Abstract
According to several sources, Eucalyptus plantations in Sri Lanka are currently under threat due to an attack by a gall wasp. Our observations made at a coppiced Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantation at Maragamuwa, Naula in the Matale District revealed a heavy infestation of galls in coppiced shoots. Close examination of 40 trees in a block revealed low damage in 62.5% of the coppiced trees and heavy damage in 10% of the trees. The wasps that emerged from field collected galls were identified as Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Only female wasps emerged from the field collected galls and no parasitoids were recorded. This preliminary study highlights the severity of damage caused by L. invasa and the need to identify appropriate measures to manage this invasive gall wasp of Eucalyptus plantations in the country. Keywords: Leptocybe invasa; coppiced shoots; conservation site DOI: 10.4038/cjsbs.v39i2.3002 Cey. J. Sci. (Bio. Sci.) 39 (2): 157-161, 2010
Highlights
Eucalyptus was introduced to Sri Lanka as a plantation crop in the latter part of the 18th century from Australia
Of the coppiced E. camaldulensis trees examined, majority (62.5%) had a low infestation, with only 10% of the trees having a heavy infestation (Table 1)
Damaged shoots of E. camaldulensis at the Maragamuwa plantation, showing galls of different stages formed by the gall wasp
Summary
Eucalyptus was introduced to Sri Lanka as a plantation crop in the latter part of the 18th century from Australia. Eucalyptus plantations and nurseries _th_r_o_u_g_h_o_u_t_t_h_e_t_r_o_p_ic_a_l_a_n_d__su_b_t_r_o_p_ic_a_l_c_o_u_n_tr_i_e_s __ *Corresponding author’s email: inokap@pdn.ac.lk of the world are currently under threat by the gall forming invasive wasp, Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), commonly referred to as the blue gum chalcid (Mendel, et al, 2004; FAO, 2007). In the plantation in Maragamuwa and Handuwa in the Naula area of the Matale District, where the study was conducted, 320 ha of land had been planted with E. camaldulensis in the late 1970’s and had been coppiced in 2006/2007 to allow for natural forest recovery (Reed et al, 2009).
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