De novo transcriptome assemblies of five major European oilseed rape insect pests.

Objective: Insect pests can cause severe losses in oilseed rape yields across Europe. Genomic and transcriptomic information is very limited for these insects. The aim of our study was to provide transcriptomic resources on several oilseed rape herbivores that will support research into their biology and help develop new methods of sustainable pest management.

Cereal Aphid Parasitoids in Europe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae): Taxonomy, Biodiversity, and Ecology.

Cereals are very common and widespread crops in Europe. Aphids are a diverse group of herbivorous pests on cereals and one of the most important limiting factors of cereal production. Here, we present an overview of knowledge about the taxonomy, biodiversity, and ecology of cereal aphid parasitoids in Europe, an important group of natural enemies contributing to cereal aphid control.

Facultative bacterial endosymbionts shape parasitoid food webs in natural host populations: A correlative analysis.

Facultative bacterial endosymbionts can protect their aphid hosts from natural enemies such as hymenopteran parasitoids. As such, they have the capability to modulate interactions between aphids, parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. However, the magnitude of these effects in natural aphid populations and their associated parasitoid communities is currently unknown.

An effective molecular approach for assessing cereal aphid-parasitoid-endosymbiont networks.

Molecular approaches are increasingly being used to analyse host-parasitoid food webs as they overcome several hurdles inherent to conventional approaches. However, such studies have focused primarily on the detection and identification of aphids and their aphidiid primary parasitoids, largely ignoring primary parasitoid-hyperparasitoid interactions or limiting these to a few common species within a small geographical area. Furthermore, the detection of bacterial secondary endosymbionts has not been considered in such assays despite the fact that endosymbionts may alter aphid-parasitoid interactions, as they can confer protection against parasitoids.

Evaluation of three molecular markers for identification of European primary parasitoids of cereal aphids and their hyperparasitoids.

Aphids are major pests of cereal crops and a suite of hymenopteran primary parasitoids play an important role in regulating their populations. However, hyperparasitoids may disrupt the biocontrol services provided by primary parasitoids. As such, understanding cereal aphid-primary parasitoid-hyperparasitoid interactions is vital for a reliable parasitoid-based control of cereal aphids.