Biology subjects

Bienkowski, A. O.

Publications and source records attributed to Bienkowski, A. O..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Co-invasion of the ladybird Harmonia axyridis and its parasites Hesperomyces virescens fungus and Parasitylenchus bifurcatus nematode to the Caucasus

Study of parasites in recently established populations of invasive species can shed lite on sources of invasion and possible indirect interactions of the alien species with native ones. We studied parasites of the global invader Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the Caucasus. In 2012 the first established population of H. axyridis was recorded in the Caucasus in Sochi (south of European Russia, Black sea coast). By 2018 the ladybird has spread to the vast territory: Armenia, Georgia and south Russia: Adygea, Krasnodar territory, Stavropol territory, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia. Examination of 213 adults collected in Sochi in 2018 have shown that 53% of them are infested with Hesperomyces virescens fungi (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniales) and 8% with Parasitylenchus bifurcatus nematodes (Nematoda: Tylenchida, Allantonematidae). Examined H. axyridis specimens were free of parasitic mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae. An analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of Parasitylenchus bifurcatus based on 18S rDNA confirmed the morphological identification of this species. Hesperomyces virescens and Parasitylenchus bifurcatus are firstly recorded from the Caucasus and Russia, though widespread in Europe. It probably indicates that they appeared as a result of co-invasion with their host. Harmonia axyridis was released in the region for pest control, but laboratory cultures are always free of H. virescens and P. bifurcatus. Therefore, detection of H. virescens and P. bifurcatus indicates that population of H. axyridis in the Caucasus cannot derive exclusively from released specimens. We did not find H. virescens on 400 specimens of 31 other ladybird species collected in the same localities with H. axyridis in the Caucasus. No reliable correlation between infestation by H. virescens and P. bifurcatus has been found. Besides these two parasites an unidentified species of the order Mermithida is recorded. It is the first documented case of H. axyridis infestation by a parasitic nematode of this order in nature.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2018

Plant quarantine alarm: as much as 20 new alien insect pest species including Drosophila suzukii appeared in the Caucasus in the last seven years

In 2011-2017 an unusually high number of invasive pests new to European Russia were detected for the first time in Sochi on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. We present the first reports of two pests new for the Caucasus and European Russia found in 2017: Drosophila suzukii (a pest of fruit, included to EPPO A2 list) and Otiorhynchus armadillo (a pest of agricultural and ornamental plants). Other recently established insects: a polyphagous pest Halyomorpha halys (first record in 2014); pests of palm trees included to EPPO A2 list: Paysandisia archon (2014) and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (2012); a pest of Solanaceae: Epitrix hirtipennis (2013); a pest of ornamental flowers: Luperomorpha xanthodera (2016); a pest of soybeans: Medythia nigrobilineata (2016); a pest of wine production: Harmonia axyridis (2012); a pest of strawberry: Stelidota geminata (2013); pests of Eucalyptus: Ophelimus maskelli (2011), Glycaspis bremblecomblei (2014), Leptocybe invasa (2014); a pest of Cupressaceae: Lamprodila festiva (2013); a pest of Gleditsia: Dasineura gleditchiae (2011), a pest of Buxus: Cydalima perspectalis (2012); a pest of Albizia: Acizzia jamatonica (2014); a pest of Cercis: Cacopsylla pulchella (2014). Probably most of insects were introduced with imported planting material during the landscaping of the city of Sochi in preparation for the Olympic Games (held in 2014). Quarantine measures should be taken to prevent dispersal of these pests to other regions of the Caucasus and countries of the Black Sea region. Attention should be paid to a new pest for Europe Medythia nigrobilineata.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Alien leaf beetles of European Russia: native ranges, invasion history, biology and vectors of dispersal

Invasions of leaf beetles are of great ecological and economic significance, but poorly studied. The rate of these invasions in Europe is dramatically increasing. Some established species spread quickly occupying almost the whole continent within several decades. We present the first inventory of alien leaf beetles of European Russia. For each species the map of distribution is provided and the history of invasion in the world is discussed. Two species native to Mediterranean Region: Chrysolina americana (pest of Rosmarinus and Lavandula) and Leptomona erythrocephala feeding on Lotus corniculatus are recorded in European Russia for the first time. A polyphagous pest of floriculture Luperomorpha xanthodera native to China and Korea and pest of soybeans Medythia nigrobilineata native to East Asia were recorded in 2016. A pest of tobacco Epitrix hirtipennis native to North America was recorded in 2013. A pest of corn Diabrotica virgifera was intercepted at the border of Russia in 2011, but is not established. Three alien species were recorded in the 20th century: Zygogramma suturalis introduced from North America for control of Ambrosia, Phyllotreta reitteri native to Afghanistan and Tajikistan and feeding on Lepidium latifolium, and the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata. The Black Sea region is more prone to leaf beetle invasions than other regions of European Russia. Leaf beetles usually occur only on alien or cultivated plants. Some species feed on native plants in native communities. So it is difficult to distinguish species established before the 20th century from native ones.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Woolly ash aphid Prociphilus fraxinifolii (Riley, 1879) (Hemiptera: Eriosomatidae), a new invasive alien pest of ash trees (Fraxinus) in Russia.

Woolly ash aphid or ash leaf curl aphid Prociphilus fraxinifolii (Riley, 1879) is an alien invasive pest of ash trees native to North America. After its first record in Europe in 2003 in Hungary it has spread to the Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Spain, Poland and Germany. In 2016 P. fraxinifolii was firstly recorded at the southwestern border of Russia. Now Prociphilus fraxinifolii is firstly recorded in the center of European Russia, namely in Moscow Region, which is more than 700 km far from all other known localities of the species. In September 2017 five groups of ash trees (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) with colonies of Prociphilus fraxinifolii were found in Moscow Region. The example of Prociphilus fraxinifolii shows that alien pest insects can spread in Europe very quickly. Now Moscow region is the only regions of Europe, where the expanding range of Prociphilus fraxinifolii has overlapped with expanding ranges of other invasive alien species established in Europe in the last 20 years and severely damaging ash trees: ash dieback fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus Baral et al., 2014 (Ascomycota) and emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

zoology↗