Bionomy formula

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The bionomy formula or also the bionomy formula according to Rhumbler is a biological formula that is mainly used in forest entomology . It summarizes the life cycle (bionomy) of an insect species in a code of numbers and characters.

Bionomy formulas are not mathematical formulas and should not be confused with the binomial formula .

history

The bionomy formulas go back to the forest zoologist Ludwig Rhumbler . He had suggested suggestions for a useful formula representation of the biologies of insects for the first time in 1918 in the essay that appeared in the journal for applied entomology . He then inserted these formulas into the new editions of the textbook Forstinsektenkunde (1922 and 1927) founded by Otto Nüsslin . They achieved great fame in forestry practice , above all, because the forest entomologist and Rhumbler student Fritz Schwerdtfeger later adopted the formulas in his widespread textbook Die Waldkrankheiten . In the past it was also common for forest students to learn by heart the bionomy formulas of at least the most important forest pests.

construction

Bionomy formulas use numbers to indicate the months in which the various stages of development of an insect appear. First, the appearance time of is ice led, the larval period . This is separated by a minus sign , which is typographically more reminiscent of an em dash . The minus sign stands as a symbol for the larva. After a slash follows at holometabolous insects the pupal stage . A plus sign as a symbol for the fully developed insect and the imaginal time complete the formula. The overwintering of a development stage is indicated by a comma . If the development of a stage takes longer than a year or several years, a corresponding number of As (abbreviation for annus , Latin for year ) are inserted. Periods are used to distinguish one-digit from two-digit numbers.

Examples:

The bionomy formula of the common pine moth ( Bupalus piniaria ) is 67 - 7.11 / 11.5 + 57. Translated, this means: eggs in June / July, caterpillars from July to November, pupae from November. These hibernate until May, after which the moths appear from May to July.

The bionomy formula of the Little Poplar Bock ( Saperda populnea ) is 56 - 6, A, 4/5 + 57 with a two-year generation period. That means: eggs in May / June, larvae from June. These overwinter twice and then pupate in May. The adult animals can then be found from May to July.

For some special cases, the bionomy formulas can be further supplemented. For species with a double generation, the two generations are separated by a semicolon . If an insect that has developed over several years in different places needs different years - for example three, four or five years - the A letters that exceed the minimum duration are put in brackets . This also applies to cases in which some of the animals lay over, i.e. insert an unusually long diapause .

Difficulty and use

The bionomy formulas reach their limits wherever the times of appearance of insect species are not clearly delimited. For this reason, it makes sense to specify, for example, only for some forest insects. The formulas can only give average values, changes are possible, especially due to the weather.

Against this background, the bionomy formulas, which used to be considered very practical, have been less in use since the end of the 20th century, but still appear occasionally in specialist publications.

literature

  • Ludwig Rhumbler : Proposals for an expedient formula representation of the biology of insects . In: Zeitschrift für angewandte Entomologie , Volume 4 1918. pp. 335–346
  • Fritz Schwerdtfeger : The forest diseases. A textbook of forest pathology and forest protection . 3rd, revised edition. Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1970, ISBN 3-490-08516-7 , p. 144.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ludwig Rhumbler: Suggestions for an appropriate formula representation of the biologies of insects . In: Zeitschrift für angewandte Entomologie , Volume 4 1918. pp. 335–346
  2. ↑ a b cf. the information on the bionomy formula according to Rhumbler ( Memento of August 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ); Retrieved October 31, 2011
  3. ↑ a b c Fritz Schwerdtfeger: The forest diseases. A textbook of forest pathology and forest protection . 3rd, revised edition. Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1970, ISBN 3-490-08516-7 , p. 144
  4. ↑ For example in this Kiefernspanner leaflet (PDF file; 7.73 MB) from the Landesforstanstalt Eberswalde from 2007