A preliminary study on biology of the leaf beetle Chrysomela saliceti Suffrian (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Leaf beetles of the genus Chrysomela are among the most important leaf feeders of poplar plantations. Chrysomela populi has thrived in many parts of the country and been studied more than other species of the genus Chrysomela. Overwintered adults of C. saliceti were subjected to a biological study under laboratory conditions [T = 25 ± 1 °C; R.H. = 60-70 %; photoperiod (L:D) 16:8 h]. They were provided by fresh leaves of Populus nigra as food. Mean number of eggs per batch was 48.5 ± 1.53 (n = 20). Developmental times of egg, three larval instars and pupa were 5.49 ± 0.03, 3.86 ± 0.04, 4.64 ± 0.10, 13.28 ± 0.47 and 5.71 ± 0.0 days, respectively. The survival of these immature stages were 0.43, 0.38, 0.60, 0.31 and 0.36, respectively. Field observations in Kaka-Reza valley (Lorestan province, west of Iran) revealed that at least a portion of C. saliceti population had more than one generation per year in the region where they fed mostly on poplar trees than on willow. Generally, adults of C. saliceti were smaller (body length: 8.4 ± 0.09 mm) in size than those of C. populi (10.3 ± 0.1 mm) (n = 30). Further studies are required to detail the autecology of C. saliceti in the region.