International cooperation on western corn rootworm ecology research: state-of-the-art and future research

Abstract

1 Invasive pest species are challenging partly because the invasion process may be highly dynamic and because of the lack of knowledge of many researchers, professionals and farmers in the newly-invaded regions. The chrysomelid Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is such an invasive pest. It has been the main pest of continuous maize in the U.S.A. for more than 60 years and is currently spreading throughout Europe.

2 In the area with a long history of this pest (Central and North America), scientific knowledge concerning the ecology of this pest has accumulated over the last decades. This resource is of great importance to both America and Europe and has to be gathered, shared and adapted to new situations. We therefore examined, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the scientific literature relating to D. virgifera virgifera ecology.

3 The quantitative analysis suggests that research on D. virgifera virgifera ecology is still in its infancy in Europe and suffers from geographical barriers (between Europe and North America and between linguistic areas within Europe) and that scientific communication should be strengthened both between North America and Europe and within Europe.

4 As a first solution to this problem, we introduce three companion review articles that constitute a landmark for D. virgifera virgifera research, enabling European and American scientists and decision-makers to orient themselves and discover new opportunities for research. We also stress that international research cooperation is the most important key to successfully manage invasive species.