First report of Polygraphus proximus in Kazakhstan
Polygraphus proximus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae – EPPO A2 List) is first reported from Kazakhstan. The pest was detected by scientists during a survey carried out in July 2023 in North-Eastern Kazakhstan. P. proximus was found in a forest in the Glubokovskiy district (East Kazakhstan Region) on symptomatic fir trees (Abies sibirica). This forest is located about 43 km away from the Russian village of Novoaleiskoye (Altai territory) where the pest was detected in 2016. Considering the number of trees colonized and killed by the pest, the authors considered that P. proximus has likely been present in the forest in the Glubokovskiy district for about ten years. A survey in another forest near Chernaya Uba village (located about 110 km away from Novoaleiskoye) did not detect the pest.
The situation of Polygraphus proximus in Kazakhstan can be described as: Present: not widely distributed and not under official control.
Sources
Kirichenko NI, Rudoi VV, Efremenko AA, Petrov AV, Baranchikov YN (2023) First record of the invasive bark beetle Polygraphus proximus Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Acta Biologica Sibirica. 9, 1003-1022. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10199570