Aleurocanthus spiniferus found in Croatia
The NPPO of Croatia recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first confirmed record of Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae – EPPO A2 List) on is territory. During an official survey carried out in September 2018 in the Dubrovnik-Neretva county, a pest resembling A. spiniferus was observed in a small mandarin orchard (Citrus reticulata - 0.05 ha) in Vitaljina (Konavle municipality, south of Dubrovnik). Leaf samples with puparia and exuviae were collected and analysed in the laboratory, and the identity of A. spiniferus was confirmed. The infested site, Vitaljina, is very close to the border with Montenegro. According to recent reports from Montenegro, a population of A. spiniferus is established in the nearby area of Herceg Novi. Therefore, the NPPO of Croatia assumed that the outbreak in Vitaljina resulted from natural spread of A. spiniferus (via passive and/or active flight). It is recalled that in Croatia, A. spiniferus had been detected and subsequently eradicated in 2012 in a garden centre (EPPO RS 2015/047), and that this first finding was considered as an interception.
The pest status of Aleurocanthus spiniferus in Croatia is officially declared as: Present, only in specific parts of the area concerned, under containment.
Sources
NPPO of Croatia (2018-10).