Fauna of Encyrtidae, parasitoids of coccids in Golcuk Natural Park

Είδη της οικογένειας Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), που παρασιτούν σε κοκκοειδή έντομα (Coccoidea), συλλέχθηκαν με παγίδα malaise στο φυσικό πάρκο Golcuk της Τουρκίας κατά την περίοδο Μάρτιος-Οκτώβριος 2009. Σαράντα τέσσερα είδη παρασιτοειδών της οικογένειας Encyrtidae που ανήκουν σε 24 γένη, καταγράφηκαν κατά τη διάρκεια της μελέτης. Δύο γένη και εννιά είδη είναι νέες καταγραφές για την εντομοπανίδα της Τουρκίας. Είκοσι οκτώ είδη αναγνωρίσθηκαν σε επίπεδο είδους και τα υπόλοιπα σε επίπεδο γένους ή μορφότυπου. Αυτή είναι η πρώτη προσπάθεια εκτίμησης της παρουσίας κοκκοειδών εντόμων σε μια περιοχή, χρησιμοποιώντας ως δείκτη τα παρασιτοειδή που συλλέγονται με τη βοήθεια παγίδας malaise.Species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), which are parasitoids of Coccoidea, were collected by malaise trap in Golcuk Natural Park during March-October, 2009. Forty-four species of encyrtids, belonging to 24 genera, were recorded during our survey. Two genera and nine species were found to represent new records for the Turkish fauna. Twenty-eight encyrtid species were identified to the species level and the remaining specimens to genus and morphospecies level. This was the first attempt at estimating the scale insect fauna using their parasitoids collected by malaise traps

Flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) collected by malaise trap method in Gölcük Natural Park (Isparta, Turkey), with a new record for Turkish fauna

This study is based on Alticinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) material collected by Malaise trapping which is different from other standardized collecting methods. A total of 19 flea beetle species belonging to 6 genera were collected from Gölcük Natural Park, Isparta (Turkey) during 2009. The species are listed in a table together with distributional data in Turkey. Among them, Longitarsus curtus (Allard, 1860) is recorded for the first time in Turkey. L. monticola Kutschera, 1863 and L. curtus are recently separated synonyms and thus all data referring to the distribution of both species are currently important. Hence, the zoogeographical distribution of the new record is reviewed with some remarks; habitus and genitalia are illustrated

New records of Chrysididae, Mutillidae, Crabronidae, and Sphecidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Gölcük Natural Park, Isparta, Turkey

تعداد 53 گونه زنبور متعلق به 27 جنس و چهار خانواده از پارک ملی Gölcük در استان Isparta ترکیه جمع‌آوری شد. از این میان گونه‌ی Cleptes schmidti Linsenmaier, 1968 برای اولین بار از ترکیه و 23 گونه‌ی دیگر برای اولین بار از استان مذکور گزارش می‌شوند

Metaphycus bogdanovikatkovi (Hym.: Encyrtidae), a new record for the Iranian fauna

Metaphycus bogdanovikatkovi Myartseva is recorded here for the first time from Iran. This species is reared on Rhizopulvinaria sp. (Hem.: Coccidae) on wild almond shrubs in Darab region, Fars province of Iran

Opportunities to reduce pollination deficits and address production shortfalls in an important insect pollinated crop

Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect-pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality through pollination management is therefore of international importance. To explore the extent of ‘pollination deficits’, where maximum yield is not being achieved due to insufficient pollination, we use an extensive dataset on a globally important crop, apples. We quantified how these deficits vary between orchards and countries as well as compare ‘pollinator dependence’ across different apple varieties. We found evidence of pollination deficits and in some cases, risks of over-pollination were even apparent where fruit quality could be reduced by too much pollination. In almost all regions studied we found some orchards performing significantly better than others, in terms of avoiding a pollination deficit and crop yield shortfalls due to sub-optimal pollination. This represents an opportunity to improve production through better pollinator and crop management. Our findings also demonstrate that pollinator dependence varies considerably between apple varieties in terms of fruit number and fruit quality. We propose that assessments of pollination service and deficits in crops can be used to quantify supply and demand for pollinators and help target local management to address deficits although crop variety has a strong influence on the role of pollinators