Open AccessPest categorisation of Amathynetoides nitidiventris
Author(s) -
Bragard Claude,
Baptista Paula,
Chatzivassiliou Elisavet,
Di Serio Francesco,
Gonthier Paolo,
Jaques Miret Josep Anton,
Justesen Annemarie Fejer,
Magnusson Christer Sven,
Milonas Panagiotis,
NavasCortes Juan A.,
Parnell Stephen,
Potting Roel,
Reignault Philippe Lucien,
Stefani Emilio,
Thulke HansHermann,
Van der Werf Wopke,
Vicent Civera Antonio,
Yuen Jonathan,
Zappalà Lucia,
Grégoire JeanClaude,
Malumphy Chris,
Kertesz Virag,
Maiorano Andrea,
MacLeod Alan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
efsa journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.076
H-Index - 97
ISSN - 1831-4732
DOI - 10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7396
Subject(s) - pest analysis , european union , quarantine , biology , crop , voltinism , weevil , host (biology) , phytosanitary certification , biosecurity , european commission , agronomy , larva , ecology , horticulture , business , international trade
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed the pest categorisation of the ulluco weevil, Amathynetoides nitidiventris (Hustache), for the EU territory. This species is not included in EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. However, its only substantiated host, ulluco ( Ullucus tuberosus ), is included in Annex I of Regulation EU 2018/2019 as a high risk plant prohibited from entering the EU, pending risk assessment. In its native Andean region, A. nitidiventris is univoltine, with a lifecycle highly synchronised with the phenology of its host, reproduction and development take place during the development of tubers. Oviposition occurs in the soil. Larvae feed by tunnelling into the tubers, which most of them abandon to pupate in the soil. A minority pupates in the tubers. Because adult A. nitidiventris are often found in other crops due to crop rotations and crop associations, this species has been mistakenly identified as a pest of other crops. In principle soil and tubers of ulluco could provide a pathway for A. nitidiventris into the EU. However, the soil pathway is closed and ulluco tubers are regulated as high risk plants. There are no EU records of interception. Should this weevil enter the EU, the rarity of its host, which is not known to be cultivated in EU MSs, would hamper establishment, spread, and impact. As a consequence, A. nitidiventris does not satisfy all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest. The criteria that are not met are the potential for establishment, spread, and economic or environmental consequences in the EU.