Page 29 - Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2010

1

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoolo-

gy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str.,

GR-145 61 Kifissia (Athens), Greece

2

Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology,

Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Ru-

ral Environment, University of Thessaly, Phytokou str.,

GR-384 46 N. Ionia, Volos, Magnisia, Greece

Corresponding author:

d.papachristos@bpi.gr

Hellenic Plant Protection Journal

3:

29-32, 2010

SHORT COMMUNICATION

First data on the occurrence of

Diabrotica virgifera virgifera

Le Conte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Greece

A.N. Michaelakis

1

, N.T. Papadopoulos

2

, S.A. Antonatos

1

, K. Zarpas

2

and D.P. Papachristos

1

Summary

The western corn rootworm,

Diabrotica virgifera virgifera

Le Conte (Coleoptera: Chrysomel-

idae), is a major pest of cultivated corn in North America. It invaded Europe (Belgrade, Serbia) in the

early 90s and since then it has rapidly dispersed to several European countries. In 2009, a survey, sup-

ported by the Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food in several corn-producing prefectures

of Greece, revealed the presence of

D. virgifera virgifera

for the first time in the country. The survey in-

cluded sampling of young plants, visual inspection of corn fields and deployment of pheromone traps.

The western corn rootworm, which, during the survey, was recorded only in pheromone traps, was first

detected in the area of Thessaloniki (northern Greece) in July 2009, and subsequently in Serres, Flori-

na and Pieria prefectures.

Additional keywords:

pheromone traps, survey, western corn rootworm (WCR),

Zea mays

to Belgrade airport (Serbia). WCR adults may

also be carried as contaminants on other

means of transport (e.g. boats, trains, trucks,

cars, etc). By 2007, WCR was reported in 20

European countries (5, 8). The most signifi-

cant dispersions of WCR in terms of infested

corn-producing areas were reported in Hun-

gary (93,000 km

2

), Serbia and Montenegro

(73,000 km

2

) and Romania (65,000 km

2

) (8).

Due to the economic importance of the

pest to the maize crop, the European Com-

mission (EC) has implemented measures

aiming at preventing the spread of WCR

within the Community. In 2003, surveys and

eradication measures were established by

the Decision 2003/766/EC (1). In 2006, those

measures was supplemented by the Deci-

sion 2006/564/EC, which introduced addi-

tional requirements for the containment of

D. virgifera virgifera

in the infested zones to

limit the further spread of the pest (2). The

EC Recommendation 2006/565/EC (3) made

it possible to switch from an eradication pol-

icy to a containment policy.

In 2009, an official and extensive survey,

supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Rural

The western corn rootworm (WCR),

Diabrot-

ica virgifera virgifera

Le Conte (Coleoptera:

Chrysomelidae), is a major pest of cultivat-

ed corn,

Zea mays

(maize), in North Ameri-

ca (6). Larvae, mainly those of the 3rd instar,

destroy the root system of corn plants caus-

ing extensive crop losses (7). Adults feed on

leaves and stalks but they seldom cause eco-

nomic losses. In 1992, WCR was detected, for

the first time in Europe, in a small maize field

near the Belgrade Airport (Serbia) (4). How-

ever, it remains unclear how WCR entered

Europe. Gray

et al

. (6) assumed that an acci-

dental transport of WCR adults by commer-

cial aircraft was most likely the cause, as the

major airports for intercontinental flights

in the United States are located near large

maize production areas and the first detec-

tion of WCR in Europe was in an area close