Davide Scaccini

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Researcher at University of Padua

Given the major phytosanitary relevance of several invasive species, the identification of suitable regions worldwide remains a key action to implement prevention measures, optimise management actions, together with effective monitoring programs. To this aim, we implemented a two-step species distribution model framework, calibrated on the species...

BACKGROUND The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is an invasive pest that causes economic damage on crops, decreasing fruit yield and quality. Conventional insecticides are frequently used to reduce infestations, but these are often with a limited residual effect, besides being costly and detriment...

Background Stag beetles are saproxylic species that are associated with deadwood in the larval stage and play an important role in forest ecosystem dynamics. In Italy, Platycerus caprea and Platycerus caraboides are two small, elusive stag beetle species, whose known distribution is often limited or referring to old records. New information The pr...

In recent years, a new phenomenon of early olive drop is causing production losses in olive groves throughout northern Italy. To analyze the possible causes, field and laboratory trials were performed to assess the involvement of fungal pathogens and insect pests in this disease. External and internal symptoms of fungal infections or insect-feeding...

Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) and Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) are Asian egg parasitoids that are considered important natural enemies of the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). These species are expanding their geographic distribution outside their...

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive polyphagous pest often observed in vineyards. In Europe, a gap needs to be filled in the knowledge on H. halys seasonal dynamics and damage on grapes. With this study, we described the seasonal dynamics of H. halys and its distribution in multi-cultiv...

BACKGROUND The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a significant threat to crop production. Alternatives to synthetic pesticides are needed for its management. Here we investigated the effect of sulphur on H. halys. Experiments were performed to evaluate both mortality and deterrence/repellence of H. h...

Rectal or cryptonephridial complexes have evolved repeatedly in arthropods, including in beetles where they occur in ~190,000 species of Cucujiformia and Bostrichoidea, and Lepidoptera where they occur in ~160,000 species. Sections of the Malpighian/renal tubules coat the outer surface of the rectum, acting as powerful recycling systems of the gut...

The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is an invasive species currently established in several non-native regions, where it causes severe economic losses for growers. The factors driving H. halys spread are, however, poorly understood. Here, we studied H. halys populations in Apulia region (southern Italy)...

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive pest species native to East Asia that has become the major pest for many crops, causing serious economic damage. The occurrence of this invasive pest leads to an increase in broad-spectrum insecticides applications, often with limited results in...

Human dimensions in endangered species conservation are often overlooked. However, including human dimensions in conservation projects can help conservationists integrate social and ecological dimensions and investigate individual or society’s perspectives toward conservation efforts. The aim of this study was to investigate how visitors of a prote...

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), native to eastern Asia, has become one of the most serious pests of fruit orchards worldwide. This invasive species is highly polyphagous and capable of moving across the agricultural matrix at long distances. However, comprehensive studies exploring how landscape c...

The Asian walnut moth, Garella musculana (Erschov, 1874) (Lepidoptera, Nolidae) is an alien pest originating from Central Asia and is now spreading in Europe, attacking walnut trees. In this study, we updated the current distribution of G. musculana , focusing on the Italian range, where it was reported for the first time in 2021. Field surveys sho...

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) was accidentally introduced to North America and Europe, becoming a key pest of many important crops. In its native range, it is attacked by egg parasitoids, including Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead), considered to be the main species, and T. mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae). Trissolc...

The highly destructive Asian brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, BMSB) invaded Europe, Caucasus region, and North and South America. Efforts to control it are ongoing in the Palearctic European-Mediterranean Basin and North America by introducing and redistributing two Asian stenophagous scelionid egg parasitoids (Trissolcus japonicus an...

The Asian walnut moth, Garella musculana (Erschov, 1874) (Lepidoptera: Nolidae), is a major pest of walnut. Native to Central Asia, it was found to be invasive in 2008 in Sevastopol (Crimea) and nowadays widespread in Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Russia. Here, we account for the finding of G. musculana in NE Italy (Veneto region) in 2021, where ad...

Deadwood is one of the main indicators of forest biodiversity. Stag beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) larvae are saproxylic organisms specialized in living in deadwood colonized by microorganisms; these beetles are bioindicators of forest integrity and are currently under threat by habitat loss, climate change and intensive forest management. A multi-...

California pistachios are threatened by several stink bug species (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), including the native Thyanta pallidovirens (Stål) and Chlorochroa uhleri (Stål), as well as the invasive Nezara viridula (L.). In pistachio, control tactics often target specific life stages, which makes knowledge about life histories fundamental to success...

The invasive alien species Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a major pest of kiwifruit and other fruit crops. Adventive populations of the Asian egg parasitoid Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) were found in the north of Italy in 2016. Halyomorpha halys abundance was monitored in 14 kiwifruit orchards lo...

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) is an invasive Asian pest that causes severe crop losses on various crops. Nowadays, management strategies against this pest mainly rely on pesticide use, but biological control with egg parasitoids is considered the most promising long-term and sustainable solution. Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) and Trissolcus mitsukurii...

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a polyphagous insect pest that has invaded much of the United States, including California. Despite model predictions that regions in California like the agriculturally important Central Valley are suitable, H. halys populations and the occurring crop damage are distinctly lower than in regions...

The future of the native European crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes depends on accurate conservation management. The goal of this paper is to attempt an investigation of the major ethical conflicts that can emerge in the conservation of this endangered crayfish threatened by invasive competitors, introduced diseases, and landscape alteration. To a...

Outbreaks of the Nearctic leafhopper Erasmoneura vulnerata represent a threat to vinegrowers in Southern Europe, in particular in North-eastern Italy. The pest outbreaks are frequent in organic vineyards because insecticides labeled for organic viticulture show limited effectiveness towards leafhoppers. On the other hand, the naturally occurring pr...

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...

Grape cultivation is a billion-dollar agricultural sector in California, where invasive or novel pest species can disrupt management practices. We report herein on a new pest associated with California vineyards, the carpentermoth Givira ethela (Neumoegen and Dyar, 1893). Rather than an invasive species, G. ethela appears to be a newly recognized w...

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is a polyphagous species from eastern Asia, which has spread to America and Europe where it damages many crops. In recently colonized areas, facilitative interactions between H. halys and native insects are poorly investigated. In this study, we report for the first time facilitation of native wasp...

The present article reviews the literature on the biology, pest status and management of Nysius cymoides (Spinola) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), an agricultural pest that causes damage to multiple crop species in the Middle East and in Europe, where it may become an emerging pest. The polyphagy of the species and its capability to give rise to outbreaks,...

Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is an invasive pest native from eastern Asia. It is an extreme polyphagous species, feeding on a wide range of crops and ornamentals. Among biotic factors to control H. halys populations, it is known that in Asia parasitic Hymenoptera can effectively control H. halys (Leskey & Nielsen, 2018). In Italy, th...

Abstract The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål) is a globally invasive species that harbours the primary bacterial symbiont ‘Candidatus Pantoea carbekii’. In this work, P. carbekii was used as another genetic marker to investigate the biodiversity and biogeographical patterns of this important pest, in native and newly invaded area...

California currently produces about a quarter of the world’s pistachios. Pistachio nuts are susceptible to feeding by stink bugs and leaffooted bugs; therefore, the invasive presence of the highly polyphagous brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a concern to California pistachio growers. We aimed to ass...

Cold winter temperatures can influence insects' survival in temperate zones. Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) overwinters as adults in natural and human-made structures. In this study, we characterized low temperature mortality rates of H. halys adults that were either entering (ENA) or exiting (EXA) overwintering microhabitats....

The present paper reports cases of predation on two Italian species of stag beetles, Platycerus caprea and Platycerus caraboides, by saproxylic Diptera of which preys were seldom reported or unknown in the literature. Resulting from eight years of collections in many sites in northern Italy, the robber flies Laphria meridionalis and Choerades sp. e...

In conservation agriculture, slugs are considered significant pests and their monitoring is a key option in the integrated pest management framework. Together with molluscicide applications, predators such as ground beetles can offer a tool for slug control in the field. Through the evaluation of slug and ground beetle monitoring strategies, this w...

Sustainable strategies such as classical or augmentative biological control are currently being evaluated for the long-term management of the alien invasive pest Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). A three-year study carried out in northeastern Italy was performed to investigate the distribution and field performance of the H. halys...

Halyomorpha halys is an invasive, widespread stink bug for which only short-term solutions are currently available for pest control worldwide. The need for long-term management solutions for H. halys has driven studies on augmentative and classical biological control of this species, especially by its egg parasitoids. Numerous investigations in Asi...

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is causing economic and ecological damage in invaded areas. Its overwintering behavior warrants mitigation practices in warehouses and shipping operations. The aim of this study was to characterize the mortality response curves of H. halys adults to short high-temperature exposure. Here we...

The present paper describes an outbreak of the false chinch bug Nysius cymoides (Spinola) (Hemiptera Lygaeidae) in a second crop soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. (Fabales Fabaceae), in the Veneto region (northern Italy), which occurred during summer 2017. Pest presence was also recorded in the same area the following year. In 2017, the massive prese...

Improving the data of the Italian host list of Tachinidae, Dinera ferina (Fallen) is confirmed to be a parasitoid of larvae of the two Italian Platycerus species, Platycerus caprea (De Geer) and Platycerus caraboides (L.) (Coleoptera Lucanidae). In 2015, 2016 and 2017, larvae, puparia and adults of the tachinid fly were studied in field, semi-field...

When a species is endangered it's likely that there is a conflict of interests among stakeholders. This multidisciplinary study combines ethics, education, and conservation biology with the aim of promoting the conservation of the freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes. This crayfish is suffering a dramatic reduction throughout its distribut...

The updated distribution of the two Italian Platycerus species (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in Piacenza province and surroundings (northern Italy) is reported, adding data mainly from field research, but also from one collection and from websites. Furthermore, host trees are listed from field data, showing the relationship between Platycerus caraboides...

New recent records of Platycerus caraboides (Linnaeus, 1758) are reported for the Euganean Hills (North Eastern Italy, Veneto region), confirming the presence of the species in the mentioned area after over 150 years from the only previous observation. New records, all taking place on Monte Fasolo, pertain both adults and larvae; for the latter the...

Animal body size commonly exhibits a remarkable variation in response to environmental conditions. Latitude, when correlated with temperature, rainfall and seasonality, represents one of the main determinants of variation in body size, as well as in allometry. It has long been recognised that populations of larger body size are found in colder envi...

One of the main threats to native European crayfish species is presented by the spread of invasive ones, which are vectors of the crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci. In particular, the Austropotamobius pallipes complex is suffering extensive decline in its whole distribution range. In this paper, we describe a case of extinction of a native populat...

During sampling of Platycerus beetles in Northern Italy (2011-2015) and Belgium (April 2016), females of P. caprea and P. caraboides were observed to gnaw scars on the surface of deadwood during oviposition, similarly to East Asian species. This is the first record of such behavior for European Platycerus. More than 500 oviposition scars produced i...

In a forest in Northern Italy, adults of Lucanus cervus were periodically monitored in 2014 and 2015 from June to August. Sightings of walking and flying individuals were recorded, and captured individuals were sexed, measured, marked and then released. Data about first and last appearances and their trend in the season were recorded for each sex a...

Abstract in: Atti del XXV Congresso Nazionale Italiano di Entomologia (a cura di M. Faccoli, L. Mazzon, E. Petrucco-Toffolo), Padova 20-24 giugno 2016

Abstract in: Atti del XXV Congresso Nazionale Italiano di Entomologia (a cura di M. Faccoli, L. Mazzon, E. Petrucco-Toffolo), Padova 20-24 giugno 2016

Platycerus caprea and P. caraboides (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) larvae are similar, but the discrimination of the species is possible analyzing in primis some characters of the antenna, pars stridens, raster, and anal pad. While the first two features can be useful in the identification of the species, it is noticed that other peculiarities are often d...

One of the main threats to native European crayfish is the spread of alien crayfish species that are immune carriers of the detrimental crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci. In this study we analyzed both at a regional and at a local scale factors determining native and alien crayfish distribution in an area where the species Procambarus clarkii is c...