Re-Visiting the Incidence of Environmental Factors on a Pre-Imaginal Population of the Red Gum Lerp Psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore

Abstract

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.

Flutuação populacional de Glycaspis brimblecombei mais em híbridos de Eucalyptus camaldulensis x E. grandis na região Sul do Brasil

“…brimblecombei tende a aumentar com o aumento da velocidade do vento, isto ocorre provavelmente pois a principal forma de dispersão do inseto é pelo vento (Junk et al, 2020;Queiroz et al, 2013).…”

Potential of citrus endophyte Bacillus subtilisL1‐21 in the control of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri

“…More intensive feeding behavior may provide a greater opportunity for nymphs to acquire C Las from infected host plants, which are more likely to transmit the disease to healthy citrus plants 6,10 . To reduce the barrier of the pathogen's diffusion and circulation in psyllid, the pathogen can regulate biofilm formation, immune defense, cell adhesion, and other related mechanisms, as well as protein expression 11 …”

“…6,10 To reduce the barrier of the pathogen's diffusion and circulation in psyllid, the pathogen can regulate biofilm formation, immune defense, cell adhesion, and other related mechanisms, as well as protein expression. 11 Although adult D. citri can acquire CLas during feeding on infected citrus, pathogen acquisition is the most efficient during the nymph stage 12 and, therefore, may have a greater impact on nymph metabolism. The first CLas acquisition was 50% higher in nymphs compared to the 30% acquisition rate for adult psyllids.…”

Climate Change and Insects

“…Insects are the focus of CC impact studies due to their role as important pests in agriculture and forestry [ 2 , 3 ] as well as their role in contributing to different ecosystem services [ 4 ]. Most research still focuses on the impact of CC on the distribution and dynamics of single insect species (e.g., [ 5 ]), while studies investigating CC’s influences on multi-trophic interactions or species communities in single habitats or ecosystems are missing.…”