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Aromia bungii Faldermann (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is an emerging invasive pest of economically important Prunus species that is native to China, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Korea, and Vietnam. It was recently introduced to Japan, Germany, and Italy, where it is spreading and damaging crops and ornamental trees. It exhibits an adaptable lifecycle, a high reproductive output, and the larvae live concealed under the bark of infested trees, which are traits that promote its invasiveness. Detection and monitoring of A. bungii currently rely upon visual identification of infested trees that are usually already damaged, which is inefficient and not target-specific. Current control methods rely primarily upon the labour-intensive physical removal of infested trees. Although native parasitoid natural enemies of A. bungii provide control in Chinese orchards, none are appropriate for classical biological control in invaded areas due to biosafety concerns surrounding their broad host ranges. However, entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes may provide viable options for biological control in invaded ranges. Recent advancements in semiochemical baited traps may provide sustainable, target-specific, and efficacious methods to monitor and control A. bungii. There remains much to learn about the biology and control of A. bungii, and continued advancements in the study of sustainable control tools are needed for the management of this emerging pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, in southern Italy (Campania) there was an outbreak of a sap beetle infesting stored walnut fruits. A monitoring activity started to assess the spread and impact of the pest in walnut orchards and in warehouses, and an integrative characterization led to identify the beetle as Carpophilus truncatus. This species has been in Europe for a long time, rare and harmless until recently. We show also that this species is the same recently recorded in other two continents, Latin America and Australia, where it is causing massive damage on walnut and almond fruits. The sharing of a mitochondrial haplotype among populations recorded on three continents suggests that a worldwide invasion might be ongoing. A Geographic Profiling approach has determined that the more virulent population was first introduced in Italy, and the climate conditions of areas where C. truncatus is currently widespread and harmful indicate that the entire walnuts world production is in jeopardy as this species could adapt to any of the main walnut and almond production areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red-necked longhorn beetle (RLB) Aromia bungii (Fald.) is an emerging pest of stone fruit trees, native to East Asia, accidentally introduced in Europe (Germany and Italy) and Japan. Threatening seriously the stone fruit crops in Europe, RLB was added to both the EPPO A1 and priority pest lists of quarantine species. Molecular analyses highlighted that all specimens recovered in southern Italy share the same haplotype, different from the German one, supporting that the invasive process in Europe started from at least two independent introductions. To fill the existing gap of biological knowledge about A. bungii, several laboratory tests were carried out on specimens collected in the outbreak area of Naples (Italy). Results suggest a high biotic potential of the RLB Italian population. Females showed a short pre-oviposition period while the period of oviposition lasted about three weeks, with a rate of 24.2 eggs/day. Each female laid an average of 587.5 eggs and spawned the largest amount of eggs during the first week after emergence. Fed males live up to 62 days at 20 °C while fed females about 63 days at 25 °C. These results are crucial to draw up a multi-facet IPM approach against A. bungii in the outbreak areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]