Diversity protects plant communities against generalist molluscan herbivores

Wildflower strips are used to increase natural enemies of crop pests and to con- serve insect diversity on farmland. Mollusks, especially slugs, can affect the vege- tation development in these strips considerably. Although recent theoretical work suggests that more diverse plant communities will exhibit greater resistance against herbivore pressure, empirical studies are scarce. We conducted…

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“Cinipide, la lotta biologica funziona” by Luca Berti, in La Regione Ticino

Torymus sinensis, a chinese hymenopteran parasitoid is considered as the only antagonist of the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus. After the invasion of the gall wasp in Ticino’s chestnut forests, cantonal authorities sought an homologation of T. sinensis by the Federal Office for the Environment. A very good paper by Luca Berti (published the 4th…

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Predation of native coccinellids by the invasive alien Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): detection in Britain by PCR-based gut analysis

First field quantification of intraguild predation by the asiatic invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis, at the species level,  on native ladybird species (Adalia bipunctata and A. decempunctata). THOMAS A, TROTMAN J, WHEATLEY A, AEBI A, ZINDEL R and  BROWN PMJ(2013) Predation of native coccinellids by the invasive alien Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): detection in Britain by PCR-based gut…

Read more Predation of native coccinellids by the invasive alien Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): detection in Britain by PCR-based gut analysis

Torymus sinensis: a viable management option for the biological control of Dryocosmus kuriphilus in Europe?

The chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus is a global pest of chestnut (Castanea spp). Established as a pest in the mid-twentieth century in Japan, Korea and North America, this species was first reported in Europe in 2002. Following the successful release of a biological control agent Torymus sinensis in Japan, this parasitoid species has been…

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