EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 08 - 2017 Num. article: 2017/148

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus does not occur in Australia


In Australia, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea – EPPO A2 List) was recorded as present, as one specimen had been collected from Queensland. This specimen which was stored in the Australian National Insect Collection (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) has been reassessed and has been found to be a closely related species, Rhynchophorus bilineatus* (formerly EPPO Alert List). In all other parts of Australia (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia), R. ferrugineus has never been recorded.
The pest status for Rhynchophorus ferrugineus in Australia is officially declared as: Absent: pest records invalid.

__________
* According to a recent review (Pullen et al., 2014), R. bilineatus is currently not present in Australia.

Sources

NPPO of Australia (2017-07).

INTERNET
Atlas of Living Australia. https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn

Pullen KR, Jennings D, Oberprieler RG (2014) Annotated catalogue of Australian weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Zootaxa 3896, 481 pp.