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Book Reviews

Vidal, S., Kuhlmann, U., Edwards, C. R. (eds.): Western Corn Rootworm: Ecology and Management, 2005. – CABI Publishing, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, ISBN-85199-817-8.

On about 300 pages internationally well-known experts present the latest scientific results on the threatening maize pest Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte. In the USA, the Western Corn Root Worm (WCR), which is assumed to have invaded from Mexico, and other Diabrotica species have been considered ‘billion dollar pests’ for many years. That means that losses and costs of pest management exceed a billion dollar per year. The beetle is considered as the pest requiring most pesticide applications worldwide. In Europe, the pest seems to have first settled near Belgrade in the end of the eighties. It was first detected in 1992 and has been continuously spread since then. The invasive pest is now also threatening maize growing in Central Europe. The book focuses on the one hand on research results obtained under an EU project (QLK5-CT-
1999-01110) and presented at a final symposium in Göttingen in 2003 and on the other hand on current results from the USA.

The book contains 14 chapters – all of them of a high informative level and very interesting from the scientific point of view.

The introductory chapter by Wittenberg explains the principal problem for Europe and outlines the measures that have to be taken against invasive species. Kiss et al. report on the results of a broad monitoring on the introduction and spreading of WCR on the European continent since its establishment. Moeser and Hibbard present latest results on the nutritional habits of larvae and the suitability of various crops as hosts in the USA. Tallamy et al. are concerned with the role of cucurbits for adult beetles. It seems that preferences for strange hosts have historically grown in connection with the crops grown. The chapter by Toepfer and Kuhlmann deals with the so-called life table of the pest. The authors provide first precise data on fertility and mortality throughout a year. This allows to give a complex picture of the pest’s biology. Spencer et al. studied the alternative behaviour of the beetles of a certain biotype during preferred oviposition on soybean in the USA. They consider it a survival
strategy of the soybean biotype adapted to maize-soybean crop rotation. Spread and distribution of the pest in large fields were studied by Ellsburty et al. They obtained new information of preferred habitats. Onstad et al., however, dealt with the large-scale spreading of WCR, especially of the soybean biotype, in different landscapes of the USA. Gerber et al. inform about how it is possible to estimate infestation (field monitoring) and about the use of threshold values and other decision aids employed in the USA. There is a clear connection between crop rotation and the occurrence of the pest as demonstrated by field tests in Hungary (Kiss et al.). Gerber et al. report on a new interesting concept of large-scale application of insecticide baits (on the basis of cucurbitacin) in the USA. However, it does not seem to be applicable to the smaller agricultural structures in Europe. Meanwhile there has been obtained first experience on the growing of transgenic Bt maize against WCR as an alternative to insecticide application (Ward et al.). The EU project allowed first investigations into the biological control of WCR. Kuhlmann et al. identified a parasitic fly of the Tachnidiae family – Celatoria compressa – that might contribute to the natural control of the pest. The last chapter is dedicated to the analysis of risk areas in the core region of the European Union. Baufeld and Enzian analysed above all the different percentages of maize in crop rotation and reveal the risks to regions that show extreme concentration in maize cropping.

In general the present book is the most important publication on Diabrotica virgifera virgifera worldwide beside the “Methods for the Study of Pest Diabrotica” published in 1986 and is recommended to everyone who deals with the pest.

Bernd Freier (Kleinmachnow)

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