Pests

Entomoscelis adonidis Pall. - Red Turnip Beetle

Systematic position.

Class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae, genus Entomoscelis Chevr.

Synonyms.

Chrysomela adonidis Pall.; Ch. trilineata F.; Ch. dorsalis F.; Entomoscelis hammarstroemi Jacob.

Biological group.

Pest of rape, mustard, cabbage, turnip, radish.

Morphology and biology.

Body length, 6.0-10.3 mm. Body is convex, nearly parallel-sided, yellow-reddish, with more or less distinct black drawing. Labrum, clypeus, frontal stripe, vertex, antennae, median pronotal stripe, often elytral longitudinal stripes, body underside and legs are black. 7-8th antennal segments are slightly elongated. Pronotum has no basal limbation; its apical angles are rounded, and basal ones are obtuse-angled. Prothorax is shorter than metathorax. Punctures in elytral striae are irregular, subsutural stria is somewhat impressed in apical half. Forecoxal sockets are closed, tibial upper side is flattened, claws are simple. Egg is reddish, oviform, about 1 mm long. After hatching, larva is yellowish in the beginning and covered with light clublike hairs. Mature larva is dark brown dorsally and yellow-reddish ventrally. Larval thoracic and abdominal tergites have 3 transversal rows of sclerites. The first row includes 6 sclerites on mesothorax, metathorax, and abdominal segments. Body length of mature larva is 13-14 mm.

Distribution.

Europe, Asia Minor, Mongolia, Northern Chine. Introduced to Northern America. In the former USSR, the species inhabits the European part northward to forest zone; the Caucasus, Siberia except North eastward to the Far East; Kazakhstan and Middle Asia.

Ecology.

Moderately xerophilous monovoltine species. It is more abundant in forest-steppe and steppe zones. Cruciferous weeds (especially Sisymbrium sp.) and Adonis vernalis are the natural host plants of the pest. In mountains, it is distributed up to Alpine zone. The pest hibernates in the stage of egg in soil or under plant litter. Larvae hatch in April-May. They gnaw round leaves, leaving their veins. The larvae stop feeding and hide in soil when the temperature falls lower than 10c. Larval stage includes 4 instars developing 10-28 days. Pupation occurs at the end of spring in soil at a depth of 5-15 cm; the depth depends on the soil humidity. At the temperature 20-22c and soil humidity 60-80%, the pupa develops 8-10 days. Young beetles appear in the beginning of summer, feeding 15-17 days on leaves and flowers of crucifers. Aestivation of adults in the southern part of area occurs in soil at a depth of about 7 cm. At the end of summer after aestivation, the adults actively feed on immature seeds within crucifer pods and mate. Female lays eggs on soil surface at the temperature about 18-24C. Fertility is 180-250 eggs. In Western Siberia, about 18% of larvae are infested by tachinid flies.

Economic significance.

The pest damages in adult stage mainly. Beetles prefer to feed on turnip, radish, and in lesser degree on rape, mustard, and horseradish. Seedlings of cabbage are injured by the pest, too. The harming activity is sporadic and insignificant. The pest is more harmful in the south of the European part of the former USSR. Control measures include under-winter plowing after finishing oviposition.

Reference citations:

Borowiec L. http://www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/cassidae/European%20Chrysomelidae/entomoscelis.htm
Brovdii V.M. 1974. Family Chrysomelidae. In: Vasil.ev V.P., ed. Pests of agricultural crops and forest plantations. V. 2. Arthropods. Kiev: Urozhai, p. 49-88 (in Russian).
Dubeshko, L.N. & Medvedev, L.N. 1989. Ecology of leaf beetles of Siberia and Far East. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkutskogo universiteta. 224 p. (in Russian).
Lopatin I.K. 1977. Leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) of Middle Asia and Kazakhstan. Leningrad: Nauka. 289 p. (in Russian).
Lopatin I.K. & Kulenova K.Z. 1986. Leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from Kazakhstan. Alma-Ata: Nauka. 199 p. (in Russian).
Lopatin I.K. & Nesterova O.L. 2005. Insects of Belarus: Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae. Monograph. Minsk: Tekhnoprint. 294 p. (in Russian).
Medvedev L.N. 1973. Data on the fauna of chrysomelids (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) of the Northern part of Irkusk Region and adjacent territories. In: Kulik S.A., ed., Fauna and ecology of insects of Eastern Siberia and Far East. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkutskogo universiteta. P. 142-151. (in Russian).
Medvedev L.N. 1992. Family Chrysomelidae. In: Keys to insects of the Far East of the USSR. V. 3. Coleoptera, or beetles. Part 2. Ed. P.A. Ler. St. Petersburg: Nauka. p. 533-602 (in Russian).
Mirzoeva N. 2001. A study of the ecological complexes of the leaf-eating beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in Azerbaijan. Turk. Journ. Zool. 25: 41-52.
Sakharov N.L. 1934. Pests of mustards and their control. Saratov: Saratov kraigiz. 120 p. (in Russian).
Samedov N.G. 1963. Fauna and biology of beetles injuring agricultural plants in Azerbaijan. Baku: AN Azerb. SSR. 384 p. (in Russian).
Shernin A.I. 1974. Order Coleoptera. In: Shernin A.I. ed. Fauna of Kirov Region (2). Kirov: Kirov Ped. Inst. p. 111-227. (in Russian).
Shvetsova A.N. 1958. Entomoscelis adonidis . the pest of cruciferous cultures in Omsk Region. In: Gradoboev N.D., ed., Proceeding of Omsk SKhI. 22 (2). Omsk: Omskoe oblastnoe knizhnoe izdat. P. 69-77. (in Russian).

© David'yan G.E.

Picture © Borowiec L. http://www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/cassidae/European%20Chrysomelidae/entomoscelis.htm
 

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