Abstract
Simple SummaryThe red gum lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei) is an invasive pest of Eucalyptus trees worldwide, responsible for serious damage. A revisited analysis was carried out on data collected in eastern Sicily soon after the psyllid introduction in 2012/13. G. brimblecombei has been sampled by two different methods on Eucalyptus camaldulensis in nine different sites, where the main climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) have been registered. G. brimblecombei population showed a similar trend in all nine sites, positively correlated only with air temperature. A negative correlation has emerged with precipitation and relative humidity. The results show the need for a deeper understanding of the role played by environmental factors as well as by the sampling methods based on the random collection of a fixed number of leaves, compared to methods based on the collection of infested leaves in a fixed time interval.The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), is an invasive pest of Eucalyptus trees worldwide, responsible for serious damage, including the death of plants. Knowledge about the incidence of climatic factors on the insect development are essential to define useful strategies for controlling this pest. To this aim, G. brimblecombei has been sampled by two different methods from April 2012 to February 2013 in eastern Sicily on Eucalyptus camaldulensis in nine different sites, where the main climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) have been also registered. The Glycaspis brimblecombei population showed a similar trend in all nine sites, positively correlated only with air temperature, but a negative correlation has emerged with precipitation and relative humidity. The results show the need for a deeper understanding of the role played by other abiotic (such as different concentrations of CO2) and biotic (e.g., the antagonistic action of natural enemies, competition with other pests, etc.) factors. The greater sensitivity, even at low densities of psyllid, of sampling methods based on the random collection of a fixed number of leaves compared to methods based on the collection of infested leaves in a fixed time interval has been also outlined.
Highlights
The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), is a pest of Eucalyptus trees which has shown invasive behavior worldwide for a couple of decades [1]
Native to Australia, as its host plants are, it was recorded for the first time outside the Australian Region in the USA, in California, in 1998 [2,3]
The available literature shows data that do not always fully coincide. It is clear how, among climatic factors, the population level of G. brimblecombei is influenced exclusively by air temperature, which did not show statistically significant differences between the nine sites examined in the present study
Summary
The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), is a pest of Eucalyptus trees which has shown invasive behavior worldwide for a couple of decades [1]. Native to Australia, as its host plants are, it was recorded for the first time outside the Australian Region in the USA, in California, in 1998 [2,3]. Its dangerous presence has been found progressively in many countries of Central and South America, Africa, and Europe. G. brimblecombei in non-native areas is provided by the literature [4,5]. In Italy, after it was first recorded in the central and southern regions of the country [6], G. brimblecombei soon showed a wide diffusion in most Eucalyptus-growing areas, including the two main islands, Sardinia and Sicily [7,8,9,10]. The psyllid feeds on many species of the genus Eucalyptus L’Hér
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