Pest categorisation of Xylotrechus chinensis.

Abstract

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Xylotrechus chinensis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) for the EU territory. This species is not included in the EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. X. chinensis is native to China, Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. It has recently been reported from Spain (Catalonia; Region of Valencia), Greece (Athens; Crete) and France (Hérault; Gironde). X. chinensis attacks and kills Morus spp. in Europe and is also a pest of Malus domestica, Pyrus sp. and Vitis vinifera in Asia. This last species, however, was not confirmed as a host in an experimental study in Spain. The pest is univoltine. The adults are 1.5–2.5 cm long; they emerge between May and August. Each female produces approximately 80 eggs which are laid on the bark. The larvae live in the phloem and tunnel into the xylem where they pupate. Infested trees show injuries including longitudinal slits in the bark, caused by larval activity next to the surface and round exit holes from which frass emerges. The females respond to a male sex pheromone, which has not been developed into a detection method. The adults spread by flight as suggested by the local expansion of damage in Europe. However, wood packaging material and wooden objects can also be a pathway as suggested by interceptions in Germany and the USA. In Greece and Spain, hundreds of Morus trees have already been attacked within a few years, and often killed. The infested area has been observed to expand from 44 to 380 km2 within 2 years in Spain (Catalonia). Phytosanitary measures are available to inhibit further introductions and slow the spread within the EU. X. chinensis satisfies all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.