Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
European Oak Borer (EOB), Agrilus sulcicollis Lacordaire, 1835 – First Report from Canada.
European Oak Borer (EOB), Agrilus sulcicollis Lacordaire, 1835 – First Report from Canada.
Country: Canada
Title: European Oak Borer (EOB), Agrilus sulcicollis Lacordaire, 1835 – First Report from Canada.
Contact:
Klaus Koehler, Forestry Specialist, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. e-mail: Klaus.Koehler@inspection.gc.ca
Report:
On July 22, 2008, a single adult beetle of Agrilus sulcicollis was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The species was originally collected in August 2006 from traps in the vicinity of London, Ontario. Six days after the first official identification (July 2008) of A. sulcicollis, CFIA entomologists conducted an investigation at the Pinery Provincial Park in Southern Ontario in search of more specimens of this species. No live adult beetles were found, but remnants of two adult beetles, as well as live larvae were collected from oak branches. In January 2009, one live adult of A. sulcicollis was reared from the collected larvae.
These finds represent the first confirmed reports of this species in Canada and indicate that A. sulcicollis is established in oak forests in parts of Southern Ontario. To date, no significant decline in oak forests has been observed in this region. The current European literature suggests that this beetle is highly secondary in nature being associated with stumps, coppice growth, larger branches in the crown of old trees, and previously defoliated stands or otherwise stressed trees.
This latest find of A. sulcicollis adds to the eight non-native Agrilus species that are now known to have been accidentally introduced into various parts of Canada and the United States from the Asia Pacific Region.
A. sulcicollis is native to most Europe, except its northernmost parts. In the Balkan Peninsula and part of Asia, it is substituted by A. buresi, which may represent a subspecies of A. sulcicollis. In its native Europe, the principal host plants of A. sulcicollis are various species of oak: Quercus cerris, Q conferta, Q frainetto, Q petreae, Q pubescens, Q robur and Q suber. Alternate known host plants include Fagus sylvatica, Carpinus betulus and Castanea sp.
Current Status of the identified pest in Canada: Present in one part of Canada (Southern Ontario).
Regulatory status of the pest in Canada: Under review.
Note: report revised on 23 Feb., 2009.
Posted Date: Feb. 13, 2009, 9 a.m.