Background

Following commodity risk assessments of Juglans regia and Robinia pseudoacacia from Turkey performed by EFSA, two pests were identified to be of concern, i.e. Garella musculana (Erschov) and Pochazia shantungensis (Chou & Lu) (EC 2021). The EU Commission has requested the MSs to provide information on the pest status of these two species. Garella musculana (Lepidoptera: Nolidae, EPPO code: ERSHMU) is a pest of especially J. regia, but has also been reported on J. nigra (EPPO 2021a). The common name is Asian walnut moth (familjen trågspinnare, SLU Artdatabanken 2021). The pest is reported as present in southwestern parts of Asia (India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and southeastern parts of Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine) (EPPO 2021a). Pochazia shantungensis (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae, EPPO code: POCZSH) is a polyphagous pest, e.g. 138 plant species in 62 families has been reported as hosts in Korea (Kim et al. 2015). It is a species of planthopper (underordningen stritar, SLU Artdatabanken 2021). The pest is reported as present in Asia (China and Korea) and in Europe (France and Turkey) (EPPO 2021a). SLU Risk assessment of plant pests was requested by the Swedish Board of Agriculture to investigate whether there is any evidence suggesting that the pests are present in Sweden.