Agriculture & Food, Volume 9, 2021

Abstract: Since 2007, forests and parks and gardens of Europe are invaded by the pest Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) which is a moth native from Asia, and which negatively affects the boxwood (Buxus sempervirens L., 1753.). The high fecundity of the boxwood moth in addition to its high dispersal capacity allows it to colonize and settle quickly in new habitats. In order to control this pest, it is therefore important to know how the natural environment will react, and in particular the entomofauna. It is possible that some parasites will increase their host spectrum and that predators will adapt to this new prey. The objective of this project funded by Draaf Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, is to find these native potential predators or parasites of the box tree moth. In this context, many insects and spiders were collected by beating method, in various boxwood forest in France. The collected individuals were then morphologically identified and their ecology studied. Our results revealed the presence of several potential parasites and predators of the box tree moth. In terms of parasite, the most found is a Diptera of the Tachinidae family, which represents 22% of the samples. Parasitoid hymenoptera from three different families were also collected: Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Platygastridae. In terms of predators, beetles’ individuals of the Carabidae family have been found in situ eating the moth. The two most common predator groups found on boxwood are Spiders and Hemiptera. Other insects with varied diets have also been found, in smaller quantities, and include Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Psocoptera and Hymenoptera. The perspectives of this work are to test these various parasites and potential predators, in the laboratory as a first step, to ensure their efficiency on the box tree moth; to ultimately choose the best biocontrol agent.