This egg parasitoid of the great oak Capricorn was found last July in a holm oak grove located in Biniamar, in the municipality of Selva.

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The presence of the microsite ‘Oobius rudnevi’ in Mallorca.

The Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca y Medio Natural, through the Forest Health Service, has confirmed that, for the first time, has been found in the Balearic Islands, in this case on the island of Mallorca, the microavispilla Oobius rudnevi. This egg parasitoid of the great oak capricorn (Cerambyx cerdo) was detected last July in a holm oak grove located in Biniamar, in the municipality of Selva. Its presence is of great phytosanitary relevance taking into account the population levels of the cerambycid and the problems associated with the oak groves of Mallorca.

This research was born out of the need to know in depth the fauna of the forests of the Balearic Islands, to achieve a comprehensive control of forest pests and diseases present in the island territory. In this sense, the Forest Health Service of the General Directorate of Natural Environment and Forest Management collaborates with several entities and people involved to promote and develop rigorous and quality scientific research. In this case, the authors of this study are Luis M. Torres-Vila, Marc Mascaró and Luis Núñez Vázquez. The finding has been the result of institutional collaboration with the autonomous community of Extremadura, a territory with the same phytosanitary problem.

In addition, and to disseminate it, a scientific publication has been made with the title “First record in the Balearic Islands of Oobius rudnevi (Nowicki, 1928) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), egg parasitoid of the great capricorn beetle, Cerambyx cerdo Linnaeus, 1758)”, published in the Bulletin No. 66 of the Balearic Natural History Society (BSHNB) of October 2023. The publication is available on the website sanitatforestal.caib.es.