Cicadomorpha Insects Associated With Bacterial Leaf Scorch Infected Oak in Central New Jersey

Abstract

Potential insect vectors for transmission of oak leaf scorch caused by Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al., in pin and red oaks in New Jersey were surveyed by placing yellow sticky card traps in tree canopies and fogging with pyrethrin insecticide during 2002-2006. Thirty-seven Cicadomorpha species were collected from 20 genera in Membracidae, Cicadellidae, Aphrophoridae, and Clastopteridae. Of the 12,880 potential vectors collected, 91.4% were Membracidae, 6.9% were Cicadellidae, and 1.7% were Aphrophoridae and Clastopteridae. Fogging collected more insect species and individuals than sticky card collections. Sticky card sampling, done more frequently and at a larger number of locations provided similar community structure information as fogging. Sticky card collections of the dominant treehopper species, Ophiderma definita Woodruff were male biased when females were gravid. O. definita populations peaked in early June, comprised 68.2% of the total collection, and were more abundant in pin oaks than red oaks. Graphocephala versuta (Say) peaked in mid-July, comprising 6.2% of the total collection. Higher Cicadomorpha populations were observed in asymptomatic oak canopies than in neighboring X. fastidiosa infected oaks. Individual insect specimens collected from oaks were subjected to a X. fastidiosa DNA assay by polymerase chain reaction amplification. The average X. fastidiosa positive rate was 13.89% for all specimens tested. Eleven treehopper species, six leafhopper species, and four spittlebug species tested DNA positive for X. fastidiosa.

Morphology and Ultrastructure of the Salivary Glands of the SpittlebugLepyronia coleopterata(L.) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae)

“…For instance, a leaf scorch disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, is typically vectored by spittlebugs (Almeida and Purcell, 2003;Groves et al, 2005;Sisterson et al, 2008;Janse and Obradovic, 2010;Sanderlin and Melanson, 2010;Zhang et al, 2011). During feeding, spittlebugs inject toxic saliva to plants and degrade the molecular structure of the tissue (Guagliumi, 1972;Gallo et al, 1978;Nakano, 1981).…”

Current mosquito-borne disease emergencies in Italy and climate changes. The neem opportunity

“…Another situation concerns pathogens, that stated silent for long time until a mutation generated a different virulence with consequence enhanced by climate change. Usually the consequence of the genetic upgrade is even more devastating, as reported later, for Xilella [10,11]. The third case concerns pathogens that are strictly linked to a selected host, like the bluetongue story [12][13][14].…”

Bacterial Leaf Scorch in the District of Columbia: Distribution, Host Range, and Presence ofXylella fastidiosaAmong Urban Trees

“…It is not clear why disease incidence is limited to individual trees at certain sites, or the rate at which X. fastidiosa is disseminated among susceptible neighboring trees. The spread of BLS is primarily attributed to xylem-feeding insect vectors, includ ing a wide range of treehoppers (Membracidae) and leafhoppers (Cicadellidae), which are found abundantly in urban environments (2,52). The amount of vector feeding required before a tree be comes infected is unknown, and the inoculation pressure sufficient to cause infection in some plants may differ from other plants (17).…”