Species, number and frequency of floral visitors in crops submitted to the application of pesticides

ABSTRACT Pesticides can negatively influence on the attractiveness or behavior of floral visitors. Thus the present study aimed to evaluate the influence on species diversity and frequency floral visitation in chili and tomato crop after the application of pesticides. The products applied were ciantraniliprole, ciantraniliprole + thiamethoxam, thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, ciantraniliprole + abamectin and diafenthiuron. Assays were performed in the field during the period from June to November 2012. It was evaluated the total number of species and the number of visits of floral visitors in the period from 26/06/2012 to 11/09/2012 for the tomato crop and 25/09/2012 to 13/11/2012 for the chili crop. In the tomato crop was found a total of eight species of flower visitors, and to the chili crop was verified 27 species. The pesticides applied both in the tomato and chili crop did not reduce the number of floral visitors and the frequency of visitation of insects, showing ecological selectivity.