First report of Rhagoletis cingulata in the Czech Republic
The NPPO of the Czech Republic recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of Rhagoletis cingulata (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List) on its territory. From the end of June until the end of July, 5 specimens were caught on yellow sticky traps which had been placed in commercial and experimental orchards of cherry trees (Prunus avium and P. cerasus). This survey was carried out by a private company dealing with biological pest control in fruit orchards, which then reported its results to the Czech NPPO. No damage was observed in the infested orchards. On 2014-08-26, the diagnostic laboratory of the Czech NPPO confirmed the identity of the caught specimens on the basis of the morphological characteristics of R. cingulata.
These 5 adult specimens of R. cingulata had been caught in the following 3 municipalities, located in 2 distinct regions separated by 200 km:
- Chelcice and Truskovice (both in Strakonice district) - South Bohemian region;
- Luzice (Hodonin district) – South Moravian region.
The possible origin of the pest is unknown. No official control measures were taken but an official survey will be carried out in 2015 to determine the distribution of R. cingulata in the Czech Republic.
The pest status of Rhagoletis cingulata in the Czech Republic if officially declared as: Present, only in some areas.
Sources
NPPO of the Czech Republic (2014-09).