DESCRIPTION OF ENDOTHENIA APOTOMISANA SP. N. AND CYDIA PELIONAE SP. N. FROM PELION MOUNTAINS, GREECE (LEPIDOPTERA TORTRICIDAE)

In the present work Endothenia apotomisana sp. n. (Tortricidae Olethreutinae Olethreutini) and Cydia pelionae sp. n. (Tortricidae Olethreutinae Grapholitini) are described as new to science, according to available literature (MEYRICK, 1912; KUZNETSOV, 1962, 1989; RAZOWSKI, 2003; AARVIK, 2013).The Lepidoptera Tortricidae from Greece have received only sporadic attention by both local and foreign lepidopterists with publications referring to one or few entities (for example AARVIK  and KARSHOLT , 1993; TREMATERRA  and KARSHOLT , 1996; TREMATERRA  and AARVIK, 1998; BASSI, 2014; HUEMER, 2016), while lacking summary works that consider the Hellenic fauna as a whole (GOZMANY, 2012).Our materials were collected on the Pelion Mountains (Magnisia, Greece) in the para-Mediterranean broad-leaved deciduous trees zone (Quercetalia pubescentis); this zone includes Oak forests (Quercus frainetto) and Chestnut forests (Castanea sativa)

LEPIDOPTERA TORTRICIDAE FROM CALABRIA(SOUTHERN ITALY)

A list of 181 species of Lepidoptera Tortricidae recorded during several expeditions realized in Calabria(southern Italy) is reported. Fifty-nine species are mentioned for the first time in Calabria. Of particular interest are 23species that have as a southern limit of their distribution area the Calabria territory

MORPHOLOGY AND ETHOLOGY OF THAUMETOPOEA HELLENICAAND THAUMETOPOEA MEDITERRANEA(LEPIDOPTERA NOTODONTIDAE THAUMETOPOEINAE)

Thaumetopoea hellenicaand Thaumetopoea mediterraneawere recently described from Central Greece andPantelleria Island (Italy), respectively. In this paper, we reported some information on their morphology, biological cycleand ecology. T. hellenicaand T. mediterraneaare closely related to T. pityocampa differing mainly ingenetic characters.Morphologically, the three species resemble each other, and can be mainly differentiated by observing wing patterns, can-thus, and the male and female genitalia. Some data on egg batches, mature larvae, pupae, flight period, host plants andcolonized environments were reported

Defining and Evaluating a Decision Support System (DSS) for the Precise Pest Management of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata, at the Farm Level

A Decision Support System (DSS) was developed and evaluated to control the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedermann), by incorporating a semi-automatic pest monitoring and a precision targeting approach in multi-varietal orchards. The DSS consists of three algorithms. DSS1, based on the degree days calculation, defines when the traps should be deployed in the field initiating the medfly population monitoring. DSS2 defines the areas to be treated and the type of treatment based on the number of adult medfly captures, harvesting time, and phenological stage of the host cultivar. DSS3 defines the spraying procedure considering the technical registration properties of the selected insecticide (e.g., withholding period and efficacy duration time) and weather conditions. The DSS was tested in commercial orchard conditions near Rome, central Italy, with a randomized complete blocks experimental design, comparing DSS-assisted and conventional management. In the DSS-assisted plots, a semi-automatic adult medfly monitoring system was deployed, composed of real-time, wireless electronic traps. The output of the functioning DSS is a map of spraying recommendation, reporting the areas to be treated and the treatment type (bait or cover insecticide spraying). The farmer was left free to follow, or not, the DSS indications. The first medfly captures were observed on June 30, whereas the DD threshold was reached on July 3 when the DSS started to operate. The field test produced 29 DSS decisions from July 3 to September 1 and confirmed that medfly management using the DSS substantially reduced the number of pesticide applications, the treated area, and the volumes of pesticide utilization. No significant differences in infested fruit were observed between DSS-assisted and conventional management. The level of acceptance of the DSS by the farmer was 78%. This evidence confirmed the requirement of fully involving farmers and pest managers during the evaluation process of DSS

DISTRIBUTION OF SOME EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA BASED ON THE FINDINGS OF THEIR NON-ADULT STAGES PRESENTED THROUGH TROPHIC ASSOCIATIONS AND A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THEIR PARASITOIDS

We examined 638 Lepidoptera specimens on the territories of 13 European countries in our search for parasitoids. We collected eggs, larvae and pupae. In total, 251 Lepidoptera species were identified, belonging to 169 genera from 30 families. Of the total sample, approximately one-third (32.23%) were parasitized. In 168 samples (26.42%), we identified only one parasitoid species per host. In addition to these data, 224 plant species from 114 genera were identified, of which the vast majority were feeding plants