Biological characteristics of Sphenoptera sp.on Artemisia ordosoca
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Key Words： Sphenoptera sp.，morphological and biological characteristics，natural enemy
Abstract：The artemisia buprestid,Sphenoptera sp.has become a major pest in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia in recent years,mainly damaging the stems and roots of wormwood (Artemisia ordosoca and A.sphaerocephala) during its larval stage.A preliminary study of the morphological and biological characteristics of this pest was conducted in order to control it more effectively.The results indicated that Sphenoptera sp.has one generation per year in Ningxia,and that all larval instars overwinter.Mature larvae begin to pupate in mid and late April at the end of the gallery.Adults emerge in early May with two peaks of eclosion; the late May and June respectively.Adults don’t chew their way out of pupal cells until 2-3 days after they have completed metamorphosis.After emerging they eat fresh leaves for 2-7 days before copulating.Adult copulation occurs around 13:00-16:30 during which period each adult can mate several times.Larvae often aggregate in one root and overwinter in stems and roots.Most mature larvae pupate in the roots,5 mm away from the gallery end,but a smaller number pupate in thick branches with diameters of 5-8 mm.Two significant parasitoids,one parasitizing the larval and one the pupal stages,were found.