The Asian yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina is an invasive alien species introduced and widespread in several countries of Europe and Asia. Its diffusion generates relevant environmental and socio-economic impacts. Environmental impacts include threats to the native insect biodiversity and the pollination ecosystem services. Socio-economic impacts include threats to the apiculture sector, economic consequences for the adoption of management strategies, social concern and health issues. Different options were developed and adopted for (i) preventing the introduction of V. velutina , (ii) early detecting its presence, (iii) eradicating populations at the initial stage of invasion or (iv) controlling populations for limiting and mitigating its impacts. The aim of this review was to provide an updated overview about the distribution, impacts and options for managing V. velutina populations, through a literature review of the published academic documents. Moreover, this study highlights that some topics received little attention (impacts of V. velutina on the biodiversity, on the pollination ecosystem services, on the economy) or require further research efforts (effective control methods for V. velutina ); therefore, future research should be directed towards filling these gaps of knowledge.

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Alternative raw materials unsuitable for human consumption might represent a great interest in animal nutrition. Freshwater bivalves represent an unexploited potential feed resource. The effects of freshwater mussel Sinanodonta woodiana meal on growth performance, histomorphology, and morphometric characteristics of the digestive system of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were evaluated. A total of 540 rainbow trout juveniles were fed with three experimental diets consisting of fish meal (FM), fish by-product meal (FPM), and freshwater mussel meal (MM). After 90 days, the fish tripled their initial weight, despite fish fed with MM showed lower weight gain, specific growth rates, and higher feed conversion ratio than those fed with control diets. It has been estimated that the total production period of fish fed with the MM diet was 12–14 days longer than fish fed with FPM and FM, respectively, due to lower growth rates. Histological and morphometrical analyses did not reveal any diet influence on the severity of the observed lesions both in the gut and liver. No negative effects were observed with the inclusion of the MM; therefore, the use of this ingredient could be considered for rainbow trout feeding.

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