Written question asked by Alan Simpson (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 May 2007. It was answered by Barry Gardiner (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 June 2007 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Pest Control

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence his Department has obtained from other countries on the long distance transport of diabrotica virgifera into new geographical areas.

Answer: ““Diabrotica virgifera”” is native to North America. The pest was first found in Serbia in 1992, and has since spread both within Eastern Europe and the EU. A scientific paper by researchers in France, ‘Multiple transatlantic introductions of the western corn rootworm’,¹ was published in 2005. This suggested that there have been at least three separate introductions of ““D. virgifera”” from North America."¹ Reference: Miller, N., Estoup, A., Toepfer, S., Bourget, D., Lapchin, L, Derridj, S., Kirn, K.S., Reynaud, P., Furlan, L. and Guillemaud, T. (2005). Science. 310:992.)."

Secondary information