Incursion of Corythucha arcuata in Belarus
The oak lace bug Corythucha arcuata (Hemiptera: Tingidae – EAEU A1 List) is native to North America and was first found in the EPPO region in Italy in 2000 and then spread in many countries of the EPPO region (EPPO RS 2001/057, RS 2020/169, RS 2025/255). It is regulated as a quarantine pest in Belarus and the Eurasian Economic Union.
A scientific paper recently reported the first record of C. arcuata in Belarus in 2025. Two males were observed on leaves of an oak tree (Quercus robur) in August 2025 in Brest region (Kobryn district, Verkhalesye village). Further surveys were conducted by the authors in Brest region, but no further specimens were found. The specimens found were destroyed and the infested tree was treated with a biological insecticide containing entomopathogenic fungi.
The NPPO of Belarus informed the EPPO Secretariat that official surveys of the forest stands in the village of Verkhalesye and the Verkhalesye Forestry District of the Kobryn District were conducted jointly with the authors of the paper in 2025 and 2026. C. arcuata was not found.
The pest status of Corythucha arcuata in Belarus is officially declared as: Absent.
Sources
NPPO of Belarus (2026-10).
Sinchuk A, Lukashuk A, Naiman O (2026) First record of Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832)(Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) in Belarus. EPPO Bulletin 56(2), 289–293.