ABSTRACT

Chestnut pests carry out their trophic activity mainly at the expense of the epigeal part such as trunk, branches, leaves, and fruits.

Most of these species do not represent a serious threat and rarely account for a significant environmental and economic impact, therefore they are considered occasional or minor pests.

In this chapter chestnut pests are described, illustrating their life cycle and the major damages and symptoms on the tree, eventually highlighting management and control strategies. Great importance is given to the Asian chestnut gall wasp, due to its great potential to cause harm to chestnut fruits, while the last part of the chapter shows the main threats related to the accidental introduction of exotic species.