jear2012 Abstract Cicadatra persica Kirkaldy, 1909 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) is regarded as a potential constraint to the productivity of apple fruit orchards in Erneh (33°21’N, 35°52’E), near Damascus, Syria. However, no research has been conducted on this pest. This study examined adult emergence, egg laying, and hatching periods. Adults emerged in early June, with an emergence peak in the fourth week of June 2011, and started laying eggs in mid-June. Egg development was approximately 40 days, with the first eggs hatching on 1st August 2011 and the final hatch on 17th August 2011. The simple and relatively successful method of monitoring egg development reported here may be useful for studying the nymphal ecology and life cycle of this species. Introduction Cicadas are destructive pests that cause damage to some apple orchards in Syria. The most obvious damage of cicadas is that caused by egg laying in small twigs. This damage causes twigs to split and die, causing a symptom called flagging. As juveniles, the larvae feed on the xylem fluid of woody plant on roots, using piercing and sucking mouth- parts. The life cycles of most cicadas are long, usually involving many years spent underground as juveniles, followed by a brief adult life (2- 6 weeks above ground) (Boulard, 1990; Young & Bennet, 1995). Fifth instars may occupy the feeding cell at the base of the emergence bur- rows for up to several weeks before an unknown stimulus triggers their final exit from the soil (Beamer, 1982). After mating, females lay eggs in bark or twigs, the eggs hatch later in the season and the new nymphs burrow underground and begin feeding on roots. During their soil stages, the cicadas settle themselves anywhere from 50-600 mm below the surface (James et al., 1986; Williams et al., 1993). In Syria, the occurrence of Cicadatra persica Kirkaldy, 1909, was recorded and studied for the first time in apple fruit orchards during field work in Erneh in June 2011 (Dardar et al., 2012). C. persica Kirkaldy 1909, was found for the first time in Macedonia and its song was record- ed and analyzed in 1998 (Gogala & Trilar, 1998). We report on biological studies conducted on C. persica, in apple fruit orchards in Syria. Materials and methods Fieldwork was carried out in an apple orchard in Erneh (33°21’N, 35°52’E), a village located in the Alsheikh Mountains in southwestern Syria. The orchard was approximately 0.3 ha, and contained 128 apple trees (cultivar Starking). Trees were 2-2.5 m tall and were in the pro- duction stage. Adult emergence Adult emergence was monitored three times a week by visual obser- vation from mid-May 2011. Emergence traps were also used to deter- mine the adult emergence period and its peak. Each emergence trap was a circular tent of muslin (diameter 2 m) that was established around the trunk of the tree to a height of approximately 0.5 m (Figure 1). Historical damage from egg laying was unevenly distributed in the orchard; typical samples of apple trees were chosen to study adult emergence. The trees were divided into five categories based on the number of egg nests (Table 1). One tree was chosen randomly from each category and an emergence trap was established. Traps were checked and exuviae collected once a week from the beginning of June until the end of July. Egg laying period The number of twigs on 45 apple trees damaged by newly laid egg nests were recorded every week from the first emergence of adults until late July. Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research 2012; volume 44:e12 [page 56] [Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research 2012; 44:e12] Observations on some biological aspects of Cicadatra persica (Cicadidae: Hemiptera) in apple fruit orchards in Erneh, Syria M.A. Dardar,1 H.M.R. Belal,2 A.M. Basheer2 1Department of Insects Research, Administration of Plant Protection Research, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research; 2Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Damascus, Syria Correspondence: Marah A. Dardar, Department of Insects Research, Administration of plant protection, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Syria. E-mail: marah.dardar@hotmail.com Key words: cicadidae, emergence, egg nest, apple orchards, Erneh. Acknowledgements: this study was supported by the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research. We thank the grower Ismael Masoud in the village of Erneh for permitting us to carry out this research in his orchard, and we also thank the local governing council of the village of Erneh. Received for publication: 4 October 2012. Revision received: 5 November 2012. Accepted for publication: 14 November 2012. ©Copyright M.A. Dardar et al., 2012 Licensee PAGEPress, Italy Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research 2012; 44:e12 doi:10.4081/jear.2012.e12 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (by-nc 3.0) which permits any noncom- mercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the orig- inal author(s) and source are credited. No n- co mm er cia l u se on ly Egg development and hatching period Traps (n=22) for newly hatched larvae were established on twigs with new egg nests. Each trap was a sleeve of muslin with a small plas- tic container set below the damaged twig to catch hatching larvae (Figure 2). The traps were checked twice a week for eight weeks begin- ning 4th-6th July Results Adult emergence The first adults were observed on 7th June 2011. Adults were found in emergence traps from 14th June to 17th July, a period of five weeks. The peak of adult emergence was in the 4th week of June (23th-29th) (Figure 3). Egg laying period Egg laying started on 14th June 2011, one week after adult emer- gence began. The peak of egg laying was from 25th June to 9th July with the last egg nest being found on 13th July. The egg laying period contin- ued for one month from 14th June to 13th July (Figure 4). Egg development and hatching period Egg hatch started on 1st August 2011, 40 days after oviposition, and continued for approximately three weeks, with a possible peak between 4th-7th August (Figure 5). Larvae (n=672) were captured in most traps (20 of 22). The two traps in which no larvae were record- ed were established on twigs that were broken by the wind during the summer, and this stopped the flow of plant sap within these twigs, causing egg death. Discussion Studying the abundance of cicadas and their emergence period is important for determining the timing and the level of damage on apple trees in Erneh in order to identify the most suitable date for carrying out pest control measures. Adults emerged during a 5-week period from mid-June to late- July. Eggs of C. persica were laid from mid-June until mid-July, with a 2-week peak from the end of June to the beginning of July. This period is short compared with some other cicadas, such as Kikihia ochrina, which lays eggs during a 5-month period (Logan & Connolly, 2005). Eggs of C. persica on apple tree twigs were laid in June and July and hatched in August the same summer. In comparison, eggs of K. ochrina and other New Zealand species probably overwinter and hatch the following summer, giving a period of egg development last- Table 1. Distribution of egg nests per tree in the apple orchard. Category No. nests/tree Frequency 1 0 7 2 1-10 70 3 11-20 26 4 21-30 17 5 31-40 8 Figure 1. Emergence trap. Figure 2. Trap to check newly hatched larvae. Figure 3. A) and B) Emergence period of adults of Cicadatra persica. Article [Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research 2012; 44:e12] [page 57] A B No n- co mm er cia l u se on ly ing 7-11 months (Cumber 1952; Harford 1958; Logan, unpublished data). A long period of egg development has also been reported for Cryptotympana facialis and Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata, in whose eggs are laid in summer and first begin to hatch 10-12 months later in the following summer (Moriyama & Numata, 2008). Methods for estimating the density of cicadas (Cicada and Magicicada spp.) including counts of larval skins (exuviae) and emergence traps (Dybas & Davis, 1962; Wolda, 1989; Dean & Milton, 1991; Milton & Dean, 1992; White & Sedcole, 1993; Anderson, 1994) were used in this study in order to estimate the adult emergence phenomenon. These methods were time-consuming and labor-intensive, and in some cases have been recognized as poor or biased estimators of cicada densities (Patterson et al., 1997). For these reasons, we suggest adult emergence and cicada numbers could be estimated according to sound levels (Patterson et al., 1997) as a more precise measurement. The length of the life cycle of cicadas depends largely on the duration of the subterranean nymphal stage which can be determined by rear- ing or regular checking over many years. However, there have been rel- atively few attempts to rear cicada nymphs, and consequently the length of lifecycle is known for less than 20 of the estimated 1200 species worldwide (Karban 1986; Moulds & Carver 1991). Further attempts to rear C. persica on apple plants and under suitable condi- tions are necessary to determine the unknown details of its life cycle. References ANDERSON D.C., 1994 - Are cicada (Diceroprocta apacbe) both a “Keystone” and a “critical-link” species in lower Colorado River riparian communities? Southwest - Nature 39: 26-33. BEAMER R.H., 1982 - Studies on the biology of Kansas Cicadidae. University of Kansas – Sci. Bull. 18: 155-263. BOULARD M., 1990 - Contributions to general and applied entomology, 2. Cicadidae (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha) - First part: Cicadoidea. Travaux du Laboratoire Biologie et evolution des insectes Hemipteroidea. 3: 59-254. 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