Incursion of Octodonta nipae in Cyprus
The NPPO of Cyprus informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of Octodonta nipae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on its territory. In December 2009, the pest was detected on 10 palm trees (Syagrus romanzoffiana) at the warehouses and garden centre of an importer in Limassol district. The identity of the pest was confirmed by the Natural History Museum in London. All infested palms showed serious decline symptoms. Following a detailed examination, all young leaves showed signs of attack, but the beetles were only found in fronds of the central shoot. All infested palm trees were destroyed and insecticide treatments were applied on all remaining plants of Syagrus spp. in the garden centre. As the insect was no longer found, it is considered to have been eradicated.
O. nipae feeds on Palmaceae and its main hosts include: Archontophoenix alexandrae, Areca catechu (betel nut), Calamus manan (rattan), Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) lutescens, Cocos nucifera (coconut), Elaeis guineensis (oil palm), Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, Livistona chinensis, Metroxylon sagu (sago palm), Nypa fruticans (nipa palm), Phoenix canariensis, Roystonea regia, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Washingtonia filifera, Washingtonia robusta.
O. nipae was described from Peninsular Malaysia on Metroxylon and Nypa fruticans and also occurs in Indonesia. In China it is considered as a newly introduced pest in Hainan (found in 2001 and then eradicated) and Fujian (found in 2007).
Sources
Hou YM, Weng ZQ (2009) Population growth and development of the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Hispidae) at constant temperatures. Abstract of a poster presented that the International Congress on Biological Invasions (Fuzhou, CN, 2009-11-01/06), p 196.
Hou YM, Weng ZQ (2010) Temperature-dependent development and life table parameters of Octodonta nipae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Environmental Entomology 39(5), 1676-1684.
NPPO of Cyprus (2010-01).
Staines CL (2011) Catalogue of the hispines of the world (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). http://entomology.si.edu/Collections_Coleoptera-Hispines.html
Sun JH, Yu PY, Zhang YZ, Wang XJ (2003) A new invasive coconut pest in Hainan Province. Entomological Knowledge 40(3), 286-287 (abst.).
Vassiliou VA, Kazantzis E, Melifronidou-Pantelidou A (2011) First report of the nipa palm hispid Octodonta nipae on queen palms in Cyprus. Phytoparasitica 39(1), 51-54.