Urban greenery aphids (Hemiptera, Aphididae)

In 2010-2011, a study of the occurrence of aphids was carried out in three parks in Bydgoszcz, the Balaton Park, the Jan Kochanowski Park and the Park by Unii Lubelskiej. Observations were made every ten days by monitoring trees and shrubs as soon as aphids appeared, i.e. from the end of April to the beginning of August. The counts of aphids were replicated three times, on each plant species where the insects were observed. Based on the collected material, 14 aphid species were found on 16 plant species in the Jan Kochanowski Park, 16 species of aphids on 14 plant species in the Balaton Park and in the Park by Unii Lubelskiej, only 12 species feeding on 16 plant species. In both years of the study, of aphid species feeding on trees and shrubs, Aphis fabae, Aphis sambuci, Aphis spiraephaga and Hyalopterus pruni, occurred most frequently. The Balaton Park was characterized by the largest number of aphids colonizing plants; in contrast, the number of tree and bush species on which they fed was the lowest

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidinea) and ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the urban environments of Bydgoszcz and its vicinities

The subject of this study was aphids (Hem., Aphidinea) in particularly valuable environments called “environmental islands”. In fact, they are specific refuges of beneficial and protected entomofauna in the agricultural landscape. The results can contribute to verification of protection of some arable crops by taking those habitats into consideration in the so-called natural biological pest control. Towns, in turn, are specific ecosystems which are composed of many factors with a clearly different character and intensity than in natural environments. On account of the important role and a small degree of knowing Carabidae fauna in urbanized areas, a study was undertaken in 1998 in Bydgoszcz and its neighbourhood, aimed at indicating hanges that occur in the fauna of Carabidae in various types of urban green and town protection zone, as well as determining the role of these environments as reservoirs of entomophagous species, which can disperse to agrocenoses

Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae) of the mealy plum aphid Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffr.) on common reed (Phragmites australis) in different types of habitat in Poland

The aim of the present work was to determine the parasitoid guild of the mealy plum aphid Hyalopterus pruni on common reed (Phragmites australis) in different types of habitats in central Poland. The investigations were carried out in selected areas of the Salted Kujawy Region (central-northern Poland). To compare the parasitoid guilds of H. pruni from common reed in different types of habitats, species composition, number, domination structure and the percentage of parasitization (effectiveness) were evaluated. The primary parasitoid guild of H. pruni on common reed in central Poland comprises three aphidiine braconids, mainly Praon volucre and P. abjectum. The number of the primary parasitoid species and their effectiveness in the aphid colonies were very low. Hence, common reed did not seem to be a good reservoir of the H. pruni parasitoids, but it may play a role as a place of dispersion of these insects, beneficial to orchards. A very low number of the hyperparasitoids were observed in the aphid colonies

Primary parasitoid and hyperparasitoid guilds (hymenoptera) of grain aphid (Sitobion avenae F.) in northern Poland

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the guilds of parasitic Hymenoptera associated with the grain aphid on rye and winter wheat in northern Poland. Of the seven species of primary parasitoids (Braconidae: Aphidiinae, Aphelinidae), parasitizing colonies of Sitobion avenae, the most numerous and most frequently occurring, included Praon volucre, Aphidius ervi and Aphidius uzbekistanicus. Primary parasitoids of grain aphids were largely eliminated by hyperparasitoids, mostly of the families Megaspilidae (Dendrocerus carpenteri), Figitidae-Alloxystini (Alloxysta spp. and Phaenoglyphis villosa) and Pteromalidae (Pachyneuron aphidis, Asaphes vulgaris, Coruna clavata), but D. carpenteri and Alloxysta spp. belonged to dominants and subdominants, respectively

Aphid Assemblages Associated with Urban Park Plant Communities

Some aphid species are important agricultural pests, sometimes also found on plants growing in urban areas. In this work, we set out to identify the plant species, communities or habitats that are more attractive to aphids in order to limit their spread into new green areas. The aim of the study was to determine and compare plant communities and the assemblages of aphids associated with them in different urban park habitats. The research hypothesis assumed that the differences between aphid assemblages depend on plant diversity and hence reflect urban park habitat environmental conditions, in particular the plant communities and the floral structure. The study was carried out in Bydgoszcz (northern Poland), and four parks were taken into consideration. Herein, floristic lists were used to calculate ecological indicator values for each park. The aphid species richness was determined, as well as the relative abundance and dominance structure similarities of the aphid assemblages. Our results demonstrated that Prunus spp. were strongly infested by Hyalopterus pruni, similarly as Philadelphus inodorus by Aphis fabae, Sambucus nigra by Aphis sambuci, and Acerplatanoides and A. pseudoplatanus by Periphyllus testudinaceus. Park plantations of Robinia pseudoacacia were not very attractive to aphids. The most attractive plant communities to aphids were syntaxonomically identifiable as alluvial alder forests in the layer of trees and Cornus sanguinea in the layer of shrubs