New kids on the block - investigating gall community assembly on the Chestnut gallwasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, a recent invasive pest in Europe

We are investigating the community interaction of a particular group of insect herbivores including cynipid gallwasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) and their parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). The invasive chestnut gallwasp, Dryocsmus kuriphilus, native to China, has arrived in Europe around the turn of the millennium and is harming European sweet chestnuts, Castanea sativa. Despite its arrival without natural predators it has recruited a rich community of local parasitoids since its establishment. We aim to investigate the way in which communities assemble and interact on this pest by assessing how native Mediterranean parasitoids come to exploit D. kuriphilus, as well as investigating their interaction with its introduced biological control agent, the chalcidoid wasp Torymus sinensis. This project fills important gaps in our knowledge about the interaction of parasitoid species with their cynipid gall communities as well as exploring the potential impacts of D. kuriphilus and its biological control agent on local gall communities.