First report of Cnestus mutilatus in Croatia
Cnestus mutilatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae – regulated by the EU as ‘non-European Scolytinae’) is an ambrosia beetle native to Asia. It was first reported from the USA in Mississippi in 2002 (EPPO RS 2005/180) before spreading across the Eastern states of the USA. It has been found in the EPPO region in the Russian Far East and is considered established in Italy (RS 2022/147) and it was recently found in Slovenia (RS 2025/175).
During annual monitoring in 2024 for the presence of Agrilus auroguttatus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae – formerly EPPO Alert List), C. mutilatus was found in traps placed in Pleternica (Požega-Slavonia county, eastern Croatia). Further sampling in March 2025 found adult specimens of C. mutilatus on dead branches of Fagus sylvatica, Quercus rubra and Carpinus betulus that were exhibiting exit holes and galleries. This is the first time C. mutilatus is reported on F. sylvatica, Q. rubra and C. betulus and the first time that the beetle is found in host plants in the EPPO region. The identity of the pest was confirmed by morphological and molecular tests. It is not known how C. mutilatus was introduced into Croatia, but Jukić et al. (2025) suggest that a severe weather event in 2023 that caused significant damage to the forest may have encouraged the establishment of C. mutilatus which are believed to preferentially establish on dead wood.
Sources
Jukić A, Cvetković F, Krcivoj T, Medak J, Zorić N, Ćelepirović N, Matošević D (2025) First record of Cnestus mutilatus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) in Croatia. South-East European Forestry SEEFOR 16(1), 9-14 https://doi.org/10.15177/seefor.25-10