Studies on the bioecology of Sphaerolecanium prunastri (Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1834) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) on apricotorchards in Elazığ (Türkiye)

Sphaerolecanium prunastri (Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1834) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) is a destructive pest species on Rosaceae family. This study was carried out in order to determine population fluctuation and some biological parameters of S. prunastri on apricot, Prunus armeniaca L. (Rosales: Rosaceae) in Elazığ (Türkiye) in 2019-2021. As a result, it was determined that the female individuals of the pest completed their life cycles in 4 different biological stages and the male individuals in 5 different biological stages. The place of each biological period of S. prunastri on the plant, the dates of their occurrence in nature, and the population changes during these dates were determined. It has been founded that S. prunastri produced one generation in a year, spent the winter as the second instar nymph, and it's the sex ratio (male/female) was 1: 1.23 in favor of the female. Moreover, the minimum, maximum and average number of eggs of a mature female individual was determined as 813, 2.224 and 1.368.8, respectively.