Phytoparasitica (2001) 29, 85-86

S. Ben-Yehuda and Z. Mendel (2001)
A method to determine the age of adults of two species of Capnodis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and Its implication in determining the seasonal population age structure
Phytoparasitica 29 (1), 85-86
18th Conference of the Entomological Society of Israel, May 18, 2000, Bet Dagan, Israel, lecture
Abstract: The peach flatheaded rootborer, Capnodis tenebrionis, and the almond flatheaded rootborer, Capnodis carbonaria, are key pests of cultivated stone fruits in Israel. Conducting controlled experiments with these beetles relies solely on adults collected in infested groves. Considering the fact that adults of both species live for 3-12 months, it was necessary to discard old and very young beetles from the collected material. In a series of observations under controlled conditions, using caged newly emerged beetles fed with apricot or plum twigs, we observed a good correlation between the age of the tested beetles and the sharpness of the mandibles. Thus, we found that ca 90% of the tested adults displayed severely bruised mandibles 145 and 160 days after emergence for C. tenebrionis and C. carbonaria, respectively. Based on the sharpness of the mandibles and the integrity of the tarsi, beetles collected in commercial groves were separated into three age groups: young, mature and old adults. The occurrence of both Capnodis spp. was studied between 1996 and 1999 by monthly sampling. C. tenebrionis was collected mainly from the Hula Valley and C. carbonaria mainly from the western Negev. Each year several hundred adults of each species were collected. It was found that C. tenebrionis occurs first mainly in early May and consists chiefly of mature and old adults. Peak occurrence and highest percentage of young adults were observed in July; the share of young adults decreased during the summer. From early December to late March, no adults were observed in the orchards. Adult C. carbonaria occur in the groves throughout the year. All three ages were represented in more or less even proportions, with young adults predominating between June and August. The findings suggest that monitoring of adult beetles should continue throughout the warm season. Insecticide dusting against emerging adults should be conducted against C. tenebrionis in May and June, and against C. carbonaria from June to August.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Zvi Mendel

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
population dynamics/ epidemiology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Capnodis tenebrionis		Israel
	Capnodis carbonaria		Israel