Sirex woodwasp

Sirex woodwasp
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Siricidae
Genus: Sirex
Species:
S. noctilio
Binomial name
Sirex noctilio
Fabricius, 1793

The sirex woodwasp (Sirex noctilio) is a species of horntail, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.[1][2] Adults vary in length from 9 to 36 mm (3⁄8 to 1+3⁄8 in).

This woodwasp is an invasive species in many parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, and South Africa, where it has become a significant economic pest of pine trees.[3] The wasp can attack a wide variety of pine species, although some species seem to be more susceptible than others, and stressed trees often are attacked.

During oviposition, the female wasp lays two eggs with or without a mucoid substance and a symbiotic fungus for the larvae to feed on once they hatch.[4] The mucoid substance is toxic to trees and aids in tree decline. The arthrospores from the symbiotic fungus, Amylostereum areolatum, are also pathogenic.[5]

  1. ^ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Copyright © 2011. Sirex Woodwasp – Sirex noctilio. http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7248.html
  2. ^ Hurley, B.P., B. Slippers, and M. J. Wingfield (2007). "A comparison of control results for the alien invasive woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, in the southern hemisphere". Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 9 (3): 159–17. doi:10.1111/j.1461-9563.2007.00340.x. hdl:2263/3444. S2CID 54217378.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "USDA – APHIS – Plant Health, Plant Protection and Quarantine". United States of Department of Agriculture. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  4. ^ Madden, J. L. (1974). "Oviposition Behavior of the Woodwasp Sirex noctilio F". Australian Journal of Zoology. 22 (3): 341–351. doi:10.1071/ZO9740341.
  5. ^ Coutts, M. & Dolezal, J.E. (1969). "Emplacement of Fungal Spores by the Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, During Oviposition" (PDF). Forest Science. 15 (4): 412–416. doi:10.1093/FORESTSCIENCE/15.4.412 (inactive 31 January 2024). S2CID 196674712. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-11-19.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)