EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 07 - 2022 Num. article: 2022/150

Scyphophorus acupunctatus occurs in Portugal


In Portugal, Scyphophorus acupunctatus (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae– formerly EPPO Alert List) was first reported in on the island of Porto Santo (Madeira archipelago) in November 2019. The pest was found in the garden of a hotel in Cabeço da Ponta, first on Agave americana and then on Furcraea foetida. On the mainland, S. acupunctatus was observed for the first time in 2019/2020 in Algarve, in Patacão (Faro) and Quarteira. However, it is probable that it was already present in 2018 in other localities of Algarve (Lagos, Moncarapacho and Cabanas de Tavira); as well as on the peninsula of Setúbal (in Verdizela).


Sources

Andrade MM (2022) The presence of the agave weevil Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, 1838 (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) in Madeira Archipelago. A new biological control opportunity or a new invasive species? Weevil News No. 98, 11 pp.

Naves P, Boavida C (2021) O escaravelho-do-agave Scyphophorus acupunctatus uma nova espécie exotica em Portugal. Vida Rural (abril), 70-76. https://www.iniav.pt/images/publicacoes/2021/O_escaravelho-do-agave.pdf