Classical biological control of the African citrus psyllid Trioza erytreae, a major threat to the European citrus industry
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Pérez-Rodríguez, Jesica; Krüger, Kerstin; Pérez-Hedo, Meritxell; Ruiz-Rivero, Omar; Urbaneja, Alberto; Tena, AlejandroDate
2019Cita bibliográfica
Pérez-Rodríguez, J., Krüger, K., Pérez-Hedo, M., Ruíz-Rivero, O., Urbaneja, A., & Tena, A. (2019). Classical biological control of the African citrus psyllid Trioza erytreae, a major threat to the European citrus industry. Scientific reports, 9(1), 9440.Abstract
Citrus greening or huanglongbing (HLB) is the main threat to the European citrus industry since one
of its vectors, the African citrus psyllid, Trioza erytreae, has recently become established in mainland
Europe. In this context, classical biological control programmes should be implemented to reduce
the spread of the psyllid. The aims of this study were to: i) disentangle the parasitoid complex of T.
erytreae combining morphological and molecular characterization; and ii) to study the biology of its
main parasitoids in its area of origin in South Africa for their future importation into Europe. The main
citrus producing areas of South Africa were surveyed during 2017. In contrast to previous studies,
the parasitoid complex of T. erytreae included three species of primary parasitoids: Tamarixia dryi,
Psyllaephagus pulvinatus and another parasitoid of the genus Tamarixia. Molecular analysis showed
that it is a new species closely related to T. dryi. Tamarixia dryi was the most abundant parasitoid but its
relative abundance varied among sampling sites. The sex ratio (males/females) of T. dryi and Tamarixia
sp. decreased with T. erytreae size and became female biased when psyllid nymphs were larger than
0.6 and 1.2 mm2, respectively. These parasitoids were attacked by three species of hyperparasitoids,
Aphidencyrtus cassatus, Marietta javensis and a species of the genus Aphanogmus. Aphidencyrtus
cassatus, the most abundant hyperparasitoid, tended to emerge from large nymphs, and adult females
lived as long as those of T. dryi. The implications of these results are discussed within the framework of
the introduction of T. dryi into Europe.