Sirex noctiliohistory and interactions in Australian plantations

Abstract

The native Eurasian woodwasp, Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) (Sirex) along with its symbiotic fungus, Amylostereum areolatum, was detected in Tasmania, Australia, in 1952. Over the next sixty years Sirex gradually spread throughout temperate softwood estates (mostly Pinus radiata), killing millions of trees. Despite the introduction of several effective biocontrol agents including parasitoid wasps and the parasitic nematode Deladenus siricidicola, outbreaks continue to occur.