Agrilus dureli: A new threat for European plant health?

With more than 3000 species, the jewel beetle genus Agrilus is considered the largest genus of the animal kingdom. Some of the species have been recognized as harmful to plants, but the majority of the genus remains unassessed. With A. planipennis it was found that, when introduced to a new environment, even (formerly) rare species only known to buprestid specialists can become invasive and cause enormous economic and environmental losses. One of the lesser-known species is Agrilus dureli, which has recently been found causing an outbreak on Salix species in China, leading to extensive dieback of the infested trees. In this article, the risk of A. dureli to European and Mediterranean plants is assessed.