New evidence on the spread in Catalonia of the invasive longhorn beetle, Xylotrechus chinensis, and the efficacy of abamectin control

New evidence on the spread in Catalonia of the invasive longhorn beetle, Xylotrechus chinensis, and the efficacy of abamectin control | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article New evidence on the spread in Catalonia of the invasive longhorn beetle, Xylotrechus chinensis, and the efficacy of abamectin control Victor Sarto i Monteys, Ivan Savin, Glòria Torras Tutusaus, Mònica Bedòs Balsach This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4247076/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The invasive wasp-mimicking Tiger Longicorn Beetle, Xylotrechus chinensis , a potentially lethal pest of mulberry trees (Moraceae: Morus ), was first reported in Europe in 2018. In Catalonia its spread has been impressive: one district, four towns, 44 km 2 in February 2018; four districts, 12 towns, 378 km 2 in July 2020; seven districts, 65 towns, 1,134 km 2 in December 2023. It is likely the infestation will spread further in the future, specially along the Mediterranean coast from Spain to Greece. The flight period of this beetle in Mediterranean countries is expanding on both ends (from the end of April to the end of October), probably due to increasing temperatures because of climate change. The adult beetle life span is 18-23 days in insectaria, likely somewhat shorter in the wild. The single treatment with abamectin carried out in a Catalonian town in June 2022 on a sample of 24 trees (12 treated, 12 untreated) has been effective in reducing the infestation of this beetle in relation to untreated trees. But the reduction was not complete since new emergence holes appeared during the summer of the following year. Therefore, a reinforcing treatment carried out during the first ten days of October is recommended to control this pest. Also, to get satisfactory mulberry trees protection, treatments should be repeated during a few consecutive years. Yearly re-infestations from untreated public and/or private mulberry trees are also a concern and make short-term control of this pest difficult, no doubt accounting for the rapid spread of this beetle. invasive species phloem-feeding insect Cerambycidae mulberry trees damage pest management Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SI1FigQQplots.pdf SI1 Fig. QQ plots illustrating the matching for the two groups of observations for EH_total, EH_crown, Perimeter and Height. (PDF) SI1Table1EHcounts.xlsx SI1 Table. Data table describing the 24 trees studied, those that were treated (and not) with abamectin and the results of the emergence hole counts made on three different dates. (XLSX) SI2Table2SpreadinCatalonia.xlsx SI2 Table. Spread of X. chinensis in Catalonia (as to December 31, 2023). (XLSX) Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4247076","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":290738842,"identity":"a197bf23-4ba5-4388-aef9-ab41883ef997","order_by":0,"name":"Victor Sarto i Monteys","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACg8MQ2h5MfmBgSCBGC2MDkE5sYGBmYJwB0QIWwa3lAEQBUCUzAzMPMVok25mfP/i4hyGBf/b5g49t2+zyGNgPP3+AV0szm2HjjGcM9hLnkpmNc9uSixl40gzx29LMw9jMA3LdGWY26dw25sQGCQb8WviZoVrmg7RYttUDtbB/JE7LBpAWxrbDQC08+G1hY2YznDnjgETixjPMxoY9544Xs/HkFM7Aq4X/8IMPHw7Y2MudYXz44EdZdR4/+/ENH/BpgQIJJEOIUD4KRsEoGAWjgAAAALJLRAjg/ftmAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Victor","middleName":"Sarto i","lastName":"Monteys","suffix":""},{"id":290738843,"identity":"93002b37-4ec4-4cff-a500-1f64f4b49eb9","order_by":1,"name":"Ivan Savin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ESCP Business School","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ivan","middleName":"","lastName":"Savin","suffix":""},{"id":290738844,"identity":"574a71cc-accb-40a7-bc9b-25fdf45f456c","order_by":2,"name":"Glòria Torras Tutusaus","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ajuntament de Barberà del Vallès","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Glòria","middleName":"Torras","lastName":"Tutusaus","suffix":""},{"id":290738845,"identity":"342a210c-a5d1-4642-aaba-a3f46c546009","order_by":3,"name":"Mònica Bedòs Balsach","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adalia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mònica","middleName":"Bedòs","lastName":"Balsach","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-10 11:33:02","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4247076/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4247076/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":57623449,"identity":"1ffb33fc-da4b-4fda-ba31-f0e45d86f056","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-06-03 13:30:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1646832,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ArticleSartoiMonteysetalX.chinensis.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4247076/v1_covered_b383ba86-143b-471c-9f38-0884c3a97403.pdf"},{"id":54852142,"identity":"8195e58d-8d20-475c-a1f2-7985cb039cb6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-17 16:42:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":131153,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSI1 Fig. QQ plots illustrating the matching for the two groups of observations for EH_total, EH_crown, Perimeter and Height. 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