No abstract

Summary Soil samples and museum collections were analysed from all zoogeographic regions of the world. From this material eleven new species of OrtheziolaŠulc are described from Africa and the U.K., five additional species are redescribed and a key is presented for the identification of all sixteen species. A slightly modified concept of the genus is presented and several new characters are given as diagnostic of the genus. A phylogenetic hypothesis is given based on analysis of the morphological features of adult females. Results show that Ortheziola is most diverse in eastern Africa where relatively more advanced species occur. Basal species occur primarily in western Africa and Asia.

The variance in apple blossom weevil, Anthonomus pomorum L., populations was studied in two experimental orchards in Hungary. Over a 15 year period there were four peaks in abundance, at three to six year intervals. Blossom infestation was greatest in the six orchard rows closest to a mixed oak forest. Variance in percent blossoms infested was as great between adjacent branches as between branches on opposite sides of the tree. There was greater variance in infestation percent between adjacent trees than between clusters of trees in different parts of the orchard. There was a slight positive correlation (r = 0.18) between blossom density and the percent infested blossoms. A recommended sampling plan of three branches from ten trees would give a precision of ± 3 % infested blossoms with an error of 0.05. Sampling should be in a stratified random pattern with concentration of samples near the orchard edge, especially edges adjacent to forests. Zusammenfassung Untersuchungen über räumliche und zeitliche Variation von Apfelblütenstecher‐Populationen (Col., Curculionidae) und Empfehlungen für die stichprobenartige Probenahme In zwei ungarischen Versuchsgärten wurde die Variation von Apfelblütenstecher‐Populationen untersucht. In einem Zeitraum von 15 Jahren gab es vier Häufigkeitsspitzen, in drei‐ bis sechsjährigen Intervallen. Der Befall durch Anthonomus pomorum L. war in den sechs Obstbaumreihen, die einem Eichenmischbestand am nächsten standen, am höchsten. Der Unterschied zwischen dem prozentualen Anteil befallener Knospen war zwischen benachbarten Zweigen genauso groß wie zwischen Zweigen von entgegengesetzten Baumseiten. Der prozentuale Befallsunterschied zwischen benachbarten Bäumen war größer als zwischen Gruppen von Bäumen aus verschiedenen Teilen der Obstbaumplantage. Es konnte eine schwach positive Korrelation (r = 0.18) zwischen der Knospendichte und dem Knospenbefallsprozent festgestellt werden. Die empfohlene stichprobenartige Entnahme von drei Asten von zehn Bäumen bringt eine Genauigkeit von ± 3 % mit einem Fehler von 0,05. Die stichprobenartige Entnahme sollte nach einem zufällig gegliederten Muster erfolgen, wobei vor allem Bäume nahe dem Rand der Obstbaumplantagen und insbesondere solche, die an Wälder angrenzen, beprobt werden sollten.

Abstract. In European and American apple orchards the insect species richness, calculated from our own, and published data, varied widely (30–940 species). The dominance of insect orders was similar to that found in natural communities. To test the predictions of the‘resource diversity hypothesis’(RDH) and the‘intermediate disturbance hypothesis’(IDH) of insect diversity, we analysed the simultaneous impact of vegetational diversity and intensity of orchard management practice on the species richness of characteristic insect categories in six types of apple stands, over 5 years, in Hungary. The more diverse was the vegetation adjacent to the orchard and the less intensively was the orchard managed, the greater was the total insect species richness, supporting both hypotheses. The number of agricultural pest species found in the apple orchards depended above all on the diversity of adjacent agricultural vegetation, supporting only the RDH. The species richness of specialized apple pests was limited only by the intensity of pest control, supporting only the IDH. Within the category of generalist natural enemies species richness mainly varied with the diversity of adjacent vegetation, supporting the RDH. The aeroentomofauna constituted a surprisingly high percentage (>50%) for both total species and agricultural pests, but was poorly represented within the natural enemies category, and absent from the specific apple pest category. A general conclusion is that the number of insect species in perennial orchard‐systems within agricultural areas is determined primarily by the regional extra‐orchard vegetational diversity and secondly by the degree of local intra‐orchard disturbances and plant diversity. Consequently, at the community level the predictions of both hypotheses can be simultaneously valid at different spatial scales and are not mutually exclusive. However, within the community, at the level of the different insect categories studied here, only one of the hypotheses proved to be valid.

The adult females of five new species in the genus Eriococcus are described and illustrated: Eriococcus christopherus, E. longisetosus E. paranaensis, from Brazil, and E. maximus and E. venezuelaensis from Venezuela. In addition, the following are recorded for the first time: E. dubius (Cockerell), E. maximus and E. venezuelaensis from Brazil and Venezuela and E. rhadinothrix (Miller & González) from Brazil. The most widespread species was E. maximus, which was collected from Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela. A taxonomic key is provided for the separation of the seven species studied.

It was established that Parthenolecanium corni (Bouchi), Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comst.), and Dysaphis plantaginea (Pass.), had stable infestation patterns in the orchard over time. Other species had a stable distribution during part of the year and a random re-distribution at other times [Eriosoma lanigerum (Haus.), Aphidoletes sp.]. Other arthropods (Aphis sp., spiders, Coccznella septempmctata L.) had a random distribution pattern over time. The distribution pattern of insect species was determined variously by surrounding habitat (P. corni; Q . perniciosus; D. luntuginea), or by host plant susceptibility (E. lanigerum; Aphis spp.) which, in part, was a result of different size trees. We were able to detect the arrival of colonizing populations from outside the orchard using analysis of spatial distribution. The distribution pattern of predators was not always determined by the distribution of apple ests, but by alternate prey on weeds or in surrounding vegetation. For a better understandin of spatiardistribution of insects in orchards it was necessary to combine several analysis techniques suck as gra hical methods, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and chi-square; each method rovidin diierent types of information. The knowledge of aggregated distribution of pests can heyp to refuce the amount of pesticides using local treatments, saving with it natural enemies and increasing the possibilities of ecological plant protection. 1986;STINNER et al. 1983;TAKESHI and TOWNSEND, 1987). We studied two aspects of the colonization pattern of aphid and scale (Homoptera) pests and their natural enemies in an orchard. First was the description of, and methods for analysing, the spatial distribution of insects within an orchard. The second was the study of factors determining spatial patterns. 1986; SAMWAYS

Collection of scale insects in Greece in 1990 -1991 provided 71 species. Among them, 31 species were new for the Greek fauna. The total number of known species is 143 in Greece. Host plant's levels of infestation and phonological data are also presented. The results show that scale insect fauna of this country needs further intensive studies.

- a list of the scale insects (Homoptera: coccoidea) recorded by the authors for the Greek island of crete is reported. This includes twenty-seven species new to the island The most interesting records are Kermes palestiniensis Balachowsky (kermesidae), only recorded previously from Israel, and Getulaspis bupleuri (Marchal) (Diaspididae), only known previously from North africa and the Middle east. With the present additions, the number of scale insect species recorded on crete has reached 82. a revised check list of the scales presently known from the island is also provided. Riassunto - Nuovi reperti per la fauna di Homoptera Coccoidea di Creta e check list delle specie note nell'isolaViene riportato l'elenco di cocciniglie (Hemiptera, coccoidea) raccolte dagli autori, in periodi diversi, nell'isola di creta (Grecia). Di queste, 27 sono le specie non ancora note per l'isola. Di particolare interesse biogeografico è il reperimento di Kermes palestiniensis, Balachowsky (kermesidae), noto finora solo per Israele e di Getulaspis bupleuri (Marchal) (Diaspididae), nota per Nordafrica e Medio oriente. Viene presentata una check list delle cocciniglie finora note per l'isola.