Studies on the harmful weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and their seasonal activities in vineyards of Alaşehir (Manisa) district

Curculionidae (Weevils) is the second large family of the order Coleoptera with 4,800 genera and 62,000 species described worldwide. A number of Curculionidae species are known to feed on various parts of the vine plant (Vitis vinifera L. 1753). In this thesis, species composition and seasonal activity of the adult beetles of Curculionidae were studied between 23 February-31 July in 2019 and 2020 in six vineyard locations situated in Alaşehir districts, Manisa province of Turkey. The specimens have been collected using mainly siliconized fiber traps. The traps were checked at two days intervals until June. It has been gathered every five days after June. At the end of the study, 7,080 specimens of 8 species were recorded. These are Asproparthenis punctiventris (Germar, 1823), Caulostrophus javeti (Desbrochers, 1871), Hypera postica (Gyllenhal, 1813), Lixus albomarginatus (Boheman, 1842), Malvaevora timida (Rossi, 1792), Megamecus shevketi (Marshall & Lodos, 1979), Psallidium maxillosum (Herbest, 1785) and Strophomorphus porcellus (Schönherr, 1832). 6,487 specimens of M. shevketi are collected using siliconized fiber traps. When the seasonal activity of the M. shevketi species in both 2019 and 2020 was evaluated together, it was determined that the first adults of the species began to emerge after the second half of March. Later, it is seen that their numbers have increased since the beginning of April, reaching high population densities in the middle of April, at the end of the month and in the middle of May. It was determined that the seasonal activity of the species varied in 2019 and 2020, and the population density of this species decreased at the end of April in 2019 and at the end of May in 2020. It was observed that the last specimens of this species were caught in June and adult activity ceased almost completely as of the beginning of July. It was never collected after second half of July. In addition, the morphological features of the recorded species are described and illusturated.