Alien eating alien - rapid spread of Aceria fraxiniflora, a non-native gall mite of the invasive green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) in Central-Eastern Europe

Márton Korda; Géza Ripka; Karel Hradil; Milka Glavendekic; Dinka Matosevic; Boris Hrasovec; Márton Paulin; Anikó Hirka; György Csóka

doi:10.1007/s10493-023-00849-5

Alien eating alien - rapid spread of Aceria fraxiniflora, a non-native gall mite of the invasive green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) in Central-Eastern Europe

Exp Appl Acarol. 2023 Nov;91(3):405-412. doi: 10.1007/s10493-023-00849-5. Epub 2023 Oct 11.

Authors

Márton Korda¹, Géza Ripka², Karel Hradil³, Milka Glavendekic⁴, Dinka Matosevic⁵, Boris Hrasovec⁶, Márton Paulin⁷, Anikó Hirka⁷, György Csóka⁷

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Forestry, Institute of Environment and Nature Protection, University of Sopron, Sopron, 9400, Hungary. korda.marton@uni-sopron.hu.
² Directorate of Plant Protection and Oenology, National Food Chain Safety Office, Budapest, 1118, Hungary.
³ Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, Jicin, 506 01, Czech Republic.
⁴ Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, 11030, Serbia.
⁵ Department for forest protection and game management, Croatian Forest Research Institute, Jastrebarsko, 10450, Croatia.
⁶ Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Institute of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, 10000, Croatia.
⁷ Forest Research Institute, Department of Forest Protection, University of Sopron, Mátrafüred, 3232, Hungary.

Abstract

The North American gall mite Aceria fraxiniflora was first recorded in Europe in southeast Hungary in 2017. Since then, it has shown a remarkably rapid spread on its host, the also North American green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). By the beginning of 2023 it has been recorded in eight Central-Eastern European countries. In 2022 it was recorded on the other North American ash (Fraxinus Americana) in Zagreb (Croatia) and in Szarvas Arboretum (SE Hungary). Possible reasons and outcomes of this spread are discussed.

Keywords: Eriophyid mite; Green ash; Invasive alien species; Passive spread; Potential biocontrol.

MeSH terms

Animals
Coleoptera*
Europe
Europe, Eastern
Fraxinus*
Mites*