In 2007–2012 we assessed dendrobiotic insects at three locations in stands of Pinus nigra, Pinus halepensis and Pinus sylvestris in Slovenia. The samples were collected from May to November using four (three in 2007) cross vane funnel traps per location with wet collecting cups and attractants. In 2007 we used ethanol+?-pinene, and from 2008 to 2010, ethanol+?-pinene, Pheroprax® (ipsdienol, cis-verbenol, 2-methylbut-3-en-2-ol) and Gallowit® (ipsdienol CAS 14434-41-4, ipsenol CAS 60894-96-4, DMWK CAS 115-18-4, cis-verbenol CAS 18881-04-4, ?-pinene CAS 80-56-8, ethanol CAS 64-17-5) were used with traps 1.5 m above the ground. In 2011–2012 ethanol+?-pinene and Galloprotect 2D® (Galloprotect F: an aggregation pheromone [2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol] and Galloprotect A: kairomonal substances [ipsenol and 2-methyl-3-buten-1-ol]) were used with traps in the lower canopy. We collected 31,228 individuals from 45 beetle families. Curculinidae (Scolytinae, 23,325) were the most numerous, and the target family Cerambycidae was represented with 1945 specimens from 28 taxa and 25 species. In 2007 Spondylis buprestoides was by far the most abundant species. In 2008–2010 ethanol+?-pinene more effectively attracted S. buprestoides and A. rusticus, whereas Monochamus galloprovincialis showed a clear preference for Gallowit®. In 2011–2012 Galloprotect 2D® attracted significantly more cerambycids than ethanol+?-pinene, and M. galloprovincialis was by far the most numerous species. In addition to cerambycids, other saproxylic beetle species and also scolytine predators (mostly Cleridae, Histeridae, Trogossitidae) were found in the traps, highlighting the need to consider the potential negative impacts of the long-term monitoring of PWN vectors on species with important functional-trophic traits in forests.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4367014
The oriental chestnut gall wasp was introduced into Slovenia in 2004 with sweet chestnut seedlings, and then it spread rapidly throughout Slovenia. By collecting samples at three locations (Lipa, Ljubljana, Velike Brusnice) and cultivating the galls in the laboratory, we found that the parasitoid was widely spread in the investigated area already in 2013 and 2014, and in our opinion, in 2015 it already expressed strong reduction effect on the population of D. kuriphilus throughout the whole of Slovenia. Parazitoid T. sinensis was released into the wild in Slovenia by a decision of the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection at six locations in the spring of 2015. Parasitoid releases are scheduled for the next four years. Based on the results obtained in the article, we find that the introduction has not been justified so far and it does not make sense in the future.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4337830
Here we report the discovery of Corythucha arcuata in Slovenia in autumn 2016. Egg shells and molts of oak lace bug were found on the fallen leaves of Quercus robur in an oak forest in the village of Zakot near Brežice in the southeastern part of Slovenia. C. arcuata most likely spread to Slovenia from Croatia, where it was previously reported from the park at Lužnica Castle near Zaprešić, 14 km from the find in Slovenia, or as a hitchhiker on rail traffi c running along the northern edge of infested forest. Further spread of C. arcuata to Krakovo oak forest was detected in the beginning of July 2017.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4893350
We survey non-native insects species in whole territory of Slovenia. Data on non-native species were collected in field, and we also used results of projects in which we participated and with overview of literature data in scientific publications. Correspondence Analysis (CA) of data was carried out with the software Statgraphics Centaurion XVI, U.S.A. Up to 254 non-native insect species are present: around 83% are phytophagous (43% feed on woody plants, 40% on other plants); around 12% are non-phytophagous; and 5% are parasitoids or predators of other insects or mammals. Among the phytophagous species, Hemiptera predominates (with 38.2%), followed by Coleoptera (29.8%) and Lepidoptera (14.5%). Non-native insects that do not feed on plants include Coleoptera (80%), Lepidoptera (6.5%), Hymenoptera (6.5%) and Diptera (6.5%). Most of phytophagous species are associated with introduction of plants on which they are specialists, but some have also shifted from introduced to native plant hosts. 36 non-native phytophagous species (14.17% of all non-native insects) have become harmful plant pests of urban trees and crops. 20 appear on woody plants, but only Dryocosmus kuriphilus, appears in urban forest areas. In the past decades species such as D. kuriphilus , Leptoglossus occidentalis , Xylosandrus germanus , Gnathotrichus materiarius, Dasineura gledichiae, Phyllonorycter issikii, Cinara curvipes, Ophiomyia kwansonis have been recorded in parks and forests. Some non-native species are spreading in Slovenian urban forests and affect economic, ecological and other forest and urban forest functions. The number of harmful insects in forests is extremely small probably due to high diversity of the forest ecosystem, where close-to-nature forest management is practiced, which retains forests self-regulatory ability to control pests. Such management enables for example the reduction of D. kuriphilus with expansion of its parasitoid, Torymus sinensis . We attempt to explain this phenomenon: we assume that T. sinensis was introduced in Slovenia as diapaused eggs in its host, D. kuriphilus .
COBISS.SI-ID: 4893094
The composition and variability of the terpenes and their derivatives isolated from the needles of a representative pool of 114 adult trees originating from four natural populations of dwarf mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra) from the Julian Alps were investigated by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. In total, 54 of the 57 detected essential-oil components were identified. Among the different compound classes present in the essential oils, the chief constituents belonged to the monoterpenes, comprising an average content of 79.67% of the total oil composition (74.80% of monoterpene hydrocarbons and 4.87% of oxygenated monoterpenes). Sesquiterpenes were present in smaller amounts (average content of 19.02%), out of which 16.39% were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 2.62% oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The most abundant components in the needle essential oils were the monoterpenes ?-car-3-ene, ß-phellandrene, ?-pinene, ß-myrcene, and ß-pinene and the sesquiterpene ß-caryophyllene. From the total data set of 57 detected compounds, 40 were selected for principal-component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis (DA), and cluster analysis (CA). The overlap tendency of the four populations suggested by PCA, was as well observed by DA. CA also demonstrated similarity among the populations, which was the highest between Populations I and II.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4299942