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Drosophila suzukii is an invasive fly of East Asian origin that has become a serious fruit pest worldwide. Classical biological control through the introduction of parasitoids from Asia could help reduce populations of D. suzukii in invaded regions. Little is known about the native parasitoids of the fly in Asia. Therefore, surveys for larval parasitoids of D. suzukii were carried out in China and Japan between 2015 and 2017. Parasitoids of D. suzukii and other fruit-inhabiting drosophilids ( D. pulchrella and D. subpulchrella ) that are probably attacked by the same parasitoid complex were found in four Chinese provinces and four Japanese prefectures. Larval parasitoids were obtained at most sites where D. suzukii was found, with parasitism varying from 0.0 to 75.6%. At least eight parasitoid species were reared. The most abundant and frequent parasitoids were the Figitidae Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica , but another Leptopilina species and at least five Braconidae species belonging to the genera Areotetes , Asobara and Tanycarpa were obtained in low numbers. Due to its likely restricted host range, the most promising parasitoid for biological control is Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis . However, its exact specificity and taxonomic status require future research.

The Asian spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, has recently become a serious pest of soft fruits in Europe. Classical biological control through the introduction of larval parasitoids from its native range in Asia is presently being considered. However, host specificity of potential biological control agents has to be determined to avoid releasing species that may have unintended non-target impacts. Larvae of six different European non-target fly species and the target D. suzukii were exposed either on diet or blueberries to three Asian larval parasitoids, Asobara japonica , Leptopilina japonica, and Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis , and one European species, Leptopilina heterotoma . Asobara japonica showed the lowest specificity, attacking and developing in all Drosophilidae. Leptopilina japonica successfully parasitized two non-target Drosophilidae, D. melanogaster and D. subobscura , with one singly progeny emerging from D. immigrans . Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis had the highest level of specificity but variations occurred between two geographical populations tested. A Japanese population was strictly specific to D. suzukii, whereas another population from China parasitized D. suzukii , D. melanogaster and sporadically D. subobscura . The European L. heterotoma successfully developed in D. melanogaster , D. subobscura and occasionally in D. immigrans , but nearly all eggs and larvae in D. suzukii were encapsulated. These results show that Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis is the species with the highest potential for biological control, but more studies are needed on its taxonomic status and the existence of biotypes or cryptic species varying in their specificity before field releases can be conducted in Europe.

Aromia bungii Faldermann (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is an emerging invasive pest of economically important Prunus species that is native to China, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Korea, and Vietnam. It was recently introduced to Japan, Germany, and Italy, where it is spreading and damaging crops and ornamental trees. It exhibits an adaptable lifecycle, a high reproductive output, and the larvae live concealed under the bark of infested trees, which are traits that promote its invasiveness. Detection and monitoring of A. bungii currently rely upon visual identification of infested trees that are usually already damaged, which is inefficient and not target-specific. Current control methods rely primarily upon the labour-intensive physical removal of infested trees. Although native parasitoid natural enemies of A. bungii provide control in Chinese orchards, none are appropriate for classical biological control in invaded areas due to biosafety concerns surrounding their broad host ranges. However, entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes may provide viable options for biological control in invaded ranges. Recent advancements in semiochemical baited traps may provide sustainable, target-specific, and efficacious methods to monitor and control A. bungii . There remains much to learn about the biology and control of A. bungii , and continued advancements in the study of sustainable control tools are needed for the management of this emerging pest.

Understanding competition between scelionid parasitoids that exploit the same host may provide insight into strategies that allow coexistence on a shared resource. Competition studies typically focus on interactions between native and exotic parasitoids that do not share an evolutionary history; however, coevolved parasitoids may be more likely to demonstrate strategies to avoid or exploit a shared resource. We examined intrinsic and extrinsic competition between Asian Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) and T. cultratus (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) associated with Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) that share an evolutionary history. Interspecific interactions were assessed by providing parasitized egg masses to each species at various intervals post‐parasitism, and measuring host acceptance, developmental suitability, and guarding behaviour. Trissolcus japonicus showed high acceptance of parasitized hosts up to 72 h following oviposition by T. cultratus, despite a very poor developmental outcome. In contrast, T. cultratus generally avoided ovipositing in H. halys eggs containing T. japonicus early‐instar larvae but did not avoid parasitizing H. halys that contained eggs and third instar larvae. The adaptive value of this behaviour was supported by developmental outcome: T. cultratus outcompeted T. japonicus eggs but not early‐instar larvae, and a trophic shift occurred wherein T. cultratus developed as a facultative hyperparasitoid on third instar T. japonicus larvae. Trissolcus japonicus guarded egg masses 8–12× longer and displayed more aggressive interactions than T. cultratus, suggesting T. japonicus is the superior extrinsic competitor. Development as a facultative hyperparasitoid provided a competitive niche for Asian T. cultratus and confirms its instrinsic competitive superiority. This also occurs in a biologically distinct European population of T. cultratus, suggesting that facultative hyperparasitism as a competitive strategy is retained in geographically separated populations that have not coevolved with H. halys or T. japonicus. Competition between two co‐evolved scelionid egg parasitoids was evaluated to better understand the competitive strategies that allow these two species to coexist on the same host. Not only was Trissolcus cultratus the superior intrinsic competitor when it was the first species to parasitize an egg mass, but it was also able to develop as a facultative hyperparasitoid on T. japonicus. In contrast, T. japonicus displayed more aggressive interactions and longer guarding times, indicating that it is the superior extrinsic competitor.

The generalist egg parasitoid Anastatus bifasciatus (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is the most prevalent egg parasitoid of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Europe. To assess its efficacy against the pest H. halys and to validate the potential risks for non-target species in a realistic field setting, inundative releases were conducted over three consecutive years in four fruit orchards in Switzerland and Italy. In total, more than 4300 A. bifasciatus females were released, which was equivalent to 11,000 to 26,000 females per hectare, depending on distances between trees in each orchard. Parasitism of freeze-killed sentinel H. halys eggs achieved with the current release strategy was on average 6% (range: 2%–16%) and considered not high enough to effectively suppress the pest. However, the overall impact of A. bifasciatus on the mortality of H. halys eggs was likely underestimated. If pre-imaginal parasitoid mortality (3.3%) and host feeding (6%) are added to the observed parasitism (6%), the actual induced mortality of H. halys eggs may reach more than 15%. Parasitism of lepidopteran non-target species reached an average of 8% and thus, some degree of non-target parasitism after mass releases may be expected. To quantify the impact of the parasitoids in the orchards more precisely, naturally laid egg masses should be used in future trials to include host-finding cues of the host and host plants, and larger scale releases with potentially higher densities of parasitoids should be considered.

The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys is an invasive agricultural pest with a worldwide distribution. Classical biological control has been identified as the most promising method to reduce the populations of H. halys. Adventive populations of two candidates for releases, Trissolcus japonicus and Trissolcus mitsukurii, have recently been detected in Europe. To assess their distribution and abundance, a large-scale survey was performed. From May to September 2019, a wide area covering northern Italy and parts of Switzerland was surveyed, highlighting the expanding distribution of both Tr. japonicus and Tr. mitsukurii. Within four years after their first detection in Europe, both species have rapidly spread into all types of habitats where H. halys is present, showing a wide distribution and continuous expansion. Both exotic Trissolcus showed high levels of parasitism rate towards H. halys, while parasitization of non-target species was a rare event. The generalist Anastatus bifasciatus was the predominant native parasitoid of H. halys, while the emergence of native scelionids from H. halys eggs was rarely observed. The presence of the hyperparasitoid Acroclisoides sinicus was also recorded. This study provided fundamental data that supported the development of the first inoculative release program of Tr. japonicus in Europe.

In the current paper, we used a method based on stink bug egg-protein immobilization on filter paper by drying, followed by post-(storage and shipping) extraction in acidified acetonitrile containing matrix, to discriminate between nine different species using MALDI-TOF MS. We obtained 87 correct species-identifications in 87 blind tests using this method. With further processing of the unblinded data, the highest average Bruker score for each tested species was that of the cognate reference species, and the observed differences in average Bruker scores were generally large and the errors small except for Capocoris fuscispinus, Dolycoris baccarum, and Graphosoma italicum, where the average scores were lower and the errors higher relative to the remaining comparisons. While we observed clear discrimination between the nine species using this method, Halyomorpha halys and Piezodorus lituratus were more spectrally related than the other pairwise comparisons.

Trissolcus cultratus , a parasitoid wasp of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), exhibits divergent parasitic capacities between Chinese and Swiss populations, with Chinese strains successfully reproducing on fresh and cold storage host eggs in both laboratory and field conditions, while Swiss strains fail to develop in fresh BMSB egg. We sequenced and assembled the first T. cultratus transcriptome, a total of 184,932,102 and 195,101,432 clean reads from the Chinese and Swiss strains, respectively, were de novo assembled into 19,280 and 16,322 unigenes. These assemblies predicted 9,811 and 9,582 protein-coding genes for the two strains. Among the 19,280 and 16,322 unigenes, we further identified 554 and 557 transcription factors in the Chinese and Swiss strains, respectively. This work presents the first transcriptomic dataset for T. cultratus , offering a valuable foundation for subsequent research on its population genetics.

Although Switzerland is currently not endemic for canine leishmaniosis (CanL), imported cases of this emerging zoonosis are regularly detected. Also, phlebotomine sand flies, vectors of the causative agent Leishmania infantum, are present in the southern part of the country, in Canton Ticino, and endemic foci of CanL have been recently described in neighboring Italian municipalities. In 2022 and 2023, we evaluated the distribution of phlebotomine sand flies and the presence of antibodies against L. infantum in domestic dogs and cats in Ticino and Mesolcina (Canton of Grisons). An entomological survey was also carried out in the northwest of Switzerland (cantons Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft) close to an area in Germany where potential vectors are present. No sand flies were caught there. In Ticino, 15 out of 20 sites surveyed (75%) were positive for phlebotomine sand flies. Phlebotomus perniciosus, a potential vector of L. infantum, was the most abundant species, with site densities ranging from 0.1 to 5.3. The parasite was not detected in females. Leishmania infantum seroprevalences of 3.0% and 1.6% were observed in 101 and 126 dog and cat sera, respectively. Although, at this time, the risk of endemic CanL is extremely low, integrated surveillance and prevention measures should be considered.