Abstract:
Objective The insect galls formed on the leaves of Eucalyptus in China caused the growth deformity of Eucalyptus leaves. Molecular and morphological identification of a pest with slow growth were carried out to determine the species of pests, which provided a theoretical reference for field identification, monitoring and control of pests.
Method In the Eucalyptus forest in Huadu District of Guangzhou City, 10 branches of Eucalyptus with pest galls were collected. They were placed in a transparent plastic circular pot, and the eclosion wasps in the insect galls were collected every day, and the number and species were counted. Genomic DNA was extracted using a DNA extraction kit, and the DNA genes of the wasps were sequenced for COI and 28S rRNA. At the same time, the same genus species were downloaded on NCBI. Closterocerus chamaeleon (Girault) was used as the outgroup, and MAGE 11 was used to construct the phylogenetic tree based on the adjacency method. The morphological characteristics of adults, eggs, larvae and pupae of Ophelimus eucalypti were observed by stereomicroscope, and the species were identified by comparative analysis with relevant literatures.
Result A total of 1485 pest wasps and 217 parasitic wasps were obtained. The sequence lengths of COI and 28S rRNA of Ophelimus eucalypti were 665 bp and 588 bp, respectively. The sequence lengths of COI and 28S rRNA of Megastigmus sp.1 were 675 bp and 1 049 bp, respectively. Through Blastn homology comparison, the highest similarity with Ophelimus eucalypti (Gahan) and Megastigmus sp.1 published online was more than 99%. After morphological verification, it was determined that the pest was identified as Ophelimus. eucalypti (Gahan), and the parasitoid was identified as Megastigmus sp.1.
Conclusion The found O. eucalypti formed a large number of galls on a variety of Eucalyptus, resulting in the inhibition of the growth of the top of Eucalyptus and affecting the formation of Eucalyptus forest. It is necessary to strengthen the pests monitoring and prevention, and prevent the pests from spreading widely in the Eucalyptus cultivation area. At the same time, parasitic wasps can also be used for biological control to achieve sustainable pest management.