Page 3 - Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2010

© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Laboratory of Biological Control of Pesticides, De-
partment of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy
(1) and Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, De-
partment of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology
(2), Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str.,
GR-145-61 Kifissia (Athens), Greece
Corresponding author:f.karamaouna@bpi.gr
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 3: 1-5, 2010
SHORT COMMUNICATION
New threat from an insect borer in urban trees in Greece
F. Karamaouna1 and D.C. Kontodimas2
Summary The insect borer Phloeosinus bicolor (Brullé) [= aubei (Perris)] det. Thompson (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae: Scolytinae) was found on 35-40 year-old Mediterranean Cypress trees in urban areas of
Attica, Greece, in June 2008. The scolytid has been previously recorded in Greece with sparse referenc-
es on its host plant species. The potential risk posed by the dispersal of the borer, which is also a vec-
tor of the cypress canker fungus Seiridium cardinale (Wag.) Sutt. et Gibs., to urban trees as well as to
nurseries and forests located near urban and suburban areas is stressed and control measures are pre-
sented.
Additional keywords: Cupressus sempervirens, Phloeosinus bicolor, scolytid, Seiridium cardinale
view of the biology, damage and control of
P. bicolor is presented due to the potential
risk it imposes to urban trees or by its disper-
sal to nurseries and forests near urban and
suburban areas.
P. bicolor was found on 35-40 year-old
Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus semper-
virens L.) trees in the suburbs of Glyfada (2
trees) and Kifissia (1 tree). It occurs in cen-
tral and southern Europe (Austria, Czecho-
slovakia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Spain
including Canary Islands, Switzerland), Af-
rica (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somaliland, Tunisia),
North America (Greenland) and Asia (Cauca-
sus, China, Iran, Israel, Lebanon) (1, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 19, 23, 25, 28, 29).
Plant hosts of P. bicolor include Callitris
spp., Cephalotaxus fortunei, Chamaecypar-
is lawsoniana, Cupressus funebris, C. glabra,
C. lusitanica, C. macrocarpa, C. sempervirens,
C. torulosa, Juniperus communis, J. excelsa, J.
foetidissima, J. macrocarpa, J. phoenicea, J.
sabina, Oxycedrus spp., Platycladus oriental-
is, Sabina chinensis, Sequoia gigantea, Taxo-
dium distichum, Tetraclinis articulata, Thuja
occidentalis, T. orientalis, Thujopsis dolobrata
and Wellingtonia spp. (8, 9, 17, 25).
P. bicolor shows a very strong specificity
for Cupressus among ten conifer species of
the genera Abies, Picea, Pinus and Cupressus,
Ornamental trees in urban areas in Greece
have been threatened by several new or
reappearing insect and mite pests during
the last 10 years, i.e. Marchalina hellenica
(Hemiptera: Margarodidae) on pine trees,
horse chestnut leafminer Cameraria ohridel-
la Descha and Dimic (Lepidoptera: Gracilari-
idae) on horse chestnut, Eutetranychus ori-
entalis (Klein) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on lemon
and orange trees, South American palm
borer Paysandisia archon Burmeister (Lep-
idoptera: Castniidae) and red palm wee-
vil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Co-
leoptera: Curculionidae) on palm trees (2,
21). The scolytid borer Phloeosinus bicolor
(Brullé) [= aubei (Perris)] det. Thompson (Co-
leoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), which
was collected in the urban region of Atti-
ca, Greece, in June 2008, should be added
to this list. The aforementioned species was
identified at the Natural History Museum in
London (Richard Thompson, personal com-
munication) in October 2008. A literature re-