Assessing the Global Pest Risk of Aeolesthes sarta with Regards to the Host Specie Populus alba under Climate Change Scenarios
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Aeolesthes sarta is a pest that causes great damage to urban trees. I have seen this pest cause damage to poplar trees in Central Asia. The pest is listed as a quarantine pest in many countries. The authors' analysis of pest risk in light of the impending warming climate increases our knowledge of the possible damage caused by Aeolesthes sarta if it spreads worldwide. The PRA is of scientific and practical interest.
The authors had already published a similar article "Pest Risk Assessment of Aeolesthes sarta (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Pakistan under Climate Change Scenario" in 2023. If there were any comments on it, I think they were taken into account in writing this peer-reviewed article.
However, I do have a comment:
1. The Aeolesthes sarta beetle is transferred to the genus Trirachys (T.sartus, see EPPO DGB , CABI ). The authors of the article may disagree with the last revision of the genus and use the fomer name (A.sarta), but they must explain why they adhere to the former taxonomic system. This is not in the article and it turns out that they don't know about it. Or they should replace Aeolesthes sarta with Trirachys sartus.
2. EPPO GB (https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/AELSSA/datasheet) has significantly updated the information (biology, ecology, damage, etc.) on Aeolesthes sarta in 2020. However, the EPPO references in the article are twenty years old.
Author Response
We would like to thank both reviewers for their time and efforts to review our manuscript and give some useful suggestion. We have revised and improve our manuscript as suggested by the reviewers. Answers of asked questions are down below, however, detail of changes can be seen in the MS version.
Question: The Aeolesthes sarta beetle is transferred to the genus Trirachys (T.sartus, see EPPO DGB , CABI ). The authors of the article may disagree with the last revision of the genus and use the fomer name (A.sarta), but they must explain why they adhere to the former taxonomic system. This is not in the article and it turns out that they don't know about it. Or they should replace Aeolesthes sarta with Trirachys sartus.
Answer: Thank you so much for highlighting this point, actually we are very much aware of it that Taxonomic studies have concluded that Aeolesthes sarta should be transferred to the genus Trirachys, and thus called Trirachys sartus (Vitali et al., 2017). The pest is now listed under this name on the EPPO A2 List. However, according to the (CABI, 2022: https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.3430), (INVASIVE.org: https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=83646#taxonomy) this pest still come under the genus: Aeolesthes; CABI has changed its name from Aeolesthes sarta to Trirachys sarta but still keeping its old genus, that is why we still prefer to use its former name instead of using new name as Aeolesthes sarta is well known name. However, as you suggested we added its new genus and new name in the beginning of the introduction section along with its old name (which we prefer to use throughout the text).
Question: EPPO GB (https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/AELSSA/datasheet) has significantly updated the information (biology, ecology, damage, etc.) on Aeolesthes sarta in 2020. However, the EPPO references in the article are twenty years old.
Answer: Replaced as suggested.
Reviewer 2 Report
This ms reports a CLIMEX exercise on a species of longhorn beetle that is in the quarantine lists in several parts of the world. One of the author published a review very recently and I have a problem with the justification of the choice of Populus alba as main host plant on which to run the model. Actually Populus alba is one of the many host plants of the beetle and it is not clear why the authors have chosen this species of tree and not the others, among which there are species that seem to be preferred to Populus alba. There are several problems about this that I have indicated in the pdf file.
I suggest the authors to find field data on the real effect of the climate change on the range of the host plant and the insect in order to test the predictions emerging from the CLIMEX exercise.
The references are poorly drafted and there are many mistakes that need to be fixed.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
We would like to thank both reviewers for their time and efforts to review our manuscript and give some useful suggestion. We have revised and improve our manuscript as suggested by the reviewers. Answers of asked questions are down below, however, detail of changes can be seen in the MS version.
Question: This ms reports a CLIMEX exercise on a species of longhorn beetle that is in the quarantine lists in several parts of the world. One of the author published a review very recently and I have a problem with the justification of the choice of Populus alba as main host plant on which to run the model. Actually, Populus alba is one of the many host plants of the beetle and it is not clear why the authors have chosen this species of tree and not the others, among which there are species that seem to be preferred to Populus alba. There are several problems about this that I have indicated in the pdf file. I suggest the authors to find field data on the real effect of the climate change on the range of the host plant and the insect in order to test the predictions emerging from the CLIMEX exercise.
Answer: Thank you so much for your comments, we completely agree with your opinion as Populus alba is not the only host species of Aelosthes sarta, however, if you go through the literature (Hayat, 2022; Farashiani et al. 2001; Ahmad et al. 1997; Gul and Chaudhary, 1992; Arshad and Hafiz, 1983), you will find out that P. alba is among the most damaging species by this pest. Besides that, we have already conducted comprehensive field research in the Pakistan’s north-western regions (based on the prediction of Hayat et al. 2023) and collected the damage data of this pest, according to our general findings we have found that P. alba is among the top host species that affect the most by this pest in recent years. However, we are still working on analysis of the data to prove it statistically significant. Once it done, we will write a paper and submit it for publication. On the other hand, we are also working on preparing the model in which we will include about top five host species based on this and previous paper findings, and correlate it with the adoptability of Aelosthes sarta for the end century (year 2100). We believe that you understand that these things take time and could be done step by step. This the just the beginning of a new start of a comprehensive research journey, we hope that you encourage us by appreciating our work. We hope this explanation address your concerns.
Question: The references are poorly drafted and there are many mistakes that need to be fixed.
Answer: References list has been modified and improved as suggested.
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments addressed, the ms can be published.
Author Response
Thanks for your trust and support.
