STUDIES ON CEREAL GROUND BEETLE ZABRUS SPP. (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE) SPECIES AND THEIR DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION

This study was carried out to determine the distribution and density of cereal ground beetle [Zabrus spp. (Coleoptera: Carabidae)] species, in cereal fields of Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Mardin and Siirt provinces in southeastern Anatolia region, Turkey during 2015-2016. Zabrus tenebrioides (Goeze, 1777), Z asiaticus (Laporte de Castelnau, 1834) and Z. politus (Gautier des Cottes, 1869) were identified from the region. Z asiaticus and Z politus were reported first time in the cereal areas of the Southeastern Anatolia region during this study. The damaged plants, larvae or adults of cereal ground beetle were observed in 64.04% of the surveyed fields (57 fields, 81.56 ha), while no damaged plants, larvae or adults were recorded in 35.96% of the surveyed fields (32 fields, 18.95 ha). The highest infestation was recorded in the fields cultivated with cultivator instead of plough and where wheat crop was cultivated with dry method. Moreover, the fields under the monoculture of wheat also had higher density of the beetles. Furthermore, it was also recorded that higher density of the beetles was recorded during the years with higher amounts of early spring and late autumn precipitation. The highest pest density (15.62 pests/m(2)) was recorded in cinar district, Diyarbakir province, whereas the lowest density (1 pest/m(2)) was observed in Kocakoy district, Diyarbakir followed by city center of Siirt province (2.45 pests/m(2)).