Euwallacea fornicatus

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Not to be confused with Scolytus rugulosus.

Euwallacea fornicatus
Adult female of E. fornicatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Euwallacea
Species:
E. fornicatus
Binomial name
Euwallacea fornicatus
(Eichhoff, 1868)
species in the complex

Tea shot hole borer clade a
Tea shot hole borer clade b
Polyphagous shot hole borer
Kuroshio shot hole borer

Euwallacea fornicatus, also known as tea shot-hole borer, or polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB) is a species complex consisting of multiple cryptic species of ambrosia beetles known as an invasive species in California, Israel, South Africa, and Australia. The species has also been unintentionally introduced into exotic greenhouses in several European countries.

Etymology

See Wallacea, region of Indonesian islands named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.

Common names of the species include tea shot-hole borer[1] and polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB).[2]

History of expansion

The tea shot hole borer has been known to cause devastating damage to tea (Camellia sinensis) in at least ten countries,[1] including India and Sri Lanka where it is a major economic pest.[3]

Since 2007, specimens of E. fornicatus have been documented in Florida on avocado trees. However, it is not considered a health threat because no disease is expressed.[4]

In 2009, specimens matching the description for E. fornicatus were introduced into Israel, where they were documented as vectors of a new fungal plant pathogen in avocado trees. In 2012, similar fungal disease was recorded in avocado trees in California (CA).[5]

The species has also been unintentionally introduced into exotic greenhouses in several European countries.[6]

It was found in South Africa some years before 2022.[7]

Polyphagous shot-hole borer was detected in

Perth, Western Australia, in 2021.[2]

Identification

Adult

Euwallacea fornicatus - lateral view
Lateral view of the adult beetle

Adult females are range between 1.9 and 2.5 mm long. They are bulky, dark brown or black and the frontal edge of the pronotum has a row of saw-like projections.[1] Moreover, specimens have erect setae organized in rows in the elytral declivity with a costa in the posterolateral edge. As many other ambrosia beetles, males are significantly smaller, with non-functional wings.

Larvae

Larvae are similar to all other larvae in the family Curculionidae; legless, c-shaped and a sclerotized head capsule.

Taxonomy

Euwallacea fornicatus is a

Scolytinae: Xyleborini), known as an invasive species in California, Israel and South Africa.[8]

Even though several taxa were historically synonymized under the name E. fornicatus due to morphological similarity, some of these taxa differ in terms of economic severity and host preferences. As such, Euwallacea fornicatus is typically considered a species complex, with several clades that occur in separate regions of

Euwallacea fornicatior, another bearing the resurrected name Euwallacea whitfordiodendrus, and another that had not been named previously, and newly described as Euwallacea kuroshio.[12]

The first two clades, both commonly called the tea shot hole borer, are E. fornicatus and E. fornicatior; these are originally from southern Southeast Asia and introduced into

San Diego county, California, and contains E. kuroshio.[12][14] Its impact has impacted many trees in San Diego County, as far south as the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park.[15]

A fundamental problem remains that the morphological variation within the species of each clade is great enough that there is no character or even combination of characters that can be uniquely used for reliable visual identification of the different taxa; however, their DNA sequences differ by from 11-15%, and appear to be far more reliable for identification.[12] Given that past research (until 2018) has generally assumed a single species was being studied, it is hoped that DNA analyses can now be applied to specimens from earlier studies to identify, post facto, which actual species were being examined, so as to better understand the biology of the different lineages.[12]

Food

As the rest of the ambrosia beetles, E. fornicatus larvae and adults feed on a symbiotic fungus (Fusarium euwallaceae) carried in a specific structure called mycangium.[8] In E. fornicatus, the mycangium is located in the mandible. The combination of massive numbers of beetles with the symbiotic fungus kills trees, even though the fungus alone is a weak pathogen.[9]

Status and management

Euwallacea fornicatus breeds in various live hosts and is considered a severe pest of several economically important plants, such as: tea (

vascular system of the tree, thus depriving it of the ability to transport water and nutrients to its branches and leaves.[10]

The most recommended management strategies include sanitation of infected hosts and avoiding the spread of infected material. Chemical control can be considered in hosts which are not part of human consumption and some attempts of biological control have been made with little success. Moreover, resistant or tolerant varieties are considered an important aspect of the integrated pest management for this pest.[16]

After its recent introduction to South Africa, a 2022 Stellenbosch University study estimated that the potential economic harm.[10] of the pest to be around 18.45 billion international dollars (A$28 billion[10]), or about 0.66% of the South Africa's GDP.[7]

The pest was first detected in

paperbark tree was marked for removal, among others. A quarantine zone has been declared, and people are not allowed to take any plant material out of this zone.[10][17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Li, You; Lucky, Andrea; Hulcr, Jiri (8 July 2015). "Tea Shot-Hole Borer Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff, 1868) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)". University of Florida. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Polyphagous shot-hole borer (Euwallacea fornicatus)". outbreak.gov.au. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  3. ^ Danthanarayana W. 1968. The distribution and host range of the shot-hole borer (Xyleborus fornicatus Eichh.), Tea Quarterly, 39:61-69.
  4. ISSN 0015-4040
    .
  5. ^
    PMID 30722538
    .
  6. ISSN 1387-3547
    .
  7. ^
    Journal of Economic Entomology
    , Volume 115, Issue 4, August 2022, pp. 1076–1086
  8. ^
    S2CID 4440367
    .
  9. ^ a b Smith, S; Hulcr, J (2015). Vega & Hofstetter (ed.). Bark Beetles: Biology and Ecology of Native and Invasive Species. San Diego: Elsevier. pp. 495–532.
  10. ^ a b c d e Perpitch, Nicolas (31 March 2024). "Shot-hole borer wreaking havoc across Perth as experts warn of economic perils should it spread unchecked" (text + video). ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. S2CID 90174089
    .
  12. ^ a b c d Demian F Gomez, James Skelton, M Sedonia Steininger, Richard Stouthamer, Paul Rugman-Jones, Wisut Sittichaya, Robert J Rabaglia, Jiri Hulcr (2018) Species delineation within the Euwallacea fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) complex revealed by morphometric and phylogenetic analyses. Insect Systematics and Diversity 2(6): 2. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixy018
  13. ^ de Beer, Wilhelm. "A tiny beetle and its deadly fungus is threatening South Africa's trees". ENCA. The Conversation. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  14. ^ Kasson, M.T.; O’Donnell, K.; Rooney, A.; Sink, S.; Ploetz, R.; Ploetz, J.N.; et al., 2013. An inordinate fondness for Fusarium: phylogenetic diversity of fusaria cultivated by ambrosia beetles in the genus Euwallacea on avocado and other plant hosts. Fungal Genetic Biology 56, 147–157.
  15. ^ Tjoa, May (25 July 2018). "Tiny Beetle Kills Trees, Ups Fire Risk in San Diego". KNSD. San Diego. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  16. doi:10.1603/ipm11031
    .
  17. ^ Pin, Phoebe (8 January 2024). "Kings Park trees to be removed as authorities race to contain deadly beetle infestation". ABC News. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Polyphagous shot-hole borer". www.agric.wa.gov.au. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
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