New records of alien spider mites in France
A recent article reports the first presence of three alien mites in France.
Aponychus corpuzae (Acari: Tetranychidae) was first found in 2017 on bamboo plants (Semiarundinaria yashadake) in Hérault (Occitanie region) In 2019, it was also found on another genera of bamboo; Phyllostachys sp. in Alpes-maritimes department (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Overwintering females were observed in late autumn (November), suggesting that the species is established in Southern France. A. corpuzae originates from Asia (China, Japan, Korean peninsula) and had been first recorded in the EPPO region in 2012-2014 in Slovenia and Italy (EPPO RS 2015/171). It was also recorded in Croatia in 2016.
Oligonychus perseae (Acari: Tetranychidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was first collected in 2016 in Menton (Alpes-maritimes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region) on avocado (Persea americana) in a private garden. Similar signs of spider mite infestation (silk nests on the underside of leaves) were also observed on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) leaves in a neighbouring garden. In 2019, more specimens were collected from avocado in the botanical garden of Menton. This mite is damaging avocado crops in other European countries where it has been introduced (e.g. in Spain), and EFSA recently concluded that it satisfied the criteria to be a quarantine pest for the EU.
Stigmaeopsis nanjingensis (Acari: Tetranychidae) has recently been found on bamboo species (Phyllostachys sp., P. viridiglaucescens, S. yashadake) in Alpes-maritimes, Hérault, Gard and Hérault departments. The first specimens had been collected in Gard in 2003 but were misidentified as S. celarius. Until recently, S. nanjingensis was only known to occur in China, but it has been found in Italy, Hungary and Portugal. The related species S. longus was first reported in the EPPO region in 2020 in the Netherlands (RS 2020/247), also introduced with bamboo plants.
Sources
Auger P, Navia D, Migeon A (2023) Three new alien spider mites (Prostigmata, Tetranychidae) from south-eastern France. Acarologia 63(3), 826-833. https://doi.org/10.24349/yeys-kf03
EFSA PLH Panel (2022) Pest categorisation of Oligonychus perseae. EFSA Journal 20(6), 7336. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7336
Šimala M, Seljak G, Pintar M, Masten Milek T (2016) Aponychus corpuzae Rimando 1966 (Acari: Tetranychidae) nova neeuropska vrsta grinje na bambusu u Hrvatskoj. Glasilo biljne zaštite 16(4), 391-396. https://hrcak.srce.hr/166560