Abstract
Dasineura oleae (Angelini, 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), the olive leaf gall midge, is a pest of olive crops that was not problematic in Italy until 2016 when a massive infestation of this pest was reported in a small region in central Italy. We identified infested olive orchards using farmers’ reports and quantified the pest infestation level and parasitism rate in each field. We also explored the effect of the landscape on both the pest and parasitoids using the abundance of olive crops and semi-natural habitats and the Shannon index, estimated at four different scales (250 m, 500 m, 750 m and 1000 m buffers around the sampling points). The results showed a small-scale effect on the parasitism rate and a large-scale effect on leaf infestation mediated by the Shannon Index. Moreover, some preliminary results showed that the parasitism rate was high in sites where plants associated with D. oleae parasitoids were present in the adjacent semi-natural habitat. Further studies are needed to validate our findings on the effect of landscape and vegetation on the natural enemies of D. oleae in order to develop new suppression strategies.
Highlights
Dasineura oleae (Angelini, 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), commonly known as the olive leaf gall midge, damages to young leaves and flower buds (Barnes, 1948), in several Mediterranean countries, it has always been considered as a minor pest of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.)
Dasineura oleae always used to be considered a minor pest in olive orchards
Our aim was to understand the significance of several environmental factors by analysing preliminary findings of the effect of landscape on both leaf infestation by the olive leaf gall midge and parasitism rate
Summary
Dasineura oleae (Angelini, 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), commonly known as the olive leaf gall midge, damages to young leaves and flower buds (Barnes, 1948), in several Mediterranean countries, it has always been considered as a minor pest of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.). The characteristics of this pest have never been extensively investigated and the literature on this topic is scarce. Apart from these studies, there is a little knowledge about D.oleae and there are no studies on the effect of this phytophagous insect on the olive yield
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