Beginning of the spread of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) on the territory of Ukraine

The goal of the research was to reveal the features of the spread of the emerald ash borer (EAB) in the stands of the Luhansk region during the first year after its detection. The stands with the presence of the common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and the green ash (F. pennsylvanica) in the forest fund of Starobelskoe, Belokurakinskoe, and Svatovskoe Forest and Hunting Enterprises, located to the west of the points of the first detection of EAB in the Luhansk region, were examined. The EAB was found in almost all stands with the presence of green ash in the composition, which comprises 11.1% of the forested area. During 2020, the EAB spread over a distance of 32–52 km from the first detection point. The southernmost point where it was registered is near Melovatka, and the westernmost – is near Dontsovka. Taking into account the tendency of EAB to spread in the southwestern direction, we can expect its invasion to the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. EAB inhabits mainly green ash, and in common ash it prefers sprouts, trees in the stands with low relative stocking density, and trees at the edges and along the perimeter of small forests or forest belts. The mean density (±S.E.) of EAB larvae in populated branches does not differ significantly for green ash and common ash (0.6±0.07 and 0.7±0.09 larvae/dm2, respectively). However, the proportion of EAB colonized branches of green ash (91.4±3.12%; n = 45) is significantly higher than that of common ash (76.1±6.29%; n = 82). The exit holes of EAB in the trees of common ash were not found. Maturation feeding of EAB was registered only in the trees of green ash. The presence of EAB galleries and larvae in the trees of the 1st and the 2nd categories of health condition (healthy-looking and weakened trees according to the Sanitary Rules in the Forests of Ukraine) indicates the aggressiveness of EAB. The dynamics of the health condition of EAB colonized trees, as well as the survival of its larvae are to be investigated further, especially for the common ash, which proportion in the stands of the region is about 36.9% of forest-covered area.

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