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Impact of the Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), on the Chestnut Component of Honey in the Southern Swiss Alps

Gehring, Eric ; Kast, Christina ; Kilchenmann, Verena ; Bieri, Katharina ; Gehrig, Regula ; Pezzatti, Gianni B. ; Conedera, Marco

In: Journal of Economic Entomology, 2018, vol. 111, no. 1, p. 43-52

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    Title
    • Impact of the Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), on the Chestnut Component of Honey in the Southern Swiss Alps
    Author
    • Gehring, Eric. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, Switzerland
    • Kast, Christina. Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Center, Switzerland
    • Kilchenmann, Verena. Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Center, Switzerland
    • Bieri, Katharina. Biologisches Institut für Pollenanalyse K. Bieri GmbH, Switzerland
    • Gehrig, Regula. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Switzerland
    • Pezzatti, Gianni B.. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, Switzerland
    • Conedera, Marco. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Journal of Economic Entomology, 2018, vol. 111, no. 1, p. 43-52. Oxford University Press
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:332819
    Summary
    The Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW; Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) is considered as one of the most dangerous pests of the genus Castanea. In southern Switzerland, repeated heavy ACGW attacks prevented chestnut trees from vegetating normally for years before the arrival and spread of the biological control agent Torymus sinensis (Kamijo, Hymenoptera, Torymidae). This resulted in a greatly reduced green biomass and flower production. In this paper, we analyze the impact of such an ecosystem alteration of the environment on the composition of produced honey. Six beekeepers were chosen from sites with different densities of chestnut trees, each of which providing series of honey samples from 2010 to 2016. We determined the chestnut component in the honeys via a combined chemical and sensory approach, and correlated the obtained results with the degree of yearly ACGW-induced crown damage and weather conditions during the period in question in the surrounding chestnut stands. The chestnut component in the analyzed honey sample series showed a strong correlation with the degree of ACGW-induced crown damage, whereas meteorological conditions of the corresponding year had a very marginal effect. Decreases in the chestnut component of the honey were statistically significant starting from a ACGW infestation level of 30%.