Entomologia Croatica, Vol. 20 No. 1, 2021.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17971/ec.20.1.3
Natural inoculum of entomopathogenic fungi in the overwintering population of oak lace bug Corythucha arcuata (Heteroptera, Tingidae)
Marta Kovač
orcid.org/0000-0002-0116-7545
; Forest Research Institute, Jastrebarsko, Croatia
Abstract
The natural enemies of invasive oak lace bug, Corythucha arcuata (Heteroptera, Tingidae) have so far been poorly studied, but the discovery of entomopathogenic fungi as the cause of death of adult individuals found in the Spačva basin has deepened the need for entomopathological research. The aim of this study was to determine the oak lace bug population abundance, natural mortality and natural inoculum of entomopathogenic fungi, i.e. their presence in the oak lace bug population, by counting the average number of overwintering, dead and infected individuals in 1 m2 of moss at selected sites of the Spačva basin. The data were compared with those from March 2019, and the results showed that in these localities there is a certain decrease in the population density of this pest, and the overwintering generation has a very high mortality of 64%. Also, there was an increase of the natural inoculum of entomopathogenic fungi from 13% to 19% of the population, and in the total share of infected individuals 75% of them were infected with Beauveria fungi. This increase of natural inoculum indicates the reduction potential of entomopathogenic fungi and the role that these organisms play in the natural regulation of oak lace bug populations that could become increasingly important over time.
Keywords
Pedunculate oak; Spačva basin; invasive pest; entomopathology
Hrčak ID:
269567
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2021.
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