Acanthoscelides pallidipennis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), a spermatophagous insect of indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa L.) and its natural enemies in Serbia | Acanthoscelides pallidipennis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), spermatofaga bagremca (Amorpha fruticosa L.) i njeni prirodni neprijatelji u Srbiji
2008
Gagic, R., Institut za sumarstvo, Beograd (Serbia) | Mihajlovic, R., Sumarski fakultet, Beograd (Serbia) | Glavendekic, M., Sumarski fakultet, Beograd (Serbia)
Indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa L.) is an invasive plant colonizing various forest habitats in Serbia. In flooded forest habitats, this bush is a dangerous forest weed due to its high sub-spontaneous reproduction. In order to identify a candidate for biological control, a research of indigo bush entomofauna was initiated in Serbia in 2006. Investigations were carried out on the fringes of the Pannonian basin (Macva, Belgrade, etc.) and in Vojvodina. The most important spermatophagous species of indigo bush, according to present knowledge, is the bruchid bettle Acanthoscelides pallidipennis originating from North America. Morphological characteristics of its populations in Serbia are similar to those in Hungary, Japan, and Texas. The percentage of parasitized seeds on the investigated locations was 32.4%. The beetle overwinters as larva in the seed and the first imagoes fly out in late March. Parasitoids Eupelmus sp. and Oedaule sp. were first observed in November 2007 sporadically, but they flew out massively in April-May of 2008. They appear in very small percentages of infested seeds and overwinter as ectoparasitoids of A. pallidipennis larvae. The genera Eupelmus and Oedaule are autochthonous in the Balkans and have adjusted to their new host. As A. pallidipennis has been identified as an important reducing factor of generative reproduction, research of the bruchid beetle and its parasitoids, as well as of entomofauna of this weed species in general, should continue with the idea of making advance in indigo bush control.
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