Bionomy of spruce bud scale, Physokermes piceae (schrank) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in the Belgrade area, Serbia

Draga Graora,Radoslava Spasic,L Mihajlovic

doi:10.2298/abs1201337g

Draga Graora, Radoslava Spasic + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.2298/abs1201337g

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Abstract

Spruce bud scale, Physokermes piceae, develops on the genus Picea. Large colonies of this species are constantly present on Picea abies in green areas in the Belgrade territory, causing the drying of needles, branches and whole plants. Therefore, Ph. piceae is a significant spruce pest. Spruce scales attract many entomophagous insects able to reduce pest population. Parasitoid wasps Coccophagus lycimnia (Walk) (Aphelinidae) and Microterys lunatus (Dalm.) (Encyrtidae) were reared. Predators Exochomus quadripustulatus L., Scymnus abietis Paykull (Coccinellidae) and Anthribus nebulosus Forster (Anthribidae) were determined. Both species of ladybird were confirmed as predators of Ph. piceae for the first time in Serbia, while S. abietis is a new species for the fauna of Serbia. The most effective natural enemy of Ph. piceae was A. nebulosus, reducing populations by 68-80%.

Highlights

Physokermes piceae, spruce bud scale, belongs to the family Coccidae, order Hemiptera
During the examination of spruce in parks, gardens and other green areas in Belgrade, the species Ph. piceae was determined on Picea abies on nine localities: Banovo Brdo, Bežanijska Kosa, Dorćol, Miljakovac, Novi Beograd, Surčin, Vidikovac, Zemun, Zvezdara
Ph. piceae was determined in the wider Belgrade territory only on Picea abies, with a high infestation level, causing the drying of needles, branches and whole plants

Summary

Introduction

Physokermes piceae, spruce bud scale, belongs to the family Coccidae, order Hemiptera. It has been mentioned under the synonyms Coccus piceae Sch., C. racemosus Ratz. It is distributed throughout Europe, North America and Mongolia (Kozar, 1998). In the whole distribution area, it inhabits spruce (Picea spp.), while in Turkey it has been found on plants from the genus Abies (Ulgenturk and Canakcioglu, 2004). It is present in forests, nurseries and urban areas. It is significant in urban areas where it often overmultiplies

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