Invasive Populations of the Emerald Ash Borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Saint Petersburg, Russia: A Hitchhiker?

Insects

Rimvys Vasaitis¹  Boris G. Popovichev²  Dmitry L. Musolin²  Andrey V. Selikhovkin²  Sergey A. Merkuryev³  Mark G. Volkovitsh⁴ 

[1] Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden;Department of Forest Protection, Wood Science and Game Management, Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University, Institutskiy Per. 5, 194021 Saint Petersburg, Russia;Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg Filial, Universitetskaya Emb. 5, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia;Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb., 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia;

关键词: the emerald ash borer;    Fraxinus spp.;    forest pests;    invasive populations;    Northwest Russia;    Saint Petersburg;   

DOI  :  10.3390/insects13020191

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is an invasive beetle of East Asian origin that has killed millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America and Russia. In September 2020, EAB was detected in Saint Petersburg, a notable event for the metropolitan city. The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence and ecology of EAB in Saint Petersburg. The presence of two distinct enclave populations of EAB was revealed, each of which has, most likely, been established through separate events of “hitchhiking” via transport vehicles. Following the invasion, the further spread of EAB in Saint Petersburg was slow and locally restricted, most likely due to climatic factors. This spread by “hitchhiking” suggests that the possibility of the further long-distance geographic spread of EAB in the Baltic Sea region (the EU) is high, both by ground transport (120–130 km distance from EU borders) and ferries that transport cars across the Baltic Sea. In certain cases, the development of EAB on Fraxinus excelsior, based on the stem portion colonized, larval densities, number of galleries, exit holes, viable larvae, and emerged adult beetles, was more successful than in Fraxinus pennsylvanica trees. The observed relatively high sensitivity of F. excelsior to EAB, therefore, casts doubt on the efficacy and benefits of the currently ongoing selection and breeding projects against ash dieback (ADB) disease, which is caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Inventory, mapping, and monitoring of surviving F. excelsior trees infested by both ADB and EAB are necessary to acquire genetic resources for work on the strategic long-term restoration of F. excelsior, tackling the probable invasion of EAB to the EU.

【 授权许可】

Unknown