Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus and P. pruinosus

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Updated 25 July 2023 ( Version 1 )

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This pest survey card was prepared in the context of the EFSA mandate on plant pest surveillance (M-2020-0114), at the request of the European Commission. Its purpose is to guide the Member States in preparing data and information for surveys for Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus and P. pruinosus. These are required to design statistically sound and risk-based pest surveys in line with current international standards. Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus and P. pruinosus are Union quarantine pests with North and Central American distribution, not known to occur in the EU, and surveys are aimed at substantiating pest freedom. The beetles have a minor impact on their host plants due to direct damage. However, both Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus and P. pruinosus have been described as transmitting Bretziella fagacearum, also Union quarantine pest. Given that, the adult beetles are attracted to unhealthy trees and not necessarily those infected by oak wilt disease, the extent of their competence is not known, and the infection rate is usually low (<1%); P. minutissimus and P. pruinosus are described here as potential vectors of B. fagacearum. Both beetle species mainly colonise species in the family Fagaceae, especially Quercus spp. and Castanea spp. Other tree species belonging to different families are also listed as potential hosts, but records are less common and more uncertain. Detection surveys should target oak and chestnut species, while delimiting surveys should also include the other tree species listed as potential hosts. If introduced, both beetle species are expected to become established in EU Member States where possible oak and non-oak hosts are widespread. A high risk of introduction for both beetle species is via hitchhiking with imports of commodities from the native areas of the beetle and the trade of timber of unregulated hosts (e.g. Carya, Cornus, and Ostrya). Adults of P. minutissimus and P. pruinosus can be caught in traps baited with generic lures (such as alpha-copaene or ethanol), thus the two species can be detected as bycatch in trapping programmes targeting other wood-borers. Gallery systems are also very distinctive and can be used to complement trapping in delimiting surveys. The beetles can be identified morphologically through examination of adult specimens, and identification can be confirmed molecularly through barcoding. Trapping surveys are best conducted during the spring and summer months when the adults fly.

© European Food Safety Authority, 2023

Heading picture: © Andrew J Johnson (Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus)

Authors' affiliation: Kahraman Ipekdal, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE, University of Padova, Italy); Davide Rassati, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE, University of Padova, Italy); Melanie Camilleri, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); Ignazio Graziosi, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Copyright for non-EFSA content: EFSA may include images or other content for which it does not hold copyright. In such cases, EFSA indicates the copyright holder and users should seek permission to reproduce the content from the original source.

The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Food Safety Authority concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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[Copy references from the printable version]

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), Ciubotaru RM, Cortiñas Abrahantes J, Oyedele J, Parnell S, Schrader G, Zancanaro G and Vos S, 2018. Technical report of the methodology and work-plan for developing plant pest survey guidelines. EFSA supporting publication 2018: EN-1399. 36 pp.  doi:10.2903/sp.efsa.2018.EN-1399 

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), Lázaro E, Parnell S, Vicent Civera A, Schans J, Schenk M, Cortiñas Abrahantes J, Zancanaro G and Vos S, 2020. General guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys of plant pests. EFSA supporting publication 2020:EN-1919. 65 pp.  doi:10.2903/sp.efsa.2020.EN-1919 

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FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 2021b. ISPM (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures) 31. Methodologies for sampling of consignments. FAO, 21 pp. Available online:  https://www.ippc.int/en/publications/588/ 

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 2021c. Surveillance guide: A guide to understand the principal requirements of surveillance programmes for national plant protection organizations. Second edition. Rome, FAO on behalf of the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention. Available online:  https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb7139en