ZOOGEOGRAPHY AND FAUNISTICS Posters and Abstracts:DENDROPHILOUS COCCOIDS (HEMIPTERA: COCCOIDEA) OF THE WALNUT-FRUIT FOREST AREA OF KYRGYZSTAN

Abstract

A study of dendrophilous coccoid fauna of the walnut-fruit forest area of southern Kyrgyzstan (the Fergana and Chatkal mountain ranges) was undertaken. Forty-five coccoid species were discovered belonging to 27 genera and 6 families: Diaspididae (9 genera, 18 species), Coccidae (9 genera, 15 species), Pseudococcidae (6 genera, 9 species) and Margarodidae, Eriococcidae and Ortheziidae (1 species each). The scale insect fauna contains 9 species which are basically from Central Asia (20%) and 14 species which are subendemic to the Iranian and Turanian regions (31%). The rest of the species are Mediterranean (7 spp., 16%), European (2 spp., 5%), Palaearctic (4 spp., 9%) and Holarctic (3 spp., 7%). The complex of accidental species includes 6 species (13.5%). These scale species could be referred to three groups: polyphagous - 24 species (53.3%), oligophagous - 18 species (40%) and monophagous - 3 species (6.7%). In addition, on the basis of their frequency and damage, 10 species were categorised as numerous, 21 species as moderately numerous and 14 species as rare or infrequent.

The most numerous and economically important species was Sphaerolecanium prunastri (Fonsc.), which caused extensive damage to the local alycha species (Prunus sogdiana Vass.). In these areas of Kyrgyzstan, biological control of the scale insect fauna is considered the most appropriate and promising method and such encyrtid parasitoids as Discodes coccophagus Ratz. and Microterys hortulanus Erd. play an important role in the control of S. prunastri.