Fernanda Colombari

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of Padua

The serious and growing threat posed by biological invasions to biodiversity and livelihoods means that public engagement in dealing with problems of invasive alien species is ever more urgent and necessary hence a citizen science experiment was carried out in north-eastern Italy. The study aimed i ) to raise awareness of invasive alien species thr...

Emerging and invasive tree pests and pathogens in Europe are increasing in number and range, having impacts on biodiversity, forest services, ecosystems and human well-being. Stakeholders involved in tree and forest management contribute to the detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens (PnPs). We surveyed different group...

Based on specimens collected in traps in North‐Eastern Italy, Cnestus mutilatus (Blandford, 1894), an ambrosia beetle native to Asia, is reported for the first time in Italy and in the European part of the EPPO region. A second species, Anisandrus maiche Kurentsov, 1941, is recorded for the first time in Italy and the third time in the European par...

The invasion of the Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus (ACGW) in Europe has caused serious biological and economic impacts on chestnut stands that have been partially solved with the introduction of the biological control agent Torymus sinensis. However, information concerning tree‐ring growth during the ACGW epidemic has been lacking s...

Survival and parasitism activity of Trichopria drosophilae Perkins adults, a cosmopolitan parasitoid of Drosophila spp., were studied under laboratory conditions using five constant temperatures at the lower range known for this enemy, from 4 to 20°C in 4°C increments. Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, an invasive pest of small fruits, was used as a ho...

Insect pests damage millions of hectares of forest worldwide each year. Moreover, the extent of such damage is increasing as international trade grows, facilitating the spread of insect pests, and as the impacts of climate change become more evident. Classical biological control is a well-tried, cost-effective approach to the management of invasive...

The appearance of Drosophila suzukii in 2009 has strongly affected the cherry cultivation. Prior to SWD invasion, Italian cherry orchards were treated with only two insecticide applications, the first against aphids (Myzus cerasi Sulz.) before flowering and the second against Rhagoletis cerasi, about 20-30 days before harvest. After D. suzukii inva...

Agricultural landscapes rich in natural and semi-natural habitats promote biodiversity and important ecosystem services for crops such as pest control. However, semi-natural habitats may fail to deliver these services if agricultural pests are disconnected from the available pool of natural enemies, as may be the case with invasive species. This st...

Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW), Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), is the most dangerous insect pest of chestnut. The ACGW appears in the quarantine list of the European Plant Protection Organization due to the significant loss in chestnut production that it causes worldwide. Its populations in Turkey have been routinely mon...

This proceedings contains papers dealing with issues affecting biological control, particularly pertaining to the use of parasitoids and predators as biological control agents. This includes all approaches to biological control: conservation, augmentation, and importation of natural enemy species for the control of arthropod targets, as well as oth...

This proceedings contains papers dealing with issues affecting biological control, particularly pertaining to the use of parasitoids and predators as biological control agents. This includes all approaches to biological control: conservation, augmentation, and importation of natural enemy species for the control of arthropod targets, as well as oth...

Mason P.G, Gillespie D.R., Vincent C. (eds.) Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods, CAB International 2017: 257

The invasive gallmaker Dryocosmus kuriphilus is a threat to chestnut stands and it is necessary to control it in order to maintain a satisfactory nut yield. A preliminary evaluation of the native natural enemies emerging from the galls, mainly parasitoids associated with native cynipid gallmakers, revealed that they were not able to contain the pes...

In classical biocontrol programs a rapid and correct identification of the introduced antagonist is a key issue during both the release and establishment monitoring phases. It is often difficult to distinguish morphologically cryptic species or immature stages. An accurate diagnosis can now be provided by molecular diagnostic methods. Among the con...

The designa ons employed and the presenta on of material in this informa on product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organiza on of the United Na ons (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorii es, or concerning the delimita...

In successful classical biological control, natural enemies can provide enduring pest suppression if they reproduce and disperse without continued human management. To explain the efficient control exerted on the Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) by the parasitoid Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera:...

Available via DIALOG. http://archives.eppo.int/MEETINGS/2015_conferences/biocontrol.htm

Book of Abstract, Corylus & Co., Anno V, numero 1, 2014: 57

Abstract in: E-book XXIV Congresso Nazionale Italiano di Entomologia: 130

The Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera Cynipidae) is an invasive species in chestnut forests and orchards in many parts of the world.Nuts produced by the European chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) are important in human food and culture, and as a component in food webs in forest ecosystems.Severe infestations are...

Understanding spatio‐temporal processes of bark beetle infestations is crucial for predicting beetle behaviour and aiding management decisions aiming to prevent or mitigate tree mortality. We recorded the spatial and temporal distribution of killed trees during the 5‐year period of an Ips acuminatus outbreak. Killed trees were always grouped in wel...

A population of Ips acuminatus was monitored from 2007 to 2009 by multi-funnel pheromone-baited traps in a Scots pine forest of the southeastern Alps of Europe. We compared the captures obtained with two different lures (Austrian and Spanish pheromones, commercially available) in five infested types of forest. Although captures showed a similar tre...

The pine bark beetle Ips acuminatus has recently increased frequency and intensity of outbreaks in Pinus sylvestris stands in the Alps. During a 3-year period, we investigated life-history traits of the species that may have adaptive value. In the south-eastern Alps, I. acuminatus becomes active in early spring when the air temperature reaches 14°C...

Proceedings of the meeting IUFRO ‘Novel risks with bark and wood boring insects in broadleaved and conifer forests’

In the last years, many Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands have been severely attacked by the bark beetle Ips acuminatus (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae). In the outbreak area of San Vito di Cadore (Eastern Dolomites), the number of attacked trees since 2005 and both the emergence of bark beetles and natural enemies have been assessed. The i...

Proceedings of the meeting IUFRO ‘Forest insects and environmental change’: 34

Proceedings of the meeting IUFRO: ‘Tree Resistance to Insects’: 17

Poster abstract in: Proceedings of the meeting IUFRO: ‘Tree Resistance to Insects’: 45

Atti XXII Congresso Nazionale Italiano di Entomologia: 123

Abstract in: Proceedings of ICE 2008, XXIII International Congress of Entomology: 2046

Poster in 1st meeting of PHD Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows ‘Young ideas in insect science’

Abstract in Proceedings of the meeting IUFRO ‘Natural enemies and other multi-scale influences on forest insects’: 31

In Cupressus sempervirens the association between seed insects and tree pathogens has resulted in optimal exploitation of the cones. A fungus-infected cone can be inhabited by the nymphs of a true seed bug (Orsillus maculatus), the adults of which may carry a heavy spore load at emergence. Cones are infected when eggs are laid within the cone, most...