Phenology, distribution, and the natural parasitoid community of the cherry bark tortrix

The aim of this study was to investigate the ecology and phenology of the cherry bark tortrix (CBT), Enarmonia formosana Scopoli (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), as well as its previously unknown parasitoid community, in Central Europe. The CBT is univoltine, overwintering primarily in the fourth or fifth (ultimate) larval instars. This bark-boring pest, found on cherry trees throughout the surveyed regions of France, Germany, and Switzerland, had a highly skewed within-tree distribution, with most larvae aggregated near the bases of trees. The natural parasitoid community of the CBT consisted of 13 species (12 ichneumonids and 1 pteromalid), which fall into four parasitoid guilds: larval–pre-pupal, late larval (ecto), larval–pupal, and pupal. Although parasitism was recorded from each region studied, only one larval parasitoid and three pupal parasitoids were collected on more than one occasion. Of these, the larval parasitoid, Campoplex dubitator Horstmann (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), was clearly dominant, representing 85% of all the parasitoids emerging from CBT hosts. This paper discusses the relevance of these and other features of the CBT parasitoid community for biological control.