Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T21:59:45.429Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biology, damage and parasitoids of the Eucalyptus gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), infesting Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) in Maragamuwa plantation, Sri Lanka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2014

Udagedara Kanchana Sandya Kumari Udagedara  and
Warusapperuma Arachchilage Inoka Pushpakumari Karunaratne
Udagedara Kanchana Sandya Kumari Udagedara
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Warusapperuma Arachchilage Inoka Pushpakumari Karunaratne*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle was first recorded several years ago in Sri Lanka in the Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. plantation in Maragamuwa. Recent observations have revealed a decrease in gall infestation, and the present study was conducted to investigate the biology of L. invasa, its damage to E. camaldulensis and the presence of any natural enemies. Life-cycle duration, developmental stages and activity patterns were investigated. The abundance of gall wasps was monitored using sticky traps. Damage caused to different stages of coppices was also assessed. The damage index was calculated from the percentage of leaves affected in each coppice. Insects were reared from the galled coppices, brought to the laboratory, identified and counted. The life-cycle duration of L. invasa was 132 days on average. The damage index was low throughout the study period. Leptocybe invasa attacked the coppices of E. camaldulensis when they turned green in colour; damage increased as the coppices developed until maturity. Four species of parasitoid wasps were reared from the leaf and shoot galls. Megastigmus sp. was the most abundant parasitoid; the mean percentage of parasitization was 67.00 ± 8.00. Natural enemies of L. invasa might have contributed to the decrease in gall infestation observed recently in the coppices of E. camaldulensis in the study site.

Keywords

biologyparasitoidsLeptocybe invasaMegastigmus sp.Eucalyptus camaldulensisSri Lanka
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 179 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bandaratillake, H. M. (1993) Eucalyptus plantations in Sri Lanka: environmental, social, economic and policy issues. In Reports Submitted to the Regional Expert Consultation on Eucalyptus, Vol. II . FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (RAP) Bangkok, Thailand. Available at: http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file = /docrep/005/ac772e/ac77e00.HTM.Google Scholar
Coley, P. D. and Barone, J. A. (1996) Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27, 305–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doganlar, O. and Hassan, E. (2010) Review of Australian species of Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) associated with Eucalyptus, with descriptions of new species. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 4, 5059–5120.Google Scholar
FAO (2007) Forest Health and Biosecurity Working Paper – 020 Overview of Forest Pests – Kenya. Working paper FBS/20E. Forestry Department, FAO, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Gupta, A. and Poorani, J. (2009) Taxonomic studies on a collection of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) from India, with new distribution records. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1, 300–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karunaratne, W. A. I. P., Edirisinghe, J. P. and Ranawana, K. B. (2010) Rapid survey of damage due to gall wasp infestation in a coppiced Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantation in Maragamuwa, Naula in the Matale district of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Science) 39, 157–161.Google Scholar
Kavitha Kumari, N. (2009) Bioecology and management of Eucalyptus gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa Fisher and La Salle (Eulophidae: Hymenoptera). MSc thesis, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India. Google Scholar
Kavitha Kumari, N., Kulkarni, H., Vastrad, A. S. and Goud, K. V. (2010) Biology of Eucalyptus gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa Fisher and La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science 23, 211–212.Google Scholar
Kim, I. K., Mendel, Z., Protasov, A., Blumberg, D. and La Salle, J. (2008) Taxonomy, biology and efficacy of two Australian parasitoids of the Eucalyptus gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae). Zootaxa 1910, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulkarni, H. (2010) Distribution, seasonal incidence and management of Eucalyptus gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) with special reference to native parasitoids. MSc thesis, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India. Google Scholar
Kulkarni, H., Kumari, N. K., Vastrad, A. S. and Basavangoud, K. (2010) Release and recovery of parasitoids in Eucalyptus against gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) under green house. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science 23, 91–92.Google Scholar
La Salle, J. (2005) Biology of gall inducers and evolution of gall induction in Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Tanaostigmatidae, Torymidae), pp. 507–537. In Biology, Ecology and Evolution of Gall-Inducing Arthropods (edited by Raman, A., Schaefer, C. W. and Withers, T. M.). Science Publishers, Enfield, New Hampshire, USA.Google Scholar
Mendel, Z., Protasov, A., Fisher, N. and La Salle, J. (2004) Taxonomy and biology of Leptocybe invasa gen. & sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an invasive gall inducer on Eucalyptus . Australian Journal of Entomology 43, 101–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Protasov, A., Doganlar, M., La Salle, J. and Mendel, Z. (2008) Occurrence of two local Megastigmus species parasitic on the Eucalyptus gall wasp Leptocybe invasa in Israel and Turkey. Phytoparasitica 36, 449–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, T., Ranawana, K. and Nanayakkara, A. (2009) Methods tested and their costs to control re-growth of coppiced Eucalyptus camaldulensis in harvested plantations in Naula, Matale District, Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Science) 38, 75–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, A. and Coley, P. D. (1992) Delayed greening in tropical leaves: an antiherbivore defense? Biotropica 24, 256–262.Google Scholar
Thu, P. Q., Dell, B. and Burgess, T. I. (2009) Susceptibility of 18 eucalypt species to the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa in the nursery and young plantations in Vietnam. Science Asia 35, 113–117.Google Scholar
Viggiani, G., Loudannia, S. and Bernardo, V. (2000) The increase of insect pests of Eucalyptus . Informatore Agrario 58, 609–634.Google Scholar