Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 1348-1356.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.07.17

• Agricultural Ecology • Previous Articles    

Agrilus viduus Kerremans: An emerging pest in Xinjiang wild fruit forest and assessment of associated damage

LIN Qi1,2(), ZHANG Yanlong2, CAO Liangming2, WANG Xiaoyi2, Rouzi TUREPU1, GAO Guizhen1()   

  1. 1. College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, Xinjiang, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
  • Received:2025-01-20 Revised:2025-04-01 Online:2025-07-15 Published:2025-07-07
  • Contact: GAO Guizhen E-mail:1786331486@qq.com;gaoguizhen1984@163.com

Abstract:

The damaging pest Agrilus viduus Kerremans was recorded for the first time in Ili Prefecture, Xinjiang. This pest has entered the core area of wild fruit forest, where it has damaged wild apples and wild apricots. Through field surveys, fixed-point observations, and laboratory rearing, the distribution range, life history, damage characteristics, and host plants of this pest in the wild fruit forest area were preliminarily studied. This pest is distributed in Xinyuan County, Gongliu County, Huocheng County, and Tekes County and has entered the wild fruit forests of Xinyuan County, Gongliu County, and Huocheng County. In terms of its reproduction, this pest exhibits one generation per year, starts to be active in the first half of May and begins to emerge in early July, with the peak emergence period in late July. Adult insects start to lay eggs in mid-July, and the emergence process ends in early August. In early November, the second-and third-instar larvae begin to overwinter. The damage mainly takes the form of larvae boring into the phloem, cambium, and xylem of host plants. When substantial infestation occurs, death of the host can occur. This pest can damage wild apricots, wild apples, and some other economically important fruit trees in the wild fruit forest. The oviposition characteristics of this pest are rather special. Eggs are laid in clusters on the bark surface and then covered with secretions to form egg cases. The distribution of this species’ egg cases is highly correlated with the height of apricot trees, with them mainly being found at heights of 120-240 cm; the distribution of the egg cases is also related to the basal diameter, being found mainly on branches with diameters of 2-3 cm. A literature review and field investigation revealed that this insect is a pest that has been newly introduced into the wild fruit forest of Xinjiang, posing a significant threat and requiring the attention of local authorities. There is an urgent need for physical control, biological control, and chemical control methods to be applied to eradicate it in accordance with its biological characteristics.

Key words: Agrilus viduus, distribution, Xinjiang wild fruit forest, new invasive pest, biological characteristics