Pest categorisation of Gilpinia hercyniae

The Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of the Diprionid sawfly,Gilpinia hercyniaeHartig (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), for the EU.G. hercyniaeis a well-defined and distinguishablespecies, native to Europe but also present in North America, Japan, Mongolia, Korea and Pakistan, andrecognised as a pest of spruce (Piceaspp.). The pest is distributed in 19 Member States (MSs) of theEU. It is a quarantine pest listed in Annex IIB of Council Directive 2000/29/EC. Protected zones are inplace in Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey). Plants forplanting ofPiceaspp. and soil and litter associated withPiceaspp. are considered as pathways for thispest, which is also able to disperse byflight. The prepupae overwinter inside cocoons in the litter or inthe foliage. In spring, the adults, mostly females emerge and lay 35–60 eggs per female in matureneedles. The larvae feed on the mature needles throughfive instars. There are 1–3 generations peryear; some of the prepupae undergo prolonged diapause for more than 1 year. The impact onPicea abies(=excelsa) is minimal, because only the needles of the previous years are attacked;however, outbreaks have occurred on non-native spruce,Picea glaucaandPicea sitchensis.The pest iscontrolled everywhere by natural enemies, including nuclear polyedrosis viruses. The insects spread onplants for planting ofPiceaspp., with soil and litter associated withPiceaspp., and byflight. The EUprotected zones have a similar climate and similar host plants as the MS whereG. hercyniaeisestablished. All criteria assessed by EFSA for consideration as potential protected zone quarantine pestand as a potential regulated non-quarantine pest were met.