A Coordinated, Risk-Based, National Forest Biosecurity Surveillance Program for Australian Forests

Australia has a comprehensive plant biosecurity system, with the Australian Government responsible for pre-border (e.g., off-shore compliance) and border (e.g., import inspections) activities, while state governments undertake a variety of post-border activities (e.g., post-border surveillance, management of pest incursions, and regulation of pests) designed to reduce alien pest and pathogen arrival and establishment. Once an alien pest or pathogen has established and spread, its management becomes the responsibility of the land manager. There has been a growing understanding among plant industries of the need to be more engaged in post-border biosecurity activities, including resourcing and undertaking early detection surveillance and contingency planning. Here we summarize Australia’s broader plant biosecurity system along with current forest-specific biosecurity surveillance activities. We describe the development of a proposed forest biosecurity partnership between the Australian Government, state governments and the forest sector to establish a post-border, risk-based National Forest Pest Surveillance Program. We outline why there is a recognized need for such a program, how it would improve biosecurity outcomes in relation to forests, its component activities, and key stakeholders and beneficiaries.

First record from Calabria (southern Italy) of the “bronze bug” Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellapé, 2006, alien Eucalyptus pest native to Australia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae)

The occurrence in Calabria (southern Italy) of Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellapé, 2006, alien pest on various species of Eucalyptus, native to Australia, is reported for the first time. The first specimens were collected in September 2019; later the authors found feeding damage on the leaves, eggs batches and the various stages of the insect in various localities in Reggio Calabria (Italy). Notes on its distribution and biology are reported.

Minimum Winter Temperature as a Limiting Factor of the Potential Spread of Agrilus planipennis, an Alien Pest of Ash Trees, in Europe

The emerald ash borer, EAB (Agrilus planipennis) is a devastating alien pest of ash trees. It is spreading in European Russia and Ukraine and will appear in other European countries. Our aim was to determine the regions of Europe where the winter temperature drops low enough to prevent A. planipennis establishment. We calculated the minimum daily air temperature from 2003–2019 for each grid square (0.5° × 0.5°) in East Asia, North America and Europe and determined the minimum daily temperature in the grid squares where A. planipennis was recorded. Temperatures of −30 to −33 °C occur in the northern portions of the pest range on all continents. No established population has been recorded in localities where temperatures below −34 °C occur. This temperature is close to the absolute supercooling point of A. planipennis larva (−35.3 °C). It is unlikely that low temperatures could prevent the spread of A. planipennis in northern Western Europe (Sweden, Norway, Finland, etc.), since the temperature in this area did not fall to −34 °C from 2003–2019. However, such temperatures are not rare in eastern European Russia (Kostroma, Vologda, Orenburg regions, etc.), where Fraxinus pennsylvanica and F. excelsior occur. These regions could potentially become refuges for these ash species.

Parasitism and phenology of Dasineura mali (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Canadian apple (Rosaceae) orchards

The apple leaf midge, Dasineura mali (Kieffer) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), an invasive alien pest established for many years in Nova Scotia, Canada, has invaded Ontario and British Columbia, Canada apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen; Rosaceae) orchards, damaging growing tips of trees. Molecular analysis indicated that Nova Scotia populations are genetically different from Ontario and British Columbia populations. Pheromone trap captures, oviposition on growing apple terminals, and the incidence of third instars indicate three D. mali generations in each province. Platygaster demades Walker (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), released in Nova Scotia in 1993, parasitised 34% of the third midge generation in that province and was reared from D. mali for the first time in 2016 in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Lyrcus nigroaeneus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) parasitised up to 21% of D. mali in southwestern Ontario. Synopeas myles (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) was recorded from D. mali for the first time, one specimen in each of Nova Scotia and Ontario, and was the most important parasitoid in British Columbia. Synopeas myles parasitism in Okanagan and Similkameen, British Columbia orchards increased from 0% to a mean of 30% of D. mali larvae from 2014 to 2016. Other minor parasitoids included Platygaster tuberosula Kieffer (Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae) in all three provinces and Aphanogmus vicinus Förster (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronidae) in British Columbia.

Biosecurity risks of invasive alien insect pest species pathways through shared borders with Nigeria

Understanding the biosecurity risks that invasive alien insect pest species currently ravaging forest trees pose is of great importance to forest ecosystems and health. This problem has posed significant challenges to researchers, relevant stakeholders, policy makers and national biosecurity agencies worldwide. This study gives an overview of the top 15 suspected insect pest species most likely to invade or have already invaded forested habitats in order to disrupt ecosystem services and biodiversity within the borders of Nigeria through borderline states (Gombe, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Cross River and Lagos). For Nigeria as a whole, all of these top 15 pest species have already established, with identified intra- border line states having no significant effect on severity of invasions ( F1,6=0.07, P=0.910) when compared to identified inter-border line states. This study concludes that the immediate biosecurity risks from already identified invasive insect pests are greater from outside country (inter) borders of Nigeria than within state-to-state (intra) borders of Nigeria. Our findings have potentially significant implications for immediate implementation of national biosecurity forest policy Acts in compliance with Cartagena and Nagoya protocols, emphasizing the need to initiate and implement biosecurity measures simultaneously with any ongoing trans-national border interventions. Keywords: Biosecurity, invasive alien pest species, forests, Nigeria

The state of four-eyed fir bark beetle population and its role in the forests of the northeastern part of the «Kuznetsk Alatau» Reserve (Kemerovo Oblast)

Опасный инвазионный вредитель пихты сибирской уссурийский полиграф Polygraphus proximus Blandf. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Scolytinae) впервые обнаружен на территории заповедника Кузнецкий Алатау . Комплекс основных показателей популяции инвайдера в среднегорных пихтовых древостоях северовосточной части заповедника характеризует его численность как стабильно низкую. Доля деревьев, заселенных P. proximus и отработанных с его участием, в разных древостоях составляла 4,6 9,7 от общего числа отмирающих и погибших деревьев. Средняя плотность поселения родительского поколения 1,91,4 семей/дм2, суммарная длина маточных ходов в семье 6,32,1 см, средняя плодовитость самки 53,314,5 яиц средняя плотность молодого поколения жуков 1610,0 шт./дм2, средний коэффициент размножения 6,64,7. Основным фактором, определяющим низкий уровень численности уссурийского полиграфа в районе исследований, являются погодноклиматические условия частые и обильные осадки, препятствующие лету жуков в период расселения, короткий вегетационный период в горных районах, ограничивающий развитие второго поколения. Низкая численность P. proximus также обусловлена недостаточным кормовым ресурсом вследствие преобладания в древостоях здоровых и незначительно ослабленных деревьев и высокой активностью специализированных хищных энтомофагов рода Medetera. Роль уссурийского полиграфа в лесах северовосточной части заповедника Кузнецкий Алатау заключается в отработке естественного отпада пихты сибирской совместно с местными стволовыми дендрофагами, среди которых главное значение принадлежит черному пихтовому усачу Monochamus urussovi Fisсh. Foureyedfir bark beetle Polygraphus proximus Blandf. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Scolytinae), a dangerous invasive pest of Siberian fir, was noticed on the Kuznetsk Alatau Reserves territory for the first time. The complex of analyzed basic parameters of the alien pest population characterizes its abundance in the middle mountain fir stands of the northeastern part of the reserve as consistently low. The proportion of trees colonized by P. proximus and killed with its participation in different stands made up for 4.6 9.7 of the total number of dying and dead trees. The average density of the parent generation was 1.91.4 families/dm the total length of the maternal galleries per family is 6.32.1 cm the average fecundity of the female was 53.314.5 eggs. The average density of the young generation was 1610.0 beetles/dm the average breeding rate was 6.64.7. The main factor determining the low level of P. proximus population in the study area is weather and climatic conditions such as: frequent and heavy rainfalls that impede beetles during the period of dispersal flight and short vegetation season in mountainous areas, which limits the development of the second generation. The low population rate of the alien pest can also be explained by the prevalence of healthy and slightly weakened trees in the stands and high abundance of the specialized predator flies of the Medetera genus. Foureyed fir bark beetle in the forests of the northeastern part of the Kuznetsk Alatau Reserve involved in the process of elimination of weakened Siberian fir trees together with aboriginal stem dendrophagous insects, among which the main importance belongs to the longhorn beetle Monochamus urussovi Fisсh.

Current range of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, an alien pest of ash trees, in European Russia and Ukraine

ContextThe first detection of A. planipennis in European Russia was in Moscow in 2003, when it began to spread.AimTo determine the range of A. planipennis as of 2020.MethodsIn 2017-2020, our Russian-Ukrainian research team examined >7000 F. pennsylvanica trees and >2500 F. excelsior trees in 84 localities of European Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.ResultsThe current range exceeds the area of Spain and includes the Luhansk region of Ukraine and 16 regions of ER: Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Orel, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Tver, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl. Agrilus planipennis was not detected in Belarus. The overwhelming majority of the infestations were found on F. pennsylvanica. All known cases of infestation of the native species (F. excelsior) are from artificial plantings.ConclusionAgrilus planipennis will appear in other European countries soon and damage F. pennsylvanica. Further surveys are necessary to determine whether A. planipennis infests F. excelsior in forests.