Determination of overwintering insect (Arthropoda: Insecta) fauna in almond orchards of Şanlıurfa province

Almond is one of the important fruit species cultivated in Turkey. Almond cultivation is adversely affected by numerous insect pest. Identifying the harmful and beneficial insect species in almond orchards is crucial for successful pest management. In this study, beneficial and harmful insect species overwintering in almond orchards in Şanlıurfa province were identified. Fort his purpose, artificial overwintering habitats were created using jute fabric and corrugated cardboard materials at different heights on ten trees each located in almond orchards within the Haliliye, Hilvan, Karaköprü, Siverek, and Viranşehir districts during the fall-winter season of 2022-2023. The study revealed that a total of 40 insect species from 24 families belonging to 7 orders overwintered in these artificial shelters. The insects overwintering in the artificial shelters were from the orders Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera, and Dermaptera. It has been determined that the species overwintering in artificial shelters, predominantly belong to the orders Hemiptera (64.81%) and Coleoptera (34.54%) based on population density. Lygaeidae (Hemiptera) and Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) were the most common families overwintering within the same orchards. The species with the highest population densities overwintering were determined as Horvathiolus superbus (Pollich, 1781) (2889 pcs), Zelus renardii (Kolenati, 1856) (239 pcs) ve Nysius cymoides (Spinola, 1837) (141 pcs) ve Brachycarenus tigrinus (Schilling, 1829) (118 pcs) from Hemiptera orde, Oenopia conglobata (Linnaeus, 1758) (1365 pcs), Hippodamia variegate (Goeze, 1777) (263 pcs) and Psylliodes affinis (Paykull) (178 pcs) from Coleoptera order. Ten of the identified species were recognized as beneficial insects, which were Zelus renardii, Deraeocoris serenus (Douglas & Scott, 1868), Deraeocoris pallens (Reuter, 1904), Geocoris luridus (Fieber, 1844), Oenopia conglobata, Hippodamia variegata Scymnus nigrinus (Kugelann, 1794), Aphytis spp., Vespa crabro (L) and Chysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836), crucial for natural biological control. Based on the insect densities collected from the overwintering habitats, it was noted that 65% were harmful insects and 35% were beneficial insects. While the material (fabric or cardboard) of the overwintering shelter did not significantly affect the overwintering of insects at the order, family, species, or population level, statistically significant differences were found in terms of insect species and populations when the shelters were hung on the different height of the trees. When shelter type and altitudes were evaluated together, it was revealed that there was a significant difference in the overwintering of insects in almond orchards on a species basis and in terms of the population of each species (p≤.05). While hanging a shelter made of cardboard at the lower height was found to be more effective in terms of the number of species, it was understood that building a shelter made of jute fabric on the trunk of the trees close to the ground was more effective on the insect population than other combinations of shelter type and height. In conclusion, artificial overwintering shelters can be utilized not only for mechanical pest control but also to support the enhancement of natural populations of beneficial insects in almond orchards.