Scientific Opinion on a technical file submitted by the Japanese Authorities to support a derogation request from the EU import requirements for bonsai and topiary trees that are host plants of Anoplophora chinensis.

6Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on a technical file submitted by the Japanese Authorities to support a derogation request from the EU import requirements for bonsai and topiary trees that are host plants of Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Three options were proposed as alternatives to the existing requirements of the European Union: a) to reduce the required period to grow plants in field cages from two years to one season prior to export (from April to October); b) to allow grafting of scions with no risk of infestation by A. chinensis during the two years of field-cage cultivation and c) to remove the net from the field cage during the winter period (from November to March) when adult A. chinensis do not visit the area or lay eggs. The Panel evaluated the technical file and concluded that as the life cycle duration of the pest can be more than one season and larvae cannot be reliably detected within the plant, a reduction of the required growing period under complete physical protection increases the risk of entry into the EU compared with the current EU requirements. The Panel considered scions collected from a branch of a stock tree 50 cm or higher above the ground, with a diameter not exceeding 5 mm and a length of 5 cm, are unlikely to increase the risk of entry. The Panel also considered that, due to uncertainty on the occurrence of beetle flight and potential for oviposition between November and March, opening cages during this period may lead to an increased risk of entry into the EU compared to current measures.openopenBaker R.; Candresse T.; Dormannsné Simon E.; Gilioli G.; Grégoire J.-C. and other EFSA Panel Members of Plant Health (PLH) (2010)Baker, R.; Candresse, T.; Dormannsné Simon, E.; Gilioli, Gianni; Grégoire, J. C.; other EFSA Panel Members of Plant, Healt

The Distribution and Importance of Arthropod Pests and Weeds of Agriculture and Forestry Plantations in Southern China

Crop Production/Industries,

Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) (Coleoptera Cerambycidae) in the outbreak site in Rome (Italy): experiences in dating exit holes

Anoplophora chinensis is a poliphagous woodboring beetle native to Eastern Asia, and is a serious pest accidentally introduced into Europe. Currently two infested areas are present in Italy and other infestations have occurred in the past in other European countries, while interceptions in entry ports are made yearly by National Plant Protection Organizations of the European Community. A. chinensis is a quarantine invasive pest, and strong measures are applied worldwide to prevent its introduction, spread and to eradicate its populations. The presence of exit holes of adult beetles on infested trees is one of the most important diagnostic signs to detect an A. chinensis infestation. Exit holes are visible on the bark surface of infested trees for several years, but the hole is after that enclosed by the reaction tissue (callus) of the plant; thus, after some years the exit hole is no longer visible. Such injuries produced by beetle activity can be recognised after many years by inspection of the wood after cross-sectioning of the tree. It is possible to date the time of occurrence of the injury using the annual growth ring method for tree age analyses. Surveys conducted on the wooden material collected in the infested site in Rome indicate that the first A. chinensis adult emergences from infested trees of the city occurred in 2002. Since the species takes in the infested site 1 or 2 years for juvenile development, we can speculate that the first introduction of A. chinensis into the city of Rome took place in the years 2000 or 2001

Latest news from the Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) in Bavaria

Der inzwischen auf der EPPO A1-Liste aufgeführte Quarantäneschädling, der Bockkäfer Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853), ist seit seiner Einschleppung nach Braunau am Inn (Österreich) im Jahr 2001 in ganz Europa ein Begriff. Neben zwei unabhängigen Fundorten in Frankreich, 2003 in Gien und 2004 in Sainte-Anne-sur-Brivet (Hérard & al. 2005) wurde eine Freiland-Population dieser Laubbäume schädigenden Art erstmals 2004 auch in Deutschland festgestellt. Bisherige Funde von Käfern in Deutschland waren auf das Gelände des Hamburger Hafens, Umschlagplatz vieler Container aus dem asiatischen Raum, beschränkt (Schliesske 2001). Es konnte aber nie eine Übersiedelung auf Laubbäume in der Umgebung beobachtet werden. Die Situation änderte sich gravierend, als offensichtlich befallene Bäume in Neukirchen am Inn (Gemeinde Neuburg am Inn, Landkreis Passau) in Bayern festgestellt wurden. Symptome wie mangelnde Belaubung, kraterförmige Eiablagestellen und Austritt von Bohrmehl an einem Ahornbaum deuteten auf Befall mit A. glabripennis hin. Nach Entnahme von Astteilen wurden in Gängen Bockkäfer-Larven gefunden, die von Kollegen des Bundesamtes und Forschungszentrums für Wald (BFW) in Wien mittels DNA-Analyse zweifelsfrei als A. glabripennis identifiziert wurden (Hoyer & al. 2003).Since the introduction of Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853) to Neukirchen/Inn, a small village in the rural district Passau, in 2004, considerable efforts were made to eradicate this quarantine pest in Bavaria. This longicorn species mainly infested deciduous trees of urban areas in Neukirchen/Inn. The centre where the infestation started was the graveyard at the outskirts of the town. Into the forestal area, which is about two kilometres away, the population of A. glabripennis couldn’t yet extend. Over the last three years the following taxa of deciduous trees were detected as a host plant of A. glabripennis in Bavaria: Acer spp. (maple), Betula spp. (birch), Aesculus hippocastanum (white chestnut), Salix spp. (willow) and Populus spp. (poplar). At the moment the only way of controlling A. glabripennis seems to be a permanent monitoring in the infested area. For reaching this aim potentially host trees, which show symptoms of infestation, will be cut down, chaffed and burned – also only in the case of suspicion. When in 2004 altogether 16 trees and in the following year only two trees were removed the infestation seemed hopefully to be cleared. But in the middle of October 2005 many egg deposition sites could be found on several maple trees in the graveyard. For reasons of precaution 49 trees were cut in January 2006. The growing season in 2006 almost confirmed the 1½ to 2-year generation cycle of A. glabripennis which is assumed by experts for Central Europe. After the nearly uneventful year 2005 again ten trees in the surrounding of the graveyard showed conspicuous symptoms. Furthermore exit holes of adult beetles could be detected. The trees immediately were removed. The eradication measures and the monitoring in Neukirchen/Inn have to be continued in the following years

Commodity risk assessment of Juglans regia plants from Turkey

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers the plant health risks posed by 2‐year‐old grafted bare rooted plants for planting of Juglans regia imported from Turkey, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by Turkey. The relevance of any pest for this Opinion was based on evidence following defined criteria. Two EU quarantine pests, Anoplophora chinensis and Lopholeucaspis japonica, and three pests not regulated in the EU, two insects (Garella musculana, Euzophera semifuneralis) and one fungus (Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae), fulfilled all relevant criteria and were selected for further evaluation. For these pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Turkey were evaluated by considering the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement was given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pests, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. While the estimated degree of pest freedom varied among pests, Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae was the pest most frequently expected on the commodity. The expert knowledge elicitation indicated, with 95% certainty, that 9,554 or more grafted bare rooted plants per 10,000 will be free from Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae

Host Volatile Percepts of Two Sympatric Longhorned Beetles, Anoplophora Chinensis and Anoplophora Glabripennis

Anoplophora chinensis (CLB) and Anoplophora glabripennis (ALB) are sympatric sibling species of pest lamiine cerambycids. Both are destructive invasives under strong domestic and international focus. Monitoring lures for both species need improvement. Under the current ratio hypothesis of insect host detection, insects orient towards their hosts via identification of a host-indicative, attractive blend of multiple volatile compounds. I evaluated multivariate statistical comparison of host versus non-host hardwood volatiles as a method for simultaneously identifying host-indicative compounds for both species. Statistical methods determined the commercially unavailable (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene was indicative of CLB hosts and a multicomponent blend including benzyl acetate, α-humulene, (E)-nerolidol, (E)-caryophyllene, isoamyl benzoate, and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol was indicative of ALB hosts. I hypothesized that the CLB host indicative blend is inclusive of the ALB host indicative blend and tested the six ALB host-indicative compounds for attraction to both species in Bengbu, China. Field trapping treatments were host volatiles only, male pheromone only, host volatiles + pheromone, and isopropanol control. Pheromone containing treatments captured significantly greater numbers of CLB with the host volatile + pheromone treatment capturing the greatest number of CLB. To further examine intraspecies chemical communication between ALB and CLB, cuticular hydrocarbon extracts from ALB and CLB were collected. Stepwise discriminate analysis showed differences in samples by species and sex, illustrating that ALB and CLB males and females can be identified by their cuticular extracts. In addition, principle component analysis indicated ALB cuticular hydrocarbon samples collected from beetles from Hunchun, Jilin, diverged from the rest of the samples. This research found supporting evidence for the ratio hypothesis of insect host detection, characterized the cuticular hydrocarbons of ALB and CLB, and identified potential geographic variation in ALB cuticular hydrocarbons

An artificial diet for rearing three exotic longhorn beetles invasive to Europe

Anoplophora glabripennis, Anoplophora chinensis and Psacothea hilaris hilaris are three invasive exotic longhorn species (Coleoptera Cerambycidae) threatening native broadleaf trees in Europe and North America. Field studies on invasive species are somewhat difficult in the areas of introduction due to the application of eradication measures and the activation of quarantine protocols. Rearing these species in standard laboratory conditions would allow specific ecological and biological investigations to be conducted. In this paper, the rearing of these longhorn beetles has been tested on an artificial diet in laboratory conditions. The tested diet can be used to obtain viable healthy adults of each of the three studied species. P. h. hilaris had the best rearing performance with 74% of eggs producing new adults, while A. chinensis and A. glabripennis were poorer with 24.7% and 23.3%, respectively. The low percentage of emerging A. glabripennis and A. chinensis adults was due mainly to a high mortality of their first instar larvae not entering the diet. Moreover, A. chinensis and A. glabripennis had a mean development time, 60.06 and 37.29 weeks, respectively (including the chilling periods required for pupation), longer than P. h. hilaris (16.1 weeks). During development, larval moults varied according to species and within species ranging from 5-7 (P. h. hilaris), 6-11 (A. chinensis) and 7-8 (A. glabripennis) moults, respectively. Adults of A. glabripennis and P. h. hilaris reared on the diet were bigger than wild specimens collected from the same population, whereas A. chinensis adults were smaller. Adult survival was shorter in A. glabripennis (62.9 days) than in P. h. hilaris (119.3 days). According to the different performance of the three species, the rearing costs were about 2.0, 8.1 and 16.1 US dollars per adult beetle for P. h. hilaris, A. glabripennis and A. chinensis, respectively. A laboratory insect population has to be cost effective and self-sustainable over time, and the tested diet provided valuable results for the low-cost mass rearing of these invasive longhorn beetles