Université de Fribourg

Is the recent decrease in airborne Ambrosia pollen in the Milan area due to the accidental introduction of the ragweed leaf beetle Ophraella communa?

Bonini, Maira ; Šikoparija, B. ; Prentović, M. ; Cislaghi, G. ; Colombo, P. ; Testoni, C. ; Grewling, L. ; Lommen, Suzanne T. E. ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Smith, M.

In: Aerobiologia, 2015, vol. 31, no. 4, p. 499–513

This study aims to determine whether a significant decrease in airborne concentrations of Ambrosia pollen witnessed in the north-west of the Province of Milan in Northern Italy could be explained by environmental factors such as meteorology, or whether there is evidence to support the hypothesis that the decrease was related to the presence of large numbers of the oligophagous Ophraella communa...