Gabriel André Turcatel

1 Introduction Astylus variegatus (Coleoptera, Melyridae) is commonly found in the neotropical regions of South America, including Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, where it infests flowering crops such as corn, soybean, sunflower, pumpkin, and strawberry (Matioli and Figueira 1988; Rossetto and Rossetto 1976). Initially, this insect was regarded as a beneficial pollinator due to its presence in flowers, where it feeds on excess pollen.

The excitatory role of amino acids, particularly l -glutamate ( l -Glu), in the nerve cell function was first demonstrated by Curtis et al. (1) l -Glu is one of the principal excitatory neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS) and operates through two major classes of receptors: ionotropic receptors (iGluRs) and metabotropic receptors (mGluRs).