Euzophera semifuneralis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): addition to the EPPO Alert List
Why: The American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a North American pest of fruit and ornamental trees, which has been intercepted several times by Italy on wood of Liriodendron tulipifera, Prunus and Tilia imported from the USA. In the EPPO region, this pest has also been accidentally introduced in Türkiye in 2009.
Where: E. semifuneralis is native to North America and occurs in most fruit-growing areas from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico. In Türkiye, it was first found in 2009 in pomegranate (Punica granatum) orchards in Osmaniye and then in Adana. However, no data could be found in the literature about its current situation and impact on fruit crops.
EPPO region: Türkiye.
North America: Canada (British Columbia, Ontario), Mexico, USA (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin).
On which plants: E. semifuneralis has a wide host range, including at least 16 families of fruit, nut, ornamental, and forest trees. The main economic damage has been recorded on fruit crops, such as plum, cherry, and apple trees. In the USA, it has been observed that although it is a native insect, it prefers imported varieties of plum and cherry rather than the native ones. The host range of E. semifuneralis includes the following species: Carya illinoinensis, Diospyros virginiana, Ginkgo biloba, Gossypium hirsutum, Ipomoea batatas, Juglans microcarpa, Juglans nigra, Liquidambar styraciflua, Malus domestica, Morus alba, Olea europaea, Platanus occidentalis, Platanus x hispanica, Populus sp., Prunus armeniaca, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Prunus domestica, Prunus dulcis, Prunus persica, Punica granatum, Pyrus communis, Quercus palustris, Quercus virginiana, Salix sp., Sorbus americana, Tilia sp., Ulmus sp.
Damage: Larvae feed under the bark in the cambium layer of trunks and main branches. They enter through openings created by mechanical damage (e.g. pruning wounds), canker diseases, or frost. As larvae feed horizontally, their galleries may girdle trunks and main branches. Larval galleries are filled with frass, gummy exudate may appear on the bark, and reddish frass can accumulate in bark crevices. Infestations have a negative effect on tree vigour, and attacked branches may break with wind or heavy fruit production. When young trees are attacked at the graft union, mortality may be observed. In the 1990s, E. semifuneralis was reported to be the major borer of stone fruits in Michigan, causing up to 33% decline in the life span of sour cherry trees. It is also reported that larvae may carry spores of fungal pathogens (e.g. Cytospora sp., Ceratocystis fimbriata) and contribute to their spread within the tree.
Adult females lay eggs near areas where callous tissue has developed (e.g. pruning wounds, injured bark, graft unions). Eggs are small (0.3-0.5 mm), oval, whitish then turning pink to deep red as they mature. Larvae vary in colour, ranging from greyish green to greyish purple, with a yellow to brown head capsule, and have 7 instars. They pupate under the bark in loosely spun silken cocoons. Adults are light greyish brown moths (wingspan is 17–28 mm) with reddish brown forewings marked by wavy black and brown vertical bands. Depending on climatic conditions the number of generations vary from 2 to 4 per year.
Dissemination: Adult moths can fly (mainly at night), but no data is available on their flight potential. Over long distances, movements of plants for planting and wood can transport the pest.
Pathways: Plants for planting, wood of host plants of E. semifuneralis from countries where it occurs.
Possible risks: Many host plants, in particular Prunus fruit trees are major crops in the EPPO region. Interceptions made by Italy have shown that E. semifuneralis has the potential to enter the EPPO region via trade. Although more data is needed on the current situation in Türkiye, E. semifuneralis has been able to enter the EPPO region. In a pest categorization conducted for the European Union, EFSA (2023) considered that climatic conditions and availability of host plants in some EU countries would allow E. semifuneralis to establish and spread, and that impact in cultivated hosts (such as apples, plums, mulberries, almond, olive and ornamental broadleaf trees) would be expected if the pest was to be introduced into the EU. As a result, E. semifuneralis has been considered as a potential quarantine pest and temporary measures against it have been taken by the EU.
Sources
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