The flea beetle Argopistes coccinelliformis causes severe damage to Oleaceae trees, with a preference for new leaves. In this study, we evaluated the effects of pruning time of Osmanthus × fortunei (March, April, and May, and a no-treatment control) on leaf damage by the beetles by surveying the occurrence of new leaves and percentage of damaged leaves from early April to early July. The number of new leaves and branches during the observation period was the lowest in the May-pruned plots, followed by the April- and March-pruned plots, and no-treatment plot. The percentage of adult beetle-damaged leaves and of leaves with beetle eggs on May 3 tended to be higher in the March-pruned plots; the percentage of damage was the highest in the April-pruned plots, particularly from June, when new adult beetles emerged. Furthermore, higher and lower damages by larvae occurred in the March- and May-pruned plots, respectively. Pruning in March and April is not recommended as it promotes new leaf production resulting in increased damage.

View full abstract

I investigated the seasonal patterns of the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) by capturing them in a pheromone trap placed outside a residential building in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The survey was conducted over six years (2013–2016 and 2018–2019). The adult beetles were captured from June to October and showed a peak in August. The total numbers of beetles caught per year were 92, 26, 31, 88, 60 and 34, respectively.

View full abstract

The ant Pheidole parva Mayr (s.l.) is a tramp species which spread its distribution widely in the Old World mainly by human transportation. This species has been recorded from Western Asia, India, Indo-China, Southern part of China, Southeastern Asia, islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean, Palau, and Europe (in Greenhouses), and also found in Japan in recent years: the Ryukyu Islands in 2001 and the Ogasawara Islands in 2003. This species was found in monitoring surveys at a harbor in Tokyo Port in 2021. This is a first record from Honshu in the field.

View full abstract

We investigated the development of the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), on dried vegetables (burdock, radish, green onion, cabbage, carrot) and Houttuynia leaves. Twenty eggs were placed on 3 g of each food material and were maintained at 30˚C, 70% RH, and 24 h light. Each was replicated five times. The emergence rate and mean developmental period were 59% and 40.4 days on burdock; 52% and 47.6 days on radish; 51% and 51.3 days on green onion; 4.0% and 66.7 days on cabbage; 15% and 68.7 days on carrot; and 34% and 54.6 days on Houttuynia leaves. L. serricorne developed fastest into adults on dried burdock.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract