The Determination of Harmful Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera Species in Forest Nurseries in the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye

Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to determine the harmful Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera species in some forest nurseries between 2021 and 2022. Area of study: The study areas were selected from forest nurseries located in the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye. Material and methods: Visual inspections were performed on plants, then larvae and gall samples were collected by hand and photographed on host plants. Gall wasps were reared with the galls and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Collected caterpillars and sawfly larvae samples were placed with the host plant in an insect rearing cage for adult emergence under constant conditions. The oak gall wasp was also identified by molecular methods. Main results: In this study, four species of Hymenoptera and six species of Lepidoptera were determined. These are Dryocosmus kuriphilus, Diprion pini, Craesus septentrionalis, Hyphantria cunea, Euproctis chrysorrhoea, Calliteara pudibunda, Dioryctria simplicella, Phalera bucephala and Acronicta rumicis. The oak gall wasp was identified as Cynips quercusfolii with 97.87% identity. Research highlights: Amog these species, C. septentrionalis was new record for the insect fauna of the Western Black Sea Region. In addition, C. pudibunda and P. bucephala were reported for the first time from Kastamonu province