Editing Oak (section)

=== Diseases and pests ===

[[File:Oak Mildew.JPG|thumb|Oak [[powdery mildew]] on pedunculate oak, caused by ''[[Erysiphe alphitoides]]'']]

Oaks are affected by a large number of pests and diseases. For instance, ''Q. robur'' and ''Q. petraea'' in Britain host 423 insect species.<ref name="Kennedy Southwood 1984">{{cite journal |last1=Kennedy |first1=Catherine E.J. |last2=Southwood |first2=T. Richard E. |year=1984 |title=The number of species of insect associated with British trees. A reanalysis |journal=[[Journal of Animal Ecology]] |volume=53 |issue=53 |pages=455–478 |jstor=4528 |doi=10.2307/4528|bibcode=1984JAnEc..53..455K }}</ref> This diversity includes 106 [[Macrolepidoptera|macro-moths]], 83 [[Microlepidoptera|micro-moths]], 67 [[beetle]]s, 53 [[cynipoidea]]n wasps, 38 [[heteroptera]]n bugs, 21 [[auchenorrhyncha]]n bugs, 17 [[sawfly|sawflies]], and 15 [[aphid]]s.<ref name="Kennedy Southwood 1984"/> The insect numbers are seasonal: in spring, chewing insects such as caterpillars become numerous, followed by insects with sucking mouthparts such as aphids, then by [[leaf miner]]s, and finally by gall wasps such as ''[[Neuroterus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Southwood |first1=T. Richard E. |last2=Wint |first2=G.R. William |last3=Kennedy |first3=Catherine E.J. |last4=Greenwood |first4=Kennedy |year=2004 |title=Seasonality, abundance, species richness and specificity of the phytophagous guild of insects on oak (''Quercus'') canopies |journal=[[European Journal of Entomology]] |volume=101 |issue=101 |pages=43–50|doi=10.14411/eje.2004.011 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Several [[powdery mildew]]s affect oak species. In Europe, the species ''[[Erysiphe alphitoides]]'' is the most common.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0329.2008.00544.x |title=New insights into the identity and origin of the causal agent of oak powdery mildew in Europe |year=2008 |last1=Mougou |first1=A. |last2=Dutech |first2=C. |last3=Desprez-Loustau |first3=M.-L. |journal=Forest Pathology |volume=38 |issue=4 |page=275|bibcode=2008FoPat..38..275M }}</ref> It reduces the ability of leaves to photosynthesize, and infected leaves are shed early.<ref name="Hajji Dreyer 2009">{{Cite journal |title=Impact of ''Erysiphe alphitoides'' on transpiration and photosynthesis in ''Quercus robur'' leaves |year=2009|last1=Hajji |first1=M. |last2=Dreyer |first2=E. |last3=Marçais |first3=B. |journal=European Journal of Plant Pathology |volume=125 |issue=1 |pages=63–72 |doi=10.1007/s10658-009-9458-7 |bibcode=2009EJPP..125...63H |s2cid=21267431 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02103659/file/2009-EJPP-Hajji%26al.pdf}}</ref>
Another significant threat, the [[oak processionary]] moth (''Thaumetopoea processionea''), has emerged in the UK since 2006. The caterpillars of this species defoliate the trees and are hazardous to human health; their bodies are covered with poisonous hairs which can cause rashes and respiratory problems.<ref name=forestry>{{cite web |author=unspecified |title=Oak Processionary Moth - Tree pests and diseases |website=[[Forestry Commission|Forestry Commission (UK)]] |url=https://www.forestry.gov.uk/oakprocessionarymoth |date=11 September 2018 |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-date=20 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120133817/https://www.forestry.gov.uk/oakprocessionarymoth |url-status=dead }}</ref> A little-understood disease of mature oaks, [[acute oak decline]], has affected the UK since 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kinver |first=Mark |date=28 April 2010 |title=Oak disease 'threatens landscape' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10089581.stm |url-status=live |access-date=29 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429031402/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10089581.stm |archive-date=29 April 2010}}</ref> 
In California, goldspotted oak borer (''[[Agrilus auroguttatus]]'') has destroyed many oak trees,<ref name="Coleman 2008">{{cite web |last=Coleman |first=T. W. |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/spf/fhp/socal/CnfOakMortalityBE080408.pdf |title=New insect evidence in continuing oak mortality |publisher=US Forest Service |date=4 August 2008}}</ref> while sudden oak death, caused by the [[oomycete]] pathogen ''[[Phytophthora ramorum]]'', has devastated oaks in California and Oregon, and is present in Europe.<ref name="Scientific Societies 2008">{{cite journal |title=Sudden oak death, ramorum leaf blight, ramorum shoot blight |journal=The Plant Health Instructor |publisher=Scientific Societies |year=2008 |issn=1935-9411 |doi=10.1094/phi-i-2008-0227-01 |last1=Parke |first1=J.L. |last2=Peterson |first2=Ebba K.}}</ref> Japanese oak wilt, caused by the fungus ''[[Raffaelea quercivora]]'', has rapidly killed trees across Japan.<ref name="Kuroda Yamada 1996">{{cite journal |last1=Kuroda |first1=K. |last2=Yamada |first2=T. |year=1996 |title=Discoloration of sapwood and blockage of xylem sap ascent in the trunks of wilting ''Quercus'' spp. following attack by ''Platypus quercivorus'' |journal=Journal of the Japanese Forestry Society |volume=78 |issue=1 |pages=84–88 |url=http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110002830776/en}}</ref>