Preliminary survey for insects associated with Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in Portugal

Abstract

The detection of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in Pinus pinaster trees in Portugal in 1999 led the official services to implement exceptional and urgent control measures to prevent the spread of the pest. Because the pest is vector‐transmitted, special attention was paid to the insects associated with infested trees. A survey comprising 21 species of insects, from six families, with a total of 1367 specimens, was made in order to evaluate their possible role as vectors of the nematode in Portugal. Five insect species were found to carry other Bursaphelenchus spp., but only Monochamus galloprovincialis was associated with B. xylophilus.

Species of Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937 (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) and other nematode genera associated with insects from Pinus pinaster in Portugal

“…This study corroborates preliminary results for Portugal (Sousa et al, 2002) and also confirms that one insect species can vector several Bursaphelenchus species (e.g. O. erosus and H. ligniperda; Table 1).…”

“…B. xylophilus is confined to the Setú bal peninsula and the surrounding areas-the affected zone, and Monochamus galloprovincialis Olivier was found to be its vector (Sousa et al, 2001). Besides B. xylophilus, other Bursaphelenchus species in Portugal have been found to be associated with Pinus pinaster Aiton (Sousa et al, 2002;Penas et al, 2004).…”

Applying a spread model to identify the entry points from which the pine wood nematode, the vector of pine wilt disease, would spread most rapidly across Europe

“…Various Monochamus species can carry B. xylophilus, particularly M. carolinensis (Olivier) in North America (Dropkin et al 1981;Linit et al 1983;Linit 1988), M. alternatus (Hope) in infested regions of Asia (Mamiya 1972;Lee et al 1990;Chang et al 1995;Yang 2004) and M. galloprovincialis (Olivier) in Portugal (Evans et al 1996;Sousa et al 2001;Sousa et al 2002;Penas et al 2006). The latter species is mostly found on pine trees in southwestern Europe and North Africa but it also occurs in North and Central Europe (Hellrigl 1971, see also http://www.faunaeur.org/).…”

Threshold temperatures and degree-day estimates for development of post-dormancy larvae of Monochamus galloprovincialis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

“…Cerambycid beetles in the genus Monochamus are considered to be the most important vectors of the PWN worldwide (Linit 1988;Kishi 1995), and in Portugal the nematode was also found associated with the native pine sawyer Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier) (Coleoptera; Cerambycidae) soon after its discovery (Sousa et al 2001(Sousa et al , 2002. Additional studies showed that the pine wood nematode is transmitted to susceptible conifers by the adult beetles while feeding on the bark of the trees (Naves et al 2007a).…”