Taxonomic information |
Current valid scientific name: Popillia quadriguttata Synonyms: Popillia uchidai According to Dunlap (2016), other synonyms are: Trichius biguttatus, Popillia bogdanowi, Popillia castanoptera, Popillia chinensis, Popillia dichroa, Popillia frivaldszkyi, Popillia purpurarescens, Popillia ruficollis, Popillia sordida, Popillia straminipennis, Popillia uchidai Name used in the EU legislation: – Order: Coleoptera Family: Scarabaeidae Common name: four‐spotted beetle Name used in the Dossier: Popillia quadriguttata [also cited in the Dossier as Anomala multistriata, which however is not a synonym but rather a species present in Japan (Yoshida and Umemura, 1973)] |
Group | Insects |
EPPO code | POPIQU |
Regulated status | Popillia quadriguttata is neither regulated in the world nor listed by EPPO. |
Pest status in China |
Popillia quadriguttata is present in north China. In China it was misidentified as P. japonica. Therefore, it can be assumed that the grub is present in provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Xianggang as reported by EFSA PLH Panel (2018) and EPPO (online). Popillia quadriguttata is also present in Hebei and Liaoning provinces (Toepfer et al., 2014). According to Chen et al. (2014), this species is widely distributed throughout China, especially in Northeast where soybean production is located. |
Pest status in the EU | Popillia quadriguttata is absent in the EU (Chen et al., 2014). |
Host status on Pinus parviflora and P. thunbergii |
In Dossier Section 2.0, P. quadriguttata (cited as Anomala multistriata, which however is not a synonym, see above) is reported as a pest of Pinus parviflora. There is no information in the scientific literature on whether Popillia quadriguttata can attack P. parviflora, P. thunbergii or any other conifer. |
PRA information | No Pest Risk Assessment is currently available. |
Other relevant information for the assessment | |
Biology |
Popillia quadriguttata is a grub, present in China, North and South Korea, Russia (Primorsky region, Sakhalin, South Chaba‐Rovskovo region) and Vietnam. For a long time, this species was misidentified as Popillia japonica in China and Korea (Chen et al., 2014; Toepfer et al., 2014). They are morphologically very similar but differ from each other in host range and life history (Lee et al., 2007). Popillia quadriguttata has four stages of development: egg, larva (there is no information on number of instars), pupa and adult. It requires 1 year for complete development (Toepfer et al., 2014). Adults are shining green with reddish sheen, 8.0–11.0 mm long (Dunlap, 2016). Adults occurred from late June to late July in Korea. Active adult flight was observed mainly during noon up to 2 h in the afternoon. In the night adults were not attracted to the light (Lee et al., 2002). Sex pheromones of P. japonica or floral kairomones are used for trapping of P. quadriguttata (Chen et al., 2014). The overwintering stage are larvae in the soil (Toepfer et al., 2014). It is above and below ground pest. The larvae feed on roots of apricot, chestnut, elm, maize, peanut, poplar, potato, soybean, wheat, occasionally on turf grass, meadows and legumes (Toepfer et al., 2014). There is no detailed information on the biology of P. quadriguttata nor on the possible flight distance that can cover. Even though P. quadriguttata was reported to have different life history compared to P. japonica (Lee et al., 2007) it can be assumed that it will be in some aspects similar. Popillia japonica completes its life cycle in 1 or 2 years, depending on the climate conditions. There are four stages of development: egg, larva (three instars), pupa and adult. Adults usually emerge between June and July. They are most active on sunny days and feed on foliage and fruits. Adults can fly and can cover between 3 and 24 km/year. Females lay between 40 and 60 eggs, 10 cm deep in the soil. Eggs hatch after about 2 weeks. First two larval instars are in the upper 7.5 cm soil. They feed on decaying matter and roots of plants, mainly grasses. Development of the first larval instar takes 2–3 weeks and the second larval instar 3–4 weeks. The third larval instar overwinters 10–20 cm deep in the soil. In spring the third larval instar goes up the soil and pupate. If the life cycle of P. japonica takes 2 years, the second larval instar overwinters during the first winter and the third larval instar during the second one (EFSA PLH Panel, 2018). It can be assumed that possible pathways of entry for P. quadriguttata are like the ones for P. japonica. According to EFSA PLH Panel (2018), the pathways are infested soil and growing media accompanying plants for planting i.e. eggs, larvae and pupae); leaves and flowers on plants for planting, cut flowers and cut branches (i.e. adults) and hitch‐hiking adults, independent of host plants. |