Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1993, Qupperneq 67

PESTS RECORDED IN THE FAROE ISLANDS, 1986-1992
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Zoological Department of the Museum of
Natural History in Tórshavn. Regular con-
sultation is still maintained with experts at
the Danish Pest Infestation Laboratory.
This is most often the case when a new or
rare specimen occurs, or if the pest in ques-
tion represents a serious economic risk to
the locality where it is found.
This material consists of the pest speci-
mens sent to the Danish Pest Infestation
Laboratory from 1983 onwards as well as
most of the specimens brought to the Zoo-
logical Department of the Museum since
1976, although records are not complete
priorto 1986.
When a pest specimen is brought to the
Zoological Department it is identifíed ac-
cording to zoological keys, the most com-
mon of which have been Hallas and
Mourier (1984; 1987) and Mourier et al.
(1975), as well as special keys in some
cases. Once identified, the specimen is con-
served in 70% ethanol and recorded ac-
cording to locality and date. The finder re-
ceives a written acknowledgment issued by
the Danish Pest Infestation Laboratory.
The aim of this study is to sample the re-
cords in order to examine which species are
most common in the Faroes and whether
there is any visible pattern of occurrence
and abundance according to season and
distribution in the country. The records for
some species are frequent enough after sev-
eral years of sampling that differences from
year to year may also be apparent.
Only the most common species of pests
are treated in this study, as well as a few
others which, for particular reasons, may be
of special interest.
~e- Wtxxl-boring beetlø; Aust. spider beetle
Fig. 3. Monthly distribution of the wood-boring
beetle, Anobium punctatum (N=52) and the
Australian spider beetle, Ptinus tectus (N=35).
Mynd 3.Mánaðarbýtið av fýri, Anobium punctatum
(N=52) og tjóvaklukku, Ptinus tectus (N=35).
Fig. 4. The mite, Tyrophagus palmarum, from
skerpikjøt, dried lamb meat. Total lenth 0.5-1
mm.
Mynd 4. Motta, Tyrophagus palmarum, av skerpikjøti.
Longd: 0.5-1 mm.
Faroese pest control legislation
None of the pests discussed here have ever
caused severe problems in the Faroes. Hay
mites, for instance, are a great problem in
Iceland, but have for unknown reasons
never been a problem in the Faroes (Hallas,