Britain faces invasion by an army of bugs from China that ravage garden plants and crops, scientists warn.
Officials intercepted and destroyed several consignments of trees at the Sevington inland border control in Kent last month after an infestation of a damaging fruit pest.
But the brown winged cicada, which attacks 200 plant species, including apple and peach trees, by feeding on their sap will ‘inevitably’ reach the UK, experts say.
The pest, Pochazia huntungensis, joins the brown marmorated stink bug and box tree caterpillar as invasive insects native to China and east Asia that it is feared will wreak havoc here.
The stink bug, which is dubbed the ‘fart bug’ as it emits an appalling stench when invading homes, also ruins fruit crops and is now found in ever increasing numbers in the UK.
And the caterpillar, which was first found in gardens in the south-east in 2011, is already a major problem, devastating prized topiary and box hedges as it spreads across the UK.
The brown winged cicada joins the brown marmorated stink bug (pictured) and box tree caterpillar as invasive insects native to China and east Asia feared to wreak havoc here
Thanks to global trade, exotic insects increasingly hitch a ride on imported plants to the USA and Europe and eventually enter the UK, where they can thrive thanks to climate change.
Entomologist Max Barclay, senior curator of beetles at London’s Natural History Museum, said: ‘As we have increased globalisation, we have global pests and diseases as well.
‘Covid took the same pathway from China.
‘And the pests native to China and east Asia are much more damaging in Europe as the natural predators and parasites don’t touch them so much and they are able to build up a population.
‘They are unfamiliar to birds and worms here who look at them and think that they don’t want to eat that.’
Mr Barclay highlighted the harlequin ladybird, which originates from China and Japan.
It arrived in Britain in 2004, likely via the USA, where it was introduced to control aphids that were feeding on crops and spread like wildfire.
It multiplied equally quickly all over the UK and within a decade was the most common ladybird species here as well as in the USA.
Pictured: The harlequin ladybird, which originates from China and Japan
The brown winged cicada, which previously decimated apple orchards in China, South Korea and Japan, has become established in parts of France and Italy in recent years.
In 2022, the pest was found in Italy’s Pistoia province in Tuscany, which is home to nurseries that import plants from Asia.
Plants affected included citrus, fig and olive trees, vines and roses.
The eight consignments stopped at Sevington near Ashford included plants from Pistoia.
Lorries transporting them were held for over a week while their loads were tested in labs by the Food and Environment Research Agency.
Destruction notices were issued for all the consignments after the pest’s presence was confirmed.
Mr Barclay said: ‘I know it sounds defeatist but I don’t think we are going to keep these things out.
‘We are finding the brown marmorated stink bug here in greater numbers every year. It could be everywhere in a decade.
‘The plant health people are stopping shipments but Pochazia Huntungensis will get here, in something like a camper van if not in other shipments of trees.
‘And then it could be a threat because if it can survive in Italy it could probably survive here, where it is getting warmer.
‘It sucks sap and will either cause blemishes or affect the vitality of the tree, which can be very damaging for commercial crops.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) warns that the cicada has a ‘high-spread capacity’ and could likely survive in warmer areas of the UK
‘Once these things make a foothold, they can establish pretty quickly. We’ve seen this with invasive species before like the harlequin ladybird, which is now everywhere.’
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) warns that the cicada has a ‘high-spread capacity’ and could likely survive in warmer areas of the UK.
It says that protecting UK biosecurity is a ‘key priority’ and that its robust checks prevented the pest from entering the country.
A Defra spokesperson said: ‘Physical checks play an important role in helping stop harmful plant and animal diseases reaching our shores, as can be seen from detecting non-native plant pests found in these consignments’.
The post-Brexit Border Control Point system came into force in April with new checks of plant and animal products entering the UK from the EU.
Garden centres and nurseries warn that exporters of plants and flowers from mainland Europe are turning their backs on supplying Britain after repeated hold-ups at the border from ‘painful’ checks.
Defra added: ‘We are committed to reducing barriers to trade and cutting red tape by striking a fair balance between business and biosecurity.’
