Phenology, parsitism and density dependence of Phyllaeaphagus bliteus on Eucalyptus camaldulensis

CUELLO ELIANA,; SILVIA N. LÓPEZ; CARMEN M. HERNÁNDEZ; CARMEN M. HERNÁNDEZ; ANDREA V. ANDORMO; ANDREA V. ANDORMO; CUELLO ELIANA,; SILVIA N. LÓPEZ

PHYTOPARASITICA

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2020

0334-2123

Glycaspis brimblecombei is an invasive insectspecies that specifically feeds on Eucalyptus leaves.Native from Australia, this species has spread to severalcountries becoming a major Eucalyptus pest. Eventhough its specific endoparasitoid Psyllaephagus bliteushas been present in Argentina since 2005, little is knownabout its ecology in the region. In this work we assessP. bliteus population development on Eucalypuscamaldulensis and identify the meteorological variablesassociated with changes in its abundance. Furthermore,we study the level of natural parasitism in the field, andthe density dependence relationship between P. bliteusand G. brimblecombei. We find that P. bliteus is presentthroughout the year with a maximum abundance at theend of spring-beginning of summer. Changes in itsabundance are associated with temperature and relativehumidity although it cannot be ruled out that this is dueto an effect of climate on the density of its host. Thehighest levels of parasitismwere registeredwhen psyllidpopulation was minimal, while density dependenceanalysis detected an inverse relationship betweenP. bliteus and its host.