A scientific note on the first successful establishment of the monophlebine coccid Marchalina hellenica (Coccoidea, Margarodidae) on the fir tree (Abies cephalonica)

摘要

The honeydew produced by insects feeding on conifers is an important source of honey in Greece. Sixty percent of the annual honey production in Greece comes from the honeydew produced by the scale insect Marchalina hellenica (Gennadius) which lives on Pinus brutia (Ten) and P. halepensis Miller (Bodenheimer, 1953; Marotta and Priore 1992 [1994]) and more rarely on P. pinea L. and R nigra (Arnold) (Avtzis, 1985). Five percent of Greek honey production comes from the honeydew produced by other scale insects such as Physokermes hemicryphus (Dalman) and Eulecanium sericeum (Lindiger) and the aphid Mindarus abietinus (Koch). These insects live on Abies cephalonica (Loudon) and A. borisiiregis (Matt0 (Santas, 1983). According to 1992 Ministry of Agriculture statistics, forests of pine trees account for 26 percent of the total forest area in Greece, and those of fir trees for 16 percent. In an attempt to increase honey production in Greece, the Ministry of Agriculture set out to introduce M. hellenica into pine and fir forests that did not have populations on scale insects.