Different susceptibility of indigenous populations of Lymantria dispar to the exotic entomopathogen Entomophaga maimaiga

Abstract

The recovery of the host-specific entomopathogen Entomophaga maimaiga is still limited to certain world areas, although it is recently spreading to Eastern Europe. This study evaluated the effectiveness and fitness of an E. maimaiga isolate from Balkans against Lymantria dispar populations collected along the Italian peninsula and main islands, where the fungus has never been reported. As a result of different bioassays, the pathogenicity against gypsy moth larvae was generally confirmed, although significant differences among insects feeding upon diverse forest plant species were observed. The lack of significant susceptibility of other lepidopteran species from the same areas is also reported.

Characterization of gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera Lymantriidae) eggs in Cork oak forests of the Kabylie region (Jijel-Algeria)

“…This gypsy moth is a pest of forest species (Gray, 2010), polyphagous and phyllophagous that lives on more than 300 species of trees and shrubs (Duan et al, 2011); prefers oak leaves (Nierhaus-Wunderwald & Wermlinger, 2001). The geographical distribution of L. dispar is remarkable: the Gypsy Moth, originates from Korea and Japan (Sparks et al, 2013;Contarini et al, 2016), has reached Scandinavia and the Mediterranean area passing through several countries including, among others, China, Afghanistan and Iran and Spain in Europe (Mecellem & Chakali, 2016). Fagaceae are widely threatened by this insect in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (Fraval, 1989;Villemant, 2006).…”

The potential forEntomophaga maimaigato regulate gypsy mothLymantria dispar(L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) in Europe

“…However, European L. dispar populations show differential susceptibility to E. maimaiga which could impact fungal spread (Contarini et al. ).…”