Insects (2020) 11 (9 - 611)
Simone Puppato, Alberto Grassi, Federico Pedrazzoli, Antonio De Cristofaro and Claudio Ioriatti (2020)
First report of Leptopilina japonica in Europe
Insects 11 (9 - 611)
Abstract: Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura; Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a key pest of sweet cherry and small fruits worldwide. Biological control remains unutilized in the framework of D. suzukii management. Nonetheless, natural enemies may play an important role in regulating this pest. We report for the first time the presence of Leptopilina japonica Novkovic and Kimura (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) in Europe. Two specimens emerged from ripened fruits and one was collected after direct observation on a cherry tree in June 2019. They showed the distinctive morphological traits already described and shared more than 99% sequence similarity with specimens of L. japonica collected in Asia. This first finding was confirmed by a wider survey carried out in 2020; L. japonica emerged from cherry fruit samples collected in five other sites across the Trentino region, suggesting that L. japonica has already colonized a wide area. Detection of this Asian species is relevant to the future direction in managing D. suzukii, both in Europe and North America. In fact, L. japonica showed similarity with Ganaspis brasiliensis (Ihering) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), the most promising candidate for the classical biological control, in terms of developmental time, egg maturation, host age preference and lifetime fecundity.
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Database assignments for author(s): Federico Pedrazzoli, Antonio De Cristofaro, Claudio Ioriatti
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation
Pest and/or beneficial records:
Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Drosophila suzukii | Cherry (Prunus avium - Prunus cerasus) | Italy | ||
Leptopilina japonica (parasitoid) | Drosophila suzukii | Cherry (Prunus avium - Prunus cerasus) | Italy |