Rapid on-site identification of the biocontrol agent of the Asian chestnut gall wasp (original) (raw)
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Forest Systems
Aim of study: The globally invasive gall wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951 (Cynipidae: Cynipini), reached Spain seven years ago and is already regarded as an important pest of chestnuts (Castanea spp.) in this country as well as worldwide. In this paper, we present comprehensive data on the establishment in Spain of Torymus sinensis Kamijo, 1982 (Chalcidoidea: Torymidae), an effective non-native natural enemy of this pest, as a result of both natural dispersal and settlement after controlled releases since 2015.Area of study: Sites of the Spanish autonomous communities of Galicia, Asturias, Basque Country, Catalonia, Andalusia and Madrid where D. kuriphilus is present.Material and methods: To study the natural dispersal of T. sinensis from France, we selected two sampling sites in Catalonia, six in the Basque Country and two in Navarra known for their heavy Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW) infestation; to study T. sinensis establishment after authorized controlled releases ...
Parasitoid Recruitment to the Globally Invasive Chestnut Gall Wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus
The chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus is a global pest of chestnut (Castanea). Established as a pest in the mid 20th century in Japan, Korea and the USA, this species has now reached Europe. Successful deployment of a biocontrol agent, Torymus sinensis, in Japan has led to its early release in Italy. Here we provide the first overview of the natural enemies associated with D. kuriphilus in its native and invaded ranges, and discuss general patterns in community development. We then use what is known about European oak gall wasp communities to predict possible future developments for D. kuriphilus, and possible interactions between parasitoid communities attacking hosts on chestnut and oaks.
Scientific reports, 2018
The quick spread of the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus in Europe constitutes an outstanding example of recent human-aided biological invasion with dramatic economic losses. We screened for the first time a set of five nuclear and mitochondrial genes from D. kuriphilus collected in the Iberian Peninsula, and compared the sequences with those available from the native and invasive range of the species. We found no genetic variability in Iberia in none of the five genes, moreover, the three genes compared with other European samples showed no variability either. We recorded four cytochrome b haplotypes in Europe; one was genuine mitochondrial DNA and the rest nuclear copies of mitDNA (numts), what stresses the need of careful in silico analyses. The numts formed a separate cluster in the gene tree and at least two of them might be orthologous, what suggests that the invasion might have started with more than one individual. Our results point at a low initial population size i...