Mark G. Volkovitsh

Preimaginal stages of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae): an invasive pest on ash trees (Fraxinus).

This study provides the most detailed description of the immature stages of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire to date and illustrates suites of larval characters useful in distinguishing among Agrilus Curtis species and instars. Immature stages of eight species of Agrilus were examined and imaged using light and scanning electron microscopy. For A. planipennis all preimaginal stages (egg, instars I-IV, prepupa and pupa) were described. A combination of 14 character states were identified that serve to identify larvae of A. planipennis. Our results support the segregation of Agrilus larvae into two informal assemblages based on characters of the mouthparts, prothorax, and abdomen: the A. viridis and A. ater assemblages, with A. planipennis being more similar to the former. Additional evidence is provided in favor of excluding A. planipennis from the subgenus Uragrilus.

The ragweed leaf beetle Zygogramma suturalis F. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Russia: current distribution, abundance and implication for biological control of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.

The ragweed leaf beetle, Zygogramma suturalis F. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was introduced to Russia in 1978 against the common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. By 1985, it successfully acclimated and suppressed ragweed in the original release site and several neighbouring fields. However, because of crop rotation, its population density drastically decreased. In 2005 and 2006, we conducted selective quantitative sampling in Southern Russia. The results showed that the ragweed leaf beetle was distributed over an area of about 50,000 km2 in Krasnodar territory, west of Stavropol’ territory and south of Rostov province, i.e. most of the area heavily infested by ragweed in Russia. However, the average Z. suturalis population density was very low: approximately 0.001 adults per square metre (m2) in crop rotations and approximately 0.1 adults/m2 in more stable habitats, although in a few of the studied plots, up to 2–3 adults/m2 were recorded. As for common ragweed, average percent cover in crop rotations and in stable habitats was approximately 1% and 40%, correspondingly. A detectable level of host plant damage (≥5%) was recorded only in a few plots. The observed spatial variation of the Z. suturalis population density was mostly determined by the host plant abundance. The last was strongly dependent on the stability of the habitat, being much higher in stable habitats. Thus, it is still possible that stable protected field nurseries could be a promising method of Z. suturalis propagation for biological control of ragweed in surrounding locations.

An annotated catalogue of the Buprestidae of Iran (Coleoptera: Buprestoidea)

An annotated taxonomic catalogue of the jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Iran is given. Original descriptions and recent revisionary or catalogue data are included along with the distribution, both within and outside of Iran, ecological data and host plant associations, junior synonyms, and comments. A complete bibliography completes the catalogue. In total 428 species and 52 subspecies of jewel beetles belonging to 6 subfamilies (Julodinae, Polycestinae, Galbellinae, Chrysochroinae, Buprestinae, and Agrilinae), 20 tribes, and 38 genera are known from Iran including doubtful records and 4 nomina nuda. It is likely that the number of jewel beetle species from Iran will be between 460-480 and possibly even more species.

Host specificity of Asian Chrysochus Chevr. in Dej. (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae) and their potential use for biological control of invasive Vincetoxicum species

Three Asian leaf beetles of the genus Chrysochus were investigated as potential biological control agents of Vincetoxicum rossicum and V. nigrum, invasive weeds in northeastern North America. Chrysochus chinensis and Ch. globicollis were collected from a field host in a different genus and subtribe. Preliminary no-choice laboratory tests with Ch. goniostoma showed that its physiological host range is too broad. Based on these data, we are not considering these three species as potential biological control agents of invasive Vincetoxicum species.

A review of species of the genus Oobius Trjapitzin, 1963 (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae)—Egg parasitoids of jewel beetles, longicorn beetles (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae), and robber flies (Diptera, Asilidae)

The review contains diagnosis of the genus Oobius Trjapitzin, 1963 (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), a key to the females of its 9 species described in the world fauna, and synopsis of the species with data on their distribution and hosts. Special attention is paid to an economically important species, Oobius agrili Zhang et Wang, 2005, introduced from China into USA and Canada for biological control of the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), a very dangerous pest of ashes (Fraxinus spp.). This buprestid has also recently penetrated into Russia, which necessitates introduction of its egg parasitoid, O. agrili. Coccidencyrtus pinicola Mercet, 1921 from Spain is transferred to the genus Oobius, hence a new combination, O. pinicola (Mercet), comb. n., is proposed. The lectotype of Tyndarichus rudnevi S. Nowicki, 1928 (type species of the genus Oobius) is designated in the collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid and this is formally fixated in the present review. The material of Oobius has been studied in depositories of St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Madrid, and Monterrey (Mexico).

Are native ranges of the most destructive invasive pests well known? A case study of the native range of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Knowledge of the native range of invasive pests is vital for understanding their biology, for ecological niche modeling to infer potential invasive distribution, and for searching of natural enemies. Standard descriptions of pest ranges frequently pass from one publication to another without verification. Our goal is to test the reliability of distributional information exemplified by the native range of one of the most destructive and most studied invasive forest insect pests of Asian origin—the emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. Since the first detections of this notorious insect pest in North America in 2002 and European Russia in 2003, it has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees. Based on the examination of museum specimens and literature sources we compiled the most comprehensive database of records (108 localities) and the most detailed map of the native range of EAB in East Asia to date. There are documented records for 87 mainland localities of EAB in the Russian Far East (Primorskiy, Khabarovskiy Kray), China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong and Xinjiang), and South Korea, and 21 localities in Japan. Records from Nei Mongol, Sichuan, Mongolia, and Taiwan are ambiguous since no documented records are available. The example of EAB shows that standard descriptions of pest ranges could include false or ambiguous data. Compilation of the database of documented localities is the only way to obtain reliable information on the range.

Acmaeodera (Ptychomus) kubani sp.n. from Northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with notes on the taxonomic composition of the subgenus Ptychomus Marseul, 1866 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Polycestinae: Acmaeoderini)

Acmaeodera (Ptychomus) kubani sp. n. from Algeria, Libya and Egypt together with A. (P.) kubani saudita subsp. n. from Saudi Arabia are described, illustrated and compared with closely related species. Species-groups A. (P.) arabica Gory, 1840, A. (P.) polita (Klug, 1829) (with A. polita and A. foudrasii Solier, 1833 subgroups) and A. (P.) argodi Kerremans, 1907 are established within subgenus Ptychomus Marseul, 1866; diagnostic characters and composition of these groups are discussed.

A new invasive species of buprestid beetles in the Russian fauna: Lamprodila ( Palmar ) festiva (L.) (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), a pest of Cupressaceae

The buprestid beetle Lamprodila (Palmar) festiva (L.) (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Poecilonoini), an invasive pest of cultivated Cupressaceae such as Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Cupressus, and Juniperus in the Greater Sochi area (the Russian Black Sea coast), is recorded for the first time for Russia and the former USSR. Data on the systematic position, diagnostic characters, distribution, host plants, biology of the new pest, and its damage to urban plantations are discussed. Recent records of this species in the new areas of Central and Eastern Europe as well as on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus suggest expansion of its range during the recent decades.

A new species of the jewel-beetle subgenus Acmaeodera ( Ptychomus ) Marseul, 1866 from Oman (Coleoptera, Buprestidae: Polycestinae: Acmaeoderini)

A new species of buprestid beetles, Acmaeodera (Ptychomus) koshtali sp. n. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Polycestinae) from Oman is described, illustrated, and compared with the closely related species A. (P.) arabica Gory, 1840 and A. (P.) sancta Théry, 1926 which are also recorded from the Arabian Peninsula.

Factors influencing the population density of the weevil Microplontus millefolii Schze. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Ceutorhynchinae) in the environs of St. Petersburg

Environmental factors determining the population density of the weevil Microplontus millefolii, a stem miner of the common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, were investigated in the suburbs and environs of St. Petersburg, Russia. Larvae or empty mines of M. millefolii were found in 39 out of 43 inspected sites; in total, 620 out of 2283 T. vulgare stems were infested. The percentage of infested stems per site ranged from 0 up to almost 90%, the density of infestation (the mean number of larvae and empty mines per stem) ranged up to 2.3 with the mean of 0.51 for all inspected sites. The surrounding vegetation was the single environmental factor significantly correlated with the percentage of infested stems (30 and 20% in sites with domination of grasses and of forbs, correspondingly). The mechanisms of this dependence are not clear. Probably, the domination of grasses (that is a relatively advanced stage of the vegetation succession) is correlated with the longer period of time for accumulation of phytophagous insects associated with tansy. The analysis of data for individual stems (within-site distribution) showed that the mean number of the weevil larvae almost linearly increased with the diameter of the stem. The dependence on the host plant population density was also strong but not linear: both in dense patches (percent cover of more than 50%) and in sparse plants (percent cover of 1% and less) the density of infestation was higher than at a medium abundance of the host plant. In addition, in the patches with only a short time shadow from trees or tall herbs the density of infestation was higher than in those where the shadow stayed for longer or was absent at all. The mean density of T. vulgare infestation by M. millefolii was independent of the type of habitat (meadows, old fields, roadsides, ruderal sites), the size of the site, the average cover of T. vulgare, the total cover of green plants, the degree of anthropogenic disturbance, soil composition, and humidity. This ability to infest T. vulgare in very different habitats allows considering M. millefolii as a potentially effective agent for biological control of the common tansy in the invasion areas.