Phytoparasitica (1997) 25, 145-146

D. Ben-Yakir, M. Gokkes, S. Eitan, Z. Klein, W. Kuzlitzky, Z. Ben-David, A. Lavi and M. Chen (1997)
Biology and control of a gall-forming wasp, a new pest of Geraldton wax plant in Israel
Phytoparasitica 25 (2), 145-146
10th Conference of the Entomological Society of Israel, February 11, 1997, Bet Dagan, Israel, lecture
Abstract: The gall-forming wasp Oncastichus goughi (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was reported from Australia as a major pest of the cut-flower crop Chamelaucium uncinatum (Myrtaceae), the Geraldton wax plant. In the early 1990s this pest spread to California and Israel. Its larvae develop in young stems and leaves causing galls (swellings) and growth deformation. The galls with live wasps constitute primarily a quarantine problem. In 1996, we started studying the distribution and seasonal activity of this pest in Israel, by scouting for galls and using yellow sticky traps to monitor the adult population. C. uncinatum has been found mostly in the Heffer and Tel Mond regions, and in a small focus near Rehovot. Cvs. 'White' (old cultivar) and 'Orchid' (purple) were the most susceptible, while cvs. 'Lady Stephanie' and 'Snow Flakes' were the least susceptible. Trap data indicated that populations of adult gall wasps peaked during autumn (October-November) and spring (February-March) and were present throughout the entire year. Treatment of plants during autumn with the systemic insecticides abamectin (Vertimec), imidacloprid (Confidor) or acetamiprid (Mospilan) significantly reduced the formation of new galls.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): David Ben-Yakir, Zwi Klein

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
population dynamics/ epidemiology
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Oncastichus goughi		U.S.A. (SW)
	Oncastichus goughi	Chamelaucium (crop)	Israel