Pest survey card on Thaumatotibia leucotreta

Abstract

This pest survey card was prepared in the context of the EFSA mandate on plant pest surveillance (M‐2017‐0137) at the request of the European Commission. Its purpose is to guide the Member States in preparing data and information for Thaumatotibialeucotreta surveys. These are required to design statistically sound and risk‐based pest surveys, in line with current international standards.Thaumatotibialeucotreta is a clearly defined taxonomic entity,currently absent from the EU and surveys would thus be aimed at substantiating pest freedom. In the EU, T. leucotretais expected to be able to become established outdoors in the southernmost parts and indoors in other areas where susceptiblecrops are grown in greenhouses only if there is a year‐round availability of fruit. The most likely introduction of T.leucotreta would be via transport of infested fruit or cut flowers. Imports of fruit of the major host plants iscurrently subject to specific measures aiming to prevent entry of the pest into the EU.Thaumatotibialeucotreta is a moderate disperser; the maximum annual spread distance is estimated to be approximately 1.5 km. Thaumatotibialeucotreta is a highly polyphagous species and a large number of hosts are cultivated in the EU. The recommended hosts for detection surveys in the EU would be the main hosts that are grown on a large scale (e.g. Capsicum spp., Citrus spp. and Prunus spp.). Surveys should be based on a trapping strategy and target the adult moths. Both morphological and molecular methods are available for the identification of the pest.

Assessment of the probability of introduction of Thaumatotibia leucotreta into the European Union with import of cut roses

“…A description of the biology of T. leucotreta is provided in the EFSA pest survey card (EFSA, 2020 ) with additional details in Adom and Fening ( 2021 ) and Mkiga et al. ( 2019 ).…”

“…It also has to be considered that the likelihood of mating will decrease with decreasing size of the flower bunch, but it will increase when several infested bunches would simultaneously occur during a suitable period (e.g. in the first 10 days of the female adult stage when the majority of eggs are laid [Daiber, 1980 ; Mkiga et al., 2019 ; EFSA, 2020 ]) within a suitable area (i.e. a radius of 1 km, flying radius of T. leucotreta males responding to females [EFSA, 2020 ]) (see also Sections 3.4.3 and 3.4.4 ).…”

“…in the first 10 days of the female adult stage when the majority of eggs are laid [Daiber, 1980 ; Mkiga et al., 2019 ; EFSA, 2020 ]) within a suitable area (i.e. a radius of 1 km, flying radius of T. leucotreta males responding to females [EFSA, 2020 ]) (see also Sections 3.4.3 and 3.4.4 ).…”

“…To assess the transfer to a suitable host of the T. leucotreta adults escaped from the cut roses pathway, the Panel considered that the adults life span for T. leucotreta is ca. 2 weeks (Mkiga et al., 2019 ), and the majority of eggs are laid within the first 10 days of female adult stage (Daiber, 1980 ; Mkiga et al., 2019 ; EFSA, 2020 ); the area covered by males responding to calling females would be a circle with radius of ~ 1 km; given a sex ratio of approximately one male: two females, but at least one female and one male would be needed for a successful mating in a particular location; private gardens are mostly located in residential areas. Therefore, to provide an indication of the average number of adults escaping from cut roses that can mate within the flight distance reported for this species, the average number of adult escapes was also standardised to an area of 3.14 km 2 over 10 days in the residential area of each NUTS2 region.…”

Important alien and potential native invasive insect pests of key fruit trees in Sub-Saharan Africa: advances in sustainable pre- and post-harvest management approaches

“…Opinion classifies T. leucotreta as an ineffective invader owing to the number of years it has been established in Israel but without any reports of its occurrence in countries neighboring Israel (CABI 2021b). It is estimated that the pest is only able to disperse about 1.5 km per cropping season hence it has been considered as a moderate disperser (Loomans et al 2020). However, owing to its ability to adapt, and polyphagous feeding habits it poses a huge potential risk to habitats outside its native range (Gilligan et al 2011).…”