Current status of the rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus in Italy: eleven‐year invasion

Abstract

The rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Brachycerinae) was detected in Northern Italy in 2004. As Italy is the major European rice producer, and the rice water weevil is considered to be one of the major pests of rice in the world, a multiyear study was carried out to determine the spread of the pest in Northern Italy, to evaluate its establishment potential and to improve the knowledge on its biology in this new habitat. The survey allowed the distribution of the insect in Italian rice areas to be evaluated and confirmed that L. oryzophilus behaves as a monovoltine parthenogenetic species in Northern Italy. Information about the phenology of the insect and its management are also provided.

Bats as natural samplers: First record of the invasive pest rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus in the Iberian Peninsula

“…The accidental introduction of this species in Asia led to a rapid spread through China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and India (Lupi et al, 2015). This led to significant losses of rice production in newly infested areas, for instance causing initial losses of up to 80% of infested rice crop areas in China (Chen et al, 2005).…”

“…The number of generations is therefore linked to the number of rice crop cycles per year, and the implementation of staggered planting approaches (CABI, 2020;Chen et al, 2005;Saito et al, 2005). Many of the areas in which this crop has spread, including those in Europe, are single cropped areas, and therefore the rice water weevil completes a single generation (CABI, 2020;Lupi et al, 2015). Rice plants are vulnerable to damage from rice water weevil from their early vegetative stage to the reproductive stage, and can be damaged by both larval and adult weevils (Aghaee and Godfrey, 2014).…”

The Potential Distribution of Rice Water Weevil (<i>Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus</i>) in China under Current and Future Climatic Conditions

“…RWW originated in the Mississippi River valley of south-central North America. It had spread to North America, Central America, South America, Asia and Europe [7][8][9][10]. In China, it was first discovered in Tanghai County, Hebei Province, in 1988, and it gradually spread throughout the country [11].…”

The distribution of the invasive pest, rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is expanding in Europe: First record in the Balkans, confirmed by CO1 DNA barcoding

“…In China, it is characterized as the most important invasive insect species (Chen et al 2005). The native populations of L. oryzophilus originate from the Northern USA, however during the second half of the twentieth century it has invaded several productive rice-growing areas throughout the world, including South USA, Japan, China, India, South and North Korea (Lupi et al 2015). More recently, in 2004, it was reported for the first time as an invasive pest in Italy (Caldara et al 2004;Lupi et al 2010), being the sole European or Mediterranean region where it has so far been detected (Lupi et al 2015).…”

“…The native populations of L. oryzophilus originate from the Northern USA, however during the second half of the twentieth century it has invaded several productive rice-growing areas throughout the world, including South USA, Japan, China, India, South and North Korea (Lupi et al 2015). More recently, in 2004, it was reported for the first time as an invasive pest in Italy (Caldara et al 2004;Lupi et al 2010), being the sole European or Mediterranean region where it has so far been detected (Lupi et al 2015). However, considering its current worldwide distribution and high invasion potential, there is a high possibility that it has invaded other European rice field wetlands as well.…”