On the presence of the yellow spotted longicorn Psacothea hilaris (Pascoe) in Italy

Psacothea hilaris hilaris (Pascoe) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), known as the Yellow-spotted longhorn beetle, is native from East Asia where is widely distributed; the subspecies hilaris is present mostly in Japan, China and Taiwan. The species is a destructive and economically important pest of the Moraceae family including fig trees (Ficus carica) and mulberry trees (Morus spp). In Japan it is an important pest of sericulture, because larvae bore tunnels in the trunks and adults feed on the leaves of mulberry trees, which are the food source of Bombyx mori L.. The larvae are xylophagous and bore tunnels in the trunks and in the branches under the bark. Trees attacked by P. hilaris weakened until death. The adults have a different alimentary habit, feeding on the leaves and sometimes on bark. In Europe the insect has been intercepted twice in Great Britain, but it seems not to have established there. In Italy P. hilaris was recorded as exotic pest for the first time in 2005 in the proximity of a private woodshed. Since its detection a multi-year study concerning the bioethology and the searching of natural enemies in the newly colonized area has been developed.