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 8.
- New records
Ceratitis quinaria (Diptera: Tephritidae- EU A1 Quarantine pest) occurs in Ghana where it is causing damage on yellow plum (Ximenia americana) (Opoku et al., 2025). It was first recorded in the forest-savanna transition zone (Awarikabey et al., 2025).
Citrus leprosis virus C2 (Cilevirus colombiaense - CiLV-C2 – EU A1 Quarantine pest) is first reported from Australia. It was detected in Brisbane (Queensland) in a cultivated Hoya macgillivrayi plant. The infection was not systemic (Chao et al., 2025).
Ipomovirus cucurbitavenaflavi (Squash vein yellowing virus, EU A1 quarantine pest) was reported in Jordan on symptomatic squash (Cucurbita pepo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), and melon (Cucumis melo) during field surveys in September 2022. This is the first observation of I. cucurbitavenaflavi in Jordan and the first record of C. sativus as a host (Hussein et al., 2024).
Pochazia shantungensis (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae – EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time in Bulgaria. Two specimens were observed in November 2024 near the flower market in the city of Burgas (region of Northern Thrace) on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The authors consider that the insect may have been introduced with imported plants. It is not known whether the species could overwinter in this area (Gjonov & Simov, 2025).
The red palm mite Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) occurs in Morrocco. It was recorded in 5% of farms cultivating date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in the oasis of Tafilalet region in 2017 (Hamriri et al., 2024).
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae - EPPO A2 List) and Parasaissetia nigra (Hemiptera: Coccidae - EU RNQP) are first recorded from Azerbaijan in a botanical garden. Official measures are applied (Gasimov et al., 2024).
- Detailed records
In France Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae – EPPO A2 List) was first found in Var department (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region) in December 2023, in Vaucluse department (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region) in April 2024, in Corse-du-Sud department (Corse region) in July 2024, and in Bouches-du-Rhône department (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region) in July-October 2024. Infested areas have been demarcated and official measures applied (NPPO of France, 2025).
The pest status of Aleurocanthus spiniferus in France is officially declared as: Present only in specific parts of the area concerned, under containment, in case eradication is impossible.
In Australia, the presence of Bactericera cockerelli (Hemiptera: Triozidae – EPPO A1 List), the vector of zebra chip disease, was first reported in 2017 in Western Australia (EPPO RS 2017/034). It was first reported in Victoria in November 2024 near Portarlington, on the Bellarine Peninsula. Testing of insects and plant material found no evidence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’, the bacterium responsible for zebra chip in potatoes, in B. cockerelli or in plants. An infested area has been defined where official measures are being implemented (Anonymous, 2024).
The situation of Bactericera cockerelli in Australia can be described as: Present, under surveillance.
In the Russian Federation, brown spot needle blight caused by Lecanosticta acicola (EPPO A2 List) was first reported in 2018 in southern Russia (EPPO RS 2019/040). It was also reported on Pinus mugo in Moscow, central Russia, in 2019 (Shishkina & Shishkina, 2022).
In Italy, Platynota stultana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae – omnivorous leafroller- EPPO A2 List) was first recorded in Puglia region in 2022 (EPPO RS 2023/058). In 2024, it was detected in Campania in four municipalities in the province of Napoli (Portici, Castellammare di Stabia, Cercola, Sant'Anastasi). No damage to crops is reported. In Portici and Sant'Anastasi it was recorded on wild Conyza sp. plants. In Castellammare di Stabia, specimens were caught in a light trap, and in Cercola only one specimen was collected in a sweep net (NPPO of Italy, 2024-12).
The pest status of Platynota stultana in Italy is officially declared as: Present, only in some parts of the Member State concerned.
In Japan, occasional outbreaks of Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A1 List) have been reported in the past and eradicated (EPPO RS 1993/116). In March 2024, this fruit fly was reported in the northern part of Okinawa island (Ryukyu Archipelago), where official measures are applied to eradicate the pest (Okinawa Prefecture, 2025).
-----Correction in 2025-04: the NPPO of Japan informed the EPPO Secretariat this record is for Zeugodacus tau not Zeugodacus cucurbitae. Zeugodacus cucurbitae is reported as 'Absent, pest eradicated'.
- Regulation
A new Commission Implementing Regulation (2025/311) was published recently defining measures to prevent the establishment and spread of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A1 List), Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A1 List) and Bactrocera zonata (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List). This Regulation should apply from 1 March 2025. The Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/311 defines host plants that are cultivated in the EU and that should be surveyed.
- New host plants
In Cyprus Dacus ciliatus (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List) was found infesting a crop of black-eyed peas (Vigna unguiculata), as well as the weed squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium). These are the first records of these plant species as hosts of D. ciliatus (NPPO of Cyprus, 2025).
Sources
Anonymous (2024) Biosecurity Update: Restricted zoning in response to Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP) detection in Victoria. Agriculture Victoria. https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1087790/BU-TPP-Dec-2024.pdf
Awarikabey EN, Afun JV, Billah MK, Osekre EA (2025) Diversity, damage and pheromone specificity of fruit flies in the Forest-Savanna Transition zone of Ghana. Bulletin of Entomological Research 115(2), 155-165.
Chao HY, Dietzgen RG, Thomas JE, Geering AD (2025) First report of the hibiscus strain of citrus leprosis virus C2 (Cilevirus colombiaense) infecting Hoya macgillivrayi in Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology 54(1), 33-3.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/311 of 14 February 2025 on measures to eradicate and to prevent the establishment and spread within the Union territory of fruit flies of the species Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) and Bactrocera zonata (Saunders). OJ L, 2025/311. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/311/oj
Gasimov A, Bağırova S, Safaraliyeva S, Aliyeva X (2024) Harmful organisms with quarantine status in the Dendrology Garden:1.Parasaissetia Nigra Nietner, 1861, 2.Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus Oliver, 1790. Nature & Science/Təbiət və Elm 6(3), 28-34 (abst.)
Gjonov I, Simov N (2025) First record of Pochazia shantungensis (Chou & Lu, 1977)(Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) in Bulgaria: alien and potentially invasive species on Via Pontifica. Historia naturalis bulgarica 47(3), 49-53.
Hamriri K, Atmani M, Abidar A, Aziz L, Fagroud M, Bouamri R (2024) Sustainable oases agriculture: A journey through Morocco’s date palm production system. Journal of Water and Land Development 60(I–III): 1–11. DOI 10.24425/jwld.2023.148457
Hussein A, Salem N, Margaria P, Menzel W, Abu Muslem M (2024) First report of squash vein yellowing virus naturally infecting cucumber, squash, and melon in Jordan. Plant Disease 108(10), 3204. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-24-1264-PDN
NPPO of Cyprus (2025-03).
NPPO of France (2025-01).
NPPO of Italy (2024-12).
Okinawa Prefecture (2025) Control measures for Zeugodacus cucurbitae. https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/shigoto/nogyo/1010700/1018771/1031557.html
Opoku E, Haseeb M, Rodriguez EJ, Steck GJ, Cabral MJ (2025) Economically important fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Ghana and their regulatory pest management. Insects 16(3), 285. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16030285
Shishkina Anastasia A, Shishkina Anna A (2022) New damages of coniferous forests associated with micromycetes in Russia. Kurakov AV, Sergeev AY (Eds). Mycology Today, National Academy of Mycology. P. 30-37