Insect pests newly recorded in the EPPO region
The following insect pests have recently been reported in the EPPO region (or part of it).
- Ataenius picinus (Coleoptera: Aphodiidae)
The NPPO of Italy reported in 2010 the occurrence of Ataenius picinus (Coleoptera: Aphodiidae) in Lazio region. This is the first record of this species in Italy and in Europe. A. picinus originates from North America but it also occurs in South America, the Caribbean and Oceania. A. picinus adults are coprophagous but larvae have occasionally been reported as minor pests of cultivated plants (NPPO of Italy, 2010). Present, first found in Lazio in 2010.
- Greenidea ficicola (Hemiptera: Greenideidae)
Greenidea ficicola is an aphid originating from Asia which mainly feeds on Ficus spp. (there are also some records on guavas (Psidium guajava)). It presence has recently been reported in several EPPO countries, as well as in Africa and the Americas, probably being spread with its host plants in trade. In the EPPO region, it was first reported from Southern Italy (Calabria and Sicilia) in the early 2000s, on different species of ornamental Ficus (Barbagallo et al., 2005). In Spain, G. ficicola was observed for the first time in 2004 in Andalucía (Torremolinos, Málaga province) and then in other provinces of Andalucía (Almería, Sevilla) and Comunidad Valenciana (Alicante, Valencia) on several Ficus species. In Malta, it was observed for the first time in 2007 on F. microcarpa (Mifsud, 2008). Finally, it was reported in 2008 from Tunisia (Ben Halima-Kamel, 2009).
The currently known distribution of G. ficicola is the following:
EPPO region: Italy (mainland and Sicilia), Malta, Russia (Far East), Spain, Tunisia.
Africa: Burundi, Tunisia.
Asia: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia (Far East), Taiwan.
North America: USA (Florida).
South America: Brazil (Sao Paulo), Colombia, Peru.
Oceania: Australia, Papua New Guinea.
- Trioza alacris (Hemiptera: Triozidae)
In November 2009, damage caused by a psyllid, Trioza alacris, was noticed on container Laurus nobilis (bay laurel) in the Arboretum of Buda (Budapest), in Hungary. It is suspected that T. alacris has been introduced on imported plants. This is the first record of T. alacris in Hungary. T. alacris is recorded in several European countries (particularly in the Mediterranean region) and it has been introduced in Argentina, Chile, and the USA (California and New Jersey).
Sources
Barbagallo S, Bella S, Cocuzza G (2005) Greenidea ficicola, a new aphid record for Southern Italy. Informatore Fitopatologico 55(2), 25-29.
Ben Halima-Kamel M (2009) First report of Greenidea ficicola in Tunisia. Tunisian Journal of Plant Protection 4, 107-110.
Haltrich A, Rédei D, Pénzes B, Vétek G (2010) First occurrence of bay sucker (Trioza alacris Flor, 1861) (Sternorrhyncha: Triozidae) in Hungary. Növényvédelem 46(8), 365-369.
Mifsud D (2008) A new tree dwelling aphid, Greenidea ficicola Takahashi, 1921 for Malta (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea: Greenideidae) Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Malta 1, 39-41.
NPPO of Italy (2010-06).
Pérez Hidalgo N, Sousa-Silva CR, del Estal Padillo P (2009) The presence of the Asian aphid, Greenidea ficicola (Takahashi) [Aphididae: Greenideinae: Greenideini] in Spain. Boletin de Sanidad Vegetal, Plagas 35(4), 581-584.