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Significant suppression of invasive emerald ash borer by introduced parasitoids: potential for North American ash recovery

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Abstract

Successful management of invasive forest pests with sustainable approaches, such as biological control, is critical to the restoration of the affected or damaged forest ecosystems. Several parasitoids introduced from Northeast Asia were released between 2015 and 2017 in several northeastern states of the USA for biocontrol of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. Using life tables to estimate the pest population growth rate, we evaluated the impact of two introduced parasitoids (Spathius galinae and Tetrastichus planipennisi) on EAB population dynamics in five ash-dominated hardwood forests in three Northeastern U.S states. We observed ~ 76% decrease in average densities of live EAB larvae to a low density (< 7 live larvae per m2 of tree phloem) from 2015 to 2020. This reduction in pest density was driven primarily by the significant increase in parasitism rates (from 35 to 78%) by S. galinae, along with low-to-moderate levels of mortality from local generalist natural enemies, such as woodpeckers. Spathius galinae alone caused a 31–57% reduction in the net pest population growth rate from 2018 to 2020. These findings demonstrate that in the recently invaded ash forests in the Northeastern USA, timely introduction of specialized natural enemies, such as S. galinae, along with local generalist natural enemies, may significantly suppress the invasive pest populations to low densities, allowing surviving trees to recover.

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Data Accessibility

Data will be available upon the publication of the manuscript through the Ag Data Commons (National Agricultural Library, USDA Agricultural Research Service).

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Acknowledgements

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We thank Jennifer Chandler (University of Massachusetts), Amanda Stout (USDA ARS BIIRU) for assistance in fieldwork in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. We also thank, Massachusetts Department of Conservation, Connecticut Department of Agriculture, and Donald Dubac and his family members in New York for permission to work in their forests for our study. Kim Hoelmer (USDA Agricultural Research Service) provided helpful comments on an early version of this manuscript.

Funding

This work was partly supported by the USDA Farm Bill Program through Interagency Agreement with USDA ARS (IRA# 60-8010-9-001) and a sub-agreement between ARS and University of Massachusetts (59-8010-9-002), and partly supported by Richard Reardon (USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA ARS, Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, Newark, DE, 19713, USA

    Jian J. Duan, Jonathan Schmude & Nicole Quinn

  2. Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Roy G. Van Driesche, Ryan Crandall, Nicole Quinn & Joseph S. Elkinton

  3. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Claire Rutlege

  4. USDA APHIS PPQ Emerald Ash Borer Program, Brighton, MI, 48116, USA

    Benjamin H. Slager

  5. USDA APHIS CPHST, Buzzards Bay, MA, 02542, USA

    Juli R. Gould

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  1. Jian J. Duan
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Correspondence to Jian J. Duan.

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These data include scripts and outputs of all statistical analyses using JPM Pro 15.01.

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Communicated by Kent Daane .

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Duan, J.J., Van Driesche, R.G., Schmude, J. et al. Significant suppression of invasive emerald ash borer by introduced parasitoids: potential for North American ash recovery. J Pest Sci 95, 1081–1090 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01441-9

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