Role of Egg Parasitoids in Controlling the Pine Processionary Moth in the Cedar Forests of Chréa National Park (Algeria)

Abstract

The sustainable protection of cedar stands in Chréa National Park can only be accomplished through the stability of the ecosystem. Outbreaks of Thaumetopoea pityocampa are a major threat and are largely attributed to the high population fecundity, changes in the diversity of natural enemies and global interactions within the ecosystem. Egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera) are essential in the biological control of T. pityocampa. To assess the impact of the parasitoids on the populations of the pine processionary moth, egg masses from cedar plantations were collected, reared in a laboratory and checked regularly for the emergence of the egg parasitoids: Trichogramma embryophagum, Baryscapus servadeii and Ooencyrtus pityocampa. Observations showed an inter-annual variation in the abundance of the three parasitoids as a result of the variation in the population density of the processionary moth, and on the underlying effect of temperature. Parasitoids had variable parasitism rates, with yearly averages ranging from 3.86% to 51.14%, dependent on the spatiotemporal distribution of the host populations. The aggregate effect of multiple parasitoid species could optimize control of T. pityocampa in cedar stands.