no nordeste do Brasil. Sitientibus - Série Ciências Biológicas, 14: 1-9. 10.13102/scb481.
https://doi.org/10.13102/scb481...
; Nogueira et al., 2016Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2016. Insect galls from Serra Geral, Caetité, BA, Brasil. Biota Neotropica , 16(1): 1-10, e20150035. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2015-0035.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Alcântara et al., 2017Alcântara, J.A.; Souza, E.B. & Braga, P.E.T. 2017. Ocorrência e caracterização de galhas em duas áreas do noroeste do Ceará, Brasil. Natureza On Line, 15(1): 33-40.; Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
; Costa & Araújo, 2019Costa, K.C.S. & Araújo, W.S. 2019. Distribution of gall-inducing arthropods in areas of deciduous seasonal forest of Parque da Sapucaia (Montes Claros, MG, Brazil): effects of anthropization, vegetation structure and seasonality. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia , 59(31): 1-10, e20195931. 10.11606/1807-0205/2019.59.31.
https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2019....
; Santos-Silva et al., 2022Santos-Silva, J.; Santos, G.A.B. & Santos, J.C. 2022. Soils and seasonality influence the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants in a tropical dry forest. Journal of Arid Environments, 196: 1-11, e104651. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104651.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021....
). The second factor is the lower plant richness in the Caatinga; for Cintra et al. (2021)Cintra, F.C.F.; Maia, V.C.; Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Araújo, W.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Venâncio, H.; Almeida, W.R. & Santos, J.C. 2021. A compilation of host plants and their gall-inducing insects for the Caatinga Biome. Biota Neotropica, 21(4): 1-8, e20211215. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2021-1215.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-202...
, the smaller number of plant species that make up the biome may explain the lower numbers of galls. Gall-inducing insects are host-specific, and therefore one would expect a positive correlation between gall-inducing richness and plant richness (see below). The Caatinga has ca. 4,891 plant species belonging to 1,232 genera and 176 families, compared to the Cerrado, which has 12,420 plant species in 1,662 genera and 187 families. Finally, the third factor is temporal changes (seasonality). The Caatinga biome is a complex of semi-arid habitats, with low, often irregular rainfall, in which many plant species are strongly deciduous (Queiroz et al., 2017Queiroz, L.P.; Cardoso, D.; Fernandes, M.F. & Moro, M.F. 2017. Diversidade e evolução das plantas com flores do domínio Caatinga. In: Siva, J.M.C.; Leal, I.R. & Tabarelli, M. (Eds). Biodiversidade, ecossistema, serviços e desenvolvimento sustentável em Caatinga. Springer International Publishing. p. 23-63. 10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_2.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68339-...
). These peculiarities of the Caatinga cause a drastic reduction in the quantity and quality of available resources for insects that induce galls preferentially on leaves (Maia et al., 2014Maia, V.C.; Rodrigues, A.R.; Ascendino, S. & Boggi, M. 2014. The insect gall collection of the Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro: biome cerrado, rupestrian fields. Brazilian Journal of Biology , 207(3): 207-217. 10.1590/1519-6984.28012.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.28012...
).

Our findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between local gall-inducing insect richness and plant richness, implying that plant species can effectively predict gall-inducing species richness. Most gall-inducing insect species have a species-specific relationship with their hosts (Carneiro et al., 2009aCarneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.S.A.; Braga, C.E.D.; Almada, E.; Costa, M.B.M.; Fernandes, G.W. & Maia, V.C. 2009a. Are gall midge species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) host plant specialists? Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 53(3): 365-378. 10.1590/S0085-56262009000300010.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626200900...
) and, consequently, an increase in plant richness is directly related to an increase in niches available for female oviposition, and to the richness of gall-inducing insects (Strong et al., 1984Strong, D.R.; Lawton, J.H. & Southwood, R. 1984. Insects on plants: community patterns and mechanisms. Oxford, Blackwell Scientific. 313p. 10.1086/414391.
https://doi.org/10.1086/414391...
; Carneiro et al., 2014Carneiro, M.A.A.; Coelho, M.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2014. Galls in Brazilian Mountains: new reports and perspectives. In: Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. (Eds.). Neotropical insect galls. Springer, The Netherlands. p. 129-156. 10.1007/978-94-017-8783-3_16.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8783-...
). Many studies have corroborated the positive correlations of host plants richness on gall-inducing insect richness in several phytophysiognomies (Araújo, 2011Araújo, W.S. 2011. Can host plant richness be used as a surrogate for galling insect diversity? Tropical Conservation Science, 4(4): 420-427. 10.1177/194008291100400405.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082911004004...
; Gonçalves-Alvim & Fernandes, 2001Gonçalves-Alvim, S.J. & Fernandes, G.W. 2001. Comunidades de insetos galhadores (Insecta) em diferentes fitofisionomias do cerrado em Minas Gerais. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 18(1): 289-305. 10.1590/S0101-81752001000500025.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-8175200100...
; Oyama et al., 2003Oyama, K., Pérez-Pérez, M.A., Cuevas-Reyes, P. & Luna-Reyes, R. 2003. Regional and local species richness of gall-inducing insects in two tropical rain forests in Mexico. Journal of Tropical Ecology , 19(5): 595-598. 10.1017/S0266467403003651.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740300365...
; Cuevas-Reyes et al., 2004Cuevas-Reyes, P.; Quesada, M.; Hanson, P.; Dirzo, R.; Oyama, K. 2004. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in a Mexican tropical dry forest: the importance of plant species richness, life-forms, host plant age and plant density. Journal of Ecology , 92(1): 707-716. 10.1111/j.0022-0477.2004.00896.x.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-0477.2004...
; Carneiro et al., 2014Carneiro, M.A.A.; Coelho, M.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2014. Galls in Brazilian Mountains: new reports and perspectives. In: Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. (Eds.). Neotropical insect galls. Springer, The Netherlands. p. 129-156. 10.1007/978-94-017-8783-3_16.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8783-...
; Coelho et al., 2017Coelho, M.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.A.; Borges, R.X. & Fernandes, G.W. 2017. Galling insects of the Brazilian Páramos: species richness and composition along high-altitude grasslands. Environmental Entomology, 46(6): 1243-1253. 10.1093/ee/nvx147.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx147...
), while such a correlation was not found by others (e.g.,Fernandes & Price, 1988Fernandes, G.W. & Price, P.W. 1988. Biogeographical gradients in galling species richness: tests of hypotheses. Oecologia, 76: 161-167. 10.1007/BF00379948.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379948...
; Blanche, 2000Blanche, K.R. 2000. Diversity of insect-induced galls along a temperature-rainfall gradient in the tropical savannah region of the Northern Territory, Australia. Austral Ecology, 25(4): 311-318. 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2000.01040.x.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2000...
; Lara et al., 2002Lara, A.C.F.; Fernandes, G.W. & Gonçalves-Alvim, S.J. 2002. Tests of hypotheses on patterns of gall distribution along an altitudinal gradient. Tropical Zoology, 15(2): 219-232. 10.1080/03946975.2002.10531176.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03946975.2002.10...
; Araújo, 2013Araújo, W.S. 2013. A importância dos fatores temporais para a distribuição de insetos herbívoros em sistemas neotropicais. The importance of temporal factors to herbivore insect distribution in Neotropical systems. Revista da Biologia, 10(1): 1-7. https://www.revistas.usp.br/revbiologia/issue/view/8284/532.
https://www.revistas.usp.br/revbiologia/...
). The few studies that do not corroborate the positive relationships between plant species richness and gall-inducing species richness are explained by local effect of superhost taxa (see Carneiro et al., 2014Carneiro, M.A.A.; Coelho, M.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2014. Galls in Brazilian Mountains: new reports and perspectives. In: Fernandes, G.W. & Santos, J.C. (Eds.). Neotropical insect galls. Springer, The Netherlands. p. 129-156. 10.1007/978-94-017-8783-3_16.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8783-...
).

Most of the Caatinga areas investigated are concentrated at lower altitudes ranging from 132 to 554 m, and this study is the first to be carried out in environments located above 930 m altitude (Santos et al., 2011aSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2011b. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology (Impr.), 71: 47-56. 10.1590/S1519-69842011000100008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-6984201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
; Alcântara et al., 2017Alcântara, J.A.; Souza, E.B. & Braga, P.E.T. 2017. Ocorrência e caracterização de galhas em duas áreas do noroeste do Ceará, Brasil. Natureza On Line, 15(1): 33-40.; Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
; Santos-Silva et al., 2022Santos-Silva, J.; Santos, G.A.B. & Santos, J.C. 2022. Soils and seasonality influence the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants in a tropical dry forest. Journal of Arid Environments, 196: 1-11, e104651. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104651.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021....
). The richness of galls in lower altitudinal strata ranged from 2 to 33 morphotypes, lower than that observed in the Caatinga areas in the present study (n = 36).

Our results do not add evidence for the altitudinal gradient hypothesis that argues that the richness of gall-inducing insects decreases with increasing altitude (Lara et al., 2002Lara, A.C.F.; Fernandes, G.W. & Gonçalves-Alvim, S.J. 2002. Tests of hypotheses on patterns of gall distribution along an altitudinal gradient. Tropical Zoology, 15(2): 219-232. 10.1080/03946975.2002.10531176.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03946975.2002.10...
). Altitudes above 1,000 meters also do not limit the species richness of gall-inducing insects in the Cerrado biome of the Chapada Diamantina. Altitude is an important factor in the spatial distribution of insects as a whole (Freitas et al., 2007Freitas, S.; Flinte, V. & Macedo, M.V. 2007. Distribuição altitudinal e temporal de sete espécies de Plagiometriona (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) no Parque Nacional Serra dos Órgãos, RJ. In: Congresso de Ecologia do Brasil; 8º, 2007. Anais. Caxambu, Sociedade de Ecologia do Brasil. Disponível em http://www.seb-ecologia.org.br/revistas/indexar/anais/viiiceb/pdf/843.pd.
http://www.seb-ecologia.org.br/revistas/...
). Many of the species are widely distributed along altitudinal gradients so that their populations live at extremely low or high elevations, experiencing vastly different environmental conditions (Hodkinson, 2005Hodkinson, I.D. 2005. Terrestrial insects along elevation gradients: species and community responses to altitude. Biological Reviews, 80(3): 489-513. 10.1017/s1464793105006767.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s146479310500676...
). Few empirical studies have addressed how altitude impacts the species richness of gall-inducing insects on a local scale. However, prior research (Araújo & Guilherme, 2012Araújo, W.S. & Guilherme, F.A.G. 2012. Distribuição de insetos galhadores em diferentes formações vegetais e paisagens do Cerrado Brasileiro. Biosciense Journal, 28(5): 810-819.; Coelho et al., 2017Coelho, M.S.; Carneiro, M.A.A.; Branco, C.A.; Borges, R.X. & Fernandes, G.W. 2017. Galling insects of the Brazilian Páramos: species richness and composition along high-altitude grasslands. Environmental Entomology, 46(6): 1243-1253. 10.1093/ee/nvx147.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx147...
) indicates that gall-inducing insect richness was not correlated with altitude. Peaks in species richness can occur at different altitudinal points. This suggests that factors such as habitat, floristic diversity, and insect population complexity may have greater impact on gall-inducing insect richness.

In this study, the Fabaceae hosted the highest number of galls in the physiognomic forms studied in the municipality of Rio de Contas. In other regions sampled in Northeastern Brazil, this family also showed higher richness of gall-inducing insects and host plants in Caatinga habitats (Santos et al., 2011aSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, G.W. 2011b. Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology (Impr.), 71: 47-56. 10.1590/S1519-69842011000100008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-6984201100...
; Carvalho-Fernandes et al., 2012Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Ferreira, A.L.N. 2012. Riqueza de galhas entomógenas em áreas antropizadas e preservadas de Caatinga. Revista Árvore, 32(2): 269-277. 10.1590/S0100-67622012000200008.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6762201200...
), Cerrado (Silva et al., 2018Silva, A.R.F.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Occurrence and characterization of entomogenic galls in na área of Cerrado sensu stricto and Gallery forest of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 90(3): 2903-2919. 10.1590/0001-3765201820170522.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652018201...
; Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
; Santana et al., 2020Santana, C.A.G.S.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Silva, J.S. 2020. Insect galls and their host plants in gallery forest in Bahia State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Botany, 43(4): 989-998. 10.1007/s40415-020-00641-4.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00641...
). Fabaceae is among the main host families of gall inducers in Brazil together with Asteraceae (Flor et al., 2022Flor, I.C.; Rodrigues, A.R.; Silva, S.A.; Proença, B. & Maia, V.C. 2022. Insect galls on Asteraceae in Brazil: richness, geographic distribution, associated fauna, endemism and economic importance. Biota Neotropica , 22(1): 1-10, e20211250. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2021-1250.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-202...
), with a total of 438 gall morphotypes found on 178 host species, holding the largest number of host plant species (Santos-Silva & Araújo, 2020Santos-Silva, J. & Araújo, T.J. 2020. Are Fabaceae the principal super-hosts of galls in Brazil? Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 92(2): 1-15, e20181115. 10.1590/0001-3765202020181115.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652020201...
).

Among the genera of the Fabaceae, some are considered superhosts because they present a higher number of gall-inducing insects and gall morphotypes in different Brazilian biomes (Santos-Silva & Araújo, 2020Santos-Silva, J. & Araújo, T.J. 2020. Are Fabaceae the principal super-hosts of galls in Brazil? Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 92(2): 1-15, e20181115. 10.1590/0001-3765202020181115.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652020201...
); these genera includeas Copaifera, Bauhinia, and Mimosa, which hosted the highest richness of galls in the phytophysiognomies studied in Rio de Contas. These three genera combined have 25 host species in the Brazilian flora (Santos-Silva & Araújo, 2020Santos-Silva, J. & Araújo, T.J. 2020. Are Fabaceae the principal super-hosts of galls in Brazil? Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 92(2): 1-15, e20181115. 10.1590/0001-3765202020181115.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652020201...
), in which some species are reported to be superhosts of gall-inducing-insects, such as Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (n = 28), Bauhinia brevipes Vogel (n = 17), Copaifera sabulicola J.A.S. Costa & L.P. Queiroz (n = 12) (Santos-Silva & Araújo, 2020Santos-Silva, J. & Araújo, T.J. 2020. Are Fabaceae the principal super-hosts of galls in Brazil? Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 92(2): 1-15, e20181115. 10.1590/0001-3765202020181115.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652020201...
), and Mimosa gemmulata Barneby (Costa et al., 2021Costa, E.C.; Oliveira, D.C., Ferreira, D.K.L. & Isaias, R.M.S. 2021. Structural and Nutritional Peculiarities Related to Lifespan Differences on Four Lopesia Induced Bivalve-Shaped Galls on the Single Super-Host Mimosa gemmulata. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 1-13, e660557. 10.3389/fpls.2021.660557.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.660557...
).

Twelve of the host plant species studied are endemic to Brazil. The gall-inducers associated with them are proposed as co-endemic due to their high host specificity. Therefore, 22 gall-inducing species are co-endemic. Lippia alnifolia Mart. & Schauer (Verbenaceae) is endemic and vulnerable. This plant harbors a species of Cecidomyiidae, considered co-vulnerable, for the same reason. Because of poor taxonomic knowledge of gall-inducers in Brazil, none of them have been identified, which strengthens the need for conservation of the Chapada Diamantina.

Another worrisome result was the occurrence of galls on an introduced exotic plant, Mangifera indica, in riparian forest areas, which may reveal a potential conservation problem in Chapada Diamantina and a threat to the specialization of plant-gall-inducing insect networks. The presence of exotic species might reduce the interaction number for native species, which would lead to changes in the specialization of plant-gall-inducing insect networks (Araújo et al., 2017Araújo, W.S.; Grandez-Rios, J.M.; Bergamini, L.L. & Kollár, J. 2017. Exotic species and the structure of a plant-galling network. Network Biology, 7(2): 21-32.). The effects of exotic host plant species in the structure of network of gall-inducing insects associated has been poorly investigated. In the only study available on this topic, it was demonstrated that native insect herbivores were significantly more frequent on native host plant species, while exotic herbivores occurred mostly on exotic host plant species, suggesting very specific interactions even for exotic plants and insects, which results in plant-gall-inducing insect networks very specialized and similarly structured independently of exotic species presence (Araújo et al., 2017Araújo, W.S.; Grandez-Rios, J.M.; Bergamini, L.L. & Kollár, J. 2017. Exotic species and the structure of a plant-galling network. Network Biology, 7(2): 21-32.). However, this pattern should be investigated in future studies including other groups of gall-inducing arthropods and/or higher trophic levels.

Our results indicated that gall composition in Caatinga areas is clearly distinct from that in Cerrado areas, as only four gall morphotypes were shared. So, both phytogeographic domains contribute to the gall richness of the Chapada Diamantina. Although the largest number of gall morphotypes was found in shrubs and subshrubs, the highest average of gall morphotypes was reported in trees. These results favored the plant architecture hypothesis that predicts the most complex plants host the highest gall richness, since they offer the greatest number of niches for the insects (Lawton, 1983Lawton, J.H. 1983. Plant architecture and the diversity of phytophagous insects. Annual Review of Entomology, 28: 23-29. 10.1146/annurev.en.28.010183.000323.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.28.01...
).

In this study, the galls were induced mainly on leaves, being less frequent on fruits. Only a single globoid gall was induced on the fruits of an unidentified Fabaceae species occurring in Riparian Forest (Cerrado biome). The presence of galls on reproductive structures was observed on 128 host plant species, belonging mainly to Fabaceae (78 species) (Cocoletzi et al., 2019Cocoletzi, E.; Contreras-Varela, X.; García-Pozos, M.J.; López-Portilla, L.; Gaspariano-Machorro, M.D.; García-Chávez, J.; Fernandes, G.W. & Aguirre-Jaimes, A. 2019. Incidence of galls on fruits of Parkinsonia praecox and its consequences on structure and physiology traits in a Mexican semi-arid region. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 90: 1-18, e902758. 10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2758.
https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.20...
). Galls can be induced on any vegetative structure (leaves, stems, branches and roots) or reproductive organ (flowers, fruits and seeds) (Mani, 1964Mani, M.S. 1964. Ecology of plant galls. The Hague, Junk. 400p. 10.1007/978-94-017-6230-4.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6230-...
). However, buds, flowers, and fruits are poorly represented as host organs, since these structures depend on the phenological stage of the plant. Gall induction on fruits should start inside the ovary where the cells are not yet differentiated, producing galls mainly without seeds, consequently the normal structure of the fruit is modified (Cocoletzi et al., 2019Cocoletzi, E.; Contreras-Varela, X.; García-Pozos, M.J.; López-Portilla, L.; Gaspariano-Machorro, M.D.; García-Chávez, J.; Fernandes, G.W. & Aguirre-Jaimes, A. 2019. Incidence of galls on fruits of Parkinsonia praecox and its consequences on structure and physiology traits in a Mexican semi-arid region. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 90: 1-18, e902758. 10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2758.
https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.20...
). Thus, the presence of galls on these organs could represent serious threats to the plants due to the impact they would have on plant performance and fitness (Fernandes, 1987Fernandes, G.W. 1987. Gall forming insects: their economic importance and control. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 31(3): 379-398.).

In gall inventories for the Neotropical region, green galls are the most frequent, followed by brown. However, in the present study an inversion occurred and brown coloration was the most observed, followed by green, as was also observed in transition vegetation between caatinga and cerrado (Luz et al., 2012Luz, G.R.; Fernandes, G.W.; Silva, J.O.; Neves, F.S. & Fagundes, M. 2012. Galhas de insetos em habitats xérico e mésico em região de transição Cerrado Caatinga no norte de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 7(3): 171-187. 10.4013/NBC.2012.73.04.
https://doi.org/10.4013/NBC.2012.73.04...
), caatinga (Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
), and cerrado s.s. (Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
). Galls are colorful as a result of accumulation of plant-derived pigments in their tissue and therefore can be distinguished from the surrounding host plant organs. The pigmentation is not a fixed trait and notable polymorphism can be observed (Inbar et al., 2009Inbar, M.; Izhaki, I.; Koplovich, A.; Lupo, I.; Silanikove, N.; Glasser, T.; Gerchman, Y.; Perevolotsky, A. & Lev-Yadun, S. 2009. Why do many galls have conspicuous colors? A new hypothesis. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 4: 1-6. 10.1007/s11829-009-9082-7.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-009-9082-...
). Some galls may change color during their development, from lighter to darker, such as observed here and previously recorded on leaf galls induced on Lippia microphylla Cham. by Cecidomyiidae (from green to brown; Vieira et al., 2018Vieira, L.G.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Insect galls in Rupestrian fields and Cerrado sensu stricto vegetation in Caetité, Bahia, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 18(2): 1-11, e20170402. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2017-0402.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
); leaf galls on Eugenia sp. (Myrtaceae) (from yellow to reddish-yellow to black; Santana et al., 2020Santana, C.A.G.S.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Silva, J.S. 2020. Insect galls and their host plants in gallery forest in Bahia State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Botany, 43(4): 989-998. 10.1007/s40415-020-00641-4.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00641...
) and stem galls on Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae; from orange to brown) (Nogueira et al., 2016Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2016. Insect galls from Serra Geral, Caetité, BA, Brasil. Biota Neotropica , 16(1): 1-10, e20150035. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2015-0035.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
). These color changes are probably associated with the developmental stages of the galls, the growth of the inducer insects and/or the action of other trophic levels (Dias et al., 2013Dias, G.G.; Moreira, G.R.P.; Ferreira, B.G & Isaias, R.M.S. 2013. Why do the galls induced by Calophya duvauae Scott on Schinus polygamus (Cav.) Cabrera (Anacardiaceae) change colors? Biochemical Systematics and Ecology , 48: 111-122. 10.1016/j.bse.2012.12.013.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bse.2012.12.01...
).

The habit of inducing galls has been recorded for the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera (Maia, 2013Maia, V.C. 2013. Insect galls of São Tomé das Letras (MG, Brazil). Biota Neotropica , 13(4): 164-189. 10.1590/S1676-06032013000400017.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-0603201300...
). In this study, representatives of four of these orders, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera, induced galls in the phytophysiognomies investigated. Some 49.56% of the galls waere empty and with only immature stages, which made it impossible to identify many of the inducing insects. Those that could be identified belong to the family Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). This family is responsible for inducing galls in other inventories conducted in different Brazilian ecosystems (Santos et al., 2011bSantos, J.C.; Almeida-Cortez, J.S. & Fernandes, W.G. 2011a. Richness of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 55(1): 45-54. 10.1590/S0085-56262011000100009.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-5626201100...
; Maia & Silva, 2016Maia, V.C. & Silva, L.O. 2016. Insect galls of Restinga de Marambaia (Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, RJ). Brazilian Journal of Biology , 76(3): 787-795. 10.1590/1519-6984.05314.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.05314...
; Urso-Guimarães et al., 2017Urso-Guimarães, M.V.; Castello, A.C.D.; Kataoka, A.E.Y. & Koch, I. 2017. Characterization of entomogen galls from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia , 61(1): 25-42. 10.1016/j.rbe.2016.08.002.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbe.2016.08.00...
; Lima & Calado, 2018Lima, V.P. & Calado, D. 2018. Morphological characterization of insect galls and new records of associated invertebrates in a Cerrado area in Bahia State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 78(4): 636-643. 10.1590/1519-6984.169502.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.169502...
; Vieira et al., 2018Vieira, L.G.; Nogueira, R.M.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Insect galls in Rupestrian fields and Cerrado sensu stricto vegetation in Caetité, Bahia, Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 18(2): 1-11, e20170402. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2017-0402.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-201...
; Campos et al., 2021Campos, G.B.D.; Costa, E.C.; Santos, D.L.S.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2021. Insect galls and associated fauna in two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências , 93(Supl. 3): 1-19, e20201442. 10.1590/0001-3765202120201442.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652021202...
). The family Cecidomyiidae is very diverse with more than 6,500 species, most of which are gall-inducing (Gagné & Jaschhof, 2021Gagné, R.J. & Jaschhof, M. 2021. A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World, 5.ed. Digital version. 813p. Washington, D.C. , U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.). For Brazil, about 265 species of Cecidomyiidae are known (Maia, 2021Maia, V.C. 2021. Cecidomyiidae (Diptera, Insecta): richness of species and distribution in Brazil. Biota Neotropica , 21(2): 1-35, e20201038. 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2020-1038.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-202...
), of which 44 species of 28 genera have been recorded in Bahia (Maia & Silva, 2020Maia, V.C. & Silva, B.G. 2020. Checklist of the gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in the state of Bahia (Northeastern Brazil). Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research, 3(4): 3991-4013. 10.34188/bjaerv3n4-096.
https://doi.org/10.34188/bjaerv3n4-096...
).

The gall-inducing insects are defined as guild of herbivores that to complete its life cycle necessarily develops a pathological modification in the tissue of the host plant (gall), as a result of hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia of the plant tissue, which arises from the interaction between the insect and the host plant (Weis et al., 1988Weis, A.E.; Walton, R. & Crego, C.L. 1988. Reactive plant tissue sites and the population biology of gall makers. Annual Review of Entomology , 33: 467-486. 10.1146/annurev.en.33.010188.002343.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.33.01...
). In addition to the inducing insects, other organisms can be found inside the galls that are considered as parasitoids, inquilines, cecidophages, kleptoparasites, predators, and successors. These organisms belong to the orders Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Pseudoescorpiones, and Diptera (Maia, 2001Maia, V.C. 2001. The gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) from three restingas of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia , 18(2): 583-629. 10.1590/S0101-81752001000200028.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-8175200100...
), Hymenoptera being the most frequent parasitoids of the Brazilian flora (Maia & Azevedo, 2009Maia, V.C. & Azevedo, M.A.P. 2009. Micro-himenópteros associados com galhas de Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) em Restingas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). Biota Neotropica , 9(2): 1-14. 10.1590/S1676-06032009000200015.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-0603200900...
). Inhabitants occurred in a single fusiform morphotype on Calophyllum brasiliense (Calophyllaceae) induced by Lepidoptera and in two globoid galls on Erythroxylum suberosum A. St.-Hil. (Erythroxylaceae) induced by Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Hymenoptera parasitoids were also found associated with seven gall morphotypes. Successors, belonging to Psocoptera, were found in only one morphotype of gall induced on Aspidosperma tomentosum Mart. (Apocynaceae). In the literature, Psocoptera have been recorded as successors of caulinary galls on Senegalia langsdorffii (Benth.) Seigler & Ebinger and Senegalia paganuccii Seigler, Ebinger & P.G. Ribeiro in a different area of caatinga (Brito et al., 2018Brito, G.P.; Costa, E.C.; Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. & Santos-Silva, J. 2018. Riqueza de galhas de insetos em áreas de caatinga com diferentes graus de antropização do estado da Bahia, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 108: 1-9, e2018003. 10.1590/1678-4766e2018003.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e201800...
).

CONCLUSIONS

This study was the first to document gall and gall host richness in the Chapada Diamantina. Moreover, our results add evidences to the plant richness hypothesis, which suggests that an increase in the number plant species may be responsible for higher gall-inducing species richness at local habitats or different plant formations. The plant richness hypothesis may be the general explanation for the distribution of gall-inducing species in the Espinhaço Range, now also found in its northern portion (= Chapada Dimantina). The occurrence of endemic and/or vulnerable plants possibly supporting unique gall-inducing insects, that is, a highly correlated fauna of endemic and/or vulnerable gall-inducing insects reinforces the importance of the Chapada Diamantina for the preservation of Brazil’s biodiversity. Considering the geological, biological and ecological uniqueness of the Chapada Diamantina, as well as its extension, which reaches about 50.000 km², it is necessary to direct new efforts to document the richness of gall-inducers from other regions of the Chapada Diamantina.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

We thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) and CNPq for the JSS research grant (Proc. № E-26/202.501/2019, Proc. № 160015/2019-7, respectively).

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  • FUNDING INFORMATION:

    Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Proc. № 406111/2016-2) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB) (Proc. № 9648/2015).

Edited by

Edited by:

Carlos José Einicker Lamas

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    10 June 2024
  • Date of issue
    2024

History

  • Received
    24 July 2023
  • Accepted
    19 Dec 2023
  • Published
    05 Feb 2024
Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo Av. Nazaré, 481, Ipiranga, 04263-000 São Paulo SP Brasil, Tel.: (55 11) 2065-8133 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: einicker@usp.br