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Spread of the introduced biocontrol agent Torymus sinensis in north-eastern Italy: dispersal through active flight or assisted by wind?

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Abstract

In successful classical biological control, natural enemies can provide enduring pest suppression if they reproduce and disperse without continued human management. To explain the efficient control exerted on the Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) by the parasitoid Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), it is required that the latter has the capacity to track the range expansion of its host. In the present study, we hypothesized that the distribution of infested patches and the prevailing wind directions would interactively influence and accelerate the spread of the parasitoid. It emerged that the spread capability of T. sinensis is high and likely affected by a combination of short- and long-distance flights (stratified dispersal). In particular, the ability to disperse long distances represents a successful trait of the parasitoid because the natural dispersal of its host is high and frequently aided by unintentional human-mediated transportation.

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Acknowledgments

This work could not have been accomplished without the contribution of many persons to gall collection: we greatly appreciate all the help they gave us. We would like to thank the Veneto Region’s Forest Service (in particular Giovanni Narduzzo) and the associations of chestnut producers for their collaboration. We thank Roberto Luise and Daniele Moro (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region) for providing meteorological data. Special thanks are due to Andrea Orzali for his patience and support. We are grateful to Robert Haack for review comments on an earlier version of this paper. Three anonymous reviewers significantly improved the quality of the manuscript. This study was funded by grants from the Regione del Veneto, Servizi Fitosanitari, and the University of Padova, Italy (60 %).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova - Agripolis, Via dell’Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy

    Fernanda Colombari & Andrea Battisti

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  1. Fernanda Colombari
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  2. Andrea Battisti
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Correspondence to Fernanda Colombari.

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Handling Editor: Josep Anton Jaques Miret.

This research is part of a project devoted to the classical biological control of the Asian chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus).

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Colombari, F., Battisti, A. Spread of the introduced biocontrol agent Torymus sinensis in north-eastern Italy: dispersal through active flight or assisted by wind?. BioControl 61, 127–139 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-015-9712-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-015-9712-1

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