PM 7/156 (1) Aromia bungii

Specific scope: This Standard describes a diagnostic protocol for Aromia bungii.1 This Standard should be used in conjunction with PM 7/76 Use of EPPO diagnostic protocols.

Specific approval and amendment: First approved in 2023–12. Authors and contributors are given in the Acknowledgements section.

Aromia bungii also known as red necked longhorn beetle is native to East Asia. It is recorded in China, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam (EPPO, 2022). It has been recently introduced into Japan where it was first detected in 2012 (Tamura & Shoda-Kagaya, 2022) and into Europe where established populations have been present in Italy since 2010 (Garonna et al., 2013) and in Germany since 2011 (Burmeister et al., 2012). The species has also been intercepted in the United Kingdom in 2008 (Reid & Cannon, 2010) and a single adult specimen was found in Spain in 2018 (Otero & Cobo, 2018) without evidence of establishment (EPPO, 2019).

Aromia bungii is an oligophagous wood borer of Prunus species. In its native area of distribution, the main hosts are Prunus armeniaca (apricot), P. persica (peach), P. domestica (plum) and P. avium (cherry). Other confirmed hosts are P. americana, P. grayana, P. japonica, P. mume, P. pseudocerasus, P. salicina and P. yedoensis. Other tree species have been reported as potential hosts for A. bungii, such as Diospyros kaki, D. lotus, D. virginiana and Punica granatum but these records are unconfirmed (EFSA, 2019).

Further details on the biology of A. bungii are available in Russo et al. (2020), in the EPPO Datasheet (EPPO, 2022) as well as in the EFSA Pest Survey Card (EFSA, 2019).

Figure 1 shows the diagnostic procedure for A. bungii.

Name: Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835).

Other scientific names: Cerambyx bungii Faldermann, 1835; Aromia bungi (Faldermann, 1835); Aromia cyanicornis Guérin-Méneville, 1844; Callichroma bungii (Faldermann, 1835); Callichroma ruficolle Redtenbacher, 1868; Aromia cyanicornis ab. puncticollis Plavilstshikov, 1940; Aromia bungii m. brunnea Podaný, 1971.

Taxonomic position: Insecta, Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae, Callichromatini.

EPPO Code: AROMBU.

Phytosanitary categorization: EPPO A2 (2021); EU A1 Quarantine pest (Annex II B).

In the field, infestations can be detected by the accumulation of larval frass, by the presence of exit holes on the trunk, and by the presence of the adults. Traps are also being used in some EPPO countries to monitor A. bungii (EFSA, 2019; Garonna et al., 2013). In any case, as symptoms are not specific, the confirmation requires sampling and identification of adults or preimaginal stages.

Additional information on the detection of A. bungii is included in the EPPO datasheet on pests recommended for regulation (EPPO, 2022) and in Pest Risk Analysis for A. bungii (EPPO, 2014).

The genus Aromia Audinet-Serville, 1834 is mainly found in the Palaearctic region with an expansion in the Oriental region. It includes only four species: Aromia bungii Faldermann, 1835 (Korean Peninsula and China, introduced to Japan, Italy and Germany), Aromia moschata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Middle East, North Africa) Aromia orientalis Plavilstshikov, 1933 (Eastern Siberia, Far East Russia, Mongolia, Korean Peninsula, Japan, China) and Aromia malayana Hayashi, 1977 (Malaysia) (Özdikmen, 2014; Tavakilian & Chevillotte, 2018). Aromia orientalis is sometimes considered as a subspecies of A. moschata (Danilevsky, 2009). Very little information is available on A. malayana apart from its original description (Hayashi, 1977), it seems to be very close to A. moschata. The genus Aromia used to include the species A. japonica, which is now considered to be a junior synonym of Chloridolum thaliodes Bates, 1884 (Bentanachs et al., 2011). All other published names in combination with the genus Aromia are considered synonyms or subspecies of the four valid Aromia species (Löbl & Smetana, 2010).

Reference material is available from the EURL for Insects and Mites reference collection at ANSES-Laboratoire de la santé des végétaux, Unité entomologie et plantes invasives, 755 avenue du Campus Agropolis, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex, France.

Reference sequences of Aromia bungii originating from China and Italy are available in EPPO-Q-bank: https://qbank.eppo.int/arthropods/.

Guidelines on reporting and documentation are given in EPPO Standard PM 7/77 (1) Documentation and reporting on a diagnosis.

When performance characteristics are available, these are provided with the description of the test. Validation data are also available in the EPPO Database on Diagnostic Expertise (http://dc.eppo.int), and it is recommended to consult this database as additional information may be available there (e.g. more detailed information on analytical specificity, full validation reports, etc.).

Further information on this protocol can be obtained from the EURL for insects and mites, ANSES –Laboratoire de la santé des végétaux, Unité entomologie et plantes invasives, 755 avenue du Campus Agropolis, 34988 Montferrier-Sur-Lez Cedex, France. e-mail: [email protected].

If you have any feedback concerning this Diagnostic Protocol, or any of the tests included, or if you can provide additional validation data for tests included in this protocol that you wish to share please contact [email protected].

An annual review process is in place to identify the need for revision of diagnostic protocols. Protocols identified as needing revision are marked as such on the EPPO website.

When errata and corrigenda are in press, this will also be marked on the website.