First report of Takahashia japonica in Croatia
The string cottony scale Takahashia japonica (Hemiptera: Coccidae) originates in the Far East. It was reported for the first time in Italy (and in Europe) in 2017 (RS 2019/075) and in 2018 in the United Kingdom (RS 2019/076). In Croatia, the species was first observed in spring 2019 in a tree in the city of Pula (Istria County) but not identified then. It was identified in May 2020 on Albizia julibrissin trees. As the specific morphology of the eggsacs enabled easy recognition of this species, a citizen science campaign was initiated to stimulate additional reports of the species. In total, 7 reports were made by citizens in the city of Pula. The most common host plants of T. japonica were Acer sp. and Morus alba, some of which had suffered significant defoliation and tree decay.
Eradication measures were applied (cutting and incineration of infested branches, application of insecticides on the infested trees).
Sources
Landeka N, Uzelac M, Poljuha D, Sladonja B (2021) [The first record of the Asiatic string cottony scale Takahashia japonica in Croatia]. Šumarski list 145(5-6), 263-267. https://doi.org/10.31298/sl.145.5-6.5 (in Croatian with English abstract).