The commercial interest in honeydew honey is increasing because of its higher therapeutic properties than most flower-based honeys. Marchalina hellenica Gennadius (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae) is one of the important scale insects to produce of honeydew honey and its honeydew in large quantities is collected by honeybees and used in pine honey in Turkey. The aim of this study was to survey and identify honeydew producing insects’ habitats that source of honeydew honey in pure fir forest in Bolu, spruce forests in Giresun (Black Sea region), oaks forest in Kırklareli (Thracian region) and cedar forest in Antalya (Mediterranean region). In accordance with these results, we found 20 honeydew producers and among of them are Cinara cedri Mimeur on Cedrus libani, Marchalina caucasica Hadzibejli on Abies nordmanniana subsp nordmanniana, and Picea orientalis; Nemolecanium abietis Borchsenius, Physokermes hellenicus Kozẚr & Gounari and Schizolachnus pineti on Abies bornmuelleriana; Lachnus roboris Linnaeus and Parthenolecanium rufulum (Cockerell) on Quercus spp. and Castanea sativa; Metcalfa pruinosa Say (Hemiptera: Flatidae) and Ricania simulans (Walker) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) on different host plants. All these insects produce large amount of honeydew depending on their population size. The article discusses the potential for these insects to produce honeydew honey. Keywords: Picea orientalis, Abies nordmanniana, Ricania simulans, Eulecanium sericeum Metcalfa pruinosa, Marchalina caucasica

Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is an invasive pentatomid species native to Asian countries (Hamilton et al., 2018).

Background Western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Hemiptera: Coreidae), is an invasive polyphagous pest of coniferous trees. It causes serious economic losses in pine kernel production. Biocontrol of L. occidentalis through the egg parasitoid Ooencyrtus pityocampae Mercet (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) seems to be sustainable solution to reduce economic losses of the pest. In this study, the biology of O. pityocampae was investigated on its natural host, L. occidentalis, under laboratory conditions. Results In this context, the effects of host age, female age, and temperature on parasitism rate, emergence rate, developmental time, and longevity were investigated. Female age had a great influence on the parasitism rate. Parasitism rates were 8.0, 17.0, and 37.3% in 1-, 3-, and 5-day-old females, respectively. There was no effect of host age or female age on emergence rates at the two different temperatures (25 and 30 °C). Emergence rate ranged from 74.0 to 88.3%. The longest developmental time (17.9 d) was obtained on 3-day-old hosts at 25 °C. The longevity, which was one of the important criteria of the parasitoid, was significantly affected by temperature. Conclusion The results of this study on the biology of O. pityocampae may contribute significantly to the biological control studies of L. occidentalis. This egg parasitoid can be mass-produced on lepidopteran hosts for field releases against L. occidentalis.

Ooencyrtus pityocampae and Ooencyrtus kuvanae are egg parasitoids that are considered potential candidates for the control of different pest species through inundative release. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of different cold-storage periods of Philosamia ricini eggs (host) on the rearing parameters of O. pityocampae and O. kuvanae. Host eggs were stored at 3 °C, and a factorial experiment involving two parasitoid species, nine host storage periods (1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days) and a control, and two host ages (1 and 2 days) was conducted, with 10 replications including 40-P. ricini eggs each. Adult emergence, development time, longevity, and fecundity were investigated. The parasitoid adult emergence percentage significantly varied with storage duration. These values were lower in O. kuvanae than in O. pityocampae. The development time of O. kuvanae progeny increased in both host age groups except in the 1-day storage period subgroup. However, the development times of the progeny of O. pityocampae reared on one-day-old eggs stored for 5, 10, 60, and 75 days were increased, and the development times of the progeny of O. pityocampae reared on 2-day-old eggs stored for 45 and 90 days were increased. The longevity of the F1 progeny of O. kuvanae was negatively affected by storage time. There was no difference in the longevity of the F1 progeny of O. pityocampae compared to that of the control. Additionally, the fecundities of the F1 progeny of O. pityocampae and O. kuvanae were 54.7 and 47.0 offspring/female, respectively. These results provide useful information for guiding the development of mass rearing methodologies for both parasitoid species.