Identification of Bursaphelenchus ssp. isolated from Chinese packaging wood imported to Austria

Bursaphelenchus spp. found in packaging wood (pallets, crates, dunnage) imported with other goods from China to Austria in 1999 were identiŽ ed, and their possible vector species of wood- and bark-breeding insects were recorded. Of the inspected consignments of coniferous and deciduous wood, 43 (78%) were either contaminated with insects or nematodes or showed grubholes or galleries of wood- and bark-breeding insects. Of the 33 samples of coniferous packaging wood with symptoms of insect attack, 48.5% had been attacked by longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), with 11 samples harbouring living stages of Monochamus, the vector of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and B. mucronatus. Living stages of non-European Scolytidae, possibly vectors of other Bursaphelenchus spp., were found in seven samples. Nematodes were found in 24 consignments, of which nine (= 27% of the 33 coniferous wood samples) were contaminated with Bursaphelenchus spp. Seven samples contained B. mucronatus (East Asian genotype), whereas B. thailandae and B. aberrans were each found in two samples which were also contaminated with B. mucronatus. Morphological features and measurements for the three species found and ITS-RFLP patterns for B. thailandae and B. mucronatus are presented. Bursaphelenchus thailandae and B. aberrans were found for the Ž rst time in wood transported over long distances. Bursaphelenchus thailandae is recorded for the Ž rst time from China and its ITS-RFLP proŽ le, enabling differentiation of the species from 17 other Bursaphelenchus spp., is presented.