Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henriot) is a predatory mite widespread in the Mediterranean region considered to be important for the biological control of spider mites in citrus orchards. Development, survival and reproduction of this phytoseiid mite feeding on seven commercially obtained pollen were studied under constant laboratory conditions (20 +/- 1 degrees C, RH 65 +/- 5%, photoperiod 16L: 8D h). Mites were kept individually at rearing units with ample quantity of almond (Prunus amygdalus Batch), apple (Malus domestica Borkh), apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), cherry (Prunus avium L.), pear (Pyrus communis L.), plum (Prunus domestica L.) and walnut (Juglans regia L.) pollen as food source. Developmental time from egg to adult varied between the several pollen tested from 8.38 +/-0.08 to 9.58 +/- 0.11 days for females and from 8.23 +/-0.12 and 9.07 +/-0.12 days for males. Female longevity varied from 11.53 +/- 1.22 to 51.38 +/- 2.45 days, while fecundity ranged from 22.84 +/- 2.30 to 43.61 +/- 3.78 eggs/female. The predator was unable to reproduce when feeding on walnut pollen. Data were submitted to life table analysis and values of the intrinsic rate of increase were derived, ranging from 0.079 to 0.146 (day(-1)). The cumulative Weibull function that was used to describe the age specific survival of females produced excellent fits to the survival data. Results show that almond, plum, cherry and apricot pollen possess higher nutritional value for E. stipulatus than pear and apple pollen and thus may contribute in sustaining and increasing the predator population in field conditions. Walnut pollen can be utilized by the predator only to survive during short periods of time when principal or alternative food sources are scarce.

The role of the self-sown shrubs Dittrichia viscosa (L.) W. Greuter and Rubus ulmifolius Schott as reservoirs of aphid parasitoids was investigated. In the field studies conducted, D. viscosa grew adjacent to crops of durum wheat and barley and R. ulmifolius grew adjacent to cotton. The relative abundance of the parasitoids of (a) Capitophorus inulae (Passerini) on D. viscosa, (b) Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) on durum wheat and barley, (c) Aphis ruborum (Börner) on R. ulmifolius, and (d) Aphis gossypii Glover on cotton in various parts of Greece, was assessed during the years 1996-2000. In 2000, the fluctuation of parasitization of the above four aphid species was recorded and the action of the aphidophagous predators of the family Coccinellidae was studied. It was observed that Aphidius matricariae Haliday predominated on C. inulae and R. padi in all sampling cases. In contrast, Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall) was the dominant species parasitizing A. ruborum on R. ulmifolius and A. gossypii on cotton in Thessaly (central Greece) and Macedonia (northern Greece), whereas Lysiphlebus confusus Tremblay et Eady and Binodoxys acalephae (Marshall) were the dominant parasitoid species in Thrace (northern Greece). Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus was the most abundant coccinellid species on durum wheat, whereas Adonia variegata (Goeze) predominated on cotton. However, coccinellid individuals were scarce on both D. viscosa and R. ulmifolius. The present study indicated that these two shrubs can be regarded as useful reservoirs of aphid parasitoids.

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Xylotrechus chinensis (Chevrolat) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a serious wood-boring insect of mulberry trees (Morus spp.). Larvae of this species enter the trunk of the tree and feed on woody tissues. Xylotrechus chinensis is endemic in several Asian countries, while, in the last decade, it invaded Europe. In the present work, we evaluated trunk injection against this pest. The systemic insecticides fipronil, imidacloprid, and spirotetramat were used in the trials. Abamectin was used as a positive control since it has been found to be effective for the management of X. chinensis. Imidacloprid and fipronil proved to be highly effective against this species in both years (9.5 and 12.1 exit holes/tree in 2021, 5.0 and 8.8 exit holes/tree in 2022, respectively), while spirotetramat was the least effective. The lowest mean number of exit holes was recorded when abamectin was applied in both years (4.7 exit holes/tree in 2021 and 3.3 exit holes/tree in 2022). The percentage of exit holes was reduced by 76.1, 71.8, and 85.6% in trees treated with imidacloprid, fipronil, and abamectin, respectively, after two years of application, while spirotetramat caused a 37.4% reduction. Trunk injection with imidacloprid, fipronil, and abamectin could be used against X. chinensis for long-term control of mulberry trees.

The adult female and male of a new phytoseiid species, Typhlodromus rodopiensis, which belongs to the simplex species group, are described and illustrated. This species was collected from Quereus sp. at Rodopi Mountain, Co. Drama, Makedonia and Phylakti, Co. Karditsa, Thessalia of Greece.