Apriona swainsoni, an emerging pest in Japan
Apriona swainsoni (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a species originating in Southeast Asia. It was recorded for the first time in Japan in 2014 in Sukagawa city (Fukushima Prefecture, Honshu) and has carried on spreading in several locations in Fukushima Prefecture, causing significant damage on Maackia amurensis (new host) and on Styphnolobium japonicum (syn. Sophora japonica). It has been reported as a serious pest of S. japonicum in China where this tree species both grows in forests and is used as an ornamental. Other recorded host plants are: Butea monosperma, B. superba, Caesalpinia decapetala, Dalbergia hupeana, D. volubilis, Ligustrum lucidum, Paulownia tomentosa, Tectona grandis. Trials in Japan showed that the native species Lespedeza bicolor and L. homoloba could also be hosts.
A distribution map and host list are available in EPPO Global Database https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/APRISW.
Note: Apriona germari, A. japonica, and A. cinerea (all Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are listed on EPPO A1 List. A. swainsoni was considered while conducting the EPPO Pest risk analysis on Apriona germari, A. japonica, A. cinerea. It was then considered that conducting a full PRA for A. swainsoni was not needed as its main hosts are mainly ornamentals in the EPPO region, and that the major host at that time (S. japonica) could already be covered by measures for Apriona germari.
Sources
Anzai Y (2021) Report of the Apriona swainsoni swainsoni (Hope) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) found in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Gekkan-Mushi 609, 16-22 (in Japanese).
Mtow, S, Yoshii S, Tsutsumi T (2022) Preliminary report on distribution, infestation, and feeding plants of the alien longhorn beetle Apriona swainsoni swainsoni (Hope, 1840) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) discovered from Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Japanese Journal of Entomology (N.S.) 25(1), 18–24 (In Japanese, with English summary). https://doi.org/10.20848/kontyu.25.1_18
Personal communication with Eiriki Sunamura, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, JP.
Tavakilian G. (Author) & Chevillotte H. (Software) [2018]. Titan : base de données internationales sur les Cerambycidae ou Longicornes. Version 4.0. http://titan.gbif.fr/index.html