Abstract
The pine-killing woodwasp Sirex noctilio, a native to Eurasia/Morocco, was accidentally introduced into various Southern Hemisphere countries during the last century and has recently (2005) been detected in north-eastern North America. The parasitic nematode Beddingia siricidicola is by far the most important control agent of sirex and has been introduced into each Southern Hemisphere country soon after sirex became established. The nematode has a complex life cycle with morphologically very different forms. One form feeds on the tree-pathogenic, sirex-symbiotic fungus (Amylostereum areolatum) as this fungus grows throughout the tree, while the other form grows in and then sterilises adult female S. noctilio. The fungal-feeding form of B. siricidicola is used to mass-produce the nematode. Methods are described for liberating nematodes in pine plantations. The nematode has caused major crashes in S. noctilio populations so that sirex-infested trees can no longer be found in many plantations. A problem arose when it was discovered that long-term in vitro culture using only the fungal cycle without intervention of parasitic cycles had selected, over many years, for a nematode strain (the “defective strain”) that rarely formed the infective stage and was therefore much less effective in the field. Isolation of the “Kamona strain”, annual replenishment from liquid nitrogen storage and other procedural changes are enabling strain replacement in the field. While nematode control in most of the Southern Hemisphere has proved to be highly successful, there are problems in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa where warm dry winters cause sirex-infested trees to dry out before the nematode populations can spread throughout the tree. In North America an inferior strain of nematode appears to have been accidentally introduced with sirex. The symbiotic fungus of sirex introduced to North America is a different strain of A. amylostereum to that in the Southern Hemisphere and does not permit optimal nematode development.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
References
Akhurst RJ (1975) A study of the free-living phase of Deladenus, nematodes parasitic in woodwasps. MSc Thesis, University of Tasmania
Bedding RA (1967) Parasitic and free-living cycles in entomogenous nematodes of the genus Deladenus. Nature London 214:174–175
Bedding RA (1968) Deladenus wilsoni n.sp. and D. siricidicola n.sp. (Neotylenchidae), entomophagous nematodes parasitic in siricid woodwasps. Nematologica 14:515–525
Bedding RA (1972) Biology of Deladenus siricidicola (Neotylenchidae), an entomophagous nematode parasitic in siricid woodwasps. Nematologica 18:482–493
Bedding RA (1975) Five new species of Deladenus (Neotylenchidae), entomophagous-mycetophagous nematodes parasitic on siricid woodwasps. Nematologica 20:204–225
Bedding RA (1979) Manipulating the entomophagous-mycetophagous nematode, Deladenus siricidicola for the biological control of the woodwasp Sirex noctilio in Australia. In: Waters WE (ed) Current topics in forest entomology. USDA Forest Service Gen Tech Pap WO-8. pp 144–147
Bedding RA (1984) Nematode parasites of Hymenoptera. In: Nickle WR (ed) Plant and insect parasitic nematodes. Marcel Dekker, New York. pp 755–795
Bedding RA (1992) Strategy to overcome the crisis in control of sirex by nematodes. Austral For Grower Summer 1991/92:15–16
Bedding RA (1993) Biological control of Sirex noctilio using the nematode Deladenus siricidicola. In: Bedding RA, Akhurst RJ, Kaya HK (eds) Nematodes and the biological control of insect pests. CSIRO Publ, East Melbourne, Australia. pp 11–20
Bedding RA, Akhurst RJ (1974) Use of the nematode Deladenus siricidicola in the biological control of Sirex noctilio in Australia. J Aust Entomol Soc 13:129–135
Bedding RA, Akhurst RJ (1978) Geographical distribution and host preferences of Deladenus species (Nematoda: Neotylenchidae) parasitic in siricid woodwasps and associated hymenopterous parasitoids. Nematologica 24:286–294
Bedding RA, Iede ET (2005) Application of Beddingia for Sirex wood wasp control. In: Grewal PS, Ehlers R-U, Shapiro-Ilan DI (eds) Nematodes as biological control agents. CABI Publ, Cambridge, MA. pp 385–399
Blinova SL, Korenchenko EA (1986) Phaenopsitylenchus lacicis g.n. and sp.n. (Nematoda: Phaenopsitylenchidae fam. N.) parasite of Phenops guttulata and remarks on taxonomy of nematodes of the superfamily Sphaerularioidea. Acad Nauk SSSR Trudy Gelmint Lab 34:14–23
Calder J, Bedding RA (2002) Standard operating procedures for production, experimental analysis and quality assurance testing of Beddingia siricidicola. National Sirex Co-ordination Comm, Canberra, Australia
CanFI2001 Database (2007) Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, http://cfs.nrcan. gc.ca/subsite/canfi/index-canfi [accessed March 2008]
Carnegie AJ, Waterson DG, Eldridge RH (2005) The history and management of sirex wood wasp, Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), in pine plantations in New South Wales, Australia. NZ J For Sci 35:3–24
Carnegie A J, Matsuki M, Haugen DA, Hurley BP, Ahumada R, Klasmer P, Sun J, Iede ET (2006) Predicting the potential distribution of Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), a significant exotic pest of Pinus plantations. Ann For Sci 63:119–128
Coutts MP (1969a) The mechanism of pathogenicity of Sirex noctilio on Pinus radiata. 1, Effects of the symbiotic fungus Amylostereum sp. (Thelophoraceae). Aust J Biol Sci 22:915–924
Coutts MP (1969b) The mechanism of pathogenicity of Sirex noctilio on Pinus radiata. 2, Effects of S. noctilio mucus. Aust J Biol Sci 22:1153–1161
Dyer D (2007) An overview of the national Sirex control strategy in South Africa. Internatl Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 36
Gaut IPC (1969) Identity of the fungal symbiont of Sirex noctilio. Aust J Biol Sci 22:905–914
de Groot P (2007) An overview of the Sirex noctilio situation in Canada. Internatl Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 30
Haugen DA, Underdown MG (1990) Sirex noctilio control program in response to the 1987 Green Triangle outbreak. Aust Forest 53:33–40
Haugen DA, Bedding RA, Underdown MG, Neumann FG (1990) National strategy for control of Sirex noctilio in Australia. Austral For Grower 13 No 2
Hoebeke ER, Haugen DA, Haack R (2005) Sirex noctilio: Discovery of a Palearctic siricid woodwasp in New York. Newsl Mich Entomol Soc 50:24–25
Hurley BP, Slippers B, Hatting HJ, Croft PK, Wingfield MJ (2007) The Sirex control program in the eastern parts of South Africa: lessons from research efforts between 2004–2006. Internatl Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 38
Iede ET, Penteado S do RC, Schaitza EG (1998) Sirex noctilio in Brazil: detection, evaluation, and control. In: Proc Conference Training in the control of Sirex noctilio by the use of natural enemies, Colombo, Brazil. pp 45–52
Iede ET, Klasmer P, Penteado S do R.C (2000) Sirex noctilio in South America: distribution, monitoring and control. In: XXI Internatl Congr Entomol. Foz do Iguacu, Aug. 2000. Embrapa Soja Anais, Londrina-PR. p 474
Iede ET, Penteado S do RC, Filho WR (2007) The woodwasp Sirex noctilio in Brazil – Monitoring and control. Internatl Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 20
Madden JL (1968) Physiological aspects of host tree favourability for the woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F. Proc Ecol Soc Aust 3:147–149
Madden JL (1974) Oviposition behaviour of the woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F. Aust J Zool 22:341–351
Madden JL (1977) Physiological reactions of Pinus radiata to attack by the woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Bull Ent Res 67:405–426
Madden JL, Irvine CJ (1971) The use of lure trees for the detection of Sirex noctilio in the field. Aust Forest 35:164–166
National Sirex Co-ordination Committee (2002) National Sirex Control Strategy Operations Worksheets
Poinar Jr GO, Jackson TA, Bell NL, Wahid MB (2002) Elaeolenchus arthenonema n. g., n. sp. ( Nematoda: Sphaerularioidea: Anandranematidae n. fam.) parasitic in the palm-pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust, with a phylogenetic synopsis of the Sphaerularioidea Lubbock, 1861. System Parasitol 52:219–225
Popiel I, Vasquez EM (1991) Cryopreservation of Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. J Nematol 23:432–437
Popiel I, Holtemann KD, Glazer I, Womersley C (1988) Commercial storage and shipment of entomogenous nematodes. International Patent No. WO 88/011344
Remillet M, Laumond C (1991) Sphaerularioid nematodes of importance in agriculture. In: Nickle WR (ed) Manual of agricultural nematology. Marcel Dekker, New York. pp 967–1024
Riding IL (1970) Microvilli on the outside of a nematode. Nature Lond 226:179–180
Schneeberger NF (2007) Response to the recent find of Sirex noctilio in the United States. International Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 20
Spadberry JP, Kirk AA (1978) Aspects of the ecology of siricid woodwasps (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in Europe, North Africa and Turkey with special reference to the biological control of Sirex noctilio F. in Australia. Bull Ent Res 68:341–359
Sutherst RW, Maywald GF, Yonow T, Stevens PM (1999) CLIMEX: predicting the effects of climate on plants and animals. CSIRO Publ, Melbourne, Australia
Tribe GD, Cillié JJ (2004) The spread of Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in South African pine plantations and the introduction and establishment of its biological control agents. African Entomol 12:9–17
Verleur M (2007) Validation for mass inoculations with Beddingia siricidicola, despite apparent low inoculation generated parasitism rates. International Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 40
Williams D, Mastro V, Downer K (2007) Establishment of Beddingia siricidicola for biological control of Sirex noctilio in the United States: Questions, issues, and challenges. International Sirex Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa 9–16 May 2007. p 32
Wood MS, Stephens NC, Allison B, Howell CI (2001) Plantations of Australia – a report from the National Plantation Inventory and the National Farm Forest Inventory (abridged version). National Forest Inventory, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra
Zondag R (1962) A nematode disease of Sirex noctilio (F.). Interim Res. Rep., New Zealand Forest Service 1–6
Zondag R (1966) Observations on a nematode disease of Sirex noctilio (F.). NZ For Res Inst, For Entomol Report No 19
Zondag R (1975) A non-sterilising strain of Deladenus siricidicola. NZ For Res Inst Report 1974. Rotorua, NZ. pp 51–52
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bedding, R.A. (2009). Controlling the Pine-Killing Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, with Nematodes. In: Hajek, A.E., Glare, T.R., O’Callaghan, M. (eds) Use of Microbes for Control and Eradication of Invasive Arthropods. Progress in Biological Control, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8560-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8560-4_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8559-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8560-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)