Today we have five papers recently published that we have been reading. 1. Invasion pathways of the citrus pest Diaphorina citri 2. The effect of deforestation on weevil beta-diversity 3. A shoot canker disease affecting Mulberry in China 4. Temperature effects on Lymantria survival and development 5. Pestaliopsis neglecta reported on Cryptomeria japonica
Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) in China: Two Invasion Routes and Three Transmission Paths
Cong Zhang Xiao Xiong Xian Liu Zhiwen Zou Tianrong Xin Jing Wang Bin Xia Nanchang University
Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is one of the most common pests impacting citrus orchards in southern China. Samples of D. citri were collected in southern China in order to systematically explore the genetic architecture of the species. Here, we report on the significant genetic variation of the species when comparing southwestern China with other regions of southern China (southern and southeastern). Combined with previous data, the present work indicates that D. citri potentially entered China through two distinct invasion routes and spread within the country via three transmission paths.
https://academic.oup.com/jee/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jee/toz046/5421356
Tropical logging and deforestation impacts multiple scales of weevil beta-diversity
Adam C.Sharp, Maxwell V.L.Barclay, Arthur Y.C.Chung, Robert M.Ewers Imperial College
Half of Borneo’s forest has been logged and oil palm plantations have replaced millions of hectares of forest since the 1970’s. We sampled weevils (superfamily: Curculionoidea) at multiple spatial scales across a land-use gradient at the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Project in Sabah, Malaysia, in 2011–2012. We caught 160 taxa of weevil and calculated the response of alpha-diversity (1-ha scale) and beta-diversity (10-, 100-, and 1000-ha scales) to disturbance. We conclude that unlogged forest is irreplaceable for high beetle biodiversity but increased spatial turnover in some terrains may help conserve beetle communities in heavily-degraded landscapes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320718314332
First Report of Botryosphaeria dothidea Causing Shoot Canker on 2 Mulberry in China
Yan Huang, Lulu Meng, Jing Liu, Caixia Wang Qingdao Agricultural University
Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is a tree of economic importance cultivated widely across 9 China. During June and July 2017, an outbreak of cankers and twig dieback was 10 observed for the first time in the mulberry orchards in Xiajin County (36°95′N, 11 116°00′E), Shandong Province, China. Based on morphological characteristics, the 23 isolates resembled Botryosphaeria dothidea (Tang et al. 2012; Zhai et al. 2014).
https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1094/PDIS-01-19-0183-PDN
Effects of Temperature on First Instar Lymantria (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Survival and Development With and Without Food
Melody A Keena Juan Shi USDA Forest Service
Lymantria dispar L. and Lymantria monacha (L.) are Eurasian pests that have the potential for accidental introduction via trade into other world areas. Establishment of first instars of Lymantria depends on larvae surviving long enough to disperse and finding suitable hosts. The survival and development of newly hatched Lymantria larvae from nine geographic populations at seven temperatures (1–30°C) held without food, with summer foliage of a preferred or conifer host was determined. There was considerable variation both within and among the Lymantria populations in the survival of larvae at different temperatures when held with and without food. Survival on the conifer was highest for one Chinese and two European populations of L. dispar, suggesting the ability to utilize conifers is population and not subspecies specific.
https://academic.oup.com/ee/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ee/nvz028/5429540
First report of shoot blight on Cryptomeria japonica caused by Pestalotiopsis neglecta in China
L. Zhou, J. Li, F. Chen† , J. Chen, and J. Ye Nanjing Forestry University
Cryptomeria japonica D. Don is widely distributed in Japan and China (Hosoo 2007). However, during a general survey conducted in 2012, many C. japonica trees showing symptoms of shoot blight were observed in Jiangsu and Yunnan provinces of China. Field observations were conducted from January 2013 to October 2014 in the two provinces. All of the 240 surveyed trees showing shoot blight were observed in the investigated areas. A species of fungus was consistently isolated from the symptomatic plants at all investigated sites. It was identified as Pestalotiopsis sp., based on the colony and conidial characteristics and morphology (Ge et al. 2009).
https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PDIS-01-19-0184-PDN