The life cycle and efficacy of anthribus nebulosus forster in reducing soft scale populations in Belgrade

Abstract

Anthribus nebulosus Forster, 1770 (Coleoptera, Anthribidae) is a significant predator of soft scales from the Coccidae family. This paper presents data on the biology and efficacy of this species in Belgrade (Serbia) on five species of soft scales: Physokermes hemicryphus (Dalman), Physokermes piceae (Schrank), Eulecanium tiliae (L.), Parthenolecanium corni (Bouche) and Parthenolecanium rufulum (Cockerell) (Hemiptera, Coccidae). The life cycles of A. nebulosus and soft scales are synchronized. In April, the female A. nebulosus lays an egg under the body of a female soft scale. The hatched larva feeds on the eggs of the scale insect, passes through three stages of development, and then pupates under the scale exoskeleton. The duration of the embryonic and postembryonic development of the predator on these species of scales is similar. The only difference is in the duration of the development of third-stage larvae, which is reflected in the duration of the total development of the species that ranges from 43 to 49 days. The percentage of efficacy of A. nebulosus statistically significantly varies (p lt 0.001) among the studied species of soft scales, except between Ph. hemicryphus and E. tiliae. The highest percentage of efficacy (58.03%) was found in Ph. piceae, and the lowest (10.65%) in P. rufulum.