PRELIMINARY RESULTS ON THE PARASITIC NEMATODE DELADENUS SIRICIDICOLA ASSOCIATED TO MONOCHAMUS SPP. IN PINE WOODS OF CAMPANIA REGION, ITALY

During phytosanitary monitoring activities carried out in Campania (southern Italy) in the years 2018-2021, focused on pine sawyer beetles of the genus Monochamus spp. considered potential insect vectors of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the facultative parasitic nematode Deladenus siricidicola (Nematoda Neotylenchidae) was collected from adult beetles of Monochamus galloprovincialis. Deladenus siricidicola is the primary biological control agent largely applied against the wood wasp Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera, Siricidae), an invasive pest of Southern Hemisphere and North America, where it heavily damages pine wood plantations allowing the spread of its symbiotic organism, the white-rot agent Amylostereum areolatum. The interesting record of this beneficial nematode associated with a pine sawyer beetle of the genus Monochamus represents an opportunity to investigate the relationships of D. siricidicola with other organisms in forest ecosystems and could lead to a new step in the control of the threat posed by the harmful pine wood nematode B. xylophilus. Key Words: Deladenus siricidicola, pine sawyer beetles, Pinus spp., pine wilt nematode