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Revista de Biología Tropical

On-line version ISSN 0034-7744Print version ISSN 0034-7744

Rev. biol. trop vol.49 n.3-4 San José Dec. 2001

 

A survey of homopteran species (Auchenorrhyncha)
from coffee shrubs and poró and laurel trees in shaded 
coffee plantations, in Turrialba, Costa Rica

 

Liliana Rojas 1 , Carolina Godoy 2 , Paul Hanson 3 and Luko Hilje 4 *

1 Red Ecorregional de América Latina Tropical. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). Apartado aéreo 6713. Cali, Colombia.

2 Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio). Heredia, Costa Rica.

3 Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica.

4 Unidad de Fitoprotección, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). Turrialba, Costa Rica.

* Address for correspondence: Fax (506) 556-0606, e-mail: lhilje@catie.ac.cr

Received 06-VI-2000. Corrected 01-II-2001. Accepted 08-II-2001.

Abstract

Asurvey of homopteran species (Auchenorryncha) was conducted in coffee plantations with no shade (C), and in those with shade of either poró (Erythrina poeppigiana) (CP) or poró plus laurel (Cordia alliodora) (CPL), in Turrialba, Costa Rica. A total of 130 species in ten families were collected, dominated by Cicadellidae (82 species). Species richness was highest in the CP system (88), followed by CPL (74) and C systems (60). Five most common species for all systems were Fusigonalia lativittata, Hebralebra nicaraguensis, Neocoelidia sp., Oliarus sp. and Clastoptera sp. Diversification of the coffee agroecosystem favors some species while limiting others, and have no effect on the majority of species. Thus, only F. lativittata, Neocoelidia sp. and Scaphytopius ca. latidens were well represented in all systems, but were more abundant in coffee shrubs. Additionally, the following were the dominant species in each system: Graphocephala sp. 1 (C), F. lativittata (CP) and H. nicaraguensis (CPL). Four species abundant on laurel trees, including H. nicaraguensis, appeared almost exclusively on these tree species. Species similarity was highest on the CP and CPL systems (51 % of the species in common), followed by the C and CP (39 %) and the C and CPL systems (38 %). These findings show that even disturbed systems can harbor many insect species, so that they deserve attention from conservation advocates and biologists.

Key words: Coffee, poró, laurel, shade trees, biodiversity, Homoptera, Costa Rica.

 

The study, conservation, and utilization of tropical biodiversity are current major issues among conservation biologists (Wilson 1988). Nevertheless, research has been focused mainly on pristine ecosystems, to a large extent disregarding the actual or potential value of biodiversity in agroecosystems (Vandermeer and Perfecto 1997). For instance, agroecosystems such as shaded coffee plantations in Mesoamerica are an important refuge for biodiversity, including birds and insects (Perfecto et al. 1996). Some Hymenoptera and Coleoptera groups have high levels of diversity in traditional coffee plantations (Nestel et al. 1993, Perfecto and Vandermeer 1994, Perfecto and Snelling 1995, Perfecto et al. 1997), which resemble natural forests in terms of their multistrata structure and floristic diversity (Perfecto et al. 1996).

Shade trees in these systems play important agronomic and economic roles (Beer et al. 1998). Combinations including nitrogen-fixing trees, such as poró (Erythrina poeppigiana (Walpers) O.F. Cook, Fabaceae: Papilionoideae) and laurel (Cordia alliodora (Ruiz and Pavón) Oken, Boraginaceae), are rather common in several areas of Costa Rica. From either a species conservation or a pest management standpoint, it is important to know whether these systems, with only one or two tree species, can harbor and maintain a high diversity of insect species, in comparison to coffee monocultures.

Homopterans (Auchenorryncha), a taxonomically well known insect group, was chosen as to appraise the importance of shade trees in promoting species abundance and diversity in coffee plantations. Previous data on Auchenorrhyncha associated with coffee plantations in Costa Rica are quite poor, as only 19 hopper species had been recorded for coffee (C. Godoy unpublished), 17 for poró (Hilje et al. 1993), and two for laurel (Hilje et al. 1991, Arguedas et al. 1997).

This paper reports on the particular homopteran groups present in these systems, whereas data on patterns of species diversity and similarity appear elsewhere (Rojas et al. 2000).

 

Materials and methods

The survey was carried out in Turrialba, Costa Rica, where average annual values of climatic variables are 2 616 mm precipitation, 21.7 ºC temperature, and 87.9 % RH. Even though Turrialba is located in the Caribbean watershed, where seasonality is not well defined (Herrera 1985), the eight-month sampling period (March-October, 1997) allowed collecting of a representative sample of homopteran species during both dry and rainy periods.

Sampled coffee farms were located between 600-800 m elevations, at 9º 55’ N and 83º 39’ O, within premontane wet forest and tropical moist forest life zones. Presence and abundance of homopteran species were recorded in three systems: unshaded coffee (C), coffee-poró (CP), and coffee-poró-laurel (CPL). Three commercial farms were sampled for each system on three dates. Farms differed in coffee variety, planting densities, and size, as well as in the type of surrounding vegetation.

Four hundred coffee plants and 20 poró or laurel trees were sampled in each farm. Poró and laurel trees were selected so that they did not exceed 3 m in height, to allow sampling with an aerial insect net. Each coffee plant was swept three times with the net, at different heights, whereas the poró and laurel trees were swept 15 times along the lower edge of their crown. Samples were placed in plastic bags and taken to the laboratory, where they were killed. Specimens were separated to morphospecies and the numbers of individuals per species were recorded. Representative specimens were mounted and identified by one of the authors (C. Godoy).

 

Results

A total of 10 612 specimens, representing 130 species in ten families, were collected during the study. The number of species follows: Cicadellidae (82), Membracidae (22), Cercopidae (6), Flatidae (4), Delphacidae (3), Derbidae (3), Dictyopharidae (3), Issidae (3), Tropiduchidae (3), and Cixiidae (2) (Table 1). Eight families in common were represented among the three systems. Delphacidae and Dictyopharidae were not found in unshaded coffee. Species richness was highest in the coffee- poró (CP) (88), followed by the coffee-poró-laurel (CPL) (74) and the unshaded coffee (C) (60) (Table 1).

 

Table 1

Total numbers of families, species and individuals
of homopterans (Auchenorrhyncha) collected in three
coffee systems in Turrialba, Costa Rica. 1998.

Families

Species

Individuals

     

Unshaded coffee

   
     

Cercopidae

1

294

Cicadellidae

45

2 120

Cixiidae

2

145

Derbidae

1

3

Flatidae

1

4

Issidae

2

109

Membracidae

7

34

Tropiduchidae

1

17

TOTAL

60

2 726

     

Coffee-poró

   
     

Cercopidae

5

340

Cicadellidae

53

2 851

Cixiidae

2

292

Delphacidae

1

2

Derbidae

3

98

Dictyopharidae

3

38

Flatidae

4

19

Issidae

3

124

Membracidae

12

223

Tropiduchidae

2

26

TOTAL

88

4 013

     

Coffee-poró-laurel

   
     

Cercopidae

1

38

Cicadellidae

43

3 287

Cixiidae

2

124

Delphacidae

3

3

Derbidae

3

76

Dictyopharidae

2

5

Flatidae

3

8

Issidae

3

86

Membracidae

12

205

Tropiduchidae

2

41

TOTAL

74

3 873

 

 

Cicadellidae represented 58 % of the species and 71 % of the individuals, followed by Membracidae and Cercopidae. At least four species of Cicadellidae (Omegalebra n. sp., Oncometopia n. sp., Nielsonia n. p. and Cicadellidae n. sp.) are undescribed. Not all species were equally abundant (Table 2). In the unshaded coffee system, 13 % of the species were represented by 100-1 000 individuals, 19 % by 10-100 individuals, and 68 % by less than 10 individuals. In the coffee-poró system, a single species (1 %) had more than 1 000 individuals, 10 % had between 100-1 000, 25 % had between 10-100, and 63 % had less than 10 individuals. In the coffee-poró-laurel system, one species (1 %) had more than 1 000 individuals, 8 % had between 100-1 000, 29 % had between 10-100, and 62 % had less than 10 individuals.

Table 2


Families and species of homopterans collected in three types of coffee systems in Turrialba,
Costa Rica. 1998.

Family

Coffee

Coffee-poró

Coffee-poró-laurel

   

Coffee

Poró

Coffee

Poró

Laurel








Cercopidae

           

Aeneolamia postica (Walker)

0

1

0

0

0

0

Cercopidae sp.1

0

0

1

0

0

0

Cercopidae sp.2

0

0

2

0

0

0

Clastoptera sp.

294

290

45

28

5

5

Sphenorhina conspicua (Distant)

0

1

0

0

0

0

             

Cicadellidae

           

Agallia panamensis Linnavuori & DeLong

5

0

0

1

0

0

Agallia sp.1

0

1

0

0

0

0

Agallia sp.2

1

0

0

0

0

0

Agallia sp.3

1

1

1

0

0

0

Agalliopsis flagellata Nielson & Godoy

1

0

0

0

0

0

Agalliopsis sp.1

3

0

0

0

0

0

Agalliopsis sp.2

1

0

0

0

0

0

Agrosoma placetis Medler

0

1

0

0

0

0

Bahita sp.

10

19

1

18

1

2

Baleja flavoguttata (Latreille)

1

1

0

0

0

0

Caldwelliola reservata (Fowler)

1

0

1

0

0

1

Carneocephala dyeri (Gibson)

1

0

0

0

0

0

Carneocephala sp.

0

1

0

0

0

0

Cicadellidae n.sp.

67

266

12

40

5

1

Curtara sp.

5

12

2

23

0

1

Diestostemma schmidti Melichar

0

0

1

0

0

0

Dilobopterus instratus (Fowler)

0

2

0

0

0

0

Dilobopterus pardalinus (Fowler)

2

15

2

0

0

0

Empoasca sp.

7

26

191

11

315

34

Erythrogonia areolata (Signoret)

1

0

1

0

0

0

Fusigonalia lativittata (Fowler)

411

1 066

42

157

2

1

Graminella sp.

1

0

0

0

0

1

Graphocephala coccinea (Forster)

1

0

0

0

0

0

Graphocephala permagna Nielson & Godoy

272

113

11

0

0

0

Graphocephala sp.1

640

22

6

2

0

0

Graphocephala sp.2

70

72

6

62

0

0

Graphocephala sp.3

79

29

6

28

2

0

Gypona ca. axena

6

0

0

0

0

0

Gypona postica Walker

4

2

0

1

0

0

Gypona sp.1

8

2

0

4

0

0

Gypona sp.2

0

2

1

1

0

0

Gypona sp.3

0

2

0

1

1

0

Gypona sp.4

1

0

0

4

0

0

Gypona sp.5

0

0

0

1

0

0

Gypona sp.6

7

0

0

0

0

0

Gyponana sp.

0

1

0

0

0

0

Hebralebra nicaraguensis (Baker)

0

0

1

17

5

1 324

Hebralebra panamensis (?) Young

0

0

1

0

1

80

Hecalapona sp. (?)

38

35

1

34

1

0

Hortensia similis (Walker)

0

1

0

0

0

2

Idiocerinae sp.

1

0

0

0

0

0

Juliaca pulla Young

42

20

3

0

0

0

Ladoffa sannionis Young

0

2

0

1

0

0

Ladoffa variolaria (?) Young

0

0

1

0

0

0

Macugonalia testudinaria (Fowler)

14

15

0

0

0

0

Macunolla ventralis (Signoret)

17

19

0

0

0

0

Mareja reticuliceps Young

0

0

0

1

0

0

Microgoniella sociata (Fowler)

61

46

5

10

0

0

Neocoelidia n. sp.

199

317

173

110

92

33

Nielsonia n. sp.

0

7

0

1

0

0

Omegalebra n. sp.

0

0

0

19

7

512

Omegalebra sp.1

0

0

0

0

0

23

Oncometopia clarior (Walker)

00

0

0

0

1

0

Oncometopia n. sp.

1

1

0

0

3

1

Oncometopia sp.

2

5

0

2

1

0

Oncometopia sp.1

0

3

0

0

0

0

Osbornellus affinis (Osborn)

12

31

7

16

11

1

Osbornellus ca. rarus DeLong

1

1

0

1

0

0

Pilosana bivirgata Nielson

4

2

0

1

0

0

Pilosana gratiosa (Spångberg)

0

7

1

2

0

0

Planicephalus Flavicosta Stål

0

1

0

0

0

0

Plesiomata sp.

1

0

0

0

0

0

Polana sp.1

5

20

5

32

3

16

Polana sp.2

0

0

0

1

0

0

Polana sp. 3

0

 

0

1

1

0

Scaphytopius ca. latidens (DeLong)

109

151

12

155

6

20

Scaphytopius sp.1

0

3

0

0

0

0

Sibovia occcatoria (Say)

3

0

0

0

0

0

Stephanolla rufoapicata (Fowler)

0

2

1

4

0

0

Tylozygus geometricus (Signoret)

0

1

0

0

0

0

Typhlocybinae Erythroneurini 1

1

0

0

0

0

0

Typhlocybinae Erythroneurini 2

0

0

0

0

0

1

Typhlocybinae Alebrini

0

1

0

0

0

0

Xestocephalus tessellates Van Duzee

2

2

2

1

0

0

Xestocephalus sp.

1

0

0

0

0

0

             

Cixiidae

           

Bothriocera sp.

1

67

121

17

50

28

Oliarus sp.

144

72

32

8

2

19

             

Delphacidae

           

Delphacidae sp.1

0

1

1

0

1

0

Delphacidae sp.2

0

0

0

0

1

0

Herpis sp. (?)

0

0

0

0

0

1

             

Derbidae

           

Derbidae sp.1

3

6

78

6

46

19

Derbidae sp.2

0

0

10

0

1

3

Derbidae sp.3

0

0

4

0

1

0

             

Dictyopharidae

           

Myndus sp.

0

1

0

0

2

1

Taosa herbida Walker

0

8

28

1

1

0

             

Flatidae

           

Flatidae sp.1

4

6

4

2

1

0

Flatidae sp.2

0

1

0

0

0

0

Flatidae sp.3

0

1

3

0

2

1

Flatidae sp.4

0

2

2

1

1

0

             

Issidae

           

Colpoptera sp.1

108

57

35

21

14

32

Colpoptera sp.2

1

21

10

7

3

8

Issidae sp.

0

1

0

1

0

0

             

Tropiduchidae

           

Cyphoceratopini colgorma (?)

17

15

10

5

6

29

Tropiduchidae sp.1

0

0

0

0

0

1

Tropiduchidae sp.2

0

0

1

0

0

0

             

Membracidae

           

Amastris sp.

1

2

6

3

11

1

Bolbonota sp.

27

53

58

19

19

3

Dysyncritus sp.

0

1

1

0

0

0

Dysyncritus sp. (?)

0

3

7

1

1

0

Enchenopa sp.

0

2

1

0

1

0

Enchophyllum sp.

1

6

19

6

22

0

Erechtia sp.

0

0

1

1

2

0

Hyphinoe asphaltina

(Fairmaire)

0

2

0

0

0

0

Ischnocentrus niger (?)

1

0

0

0

0

0

Ischnocentrus sp.

0

0

0

1

2

0

Membracis peruviana

(Fairmaire)

0

1

45

0

2

0

Micrutalis sp.

0

0

0

1

0

100

Smiliinae amastrini

1

0

0

0

0

0

Smiliinae ceresini

2

0

3

1

1

0

Stictopelta sp.

0

0

0

0

1

0

Tolania sp.

0

0

1

0

1

0

Tribu Ceresini

1

1

10

0

6

1

             

TOTAL

2 726

2 974

1 039

899

666

2 308


The five most abundant species for the three systems, as a whole, were: Fusigonalia lativittata (1 679), Hebralebra nicaraguensis (1 346), Neocoelidia sp. (924), Oliarus sp. (877) and Clastoptera sp. (629). Nonetheless, when data were split by system, only two species (F. lativittata and H. nicaraguensis) remained as dominant ones for a particular system (Table 3), whereas Graphocephala sp. 1, despite not ranking among the five most abundant species, was the dominant one in the C system. With the exception of F. lativittata, which ranked among the ten most abundant species for the three systems (Table 3), the other two dominant species (H. nicaraguensis and Graphocephala sp. 1) were barely or not represented at all in the other systems.

Table 3


A list of the ten most common homopteran species in each coffee system,
in Turrialba, Costa Rica. 1998.

Coffee

 

Coffee-poró

 

Coffee-poró-laurel

 
           

Graphocephala sp.

1 640

F. lativittata

1 108

H. nicaraguensis

1 346

F. lativittata

411

Neocoelidia sp.

490

Omegalebra n.sp.

538

Clastoptera sp.

294

Clastoptera sp.

335

Empoasca sp.

360

G. permagna

272

Cicadellidae n.sp.

278

Neocoelidia sp.

235

Neocoelidia sp.

199

Empoasca sp.

217

S. ca. latidens

181

Oliarus sp.

144

Bothriocera sp.

188

F. lativittata

160

S. ca. latidens

109

S. ca. latidens

163

Micrutalis sp.

101

Colpoptera sp.

108

G. permagna

124

Bothriocera sp.

95

Graphocephala sp.

379

Bolbonota sp.

111

H. panamensis

81

Graphocephala sp.

270

Oliarus sp.

104

Derbidae sp.

171

 
Also, only F. lativittata, Neocoelidia sp. and Scaphytopius ca. latidens were well represented in the three systems, but they were more consistently present and abundant in coffee, regardless of the system (Table 2), although all of them also appeared in poró and laurel. Another five species (Clastoptera sp., G. permagna, Oliarus sp., Empoasca sp. and Bothriocera sp.) ranked among the most common in two of the systems. The first three were closely associated with coffee, but only in the C and CP systems. Empoasca sp. and Bothriocera sp. were abundant in poró in the CP and CPL systems, although both also appeared in coffee and laurel.

Species similarity was highest between the CP and CPL systems, which shared 55 (51 %) of the 107 species present; C and CP systems shared 41 (39 %) out of 104 species, and the C and CPL systems shared 37 (38 %) out of 97 species. Most shared homopteran species between systems were barely represented in any of the compared systems. Fusigonalia lativittata, Neocoelidia sp. and Scaphytopius ca. latidens were consistently high in the three systems, although their densities were always higher in coffee shrubs. Empoasca sp., Bothriocera sp. and Derbidae sp. 1, which were almost absent from the C system, were the most abundant shared species between the CP and CPL systems. They always reached higher numbers in poró trees.

 

Discussion

The fact that not all homopteran species were equally abundant in each of the three systems studied reveals that they follow the same pattern observed in natural communities (Krebs 1978). In this case, the dominant (i.e. most abundant) species for the coffee-tree communities were F. lativittata, H. nicaraguensis, Neocoelidia sp., Oliarus sp. and Clastoptera sp.

In addition, data suggest that diversification of the coffee agroecosystem directly or indirectly favors some species while limiting others, but had no effect on the majority of species. For instance, Graphocephala sp. 1 was the dominant species in unshaded coffee, but its numbers declined drastically when coffee was associated with either poró or laurel. The species was barely present in poró but not in laurel, and its numbers in coffee declined severely as diversification increased, to the point that in the CPL system it did not appear in coffee. Other congener species, Graphocephala sp. 3 and Graphocephala sp. 2, showed an analogous trend. It is possible that microclimatic changes associated with diversification could have given rise to these patterns for homopteran species closely associated with coffee, as coffee itself did not vary within any of the three systems, except for normal variations in variety and age, as well as in planting densities. In contrast, F. lativittata, which also has a close association with coffee, reached highest numbers in the CP system, fewer in the C system, and dropped sharply in the CPL system.

Other homopteran species seem to benefit from diversification, at least to some extent. For instance, there was a great deal of variation for other species closely associated with coffee which also appeared in poró and laurel. Even though all of them preferred coffee regardless of the system, their highest numbers were attained in different systems. Thus, Neocoelidia sp. and Clastoptera sp. reached highest numbers in the CP system, whereas S. ca. latidens did so in the CPL system. Colpoptera sp. showed rather even numbers between the C and CP systems and was more common in laurel than in coffee in the CPL system. Finally, Oliarus sp. was almost absent in coffee in the CPL system. It is likely that varying responses of homopteran species to diversification are more complex, perhaps involving a combination of factors related to both coffee systems (variety, age, planting densities, amount of shade, size, and surrounding vegetation) as well as to hopper differential ability to exploit food resources associated with foliage of coffee, poró and laurel trees.

Higher efficiency in exploiting food resources may allow some species to increase their numbers and in turn become more abundant and even dominant. Homopterans vary in their food preferences and have specific morphological and physiological adaptations to feed on the sap of phloem, mesophyll, or xylem (Backus 1986). For example, leafhoppers in the subfamily Cicadellinae (e.g. F. lativittata, Graphocephala sp. 1 and G. permagna) and Cercopidae feed in xylem, whereas leafhoppers in the subfamily Typhlocybinae (e.g. H. nicaraguensis and Empoasca sp.) probably feed in mesophyll (Nault and Rodriguez 1985). Most of the other taxa included in this study probably feed principally in phloem, like Cicadellidae (e.g. Agallia spp., Gypona spp., Neocoelidia sp.), Fulgoroidea (Cixiidae, Delphacidae, Derbidae, Dictyopharidae, Flatidae, Issidae, Tropiduchidae), and Membracidae. Xylem feeders tend to be more polyphagous than the phloem and mesophyll feeders. Species that feed on phloem sap secrete honeydew, which often attracts ants.

In addition to species closely associated with coffee, other homopteran species associated with companion trees, Empoasca sp. and Bothriocera sp., were predominant in poró trees, although they also appeared in coffee and laurel. Five most abundant species in poró were also present in coffee, and a few of them appeared in laurel trees. Since poró trees are routinely pruned once or twice a year, homopterans have to recolonize them once they resprout. This suggests that these species move to surrounding coffee shrubs when poró is defoliated. Their reproductive rate is probably maximized when they recolonize poró trees, due to the high nitrogen content of poró leaves (Beer et al. 1998).

Four species (H. nicaraguensis, H. panamensis, Omegalebra n. sp. and Micrutalis sp.) were abundant and appeared almost exclusively on laurel trees. This peculiarity in species composition may be explained not only in terms of specific preferences for laurel foliage, but also because of tree isolation, as laurel trees are sparsely planted in coffee plantations. In Turrialba, a hectare of coffee typically contains 70-150 laurel trees, 155 poró trees and 5 000-6 000 coffee shrubs. Moreover, isolation of laurel trees is increased by lack of disturbance throughout the year, as the lower branches are the only ones occasionally pruned.

In regards to species similarity, it was highest between the CP and CPL systems. Nonetheless, Rojas et al. (2000) showed that species diversity was higher in the CP system (2.84), than in the most complex system (CPL) probably owing to the latter generally receives less external inputs, such as fertilizers. Also, Rojas et al. (2000) provide a more detailed analysis of similarity patterns within each system, considering plant components (coffee, poró or laurel), geographic location of each plot and sampling date.

In summary, from a species conservation viewpoint, these results reinforce the idea that even disturbed systems can harbor many insect species, including some undescribed ones, so that they deserve to be studied in terms of their biodiversity patterns (Vandermeer and Perfecto 1997). On the other hand, from a pest management standpoint, even though homopterans have not been reported as coffee pests in Costa Rica (Anonymous 1989), shade trees may play a role in maintaining populations of their parasitoids and predators, thus possibly preventing homopteran outbreaks. However, this requires more study.

 

Acknowledgments

To Fundatrópicos and ODA (Overseas Development Administration), which made it possible for the first author to carry out her graduate studies. To Guillermo Ramírez (ICAFE) and the coffee farmers (La Isabel, Pavones and Verbena farms) for their logistical support. Finally, to Paul Freytag (University of Kentucky), for help in the identification of Typhlocybinae.

 

Resumen

En Turrialba, Costa Rica, se efectuó un inventario de especies de chicharritas (Homoptera: Auchenorryncha) en plantaciones de café sin sombra (C), así como en café asociado con árboles de poró (Erythrina poeppigiana) (CP) o de poró y laurel (Cordia alliodora) (CPL). Se recolectaron 131 especies, pertenecientes a diez familias, entre las cuales predominó Cicadellidae (82 especies). La riqueza de especies fue mayor para el sistema CP (88 especies), seguido por CPL y C, con 74 y 60 especies, respectivamente. Las cinco especies más comunes para los tres sistemas juntos fueron Fusigonalia lativittata, Hebralebra nicaraguensis, Neocoelidia sp., Oliarus sp. y Clastoptera sp. La diversificación del agroecosistema cafetalero parece favorecer a algunas especies y limitar a otras, pero no influye en la mayoría de ellas. Así, solamente F. lativittata, Neocoelidia sp. y Scaphytopius ca. latidens estuvieron bien representadas en los tres sistemas, aunque fueron más abundantes en los arbustos de café. Asimismo, las siguientes especies particulares fueron dominantes para cada sistema: Graphocephala sp. 1 (C), F. lativittata (CP) y H. nicaraguensis (CPL). Cuatro especies que fueron abundantes en los árboles de laurel, incluyendo a H. nicaraguensis, aparecieron casi exclusivamente en estos árboles. La similitud de especies fue mayor entre los sistemas CP y CPL (51 % de las especies en común), mientras que fue de 39 % entre C y CP, y de 38 % entre C y CPL. Estos hallazgos muestran que incluso algunos sistemas perturbados pueden albergar muchas especies de insectos, por lo que merecen la atención de los biólogos y conservacionistas.

 

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