Phytophagous larvae occurring in Central and Southeastern European oak forests as a potential host of Entomophaga maimaiga (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) - A field study

Milan Zúbrik; Daniela Pilarska; Jan Kulfan; Marek Barta; Ann E Hajek; Tonya D Bittner; Peter Zach; Danail Takov; Andrej Kunca; Slavomír Rell; Anikó Hirka; György Csóka

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2018.05.003

Phytophagous larvae occurring in Central and Southeastern European oak forests as a potential host of Entomophaga maimaiga (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) - A field study

J Invertebr Pathol. 2018 Jun:155:52-54. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2018.05.003. Epub 2018 May 11.

Authors

Milan Zúbrik¹, Daniela Pilarska², Jan Kulfan³, Marek Barta⁴, Ann E Hajek⁵, Tonya D Bittner⁶, Peter Zach⁷, Danail Takov⁸, Andrej Kunca⁹, Slavomír Rell¹⁰, Anikó Hirka¹¹, György Csóka¹²

Affiliations

¹ National Forest Centre, Forest Protection Service, Lesnícka 11, 969 01 Banská Štiavnica, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: zubrik@nlcsk.org.
² New Bulgarian University, Department of Natural Sciences, 21 Montevideo Str., Sofia 1618, Bulgaria; Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., Sofia 1113, Bulgaria. Electronic address: dpilarska@yahoo.com.
³ Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Science, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: kulfan@ife.sk.
⁴ Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Science, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: marek.barta@ife.sk.
⁵ Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-2601, USA. Electronic address: aeh4@cornell.edu.
⁶ Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-2601, USA. Electronic address: tdb68@cornell.edu.
⁷ Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Science, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: zach@ife.sk.
⁸ Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., Sofia 1113, Bulgaria.
⁹ National Forest Centre, Forest Protection Service, Lesnícka 11, 969 01 Banská Štiavnica, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: kunca@nlcsk.org.
¹⁰ National Forest Centre, Forest Protection Service, Lesnícka 11, 969 01 Banská Štiavnica, Slovak Republic.
¹¹ NARIC Forest Research Institute, Department of Forest Protection, Mátrafüred, Hungary.
¹² NARIC Forest Research Institute, Department of Forest Protection, Mátrafüred, Hungary. Electronic address: csokagy@erti.hu.

PMID: 29758226
DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2018.05.003

Abstract

We evaluated the presence and impact of Entomophaga maimaiga on both target and non-target phytophagous larvae. All six study plots, with low gypsy moth population density, were situated in Central and Southeastern European oak forests and E. maimaiga had previously been reported from these plots. Totally, 45 of 4,045 (1.13%) collected non-target larvae died due to fungal infections. No non-target insect specimen was infected by E.maimaiga, although the presence of the pathogen could not be fully excluded in three cadavers. Out of 1,780L.dispar larvae collected, 15individuals (0.84%) were infected by E.maimaiga.

Keywords: Entomophaga maimaiga; Gypsy moth; Host specificity; Lymantria dispar; Non-target impact; Oak forest.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Entomophthorales*
Europe
Forests
Larva / parasitology*
Moths / parasitology*
Pest Control, Biological / methods*
Quercus / parasitology