Evaluation of Leucopis hennigrata (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) as a classical biological control agent of Adelges nordmannianae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in northern Europe
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Evaluation of Leucopis hennigrata (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) as a classical biological control agent of Adelges nordmannianae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in northern Europe. / Just Justesen, Mathias; Seehausen, M. Lukas; Havill, Nathan P.; Kenis, Marc; Gaimari, Stephen D.; Matchutadze, Izolda; Zembrzuski, Deanna; Ravn, Hans Peter.
In: Biological Control, Vol. 183, 105264, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of Leucopis hennigrata (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) as a classical biological control agent of Adelges nordmannianae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in northern Europe
AU - Just Justesen, Mathias
AU - Seehausen, M. Lukas
AU - Havill, Nathan P.
AU - Kenis, Marc
AU - Gaimari, Stephen D.
AU - Matchutadze, Izolda
AU - Zembrzuski, Deanna
AU - Ravn, Hans Peter
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The silver fly Leucopis hennigrata McAlpine is a predator of the silver fir wooly adelgid, Adelges nordmannianae (Eckstein), a pest in the European production of Christmas trees. While the fly is known to be a common native predator of the adelgid in Georgia, Turkey, and central Europe, it is absent from northern Europe, where the Christmas tree production is an important industry. Therefore, L. hennigrata has been suggested as a classical biological control agent of Ad. nordmannianae in northern Europe. Here, we evaluated the fly's suitability as a classical biological control agent in terms of (1) differences between Asian and European populations, (2) its abundance relative to other predators of Ad. nordmannianae, (3) larval feeding efficacy, as well as (4) the physiological and (5) ecological prey preference of the fly. The results showed that despite genetic divergence between Western Asian and Central European populations, L. hennigrata is a dominant natural enemy of Ad. nordmannianae in Switzerland, the Pontic mountains in northern Turkey, and in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains. Larvae of L. hennigrata killed on average 57–117 eggs in 24 h, depending on their size, the number of eggs offered to them, and possibly some environmental factors. In no-choice tests, adult flies oviposited on twigs containing different non-target adelgid, aphid, and scale insect species. Larvae of L. hennigrata were observed to feed on several of them. However, only the non-target species Mindarus abietinus Koch supported development of a single specimen to the adult stage. During field surveys in Switzerland and Georgia, L. hennigrata was never found on any sampled non-target species. Based on our findings, we conclude that L. hennigrata is a suitable classical biological control agent because it (1) is already present in countries that neighbor northern Europe, (2) is a dominant natural enemy of the pest in Switzerland, (3) is an efficient predator of the pest's eggs, and (4) seems to be specific to Ad. nordmannianae in its ecological range.
AB - The silver fly Leucopis hennigrata McAlpine is a predator of the silver fir wooly adelgid, Adelges nordmannianae (Eckstein), a pest in the European production of Christmas trees. While the fly is known to be a common native predator of the adelgid in Georgia, Turkey, and central Europe, it is absent from northern Europe, where the Christmas tree production is an important industry. Therefore, L. hennigrata has been suggested as a classical biological control agent of Ad. nordmannianae in northern Europe. Here, we evaluated the fly's suitability as a classical biological control agent in terms of (1) differences between Asian and European populations, (2) its abundance relative to other predators of Ad. nordmannianae, (3) larval feeding efficacy, as well as (4) the physiological and (5) ecological prey preference of the fly. The results showed that despite genetic divergence between Western Asian and Central European populations, L. hennigrata is a dominant natural enemy of Ad. nordmannianae in Switzerland, the Pontic mountains in northern Turkey, and in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains. Larvae of L. hennigrata killed on average 57–117 eggs in 24 h, depending on their size, the number of eggs offered to them, and possibly some environmental factors. In no-choice tests, adult flies oviposited on twigs containing different non-target adelgid, aphid, and scale insect species. Larvae of L. hennigrata were observed to feed on several of them. However, only the non-target species Mindarus abietinus Koch supported development of a single specimen to the adult stage. During field surveys in Switzerland and Georgia, L. hennigrata was never found on any sampled non-target species. Based on our findings, we conclude that L. hennigrata is a suitable classical biological control agent because it (1) is already present in countries that neighbor northern Europe, (2) is a dominant natural enemy of the pest in Switzerland, (3) is an efficient predator of the pest's eggs, and (4) seems to be specific to Ad. nordmannianae in its ecological range.
KW - Adelgids
KW - Dreyfusia nordmannianae
KW - Invasive species
KW - Predation
KW - Silver flies
U2 - 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105264
DO - 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105264
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85159892305
VL - 183
JO - Biological Control
JF - Biological Control
SN - 1049-9644
M1 - 105264
ER -
ID: 359134984