Pest categorisation of Urocerus japonicus Bragard, Claude; Baptista, Paula; Chatzivassiliou, Elisavet ...
EFSA journal,
January 2023, Volume:
21, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Urocerus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), the Japanese horntail, for the territory of the EU. U. japonicus is not listed in Annex ...II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 but was identified as an actionable pest in a commodity risk assessment of Pinus thunbergii artificially dwarfed plants from Japan. U. japonicus occurs across Japan and on the Korean Peninsula. It attacks fallen or weakened Japanese cedars, Cryptomeria japonica and Japanese cypresses, Chamaecyparis obtusa. It has also been observed attacking Pinus spp., Abies spp., Larix kaempferi and Picea jezoensis. The females oviposit into the sapwood. Eggs are deposited together with a symbiotic basidiomycete fungus, Amylostereum laevigatum. The larvae feed on wood infected by the fungus. All immature stages live in the hosts sapwood. The lifecycle of the pest lasts 1 year, sometimes 2 years. The wood of the host trees is discoloured by the fungus and therefore loses much of its economic value. U. japonicus can be carried in conifer wood, solid wood packaging material (SWPM) or plants for planting. Wood from Japan is regulated by 2019/2072 (Annexes VII and XI) whilst SWPM is managed by ISPM 15. The pathway plants for planting is largely closed by prohibition, with the exception of Cryptomeria spp. and specified bonsai plants for planting. Climatic conditions in several EU Member States are conducive for establishment, but the main host plants are not very common in those areas, being only amenity trees, although the other hosts mentioned in the literature, Pinus spp., Abies spp., Picea spp. and Larix spp., are widespread. The introduction of U. japonicus is likely to decrease the quality of host wood, as in Japan. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and further spread, and there is a potential for biological control. U. japonicus satisfies all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
Pine wilt disease is one of the most serious introduced threats to coniferous forests worldwide. Its causal agent, the pinewood nematode (PWN),
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
, is vectored primarily by ...cerambycids of the genus
Monochamus
Dejean throughout its native (North America) and introduced (Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Portugal) ranges. Despite strict import regulations and phytosanitary measures, interception records indicate that PWN and
Monochamus
species continue to be moved worldwide. Following its introduction in Portugal in the late 1990s, extensive monitoring programs for PWN and its vectors have been conducted throughout the European Union, using locally developed and tested lures and traps. The trapping system developed in Europe and used in this study is composed of a Crosstrap
®
and Galloprotect Pack
®
lures. These trapping systems were deployed in two locations in the USA, two locations in Canada, and one location in China in order to test their capacity to detect
Monochamus
species exotic to Europe. Large numbers of
M. carolinensis, M. mutator, M. notatus, M. s. scutellatus, M. clamator
, and
M. titillator
were trapped in North America, while large numbers of
M. alternatus
were trapped in China. The trapping systems developed in Europe for monitoring the European
Monochamus
species are also effective for the detection of many exotic
Monochamus
species and could thus be used as an early detection tool in ports and other high-risk sites.
Pest categorisation of Diaprepes abbreviatus Bragard, Claude; Baptista, Paula; Chatzivassiliou, Elisavet ...
EFSA journal,
November 2023, 2023-11-00, 20231101, 2023-11-01, Volume:
21, Issue:
11
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of the citrus root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for the European Union (EU) following the commodity ...risk assessment of Ligustrum delavayanum topiary grafted on L. japonicum plants from the UK in which D. abbreviatus was identified as a relevant non‐regulated EU pest which could potentially enter the EU. This species is native to the Caribbean and was introduced to the continental USA in 1964, to Gran Canaria (Spain) in 2014 and to Madeira Island (Portugal) in 2018. It is a polyphagous insect, associated with more than 270 species in 60 plant families. Female D. abbreviatus can lay up to 5,000 eggs in clusters within leaves folded and glued together. Neonate larvae drop off the leaves onto the ground and enter the soil, where they feed on roots for several months. The mature larvae pupate in the soil. After emergence, adults usually stay on the first host plant they encounter and can move long distances on nursery stock. D. abbreviatus is not a regulated pest in the EU. It could enter and spread within the EU via the import and movement of host plants for planting, cut flowers and soil. Some host plants for planting (e.g. Vitis spp., Citrus spp.), and soil are prohibited from entering the EU from countries where this weevil is known to occur. The import of other host plants for planting and cut flowers is subject to phytosanitary certificate and that of soil attached to machinery is regulated. Host availability and climate suitability suggest that the southernmost coastal areas of southern EU MSs would be suitable for establishment of D. abbreviatus. Temporary establishment in greenhouses in other EU territories would be possible. The introduction of D. abbreviatus would likely cause impacts. Measures to prevent entry, spread and impact are available. D. abbreviatus satisfies all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
Pest categorisation of Mimela testaceipes Bragard, Claude; Baptista, Paula; Chatzivassiliou, Elisavet ...
EFSA journal,
November 2023, Volume:
21, Issue:
11
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Mimela testaceipes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), the striated chafer, for the EU, following a commodity risk assessment of dwarfed ...Pinus parviflora grafted onto P. thunbergii from China in which M. testaceipes was identified as a pest of possible concern to the EU. M. testaceipes occurs in Japan, northeast China, Far East Russia, South Korea and very likely North Korea. Adults are recognised pests feeding on and damaging the needles of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) which are important forestry trees where the pest currently occurs. It has adapted to feed on the needles of Pinus species introduced into its native area, such as P. taeda, which is native to southeastern USA although M. testaceipes is not regarded as a significant pest of pines. Larvae are reported to cause root damage to grasses, as well as conifers. Eggs are usually laid in grassy soils by females that develop on conifer species. Larvae develop in the soil feeding on the roots of grasses or conifer hosts. Larvae overwinter in the soil and take 2 or 3 years to develop. In principle soil, host plants for planting and cut branches with foliage could provide pathways into the EU. However, prohibitions on the import of soil and hosts such as Chamaecyparis, Larix and Pinus regulate such pathways into the EU. Nevertheless, certain dwarfed Pinus spp. from Japan are provided with a derogation for entry into the EU. In addition, the host C. japonica is unregulated and could also provide a pathway. Hosts occur in the EU in climate zones that match those where M. testaceipes occurs in Asia. If M. testaceipes were to enter the EU, conditions in central and northern EU are conducive to establishment. Following establishment, impacts on Japanese cedar, Japanese cypress and Japanese larch would be expected; it is possible that M. testaceipes could adapt to feed on Pinus and Larix species growing in Europe. M. testaceipes satisfies the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Lepidosaphes pineti Borchsenius the pine oyster scale, Lepidosaphes pini (Maskell) the Oriental pine scale and Lepidosaphes piniphila ...Borchsenius (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) for the EU, following a commodity risk assessment of dwarfed Pinus parviflora grafted onto P. thunbergii from China in which the three Lepidosaphes species were identified as pests of possible concern to the EU. All three species are native to Asia. L. pineti is only known from China; L. piniphila occurs in China, Japan and Malaysia; and L. pini is present in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and has been introduced to the USA. All three species feed primarily on Pinus spp., including several important forestry and ornamental trees, and L. pineti and L. pini have adapted to feed on North American species of pine. L. pineti also feeds on Torreya grandis; L. pini on Abies sp., Cunninghamia lanceolata, Cycas spp., Podocarpus spp., Taxus sp. and Torreya sp.; and L. piniphila on Podocarpus spp. and T. grandis. All developmental stages occur on the foliage. Host plants for planting and cut branches with foliage could provide pathways into the EU. However, prohibitions on the import of Pinus close the main pathway. Certain dwarfed Pinus spp. from Japan are provided with a derogation for entry into the EU. The main hosts (Pinus spp.) occur throughout the EU in climate zones that match those where the three Lepidosaphes species occur in Asia. If any of the three Lepidosaphes species were to enter the EU, conditions in most of the EU are conducive to establishment. Following establishment, impacts on pines by L. pineti and L. pini would be expected. There are no published reports of L. piniphila causing damage to pine. L. pineti and L. pini satisfy the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for them to be regarded as potential Union quarantine pests. L. piniphila does not satisfy the criteria, as there is no evidence that it is harmful; however, there is a key uncertainty regarding whether it is synonymous with a closely related species, L. pitysophila, which is recorded as a pest of pine in China.
The effect of low temperature acclimation and diet on the supercooling point (SCP, the temperature at which the insect’s body fluids freeze) and lethal time (LTime, time required to kill 50 % of the ...population at a temperature of 5 °C) of the mealybug destroyer, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was assessed in the laboratory. The SCP of acclimated adult ladybirds which were allowed to complete development to adulthood at 18 °C and a 8:16(L:D)h photoperiod, or at 25 °C and a 16:8(L:D)h photoperiod, and which were subsequently kept at 10 °C and a 12:12(L:D)h photoperiod for seven days, was −17.4 and −16.8 °C, respectively. These SCP-values were approximately 7 °C lower than the value of −9.9 °C for non-acclimated ladybirds maintained at a temperature of 25 °C and a photoperiod of 16:8(L:D)h throughout development and in the first week of their adult life. Also food source had a significant effect on the freezing temperature of C. montrouzieri: the SCP of ladybirds fed the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso)(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), was 1.6 °C higher than the value of −17.2 °C observed for ladybirds provided with eggs of the flour moth Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). However, neither cold acclimation nor diet had a significant effect on the lethal times of C. montrouzieri. Overall, the time required to kill 50 % of the population at a temperature of 5 °C ranged from 12.8 days for ladybirds fed P. citri mealybugs to 14.4 days for ladybirds fed E. kuehniella eggs. All individuals exposed to a constant 5 °C had died by day 24. Based on the results from this laboratory study, it is deemed unlikely that C. montrouzieri could establish outdoors in western Europe, and it is therefore expected to pose little risk to non-target species in this area when used as an augmentative biological control agent.
The EFSA Plant Health Panel performed a pest categorisation of Setoptus parviflorae (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Phytoptidae) for the European Union (EU). This mite is not listed in Annex II of Commission ...Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It is known to occur in the Nanjing Botanical Garden (China) on Pinus parviflora. This is its only known host plant and location. The mite occurs on the needles and in the needle sheaths. Details about its life cycle are mostly unknown. Plants for planting, including dwarfed plants, of P. parviflora are the main potential pathway for entry into the EU. However, plants of the genus Pinus other than fruit and seeds are mostly prohibited from entering the EU (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072). The host, P. parviflora, can be found in temperate‐zone gardens and arboreta, and is a popular tree for bonsai in the EU. Although the Köppen–Geiger climate type Cfa (humid subtropical), which occurs in Nanjing, can be found in the EU, the growing conditions of P. parviflora at the Nanjing Botanical Garden were not reported. This adds uncertainty about where in the EU this mite could establish, most probably on ornamental P. parviflora. There is no evidence of impact of S. parviflorae. Measures to prevent entry and spread are available. S. parviflorae does not satisfy all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest, as there is no evidence of impact.
Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with alteplase or tenecteplase before mechanical thrombectomy is the recommended treatment for large-vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke. There are divergent data on ...whether these agents differ in terms of early recanalization (ER) rates before mechanical thrombectomy, and little data on their potential differences stratified by ER predictors such as IVT to ER evaluation (IVT-to-ER
) time, occlusion site and thrombus length.
We retrospectively compared the likelihood of ER after IVT with tenecteplase or alteplase in anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke patients from the PREDICT-RECANAL (alteplase) and Tenecteplase Treatment in Ischemic Stroke (tenecteplase) French multicenter registries. ER was defined as a modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b-3 on the first angiographic run, or noninvasive vascular imaging in patients with early neurological improvement. Analyses were based on propensity score overlap weighting (leading to exact balance in patient history, stroke characteristics, and initial management between groups) and confirmed with adjusted logistic regression (sensitivity analysis). A stratified analysis based on pre-established ER predictors (IVT-to-ER
time, occlusion site, and thrombus length) was conducted.
Overall, 1865 patients were included. ER occurred in 156/787 (19.8%) and 199/1078 (18.5%) patients treated with tenecteplase or alteplase, respectively (odds ratio, 1.09 95% CI, 0.83-1.44;
=0.52). A differential effect of tenecteplase versus alteplase on the probability of ER according to thrombus length was observed (
=0.003), with tenecteplase being associated with higher odds of ER in thrombi >10 mm (odds ratio, 2.43 95% CI, 1.02-5.81;
=0.04). There was no differential effect of tenecteplase versus alteplase on the likelihood of ER according to the IVT-to-ER
time (
=0.40) or occlusion site (
=0.80).
Both thrombolytics achieved ER in one-fifth of patients with large-vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke without significant interaction with IVT-to-ER
time and occlusion site. Compared with alteplase, tenecteplase was associated with a 2-fold higher likelihood of ER in larger thrombi.
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Didesmococcus unifasciatus (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccidae) for the EU following commodity risk assessments of Malus domestica ...(apple), Prunus dulcis (almond) and P. persica (peach) plants for planting from Türkiye in which D. unifasciatus was identified as a pest that could potentially enter the EU. It was first described in Uzbekistan and is widely distributed in Central and Western Asia, including Türkiye (where it was recently reported as limited to the Hakkari and Diyarbakir regions in the Asian part of the country). It has not been reported within the EU. It is not listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It completes one generation per year; a female lays between 1,500 and 2,400 eggs. It feeds on several important fruit trees of the family Rosaceae (e.g. P. dulcis, M. domestica), as well as Ficus carica and Ulmus sp. Most of its hosts are widely cultivated in the EU. Woody plants for planting and cut branches are the main potential pathways for entry of D. unifasciatus into the EU. Climatic conditions and availability of host plants would likely allow this species to establish and spread in southern parts of the EU. Just as in other invaded areas, the presence of many of its natural enemies in the EU is likely to prevent the scale from becoming an economic or environmental pest. Nevertheless, phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and spread. Considering the weight of evidence, D. unifasciatus does not meet all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for this species to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Pochazia shantungensis (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Ricaniidae) for the EU following commodity risk assessments of Malus domestica, ...Prunus persica, P. dulcis and Robinia pseudoacacia plants for planting from Türkiye in which P. shantungensis was identified as a pest that could potentially enter the EU. The native range of P. shantungensis is China (Shaanxi, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces), but around 2010, the species entered the Republic of Korea and rapidly spread. Small and localised populations were also recently found in Türkiye (Marmara) and southern Russia (Krasnodyarskiy kray). Within the EU, a few individuals have been recorded in Italy (Pistoia province, Tuscany), in one locality in southern France (Alpes‐Maritimes), in the Netherlands (Western Netherlands) and in one garden in Germany (Baden‐Württemberg) where it was eradicated. P. shantungensis is not listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It is polyphagous, feeding on plants belonging to more than 200 species including many crop and ornamental plants. Economically important hosts in the EU include apple (M. domestica), citrus (Citrus spp.), walnut (Castanea sp.) and ornamentals such as hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.) and camellia (Camellia japonica), as well as forest trees, mostly deciduous. In the Republic of Korea, the species has one generation per year. It overwinters as eggs and goes through five nymphal instars. Its impact is due to oviposition obstructing the vascular system of its hosts, depletion of the host resources and egestion of honeydew promoting the development of sooty moulds. Plants for planting constitute the main pathway for entry into the EU and for spread. Climatic conditions in southern EU countries and host plant availability in those areas would allow establishment and spread. The introduction of P. shantungensis is expected to have an economic impact in the EU through the reduction in yield, quality and commercial value of fruits and ornamental plants. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and further spread. P. shantungensis meets the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
