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Geothermal soils in Central Italy are characterized by high temperatures (up to 60°C), low pH values, and sparse vegetation. The biodiversity of entomopathogenic soil fungi and nematodes has never been assessed in these areas. Soil samples (N = 12) separated from each other by at least 100 meters were collected in the areas of Le Biancane Natural Park (Grosseto) and Sasso Pisano (Pisa). The Galleria bait method was used to assess the presence of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes. A total of nine species of fungi and one nematode were isolated and molecularly identified. All these species came from samples collected in the immediate surroundings of geothermal spring, apart from one Beauveria pseudobassiana collected at about 16 meters from the nearest spring. Moreover, Pristionchus uniformis previously reported only from North America and few European countries is recorded for the first time in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Popillia japonica Newman is a scarab beetle native to Japan that is considered a serious pest outside its native range. It can feed on more than 400 host plants and spread about 10 km per year in invaded territories, therefore it is considered the second most important quarantine pest in Europe. Both chemical and biological insecticides have been used for control, with variable results. Despite ongoing efforts, P. japonica remains a threat in invaded countries, and it is necessary to test more effective and sustainable solutions in the context of integrated pest management. Here we present a study on long‐lasting insecticide‐treated nets (LLINs) assembled in semiochemical‐baited attract‐and‐kill devices (A&Ks) as a means to control adults of P. japonica with low environmental impact. This study complements previous ones in which we first evaluated the effectiveness of the LLINs in the laboratory and then tested both effectiveness and duration in field‐exposed A&Ks against P. japonica. In the present work we compared the effectiveness of three different densities of A&Ks per hectare in areas where the population of P. japonica was numerically homogeneous. RESULTS: The different densities of A&K (1, 2, 4 A&Ks per ha) resulted in an overall reduction of the population of P. japonica by about two thirds in comparison to the control area. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the use of one A&K per hectare, requiring minimal management effort, is an effective ratio for reducing local populations of P. japonica. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thalassa montezumae Mulsant is a coccinellid species recently discovered as predator of the pine tortoise scale Toumeyella parvicornis. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of T. montezumae collected in Turks and Caicos Islands in 2023 was sequenced using next-generation sequencing techniques. The circular mitochondrial genome is 16,981 bp long and contains 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNA, and 2 rRNA genes. Gene order is identical to that of other Coccinellidae. Phylogenetic analysis confirms structure of Coccinellidae families and tribes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popillia japonica is a quarantine pest of priority interest for the EU, given its potentially important economic, social and environmental impacts. Alternative strategies to chemical methods are essential to limit its spread in newly infested areas with favourable climatic and environmental conditions. Saponins are biologically active molecules widely distributed in plants, displaying a well‐known repellent activity combined with a mortality effect against insects. In this context, saponins were extracted from alfalfa Medicago sativa, where medicagenic and zanhic acid glycosides and Soyasaponin I were the most abundant compounds and used in the laboratory and semi‐field experiments for treating leaves of susceptible host plants for P. japonica. Under laboratory conditions, a food deterrence effect and a significant mortality rate were observed using Corylus avellana leaves treated at increasing saponin concentrations, ranging from 1% to 5% w/v. Semi‐field condition experiment supported the food deterrence effect, as a significant food preference was observed for untreated plants of Vitis vinifera compared to treated plants. The promising results obtained suggest that alfalfa saponins could represent a potential eco‐friendly approach for Japanese beetle control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylosandrus compactus and Liparthrum colchicum are two Scolytinae recorded for the first time in Italy in 2011 and 2019, respectively. X. compactus is an "ambrosia beetle" causing damages to several plants typical of the Mediterranean maquis through its digging activity on twigs and branches of the host plants. L. colchicum is a "bark beetle", monophagous on laurel shrubs and trees. During a survey performed in summer of 2020, in "Tenuta Salviati" located in the Migliarino Natural Park (Pisa, Tuscany), adults of X. compactus and L. colchicum were collected from the same branches and apical twigs of Laurus nobilis hedges. The study aimed at characterizing fungi isolated from the external surface of the two scolytids bodies, to evaluate similarities and even their role in fungal spreading in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vector-borne bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Wells and Raju) causes several serious diseases to plants. Recently, different subspecies of X. fastidiosa were reported in some European countries. The risk of the bacterium's spread on the entire European territory is very high; therefore, it has been added into the priority pest list (2019/1702/EU Regulation). The main purposes of this work were to verify the presence of potential vectors in areas at a high risk of introduction in Tuscany and to ascertain the presence of X. fastidiosa in these insect vectors. Over 4,000 Auchenorrhyncha were collected and analysed from 2015 to 2019. Among the xylem sap-feeder putative vectors, most of the insects collected belonged to the family Aphrophoridae, but also many species of leafhopper were identified. Overall, in Tuscany four species were the most represented: Philaenus spumarius (L.), Cicadella viridis (L.), Synophropsis lauri (Horvath) and Neophilaenus campestris (Fallen). In 2018 an outbreak of X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex was reported in Monte Argentario (Grosseto province, Tuscany). In 2019 X. fastidiosa subspecies multiplex ST 87 was detected in seven P. spumarius and three N. campestris collected from the infected area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artona (Fuscartona) martini Efetov, 1997 (black bamboo moth) was detected for the first time in Europe near Genova (Italy) in 2019 in a bamboo naturalized area. In this area, the exotic bamboo plants have found suitable climatic conditions for growth and outcompete other native forest species growing in fresh and humid environments such as hazel, poplar and alder. A. martini is one of the most harmful organisms associated with bamboo ornamental plants and bamboo plantations and represents their most common pest in eastern China, Taiwan, Japan (including Okinawa and Ogasawara Islands), and Vietnam. Recently it has been recorded in New Zealand and Korea. Due to the increasing agricultural and commercial interest for bamboo as an ornamental plant and as a resource for woody biomass production, the presence of this alien insect is noteworthy, representing a new possible phytosanitary problem for the European territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are small soluble polypeptides that bind semiochemicals in the lymph of insect chemosensilla. In the genome of Anopheles gambiae, 66 genes encode OBPs and 8 encode CSPs. Here we monitored their expression through classical proteomics (2D gel-MS analysis) and a shotgun approach. The latter method proved much more sensitive and therefore more suitable for tiny biological samples as mosquitoes antennae and eggs. Females express a larger number and higher quantities of OBPs in their antennae than males (24 vs 19). OBP9 is the most abundant in the antennae of both sexes, as well as in larvae, pupae and eggs. Of the 8 CSPs, 4 were detected in antennae, while SAP3 was the only one expressed in larvae. Our proteomic results are in fairly good agreement with data of RNA expression reported in the literature, except for OBP4 and OBP5, that we could not identify in our analysis, nor could we detect in Western Blot experiments. The relatively limited number of soluble olfactory proteins expressed at relatively high levels in mosquitoes makes further studies on the coding of chemical messages at the OBP level more accessible, providing for few specific targets. Identification of such proteins in Anopheles gambiae might facilitate future studies on host finding behavior in this important disease vector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]