Bad and good news for ash trees in Europe: alien pest Agrilus planipennis has spread to the Ukraine and the south of European Russia, but does not kill Fraxinus excelsior in the forests
ContextThe first detection of A. planipennis in European Russia was in Moscow in 2003, when it began to spread. AimTo determine the range of A. planipennis as of 2020. MethodsIn 2017-2020, our Russian-Ukrainian research team examined >7000 F. pennsylvanica trees and >2500 F. excelsior trees in 84 localities of European Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. ResultsThe current range exceeds the area of Spain and includes the Luhansk region of Ukraine and 16 regions of ER: Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Orel, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Tver, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl. Agrilus planipennis was not detected in Belarus. The overwhelming majority of the infestations were found on F. pennsylvanica. All known cases of infestation of the native species (F. excelsior) are from artificial plantings. ConclusionAgrilus planipennis will appear in other European countries soon and damage F. pennsylvanica. Further surveys are necessary to determine whether A. planipennis infests F. excelsior in forests.