My research activities principally fall within three different areas:
- ecology, behaviour, and pest management of the pine weevil Hylobius abietis
- conservation biology and dispersal of insects living in wood-decaying fungi
- taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of parasitic Hymenoptera (Cynipoidea)
A long-lasting goal has been to find ecologically sustainable ways of reducing damage on conifer plants caused by the pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, to economically acceptable levels. Research focus is on how the weevil's behaviour is affected by environmental factors and how weevil feeding on seedlings can be reduced by applying various silvicultural measures. Another focal area is the plant´s own defence against insect feeding, both induced plant defence and the significance of inherited plant properties. In cooperation with microbiologists and chemists I have also studied the roles of fungi and bacteria associated with the pine weevil for chemical communication and metabolism.
Within my research group we have made a number of innovations with the aim to protect conifer plants from insect damage by the use of coatings on the stem containing mineral particles or antifeedant substances. One of these innovations (Conniflex) has been developed further and is now widely used in Swedish forestry.
My background:
Professor of Entomology at SLU (2004-2019)
Docent (Associate Professor) in Forest Entomology at SLU (1987)
PhD in Zoology at the University of Stockholm (1982)
Main supervisor for Ph D students
Frauke Fedderwitz, PhD 2014 – Pine weevil feeding behaviour
Vítězslav Maňák, PhD 2014 – Interactions between ants and pine weevils
Olle Rosenberg, PhD 2011 – Pest management of cone and seed insects
Niklas Björklund, PhD 2004 – Movement behaviour in the pine weevil
Mattias Jonsson, PhD 2002 – Dispersal ecology of insects in bracket fungi
Mats Jonsell, PhD 1999 – Conservation of insects in bracket fungi
Zhiwei Liu, PhD 1998 – Systematics and biogeography of cynipoid wasps
Co-supervisor for Ph D students
Sonja Preuss, PhD 2012 (SLU, Uppsala) – Expansion rate of a non-native bush-cricket
Mattias Forshage, PhD 2009 (Uppsala U.) – Systematics of Eucoilini (Cynipoidea)
Kristina Wallertz, PhD 2009 (SLU, Alnarp) – Pine weevil feeding in conifer regenerations
Magnus Petersson, PhD 2004 (SLU, Alnarp) – Methods to reduce damage by pine weevil
Fredrik Ronquist, PhD 1994 (Uppsala U.) – Morphology, phylogeny and evolution of cynipoid wasps
Recent publications (from 2013)
Nordlander, G., Björklund, N., Hellqvist, C., Nordenhem, H., Liziniewicz, M. & Hjelm, K. 2023. Trap catch data are poor predictors of damage caused by pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) to conifer seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 537: 120968 (10 pp.).
Kaňuch, P., Cassel-Lundhagen, A., Preuss, S., Nordlander, G., Berggren, Å. 2022. Parapatric genetic lineages persist in a multiply introduced non-native bush-cricket. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10: 812079 (10 pp.).
Tudoran, A., Bylund, H., Nordlander, G., Oltean, I. & Puentes, A. 2021. Using associational effects of European beech on Norway spruce to mitigate damage by a major forest regeneration pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Forest Ecology and Management 486: 118980 (9 pp.).
Tudoran, A., Nordlander, G., Karlberg, A. & Puentes, A. 2021. A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains. Pest Management Science 77: 1303-1315.
Azeem, M., Iqbal, Z., Emami, S.N., Nordlander, G., Nordenhem, H., Mozūratis, R., El-Seedi, H.R. & Borg-Karlson, A.K. 2020. Chemical composition and antifeedant activity of some aromatic plants against pine weevil (Hylobius abietis). Annals of Applied Biology 177: 121-131).
Fedderwitz, F., Björklund, N., Anngren, R., Lindström, A. & Nordlander, G. 2020. Can methyl jasmonate treatment of conifer seedlings be used as a tool to control height growth in forest tree nurseries? New Forests 51: 379-394.
López-Villamor, A., Carreño, S., López-Goldar, X., Suárez-Vidal, E., Sampedro, L., Nordlander, G., Björklund, N. & Zas, R. 2019. Risk of damage by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis in southern Europe: Effects of silvicultural and landscape factors. Forest Ecology and Management 444: 290-298.
Unelius, C. R., Bohman, B. & Nordlander, G. 2018. Comparison of phenylacetates with benzoates and phenylpropanoates as antifeedants for the pine weevil, Hylobius abietis. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 66: 11797-11805.
Puentes, A., Högberg, K.-A., Björklund, N., & Nordlander, G. 2018. Novel avenues for plant protection: Plant propagation by somatic embryogenesis enhances resistance to insect feeding. Frontiers in Plant Science 9: article 1553 (9 pp. + appendix). [Popular summary]
Fedderwitz, F., Björklund, N., Ninkovic, V. & Nordlander, G. 2018. Does the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) prefer conifer seedlings over other main food sources? Silva Fennica vol. 52(3): article id 9946 (9 pp.). https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.9946
Forshage, M. & Nordlander, G. 2018. The identity of figitid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae) of anthomyiid flies in conifer cones. European Journal of Entomology 115: 104-111.
Nordlander, G., Mason, E. G., Hjelm, K., Nordenhem H. & Hellqvist, C. 2017. Influence of climate and forest management on damage risk by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis in northern Sweden. Silva Fennica 51(5) article id 7751 (20 pp.).
Zas, R., Björklund, N., Sampedro, L., Hellqvist, C., Karlsson, B., Jansson, S. & Nordlander, G. 2017. Genetic variation in resistance of Norway spruce seedlings to damage by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Tree Genetics and Genomes 13: 111 (12 pp.).
Axelsson, K., Konstanzer, V., Rajarao, G. K., Terenius, O., Seriot, L., Nordenhem, H., Nordlander, G. & Borg-Karlson, A.-K. 2017. Antifeedants produced by bacteria associated with the gut of the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Microbial Ecology 74: 177-184.
Maňák, V., Björklund, N., Lenoir, L., & Nordlander, G. 2017. Testing associational resistance against pine weevils mediated by Lasius ants attending conifer seedlings. Journal of Applied Entomology 141: 411-416.
Nordlander, G., Hellqvist, C. & Hjelm, K. 2017. Replanting conifer seedlings after pine weevil emigration in spring decreases feeding damage and seedling mortality. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 32: 60-67.
Lundborg, L., Nordlander, G., Björklund, N., Nordenhem, H. & Borg-Karlson, A.-K. 2016. Methyl jasmonate induced monoterpenes in Scots pine and Norway spruce tissues affect pine weevil orientation. Journal of Chemical Ecology 42: 1237-1246.
Lundborg, L., Fedderwitz, F., Björklund, N., Nordlander, G. & Borg-Karlson, A.-K. &. 2016. Induced defenses change the chemical composition of pine seedlings and influence meal properties of the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Phytochemistry 130: 99-105.
Berasategui, A., Axelsson, K., Nordlander, G., Schmidt, A., Borg-Karlson, A.-K., Gershenzon, J., Terenius O. & Kaltenpoth, M. 2016. The gut microbiota of the pine weevil is similar across Europe and resembles that of other conifer-feeding beetles. Molecular Ecology 25: 4014-4031.
Maňák, V., Björklund, N., Lenoir, L., Knape, J. & Nordlander, G. 2016. Behavioural responses of pine weevils to non-consumptive interactions with red wood ants. Journal of Zoology 299: 10-16.
Fedderwitz, F., Nordlander, G., Ninkovic, V. & Björklund, N. 2016. Effects of jasmonate-induced resistance of conifer plants on the feeding behaviour of a bark-chewing insect, Hylobius abietis. Journal of Pest Science 89: 97-105.
Björkman, C., Bylund, H., Nilsson, U., Nordlander, G. & Schroeder, L. M. 2015. Forest management to mitigate insect damage in a changing climate. Pp. 248-266 in: Björkman, C. & Niemelä, P. (eds.) Climate Change and Insect Pests. CABI, UK, ix + 266 pp. ISBN-13: 978 1 78064 378 6.
Azeem, M., Terenius, O., Rajarao, G. K., Nagahama, K., Nordenhem, H., Nordlander, G. & Borg-Karlson, A.-K. 2015. Chemodiversity and biodiversity of fungi associated with the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Fungal Biology 119: 738-746.
Fedderwitz, F., Björklund, N., Ninkovic, V. & Nordlander, G. 2015. The structure of feeding behavior in a phytophagous insect (Hylobius abietis). Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 155: 229-239.
Rosenberg, O., Nordlander, G. & Weslien, J. 2015. Effects of different insect species on seed quantity and quality in Norway spruce. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 17: 158-163.
Maňák, V., Björklund, N., Lenoir, L. & Nordlander, G. 2015. The effect of red wood ant abundance on feeding damage by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 17: 57-63.
Azeem, M., Rajarao, G. K., Terenius, O., Nordlander, G., Nordenhem, H., Nagahama, K., Norin, E., & Borg-Karlson, A. K. 2015. A fungal metabolite masks the host plant odor for the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis). Fungal Ecology 13: 103-111.
Terenius, O., Björklund, N., Jaenson, T. G. T. & Nordlander, G. 2014. Premature proposal of the pine weevil as a vector of a human pathogen. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 52: 4115.
Wallertz, K., Nordenhem, H. & Nordlander, G. 2014. Damage by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis to seedlings of two native and five introduced tree species in Sweden. Silva Fennica 48(4): article id 1188, 14 pp.
Fedderwitz, F., Björklund, N., Ninkovic, V. & Nordlander, G. 2014. Diel behaviour and time budget of the adult pine weevil, Hylobius abietis. Physiological Entomology 39: 103-110.
Zas, R., Björklund, N., Nordlander, G., Cendán, C., Hellqvist, C. & Sampedro, L. 2014. Exploiting jasmonate-induced responses for field protection of conifer seedlings against a major forest pest, Hylobius abietis. Forest Ecology and Management 313: 212-223.
Forshage, M., Nordlander, G. & Buffington, M. L. 2013. Eucoilinae of North America: A revised catalog of genera and described species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 115: 225-255.
Björkman, C., Lindelöw, Å., Eklund, K., Kyrk, S. Klapwijk, M. J., Fedderwitz, F. & Nordlander, G. 2013. A rare event – an isolated outbreak of the pine-tree lappet moth (Dendrolimus pini) in the Stockholm archipelago. Entomologisk Tidskrift 134: 1-9.
Azeem, M., Rajarao, G. K., Nordenhem, H., Nordlander, G. & Borg-Karlson, A. K. 2013. Penicillium expansum volatiles reduce pine weevil attraction to host plants. Journal of Chemical Ecology 39: 120-128.
Maňák, V., Nordenhem, H., Björklund, N., Lenoir, L. & Nordlander , G. 2013. Ants protect conifer seedlings from feeding damage by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 15: 98-105.
Pine weevil home page (mainly in Swedish)