First report of Rhagoletis batava in the Czech Republic
The NPPO of the Czech Republic recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the detection of Rhagoletis batava (Diptera: Tephritidae) on its territory. During summer 2017, 17 adults were caught in yellow sticky straps located in a plantation (12 ha) of Hippophae rhamnoides (Elaeagnaceae - common sea buckthorn) located in the municipality of Příšovice. The identity of the pest was confirmed morphologically. According to the grower, R. batava has been causing economically significant damage to fruit production since 2016. As R. batava is probably of European origin and recorded in several European countries, no official measures will be taken. However, it is noted that during the last decades, R. batava has been expanding its geographical range in Europe.
The pest status of Rhagoletis batava in the Czech Republic is officially declared as: Present: only in some parts of the Member State concerned.
EPPO note: According to a recent review (Stalažs and Balakaikins, 2017), R. batava was initially described in the Netherlands and remained for a long time of limited distribution in a small number of European countries. Larvae of R. batava feed on H. rhamnoides fruit and heavy infestations can lead to total loss of fruit production. R. batava has been considered as a serious pest of H. rhamnoides in Western Siberia and Altai region, but was not known as a serious pest in European countries. Its expansion started in 2001 in the European part of Russia and in the 2010s, R. batava started to be reported as a serious problem by H. rhamnoides growers in Belarus (2010), Latvia (2011), Lithuania (2012), Germany (2013), and Poland (2014). In 2015, larvae were recorded in 2 production sites in Estonia and Finland, and adult flies were caught during a survey in Hungary. A geographical distribution of R. batava can be viewed in the EPPO Global Database:
Sources
NPPO of Czech Republic (2017-09).
Stalažs A, Balalaikins M (2017) Country checklist of Rhagoletis Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) for Europe, with focus on R. batava and its recent range expansion. Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B 71(3), 103-110.