Update on the situation of Anoplophora chinensis in France
In France, an outbreak of Anoplophora chinensis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae – EPPO A2 List) was found in 2018 in Royan (Charente-Maritime department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region). Eradication measures were applied (EPPO RS 2018/138) and, in February 2024 the NPPO of France declared the outbreak eradicated.
In July 2023, a female specimen of A. chinensis was found by a private owner in his garden in Haute-Savoie department (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) on a Lagerstroemia indica showing characteristic symptoms. An official survey using a sniffer dog was immediately conducted in the garden and its surroundings, and no other beetles were found. Trace-back activities showed that the lot of L. indica had been purchased in March 2022 by a French operator from an Italian supplier a few weeks before the plant was bought and planted by the owner in his garden. Given the life cycle of A. chinensis, it is highly probable that the insect arrived at a larval stage within the L. indica plant. The infested tree was destroyed. According to EU regulation 2022/2095, no demarcated area has been defined, but monitoring will be conducted over a 4-year period to verify that the pest has not established.
The pest status of Anoplophora chinensis in France is officially declared as: Absent, pest eradicated.
Sources
NPPO of France (2024-02).
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2095 of 28 October 2022 establishing measures to prevent the introduction into, establishment and spread within the Union territory of Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) and repealing Decision 2012/138/EU. OJL 281, 53-71. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/2095/oj