New data on quarantine pests and pests of the EPPO Alert List
By searching through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests and pests included (or formerly included) on the EPPO Alert List, and indicated in bold the situation of the pest concerned using the terms of ISPM no. 8.
- New records
In French Guyana, after the finding of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae, EPPO A1 List) in July 2021 (RS 2021/185), further surveys detected a ‘Candidatus Liberibacter sp.’ (one of the agents of Huanglongbing disease) in two plant samples in August 2021. Surveys are being intensified. Official measures are applied to control the disease and its vector (Arrêté préfectoral, 2021).
In North Macedonia, Corythucha arcuata (Hemiptera: Tingidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was first found in July 2019 near Skopje on Quercus petraea. Further surveys detected the pest in three other locations near Skopje (Sotirovski et al., 2019).
Corythucha arcuata (Hemiptera: Tingidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) occurs in the Czech Republic where it was first found in 2019 (Paulin et al., 2020).
Garella musculana (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae - EPPO A2 List) was trapped during a faunistic survey in a nature reserve in Myasnikovsky district (Rostov region, Southern Russia). No damage on Juglans trees was observed. This is the first record for Russia (Romanchuk & Kolesnikov, 2021).
- Detailed records
In Australia, the serpentine leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae - EPPO A2 List) has been found on two separate occasions in Kununurra (northern Western Australia) in March 2021, as well as in Torres Strait (Queensland) in May 2021 and near Bamaga (Queensland). Eradication is considered unlikely to be feasible. While the final decision on an eradication response is still pending, L. trifolii is currently under regional official control in Queensland and Western Australia (IPPC, 2021).
The pest status of Liriomyza trifolii in Australia is officially declared as: Present: not widely distributed and under official control (2021-07) (IPPC, 2021).
In Serbia, Ralstonia solanacearum (EPPO A2 List), causal agent of potato brown rot, was first recorded in 2011. Surveys in 2013-2018 analyzed 3524 samples from 17 localities and detected the bacterium in 344 samples from 5 localities in the province of Vojvodina (Northern Serbia), and also in Bolec, near Belgrade (Marković et al., 2021).
- Host plants
In Ecuador, during studies on mites conducted in the province Tungurahua, Eotetranychus lewisi (Acari: Tetranychidae – EU Annexes) was found on Rubus glaucus (Sánchez et al., 2021).
- New pests and taxonomy
The taxonomy and nomenclature of the Western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae - EPPO A1 List) has been the subject of controversy. C. occidentalis is a North American pest of conifers. In 2008, it was proposed to rename it Choristoneura freemani Razowski to avoid confusion with an African species feeding on citrus which was originally described as Cacoecia occidentalis Walsingham, but then transferred into the genus Choristoneura (EPPO RS 2014/171). Recent molecular studies led to the redescription of the genus Choristoneura and reinstated the original name of the Western spruce budworm Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman. The African species was excluded from the Choristoneura genus and found to be more closely related to the genus Cacoecimorpha, although its final placement into this genus remains to be confirmed (Fagua et al., 2019). Other studies (Brunet et al., 2017) proposed that Choristoneura occidentalis (univoltine populations) and Choristoneura biennis (biennial populations) should be referred to as Choristoneura occidentalis occidentalis and Choristoneura occidentalis biennis, respectively.
Taxonomic studies on the genus Neofusicoccum have been carried out in Japan, and it is proposed that the causal agent of shoot blight of larch (Physalospora laricina, synonym Botryosphaeria laricina – EPPO A2 List) should be transferred to the genus Neofusicoccum, and therefore called Neofusicoccum laricinum (Hattori et al., 2021).
Sources
Arrêté préfectoral relatif à la lutte contre la maladie du Huanglongbing (citrus greening) dans la région de Guyane. https://www.guyane.gouv.fr/Politiques-publiques/Alimentation-agriculture-foret/Agriculture/Arrete-prefectoral-Lutte-contre-le-psylle-des-agrumes-Diaphorina-citri
Brunet BM, Blackburn GS, Muirhead K, Lumley LM, Boyle B, Levesque RC, Cusson M, Sperling FA (2017) Two's company, three's a crowd: New insights on spruce budworm species boundaries using genotyping‐by‐sequencing in an integrative species assessment (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Systematic Entomology 42(2), 317-28.
Fagua G, Condamine FL, Dombroskie J, Byun BK, Deprins J, Simonsen TJ, Baez M, Brunet BMT, Sperling FAH (2019) Genus delimitation, biogeography and diversification of Choristoneura Lederer (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) based on molecular evidence. Systematic Entomology 44, 19-38.
Hattori Y, Ando Y, Nakashima C (2021) Taxonomical re-examination of the genus Neofusicoccum in Japan. Mycoscience 62, 250-259.
IPPC website. Official Pest Reports. Australia (AUS-104/1 of 2021-07-30) Liriomyza trifolii (American serpentine leafminer) in Queensland and Western Australia. https://www.ippc.int/fr/countries/australia/pestreports/2021/07/liriomyza-trifolii-american-serpentine-leafminer-in-queensland-and-western-australia/
Marković S, Stanković S, Iličić R, Veljović Jovanović S, Milić Komić S, Jelušić A, Popović T (2021) Ralstonia solanacearum as a potato pathogen in Serbia: characterization of strains and influence on peroxidase activity in tubers. Plant Pathology 70(8), 1945–1959.
Paulin M, Hirka A, Eötvös CB, Gáspár C, Fürjes-Mikó Á, Csóka G (2020) Known and predicted impacts of the invasive oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuata) in European oak ecosystems – a review. Folia Oecologica 47(2), 131–139.
Romanchuk RV, Kolesnikov SI (2021) Report on the detection of Garella musculana (Erschov, 1874) (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) – a new pest species for the Rostov region from the Chulekskaya Balka specially protected natural area. Ученые записки Крымского федерального университета имени ВИ Вернадского. Биология. Химия,7(2), pp.145-157. http://sn-biolchem.cfuv.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14_Romanchuk.pdf
Sánchez M, Colmenárez Y, Manobanda M, Vásquez C (2021) Chaetotaxic variation in Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 and Eotetranychus lewisi (Mc Gregor, 1943) populations (Acari: Tetranychidae) from different crops and locations in Province of of Tungurahua, Ecuador. Revista Chilena de Entomología 47(1), 19-33.
Sotirovski K, Srebrova K, Nacheski S (2019) First records of the oak lace bug Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832) (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in North Macedonia. Acta Entomologica Slovenica 27(2), 91-98.