A group of four scientists has published an article in which they report the presence of an invasive beetle that drills ornamental trees detected for the first time in Europe, simultaneously in Spain, specifically in Elche, and in Greece. This species is considered a pest in China.
The joint report of the Elche native Carlos R. de Queros, member of the Entomatología de Roma association in Italy, and the other three authors, all belonging to universities in the transalpine country, has been disseminated in the international publication Biodiversity Data Journal, and has subsequently been echoed by other specialised media in the field.
The species is called Olenecamptus bilobus and specimens have been found in the area of the Spanish district of Les Salades and on the Greek island of Lemos, without being able to specify the origin, perhaps introduced into Europe through the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, or through naval traffic, respectively.
At the moment, no alert or quarantine declaration exists on the European continent, as is the case in China, and there are no specific measures for its control, apart from the elimination of these insects when they have developed – before they are not visible, in the larval state inside the wood – and the “destruction of affected plants”, as reflected in this article. Its larvae usually bore into the wood of artocapus (moraceae), ficus trees and mulberry trees, the former abundant in Asian areas, while in adulthood it eats the bark and leaves.
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