INSETOS E ÁCAROS ASSOCIADOS À CULTURA DA OLIVEIRA NA AMÉRICA DO SUL

Insects and mites associated to olive-growing in South America. South America has excellent conditions for the cultivation of olive trees. The main producing countries are Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Peru. These countries have already grown trees for a long time and, therefore, they already have some knowledge about organisms associated with olive that possibly occur in Brazil. This paper aims to show information regarding the incidence of insects and mites on olive producing countries of South America, and how they may affect the domestic production of olives and olive oil. The main insects and mites found in these countries are the mealybug olive Saissetia oleae (Olivier) (Hemiptera: Coccidae), the caterpillar of the olive tree, Palpita sp. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and mite olive Oxycenus maxwelli (Keifer) (Acari: Eriophyidae).