European project
Climate detectives

COCCINIGLIA BUSTERS

“Come i pini di Roma…”
(Chronicle of a Death ... silent)
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School: Liceo Scientifico Ettore Majorana, Rome (Italy)
Team: IIAs_Coccinigliabusters
Referring teacher: Mazzeo Claudia
ㅤProject Title:
“Come i pini di Roma…” (Chronicle of a Death ... silent)
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What is the research problem?
How does climate change impact the spreading of Toumeyella parvicornis on Pinus pinea L., 1753? The case of Estate of Castelporziano (RM).
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Research problem: Description
Autumn 2014, Neaples: First report of the presence of Toumeyella parvicornis, a North American native insect that represents a dangerous threat to pines’ survival, particularly to Pinus pinea L.2018, Rome: Toumeyella parvicornis apparently strikes pines, especially the ones located in the South area of the city.Which climate conditions ease the spread of the parasite and how do they settle the areas or the number of the infesting generations? The research area of the Roman pinewood of Castelporziano is located inside the Estate of the Italian President of the Republic. The goal is to describe the current situation and identify effective methods for the recovery of the ecological balance.
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Earth Observation data type:
Measurements
Satellite Images
Others
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Planning of activities related to the research:
●Websites and bibliography search; study of scientific articles.
●Satellite images to evaluate the distribution of Pinus pinea L., before and after the spread of the parasite, both in the study area and in the national and European territories.
●Coverage data of the other species of Pinus in Italy, before and after the spread of the parasite.
●Research and analysis of data related to climate change in the study area, including the ones related to rainy and windy conditions.
●Field research: visit to the Castelporziano’s Estate, with the possibility of collecting photo and video materials.
●Advice from the technicians of the protected area, with the possibility of sharing the research data

Pinus pinea L., 1753
General featuresA tree native of the Mediterranean region of south Europe and Asia Minor's coast, Pinus Pinea L., 1753 is in almost all Italian regions. Its historical diffusion in the Italian Peninsula is due to Phoenicians, Etruscans and Romans; it's currently cultivated for its edible seeds and to reforest pine forests in coastal areas. It's also known as domestic Pine, umbrella Pine or pine nuts Pine. Domestic Pine can reach 20 meters high: it has a straight trunk and an enlarged crown with an umbrella form. Its bark crumbles during its life and it forms big plates vaguely rectangular that fall apart. The leaves are gathered in bundles: the needles can reach 20 centimeters long. Domestic Pine's pinecones are bigger than the ones of other pines: they are woody and they have edible seeds (pine nuts), wingless.
Domestic Pine propagates only for seeds that ripen in the third year. Its has a thermophilic temperament and it bears badly average minimum winter temperatures below 10 degrees centigrade. Domestic pine is typical of north Mediterranean, from Turkey to Iberic Peninsula, and it's also situated in some Black Sea's coastal stretches. If it has an ornamental purpose it can be found even out of the Mediterranean region. In Italy is spread especially in the coastal belts, from Sicily to Tuscany, on the Tyrrenian sea, but it can also be found in the inner area of almost all the Italian Regions, but not over 1000 meters high.

The pines of RomeThe landscape of Rome and its surroundings is characterized by the presence of Pinus pinea L..
Despite the significant presence of Pinus pinea L., for Rome we cannot speak of native vegetation; in fact Pinus pinea L. was introduced in the archaic age and is therefore present in the Capitoline territory "only" from the time of the ancient Romans. The first trees were planted not only for their ability to beautify the streets but also for the precious wood and resin, both materials considered of great value, as well as for pine nuts. This practice helped to spread the presence of domestic pines in the surrounding area in Rome, where these trees offer regenerating shade and are a key element of the landscape, for the connection between the millennial history of the city and the current urban situation.What is the reason for the presence of pine forests in Rome?
The history of the Roman pine forests began in 1710 when the Sacchetti family, who also owned the estate of Fusano, in an attempt to exploit in a productive sense those lands, mostly marshy and unhealthy, decided to plant the domestic pine to produce pine nuts. The work of propagation and care of the pine forest was continued by the family Chigi, which passed in 1755 the ownership of the estate. Castel Fusano is therefore the first and oldest nucleus of pine forest. The second significant expansion of the pine forest took place between 1870 and 1887, with the plantation built near the large coastal dune located behind the beach.
The tradition of strategically planting pines has continued over the centuries: in the South of the Capital, born around the Eur district, with an extraordinary and ongoing urban development, Pinus pinea L. was deliberately chosen, in the fascist era, in the construction programs that, looking at the myth of the Roman Empire, recovered the vegetation of Pinus pinea L. as an element of continuity with the past; in the same way it is possible to justify the orderly and regular presence of Pinus pinea L. along the road axis of Viale Cristoforo Colombo: were planted in anticipation of the Universal Exhibition that was to be held in Rome in 1942. The row of pines, trees geometrically perfect and in tune with the architectural rationalism of the EUR, leading from the center of Rome in Ostia - the sea of the city - contributed to create a solemn setting.

Pinus pinea L.: the sensitivity to pathogensLike all living beings, trees also suffer attacks from pathogens: insects, mushrooms, bacteria or viruses. Under normal conditions, there is a situation of equilibrium in which the most stressed or weak trees are affected by the pathogens, while the others resist the attacks. However, there are situations of exceptionality and disruption of balance, in which the plant community is not able to resist the attack either because the health of the individual plants and of the entire community is already compromised by external environmental conditions or because the attack is particularly disruptive.
This situation is further aggravated by the possible lack of genetic variety of plants which makes the entire community weaker.
As we will see, the serious pathogenic aggression suffered by Pinus pinea L. in recent years is characterized by all these factors: the pines were already in a situation of environmental stress when they were attacked by alien, unknown and particularly aggressive pathogens; and the absence of genetic variety that characterizes the domestic pine (for which the pines are all genetically "twins" of each other and therefore with identical and immutable resistance and modification capabilities) has minimized the resilience capabilities of Pinus pinea L. in the face of pathogenic aggression.
This last factor is particularly serious in pine forests because the plants are not only monospecific but also coeval and planted by man, in an overall semi-natural and not very resilient habitat.

Toumeyella parvicornis
The attack of the Tomicus destruens and Toumeyella parvicornisAt the beginning of the years 2000 it has begun in Italy the diffusion on the pines of Tomicus destruens, a small beetle of the family Scolytidae, also known like Beetle of pines hailing from Meridional Europe, that attack with millions subjects trees, compromising the lymphatic system of the plant: the females of Tomicus destruens dig tunnels under the bark of pine trees to put down the eggs, while introducing seeds of a pathogenic mashroom. The larvae develop inside these galleries, feeding on the plant tissue and acting as vectors for the spread of the pathogen itself. The mushroom causes lesions in the wood, hindering the flow of sap and leading to the formation of features resinous spills. Within a few years, a state of equilibrium was reached between beetles and pine trees. Until, in 2014, an additional pine pathogen made its appearance: Toumeyella parvicornis, also known as Tortoiseshell mealybug, a sap-sucking insect that sucks plant sap, producing a dangerous honeydew.Toumeyella parvicornis:
The mealybug Toumeyella parvicornis is a hemipteran belonging to the family Coccidae, genus Toumeyella; it has a distinctive morphology, with adult females resembling a carapace of a turtle. This insect has a life cycle with ovoid eggs about 0.4 mm long. The females go through three juvenile stages, while males have two, followed by prepupa, pupa and winged adult.This species is not included in EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. Toumeyella parvicornis is a soft-scale insect native to North America and has been introduced to the Caribbean region and the EU. It has been present in Italy since 2014 and in France since 2021 and is under official control. It develops on Pinus, feeding on the needles and twigs, especially on new growth. It is sexually reproductive, has one or more generations each year (three in southern Italy, but this number depends by the climatic conditions), and adult females overwinter on the Pinus needles. It has a high fecundity, up to 1,014 eggs per female in Italy, with an average of 199 eggs for the summer generation and 730 for the overwintering generation. The main natural dispersal stage is the first instar, which crawls over the plant or may be dispersed further by wind and animals. Adult and immature Toumeyella parvicornis could enter the EU with Pinus plants for planting; however, the import of Pinus from third countries where the scale is found is prohibited. Host availability and climate suitability indicate that most of the EU would be suitable for establishment. Phytosanitary measures are available to inhibit further introductions and slow the spread within the EU, to avoid a potential Union quarantine pest.

Toumeyella parvicornis
Biological cycle:The Toumeyella Parvicornis shows a high capacity of adaptation to the various environments, varying the number of generations it can perform in a year, depending on the thermal limits of the area climate in which the species has settled.
EGGS: are ovoid and reddish in color.
NYMPH: the nymphs of first age are mobile and move towards the apex for feeling on load of the new shoots; subsequently they are fixed in the form of follicles to the twigs and lose their ability to move, then giving rise to female or male individuals. The female forms, initially pale-reddish, during maturation they turn brown and present dorsally spots and dark stripes. Male follicles are oval, white and translucent.
ADULTS: adult females reach dimensions of 4. 4mm x 3.9mm; if they feed along the axis of the shoots (site of most widespread infestation) have a hemispherical shape (bark form), with body margins slightly raised, similar to a turtle shell. The shape becomes, instead, elongated (needle form) when cochineal develops on needles. Males evolve into adults in a few weeks, they are typically winged and present in limited periods during the year. In the numerous populations, the female adults overlap forming thick sleeves. Males have 3.0mm oval follicles, with arrangement discriminating sutures. Develop from oval pupae in winged adults in 1-2 weeks, with a period limited for matching search.
In the temperate areas the species winters as fecundated females which at the beginning of spring resumes feed abundantly to encourage the maturation of eggs.
In this phase we can highlight the first strong emissions of honeydew. In the regions in which the Toumeyella parvicornis is already present (Lazio and Campania), you can follow up to 3 generations but with the change of temperatures and climate change you can reach even 5 generations per year. In Campania, the first oviposition of the year occurs from the second half of April and continue for over a month. The birth of the nymphs continues, being the ovoviviparous species, whilst the phase of the coupling occurs from the end of the first decade of June.
The second oviposition takes place from late June to early July and the third in September. A small part of the population can reproduce until november, giving a total of 3-4 generations a year in our territory.
The wintering takes place in the form of fertilized young females of the last generation.
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Toumeyella parvicornis
Methods of transmission:The biological study of the cochineal Toumeyella parvicornis highlighted the remarkable ability of the species to settle down in new geographic regions. The collected data show how the territorial expansion can happen with worrying speed, beyond by branch-branch contact also and especially by passive diffusion by the wind, as already highlighted both in native area and in other infested territories.
All of it without considering other passive transport ways along the main communication routes, favored by the presence of domestic pine trees and by the traffic of heavy vehicles, that can generate turbulence at crown of the tree level.
It is highlighted that this species can be transported on long distances by planting plants, so it is essential to control the nursery material.Symptomatology:
Toumeyella parvicornis produces such a quantity of honeydew to give the hitten crowns a shiny appearance, already visible when the infestation is in the early stage. In attacked pine for a long time, the stratification of the honeydew determinate the development of soot that progressively covers the hitten organs and the below tones with a blackish felt.
The huge suction of lymph and the huge production of honeydew reduce the photosynthesizing capacity of the plants.
Large populations of Toumeyella parvicornis cause yellowing, needle loss, reduction in growth and recruitment, flagging, dieback and tree mortality.
The domestic pine is the most susceptible species at Toumeyella parvicornis; the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) shows a greater tolerance, while other species, like aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), are resistant to attacks of the cochineal.

Toumeyella parvicornis
The normative reference for the supervision of the diffusion of Toumeyella parvicornis:Starting with the appearence of the first species of Toumeyella parvicornis (first in Campania and after in Lazio, with the tendency of the diffusion of the species, along the tyrrhenian coastline, from south to north), the question has been raised as to what are the tools to contrast the event: the esponential growth of the populations of Toumeyella parvicornis is not effectively contrasted by the natural control factors, nor by the climate nature and neither by biological nature; the heavy rains can washout and the eccessive heat can end up with the drying of the youngest stages of development, but it’s not always about crucial actions,the study of the activity of natural antagonists also doesn’t seem to give comforting news: neither does the presence of the polyphagous hymenopterans, like Metaphicus Flavus, can contrast the diffusion of Toumeyella parvicornis.
In front of the spread of the parasite, the only possibility is to proceed to the cutting of sick plants. The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has submitted the Decree of 3.6.2021 on Emergency Phytosanitary Measures to combat the harmful organism Toumeyella parvicornis, with publication on G. U. of 21.07.2021, with particular reference to the situation in Campania and Lazio and also considering the danger to humans of sick plants, more easily subject to sudden and potentially fatal collapses. The measure sets the censuses of sick plants, the types of phytosanitary intervention, the communication measures of suspected cases and inheritance, as well as those of containment of the phenomenon.
In March 2023, the National Phytosanitary Service published guidelines for the management of the resulting material of the felling and pruning of plants infested with Toumeyella parvicornis (document 33). The diseased plants must be cut down and the wood reduced to wood chips. The wood chips can only be disposed of by burning. Particular attention should also be paid to the handling of wood chips, to prevent the transport of wood material, by truck or cointaner, becomes an opportunity for further spread of the parasite. In the same way, great care is required for all workers involved in the cutting or disposal of trees, so that they do not become themselves the spreading agent of the pest.