Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius, 1794)

Jerinic-Prodanovic, Dusanka & Protic, Ljiljana, 2013, True bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) as psyllid predators (Hemiptera, Psylloidea), ZooKeys 319, pp. 169-189 : 171-172

3) Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius, 1794)

Trophic status.

Zoophagous.

Distribution.

Euro-Mediterranean.

Preys.

Cacopsylla bidens ( Šulc, 1907), from Pyrus communis , Beograd–Karaburma, 19.V.2006, reared 2♀♀ 'ex larva' 25.V.2006. Cacopsylla pyri , from Pyrus communis , Nemenikuće, 15.VI.2006, reared 1♂ 'ex larva' 22.VI.2006; Radmilovac, 2.IX.2005, reared 1♂; 12.VI.2006, reared 1♂ 'ex larva' 25.VI.2006; 26.X.2006, collected 1♂; 7.VI.2007, reared 1♂, 1♀ 'ex larva' 11.VI.2007, 20.VI.2007, collected 1 larva and 1♂; 26.X.2008, reared 1♂ 'ex larva' 3.XI.2008. Cacopsylla pyrisuga , from Pyrus communis , Zemunski kej, 28.V.2007, collected 1♀. Cacopsylla visci (Curtis, 1835), from Viscum album , Beograd–Bulevar Aleksandra Karađorđevića, 25.III.2007, reared 2♂♂, 1♀ 'ex larva' 12.IV.2007; 23.IV.2007, reared 2♂♂, 5♀♀ 'ex larva' 3.V.2007. Camarotoscena speciosa (Flor, 1861), from Populus nigra , Radmilovac, 22.V.2000, reared 1♂ 'ex larva' 25.V.2000; Zemun–Nova Galenika, 25.VIII.2008, collected 1♀; 1.IX.2008, reared 3♀♀ 'ex larva' 9.IX.2008; 10.IX.2008, collected 1♀, 1♂; 17.IX.2008, collected 1♀, 1♂; 24.IX.2008, reared 2♂♂, 2♀♀ 'ex larva' 1.X.2008; 27.VII.2010, collected 1♂, 1♀, 18.X.2010, collected 1♂, 1♀. Psyllopsis discrepans (Flor, 1861), from Fraxinus sp., Beograd–Autokomanda, 10.V.2007, reared 1♀; Brestovačka Banja, 25.V.2007, reared 5♂♂, 4♀♀ 'ex larva'8.VI.2007; Ilinci, 24.V.2008, collected 1♂; Majdanpek, 25.V.2007, reared 1♂, 1♀ 'ex larva' 3.VI.2007, Milošev konak, 21.VI.2007, 1♂. Psyllopsis fraxini , from Fraxinus sp., Veliko Središte, 30.V.2006, reared 2♀♀. Psyllopsis fraxinicola (Foerster, 1848), from Fraxinus sp., Beograd–Autokomanda, 10.V.2007, reared 1♀; Beograd–Kalemegdan, 24.V.2007, collected 1♂; Brestovačka Banja, 25.V.2007, reared 5♂♂, 4♀♀ 'ex larva' 8.VI.2007; Majdanpek, 25.V.2007, reared 1♂, 1♀ 'ex larva' 3.VI.2007; Veliko Središte, 4.VI.2006, reared 2♀♀ 'ex larva' 19.VI.2006. Psyllopsis machinosa Loginova, 1963, from Fraxinus sp., Beograd–Autokomanda, 10.V. 2007, reared 1♀. Psyllopsis meliphila Löw, 1881, from Fraxinus sp., Nemenikuće, 15.VI.2006, collected 1♂. Psyllopsis repens Loginova, 1963, from Fraxinus sp., Beograd–Autokomanda, 14.X.2008, reared 1♀. Trioza urticae (Linnaeus, 1758), from Urtica dioica , Ilinci, 24.VI.2007, collected 2♀♀.

Anthocoris nemoralis is an important component of the natural enemy community in pear and apple orchards where it provides biological control against arthropod pests, particularly psyllids ( Horton et al. 2004). Investigating the predator–prey complex of Cacopsylla pyrisuga in a pear orchard in France, Herard (1986) found that Anthocoris nemoralis was the most efficient enemy against this pest. Anthocoris nemoralis is mentioned in many papers as a permanent member of biocomplexes of pear psyllids in Europe ( Wheeler 2000b, Erler 2004, Sigsgaard et al. 2006). In Turkey, Anthocoris nemoralis was an equally present and efficient predator of pear psyllid Cacopsylla pyrisuga , both in treated and untreated orchards, but still insufficient for its full control ( Erler 2004). In Spain, Jauset et al. (2006) determined Anthocoris nemoralis as a very efficient predator of Cacopsylla pyrisuga , both in treated and untreated pear orchards. Now, there is a mass production of Anthocoris nemoralis in companies specialized for biological control of harmful insects ( Sigsgaard et al. 2006). The same authors reported that Anthocoris nemoralis mostly prefers Cacopsylla pyrisuga to aphids, and that it prefers laying eggs on pear to apple. Anthocoris nemoralis is a polyphagous predatory species having psyllids as a usual prey.

It is distributed in Europe and the Mediterranean. From Europe it was introduced into North America in 1963 in order to control pear psyllid Cacopsylla pyricola , giving satisfactory results ( Horton et al. 2004). This species has adapted to this region so well that it has suppressed autochthonous predatory species Anthocoris antevolens and Anthocoris melanocerus ( Herard 1986, Horton et al. 2004). In Serbia, in a pear orchard, Pavićević (1977), Grbić et al. (1989) and Jerinić-Prodanović (2010) note a permanent presence of Anthocoris nemoralis , both during vegetation and winter period together with an overwintering adult of Cacopsylla pyrisuga . Anthocoris nemoralis was also reported as a predator of Psyllopsis repens in Serbia ( Malenovský and Jerinić-Prodanović 2011).