First record of Cylindrocopturus adspersus in Ukraine and in the EPPO region
The sunflower stem weevil, Cylindrocopturus adspersus (Coleoptera: Cuculionidae) is reported for the first time from Ukraine, and the EPPO region. Larvae were found in November 2020 in a sunflower (Helianthus annuus) field in the Novotroitsk district of the Kherson region. The authors consider that the insect was probably introduced with plant debris transported in a consignment of sunflower seeds. Moroz & Fokin (2022) assessed the potential area of establishment of this species and considered that this species could establish in the South-Eastern part of Ukraine, as well as in several countries around the Mediterranean Sea. As of 2022, it has not been found in other parts of Ukraine.
C. adspersus is a damaging pest of sunflower in North America where it occurs throughout the Great Plains of the USA and in part of Canada. There is also one record from Pakistan in 2018. Damage is caused by larvae that live and feed inside the stem and render the crop more susceptible to lodging and infection by fungi such as Macrophomina phaseolina. Adults overwinter in old sunflower stumps and feed on sunflower leaves. In the USA, there is one generation per year.
Sources
Moroz S, Fokin A (2022) Forecasting the potential area of an invasive species Cylindrocopturus adspersus LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Ukraine. Journal of Plant Protection Research 62(1), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.24425/jppr.2022.140298
Said F, Jalal F, Imtiaz M, Khan MA, Hussain S (2018) General distribution of different arthropods species associated with sunflower in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:(A survey of Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi District:). Pure and Applied Biology 7(3), 1144-1160. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2018.700134
Personal communication with S. Moroz (2022-10).