First report of Cryphalus morivorus in Slovakia and the EPPO region
Cryphalus morivorus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae, EU quarantine pest as ‘non-European Scolytinae’) is reported for the first time in the EPPO region. C. morivorus was described from China and is primarily associated with mulberry trees (Morus alba and M. australis). It is present in China, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea.
The species was detected during field sampling in May 2025 at Piešťany (Trnava Region, western Slovakia). Adult beetles were collected directly from infested twigs of white mulberry (M. alba) showing symptoms of twig dieback. In addition, preserved herbarium material (Morus twigs) collected between 2016 and 2024 in 34 localities was examined and this showed that the pest was already present in the country in 2022. In total, C. morivorus was detected in four locations (Bratislava, Devín, Lučenec and Piešťany) located in the western and southern parts of the country.
The identity of the pest was confirmed by morphological and molecular tests. The authors note that C. morivorus currently appears restricted to thin mulberry twigs and has not yet been linked to pathogenic fungi under European conditions.
The NPPO of Slovakia recently conducted official monitoring. In April 2026, C. morivorus was detected in branches of Morus sp. collected in a public green space in Devín (in Bratislava municipality). The identity of the pest was confirmed by the EU Reference Laboratory for Insects and Mites.
The pest status of Cryphalus morivorus in Slovakia is officially declared as: Transient.
Sources
NPPO of Slovakia (2026-06).
Pastirčák M, Barta M, Vakula J, Knížek M, Pastirčáková K (2026) First European record of the East Asian bark beetle Cryphalus morivorus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) on white mulberry (Morus alba), with evidence of establishment in Slovakia. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research 99(3), cpag037. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpag037