Other Exotic Pests of Chestnut

Chestnut gall wasp

Chestnut blight was preceded by another exotic fungal disease, Phytophthora cinnamomi, which infected southern American chestnuts and related Allegheny chinkapins as early as 1824 (Crandall and others 1945). This root rot disease constricted the natural range of chestnut to upland areas. On these upland sites, chestnuts are challenged by yet another exotic pest, the chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus). Chestnut gall wasp larvae feed upon bud and flower tissues forming a characteristic gall and producing a toxin that can kill the infested branch. Infestations by this insect, which can cause mortality, were first reported in 1974 (Payne and others 1975) and now have spread north into Tennessee and North Carolina (Schlarbaum and others 1997).