POPULATION DYNAMICS AND BIOCONTROL OF THE JAPANESE SCALE, LOPHOLEUCASPIS JAPONICA (COCKERELL) IN GEORGIA

Abstract

POPULATION DYNAMICS AND BIOCONTROL OF THE JAPANESE SCALE, LOPHOLEUCASPIS JAPONICA (COCKERELL) IN GEORGIA. The Japanese scale, Lopholeucaspis japonica (Cockerell) was discovered in Georgia in the Batumi Botanical Garden in 1931, where it was probably introduced from Japan. During the 1950’s, it was widespread and became a major pest of citrus, other fruits, tea, tung and ornamental plants. Japanese scale differs greatly from many other diaspidid species because it is pupiparial, the adult female being enclosed in a chitinous “puparium” which makes the use of contact pesticides to control this insect difficult. The scale has 2 generations a year (sometimes 3) and development of some stages is prolonged. Recently, the populations of Japanese scale have been significantly reduced due to effective control by its natural enemies, which include some chalcid parasitoids and coccinellid predators, but which is mainly due to an undescribed species of the fungus genus Aschersonia, hitherto not found in the Caucasus. Key words: Black Sea, insecticides, biology, Aphelinidae, Acarina, Chilocorus bipustulatus, Aspidiotiphagus citrinus, deuteromycete fungi, entomopathogenic fungi.