EFSA Journal (2022) 20 (6 - e07398)

EFSA Panel on Plant Health (PLH), Claude Bragard, Paula Baptista, Elisavet Chatzivassiliou, Francesco Di Serio, Paolo Gonthier, Josep Anton Jaques Miret, Annemarie Fejer Justesen, Christer Sven Magnusson, Panagiotis Milonas, Juan A. Navas-Cortes, Stephen Parnell, Roel Potting, Philippe Lucien Reignault, Emilio Stefani, Hans-Hermann Thulke, Wopke Van der Werf, Antonio Vicent Civera, Jonathan Yuen, Lucia Zappalà, Jean-Claude Grégoire, Chris Malumphy, Virag Kertesz, Andrea Maiorano and Alan MacLeod (2022)
Pest categorisation of Platypus apicalis
EFSA Journal 20 (6 - e07398)
Abstract: The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Platypus apicalis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae), an ambrosia beetle, also known as a pinhole borer, for the EU territory. P. apicalis is a polyphagous pest native to New Zealand. The majority of its life cycle is spent inside tree wood, but it does not directly feed on plant tissue, instead larvae and adults feed on a symbiotic fungus (Sporothrix nothofagi which is pathogenic to Nothofagus spp.) vectored by adults and introduced when they bore tunnels into the host. P. apicalis feeds within a wide range of live, often stressed trees, in dead or dying hardwood and softwood trees, and fallen or felled trees. Successful reproduction can occur inside a number of living tree species including Castanea sativa, Pinus spp. and Ulmus spp. P. apicalis is not known to have established outside of New Zealand although findings have been reported in Australia. Whilst there are no records of interceptions of this species in the EU, platypodines are intercepted with solid wood packing material (SWPM) and Platypus species, but not P. apicalis, have been intercepted with wooden logs in Japan. Host plants for planting also provide a potential pathway. Hosts are grown widely across the EU in areas with climates comparable to those in New Zealand where the pest occurs suggesting that conditions in the EU are suitable for its establishment. If introduced into the EU, adults could disperse naturally by flight, perhaps tens or hundreds of metres. The movement of infested wood and host plants for planting within the EU could facilitate spread. Economic impacts in forestry and timber industries would result from the galleries created by P. apicalis and from wood staining caused by the symbiotic fungus. Phytosanitary measures are available to inhibit the entry of P. apicalis. P. apicalis satisfies the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.
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Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Claude Bragard, Elisavet K. Chatzivassiliou, Francesco Di Serio, Paolo Gonthier, Panagiotis G. Milonas, Juan A. Navas-Cortes, Philippe Reignault, Emilio Stefani, Wopke van der Werf, Jonathan Yuen, Lucia Zappala, Jean-Claude Grégoire, Chris Malumphy, Alan MacLeod

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
review
quarantine treatments/regulations/aspects

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Platypus apicalis	Chestnut (Castanea)	New Zealand
	Platypus apicalis	Elm (Ulmus)	New Zealand
	Platypus apicalis	Pine (Pinus)	New Zealand