Viburnum leaf beetle

Pyrrhalta viburni is a species of leaf beetle native to Europe and Asia, commonly known as the viburnum leaf beetle. It was first detected in North America in 1947 in Ontario, Canada. However, specimens had been collected in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1924. In 1996 it was discovered in a park in New York, where native plantings of arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum complex) were found to be heavily damaged by larval feeding.[1] The UK-based Royal Horticultural Society stated that its members reported Pyrrhalta viburni as the "number one pest species" in 2010.[2][3] Female beetles burrow into viburnum terminal twigs and create 'spaces' in pith tissue. Then they lay eggs in clusters and cover them with frass. Eggs overwinter in these cavities where they are protected from water loss and predation.[4]

The spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris is used and developed as a biological control agent against the beetle.[1]