The study area was in Calabria, one of the southernmost regions of Italy, and in a central position inside the Mediterranean basin. The olive plantations were located in the municipality of Rende (UTM 33S 606004.62 E; 4358146.54 N), Terranova da Sibari (UTM 33S 618990.68 E; 4392167.20 N) and of Mirto (UTM 33S 651740.77 E; 4386733.68 N). All the three study areas belong to the Cosenza Province, Italy (see Fig 1 and Table 1).