Distribution of the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) at the northern edge of its range in Europe |
| |
| Authors: | M Zúbrik I ?pilda D Pilarska AE Hajek D Takov C Nikolov A Kunca J Pajtík K Luká?ová J Holusa |
| |
| Institution: | 1. National Forest Centre, Forest Protection Service, Banská ?tiavnica, Slovakia;2. Faculty of Forestry, Technical University, Zvolen, Slovakia;3. Department of Natural Sciences, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria;4. Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria;5. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;6. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic |
| |
| Abstract: | The gypsy moth Lymantria dispar is a serious economic pest in European broadleaf forests. However, the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga, which has a great potential to regulate gypsy moth numbers, has recently spread in the Central and Eastern European area of the moth's range. In the current study, 39 plots in oak forests in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic were monitored for E. maimaiga from 2014 to 2016. These plots were located along the northern edge of the E. maimaiga range where gypsy moth outbreaks have occurred in the past. The fungus was detected in 16 of the 39 plots. The results thus confirm that E. maimaiga is quite widespread along the northern edge of its range in Europe and can be considered to be established in that area. |
| |
| Keywords: | Classical biological control Europe Lymantria dispar oak forests |
|
|
