12. References received (December 2023; with original abstracts when available)

Dang Y, Wang X, Zhang Y, Wei K, Cao L (2023) Physiological responses of Agrilus planipennis adults to short-time high-temperature conditions. Scientia Silvae Sinicae 59(2), 112−120. doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20210691 

Objective: This study aims to explore the cause of heat tolerance formation in Agrilus planipennis (emerald ash borer, EAB) adults from the physiological level, so as to provide guidance for revealing the formation mechanism of insect resistance to environmental stress. 

Method: EAB male and female adults were incubated in different high temperature (30, 33, 37 and 41 ºC) and 25 ºC (served as the control) conditions for 4, 8 and 12 h, respectively, and the insects were collected to measure the water content, fat content, and glycogen, glucose, trehalose, and protein content. 

Result: With the increase of temperature and the extension of the duration of high temperature, the contents of water and fat in both male and female adults of EAB showed a downward trend. With temperature increasing, the glycogen content was increased, while the contents of glucose and trehalose increased first and then decreased, reaching the highest level at 33…37 ºC. The contents of glycogen, glucose and trehalose in the male and female adults all generally showed an upward trend with increasing time under high temperature. The protein content in the male and female adults increased with fluctuation with the increase of temperature, but gradually decreased with the extension of high temperature duration. The contents of water, fat and glycogen in EAB male adults were significantly higher than those in the female adults, while the contents of trehalose and protein were relatively lower than those in female adults. 

Conclusion: Under short-time high-temperature conditions, the fat content, and various sugars and protein contents of EAB adults have changed obviously to some extent. The water and fat contents are less affected by temperature and the treatment duration, while the sugar and protein contents are significantly influenced by temperature and the treatment duration. Many stress-resistant substances, such as sugar and protein, play an important role in regulating the resistance of EAB adults against high temperature conditions.

Doonan JM, Kosawang C, Eisenring M, Ladd T, Roe AD, Budde KB, Jørgensen HJL, Queloz V, Gossner MM, Nielsen LR (2023) Transcriptome profiling of Fraxinus excelsior genotypes infested by emerald ash borer. Sci Data 10(1), 680. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-02302588-z  

European ash, Fraxinus excelsior is facing the double threat of ongoing devastation by the invasive fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and the imminent arrival of the non-native emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. The spread of EAB which is currently moving westwards from European Russia and Ukraine into central Europe, poses an additional substantial threat to European ash, F. excelsior. While the molecular basis for resistance or variation in resistance among European ash genotypes is heavily investigated, comparatively little is known about the molecular ash traits involved in resistance against EAB. In this study we have gathered transcriptomic data from EAB inoculated genotypes of F. excelsior that have previously shown different levels of susceptibility to EAB. Resultant datasets show differential gene expression in susceptible and resistant genotypes in response to EAB infestation. This data will provide important information on the molecular basis of resistance to the EAB and allow the development of management plans to combat a pending threat of a culturally and ecologically important European tree species.

Gougherty AV,  Elliott JM, LaRue EA,  Gallion J, Fei S (2023) Positive association between Emerald ash borer residence time and accumulation of invasive plants. Ecosphere 14(12), e4719. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4719  

Invasive forest pests can affect the composition and physical structure of forest canopies that may facilitate invasion by non-native plants. However, it remains unclear whether this process is generalizable across invasive plant species at broad spatial scales, and how other landscape characteristics may simultaneously facilitate non-native plant invasion. Here, we assembled a dataset of over 3000 repeatedly measured forest plots and quantified the impact of emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis) residence time, land cover, and forest structure on the accumulation and coverage of invasive plants. We show plots in counties with longer EAB residences tended to accumulate more invasive plants than plots with shorter EAB residences. On average, nearly half of the plots with ash (Fraxinus spp.) in counties with EAB accumulated an additional 0.48 invasive plant species over the 5- to 6-year resample interval compared to plots with ash in counties without EAB at the time of sampling. Increases in invasive species coverage were also evident in counties with EAB—although residence time did not have a strong effect, while forest gap fraction and vertical complexity were each negatively associated with increased coverage. This work has implications for understanding how invasive forest pests can facilitate the spread of non-native plants.

Hauer R (2023) Emerald ash borer two decades later. Tree Care Industry Association Magazine. https://tcimag.tcia.org/tree-care/plant-health-care/emerald-ash-borer-twodecades-later/  

Kucheryavenko TV (2022) Characteristics of infestation of ash stands by the emerald ash borer in the forests of the state unit Starobilsk LMG depending on the types of forest conditions. In: Plant Protection and Quarantine in the 21st Century: Problems and Prospects. Materials of the International scientific-practical conference dedicated to the anniversaries of the outstanding phytopathologists doctors of biological sciences, professors V. K. Panteleev and M. M. Rodygin (Kharkov, October 20−21, 2022), Kharkiv, 2022. 244 p. (ISBN

978-614-581-554-6), p. 119−121 (in Ukrainian)

In the summer of 2019, the presence of Agrilus planipennis was confirmed on the territory of the Luhansk region. During 2020, the pest was found at a distance of 32–52 km from the first detection point.

Land E, Kutschbach-Brohl L, Kane DD (2023) Change in forest tree composition on the Lake Erie Islands due to the invasion of the Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) and invasive plants. Northeastern Naturalist 30(4), 449−466; https://www.eaglehill.us/NENAonline/articles/NENA-30-4/15-Land.shtml

Since its initial invasion in 2002, Agrilus planipennis (Emerald Ash Borer [EAB ]) has devastated Fraxinus (ash) species in forest communities of the Midwestern United States. The forests of the Lake Erie Islands have a unique composition that is typically divided into 2 categories: upland forests, which have rockier soil and bedrock above lake level, and lowland forests, which have deeper soil and bedrock below lake level. We used plot-sampling methods in selected wooded preserves of both upland and lowland forests on South Bass and North Bass islands, OH. We compared our findings with data collected on those 2 islands as well as Middle Bass and Kelleys islands in previous studies from before infestation, during initial infestation in the 2000s, and approximately one decade later to monitor ash loss and to determine which species were regenerating in these new canopy gaps. We calculated importance values and subsequent Boerner values through determination of relative frequency, relative coverage, and relative density of individual tree species within study plots. Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green Ash) was most negatively impacted by the EAB while Fraxinus quadrangulata (Blue Ash) was still important in upland forests due to regeneration seen in small saplings. Lonicera maackii (Amur Honeysuckle) began filling in canopy gaps in upland forests and lowland forests, while invasive species like Morus alba (White Mulberry), Rhamnus cathartica (Common Buckthorn), and Elaeagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive) filled in the canopy gaps of lowland woods. The decline in ash populations due to the EAB has allowed for further growth of numerous invasive plant species and transformed the composition of Lake Erie Island forests.

Matula E, Bozsik G, Muskovits J, Ruszák C, Jávorszky L, Bonte J, Paulin M, Vuts J, Fail J, Tóth Á et al. (2023) The optimal choice of trap type for the recently spreading jewel beetle pests Lamprodila festiva and Agrilus sinuatus (Coleoptera, Buprestidae). Insects 14, 961.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ insects14120961

Background: Two jewel beetle species native to Europe, the cypress jewel beetle, Lamprodila (Palmar, Ovalisia) festiva L. (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), and the sinuate pear tree borer, Agrilus sinuatus Olivier (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), are key pests of ornamental thuja and junipers and of orchard and ornamental rosaceous trees, respectively. Although chemical control measures are available, due to the beetles’ small size, agility, and cryptic lifestyle at the larval stage, efficient tools for their detection and monitoring are missing. Consequently, by the time emerging jewel beetle adults are noticed, the trees are typically significantly damaged. 

Methods: Thus, the aim of this study was to initiate the development of monitoring traps. Transparent, light green, and purple sticky sheets and multifunnel traps were compared in field experiments in Hungary. 

Results: Light green and transparent sticky traps caught more L. festiva and A. sinuatus jewel beetles than non-sticky multifunnel traps, regardless of the larger size of the colored surface of the funnel traps.

Conclusions: Although light green sticky sheets turned out to be optimal for both species, using transparent sheets can reduce catches of non-target insects. The key to the effectiveness of sticky traps, despite their reduced suitability for quantitative comparisons, may lie in the behavioral responses of the beetles to the optical features of the traps.

Maze D, Bond J, Mattsson M (2023) Modelling impacts to water quality in salmonidbearing waterways following the introduction of Emerald Ash Borer in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

Preprint (a paper is under review). https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3396608/v1

Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia Benth.) wetlands and riparian forests are an important economic, cultural, and ecological resource in the Pacific Northwest, USA, and are threatened by the invasive insect, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (EAB). Following the discovery of EAB in Forest Grove, Oregon in June of 2022, concern has focused on EAB-induced ash mortality that has the potential to alter vegetation communities and modify wetland hydrology by elevating the water table. Of primary concern is an increase in solar loading of waterways and wetlands that are already degraded beyond meeting their beneficial uses for Endangered Species Act-listed salmonids and other cold-water species following canopy dieback of Oregon ash. Our study, begun before the first detection of EAB on the West Coast, models potential impacts of EAB-mediated Oregon ash canopy loss to temperature-related water quality on two waterways in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon. Our results indicate a significant increase in solar loading with likely negative impacts to aquatic Endangered Species Act-listed salmonids, other aquatic wildlife, and associated habitat. We forecast greater impacts to these resources outside our study scope and include management considerations and recommendations for entities with water quality-related regulatory obligations.

Nalepa CA, Bohannon GR, Oten KLF (2023) Size of emerald ash borer in North Carolina, USA: Preliminary evidence for a sawtooth cline? Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 1−8. https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12598  

1.               We test the hypothesis of Marshall et al. (2013) that in the United States there is a converse Bergmann’s cline in body size of Agrilus planipennis (emerald ash borer, EAB), with the largest females (x = 12.6 mm length) collected at the most southern latitudes tested (37 ºN).

2.               In 2020, we employed three techniques to collect EAB at a North Carolina (NC) site located at 35.64 ºN (purple prism traps [PPTs], log emergence, Cerceris fumipennis biosurveillance). The study was repeated in 2021, but with green funnel traps replacing log emergence. EAB collected by C. fumipennis in three altitudinally disparate regions of NC were also measured.

3.               Overall, EAB collected in 2020 averaged 12.02 mm, with those emerged from logs significantly smaller than those from PPTs. Length of females collected from C. fumipennis at three elevations was not significantly different and averaged 12.01 mm. In 2021, females collected from funnel traps, PPTs and C. fumipennis were not significantly different and larger (x = 12.41 mm) than in 2020; eliminating the smaller log-emerged EAB from the 2020 data set did not change the outcome. 

4.               Mean EAB size in NC never reached the reported 12.6 mm at 37 ºN, regardless of the technique or altitude tested. Our expansion of the latitudinal range in which EAB body size has been studied may shift the proposed converse Bergmann’s cline to that of a sawtooth or other non-linear model, likely associated with a transition in EAB voltinism at or near NC latitudes.

Noseworthy MK, Souque TJ, MacQuarrie CJK, John EP, Gray M, Roberts J., Allen EA (2023) Testing the heat treatment dose for Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) prepupae using the Humble water bath. Journal of Economic Entomology, toad211, https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad211  

The lethal heat treatment dose (time and temperature) for the prepupal life stage of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), emerald ash borer (EAB), was determined through an in vitro application using a carefully calibrated heat treatment apparatus. The lethal and sublethal effects of heat on A. planipennis prepupae were assessed through a ramped heat delivery application, simulating industrial kilns and conventional heat chamber operations, for treatments combining target temperatures of 54 ºC, 55 ºC, and 56 ºC, and exposure durations of 0 min (i.e., kiln temperature ramp only), 15 min, or 30 min. Prepupal EAB larvae did not survive exposure to 56 ºC for 15 min or longer, or to 55 ºC for 30 min. Sublethal effects were observed for all other treatments. Sublethal effects included delayed development and failure to complete the pupal and adult life stages.

Skrylnyk YY, Kucheryavenko TV, Zinchenko OV (2023) Distribution of the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in the Kharkiv region. In: Plant Protection and Quarantine in the 21st Century: Problems and Prospects. Materials of the International scientific-practical conference dedicated to the anniversaries of the outstanding phytopathologists doctors of biological sciences, professors V. K. Panteleev and

M. M. Rodygin (Kharkov, October 20−21, 2022), Kharkiv: 2022. 244 p. (ISBN 978-614-581-5546), p. 142–145 (in Ukrainian)

Stanley RK, Carey DW, Mason ME, Doran A, Wolf J, Otoo KO, Poland TM, Koch JL, Jones AD and Romero-Severson J (2023) Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) infestation bioassays and metabolic profiles of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) provide evidence for an induced host defensive response to larval infestation. Front. For. Glob. Change 6,

1166421. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1166421

Introduction: Larvae of the invasive emerald ash borer [EAB, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)], kill over 99% of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall) trees they infest, yet a small percentage of green ash (“lingering ash”) survive years of heavy EAB attack. In the face of an ongoing invasion that threatens multiple North American Fraxinus species with extinction, any evidence for reproducible defensive responses in the native species merits investigation.

Methods: We evaluated the capacity of three families of green ash F1 progeny to kill EAB larvae when challenged in greenhouse studies by infestation with a uniform density of EAB eggs followed by dissection 8 weeks post-infestation and comparison of the host metabolomic profiles.

Results: The mean proportions of host-killed larvae in the two families of F1 progeny from lingering ash parents were significantly higher than that of host killed larvae in the family of F1 progeny from susceptible ash parents (p < 0.001). Untargeted metabolomics comparing F1 progeny in the quartile with the highest percent host-killed larvae (HHK) to F1 progeny in the quartile with the lowest percent host-killed larvae (LHK) and to the uninfested F1 progeny within each family revealed evidence for induced biochemical responses to EAB. Infested trees produced significantly higher levels of select secoiridoids than uninfested trees, and LHK progeny produced significantly higher levels of select secoiridoids than the HHK progeny. HHK progeny produced significantly higher abundances of three metabolites annotated as aromatic alkaloids than the LHK and uninfested individuals.

Discussion: Based on these results, we hypothesize that green ash responds to EAB infestation. However, only certain trees have the genetic capacity to tailor a response that kills enough EAB larvae to prevent lethal damage to the vascular system. Rigorous tests of this hypothesis will require 15–20 years of additional crossing, phenotyping, and omics analyses. The results of this investigation will encourage the establishment and continuation of breeding programs that, in concert with biocontrol and management, could provide trees that slow, if not halt, the decimation of the Fraxinus gene pool. At the same time, ongoing work on host-insect interaction will contribute to our understanding of how forest trees recognize and defend themselves against phloem-feeding insects.

Steinhart F, Burzlaff T (2023) FraxForFuture – Erhalt der Gemeinen Esche (Fraxinus excelsior) als Wirtschaftsbaumart. Tagungsband im Rahmen der 63. Deutschen Pflanzenschutztagung am 27.09.2023 in Göttingen (Berichte Freiburger Forstliche Forschung Heft 106) [Conservation of the common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) as a commercial tree species (Proceedings of the 63rd German Plant Protection Conference

hold on 27.09.2023 in Göttingen]                                                  https://www.fva-

bw.de/fileadmin/publikationen/fff_bericht/Tagungband_FraxForFuture_final.pdf  

Strygun O, Chumak P, Anyol O, Kivel Y (2023) Invasive and common arthropods − pests of plants of the genus Fraxinus L. in cenoses of Kyiv and Kyiv region. In: Shust OA et al. (eds). Actual Problems, Ways and Prospects of the Development of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Urban Ecology and Phytoremediation: Materials of the 3rd International

Scientific and Practical Conference (Bila Tserkva, September 21, 2023). Bila Tserkva: BNAU.

P.   54−57 (in  Ukrainian) https://science.btsau.edu.ua/sites/default/files/tezy/actual_probl_landsh_arhitek_21.09.23.pdf  

Route inspections of parks and squares were carried out in 2021−2023. The condition of the ash trees growing in the parks of Kyiv and the Kyiv region has deteriorated significantly due to a number of reasons: abiotic (climate change), anthropogenic (increasing recreational load) and biogenic factors (increasing the harmfulness of autochthonous species and increasing the number of invasive species of biota). Among the native pests, Hylesinus fraxini was the most harmful, and among the invasive ones − Agrilus planipennis and Prociphilus fraxinifolii. The simultaneous influence of these three phytophagous species in stands of ash can be a potentially real threat which can cause elimination of these trees from the urban phytocenoses.

Strygun OO, Fedorenko VP, Chumak PY, Vygera SM, Honcharenko OM, Anyol OH (2022) Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) in Kyiv parks. In: Plant Protection and Quarantine in the 21st Century: Problems and Prospects. Materials of the International scientific-practical conference dedicated to the anniversaries of the outstanding phytopathologists doctors of biological sciences, professors V.K. Panteleev and M.M. Rodygin (Kharkov, October 20−21, 2022), Kharkiv: 2022. 244 p. (ISBN 978-614-581-554-

6),  p.   189−201 (in  Ukrainian). https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=ru&user=U2vU8_oAAAAJ& sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=U2vU8_oAAAAJ:Fu2w8maKXqMC  

It was established that in the park of the National Technical University of Ukraine KPI named after Igor Sikorskyi, the plantations of common ash are completely degraded due to the influence of the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. In the near future, we should expect the appearance of this dangerous pest in other localities (botanical gardens, parks, squares) where plants of the genus Fraxinus L. are grow in Kyiv.

Sun J, Koski T-M, Wickham JD, Baranchikov YN, Bushley KE (2024) Emerald ash borer management and research: Decades of damage and still expanding. Annual Review of

Entomology 69, 239−258 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-012323-032231

See the abstract above, in Section 7

Zhuravleva YN, Karpun NN (2023) The first record of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) in Stavropol. Subtropical and Ornamental Horticulture 85, 169−178

(in Russian) https://journal.subtropras.ru/archive/85/13/ ; DOI: 10.31360/2225-3068-202385-169-178

A phytosanitary survey of urban forests in Stavropol was conducted in February 2023.

A. planipennis was found in plantations of Roundwood, Chlin forest, and mountain area “Tamanskaya lesnaya dacha”. In the lower and middle part of the trunks under the bark, characteristic, highly convoluted, spiral larval passages and larvae clogged with frass were found, as well as D-shaped flight holes with a diameter of about 4−5 mm typical for the emerald ash borer at the exit points of the beetles. The structure of the larvae and the shape of the flight holes made it possible to identify the species of the pest. The results of the survey suggest that the reason for ash’s desiccation in the urban forests of Stavropol was the emerald ash borer. This record is the first for Stavropol and Stavropol Krai. Most likely, the settlement of the emerald ash borer occurred no later than 2020.

Zobrist K, Bomberger RA, Darr MN, Glass JR, Hulbert JM, Roberts ES (2023). Emerald ash borer and its implications for Washington state. Washington State University Extension. https://doi.org/10.7273/000005546

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a destructive invasive insect native to eastern Asia that was accidentally introduced to North America in the Detroit, Michigan, area in the 1990s. Since then, EAB has caused almost 100% ash mortality in the areas it has spread in North America. Despite quarantine and control measures, EAB continues to spread across the US and parts of Canada. In June 2022, EAB was found in northwest Oregon near the Washington border. Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia), the Pacific Northwest s (PNW) only native ash species, is highly susceptible to EAB and could experience significant mortality throughout the region. Susceptible ash species native to Europe and eastern North America are commonly used as ornamentals in Washington cities, so urban and community forests could also be significantly impacted. This publication is intended for Extension professionals, Master Gardeners, public agency personnel, tree care professionals, and those who are interested in an in-depth review of the current state of knowledge about EAB and the implications for potential damage and mitigation strategies in Washington State. A separate publication, Managing Emerald Ash Borer in Washington State (Zobrist et al. 2023), is available for readers looking for a summary of EAB identification, distribution, impacts, and management recommendations.

Zviagintsev VB, Demidko DA, Panteleev SV, Pashenova NV, Seraya LG, Yaruk AV,

Baranchikov YN (2023) Distribution of invasive pathogen of ash dieback disease Hymenoscyphus fraxineus in European part of Russia. Izvestia Sankt-Peterburgskoj Lesotehniceskoj Akademii 244, 88−117 (in Russian with English summary). DOI: 10.21266/2079-4304.2023.244.88-117 https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=54476740; https://spbftu.ru/science/general-science-information/publications; 

As a result of the three-years long fixed-rout survey ash back disease caused by invasive ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (T. Kowalski) Baral, Queloz, et Hosoya was detected on the territory of 31 subjects of the Russian Federation for the first time. This territory is one fifth part of European range of Fraxinus excelsior. Ash dieback appeared to be widespread pathology of ash at all examined regions of Russia. Genetic material of this pathogen was found in 163 from 178 analyzed samples with disease symptoms. Overall occurrence of the disease was 96,7%. Ash forests of Central and Southern Federal Districts were characterized by relatively low level of ash trees infestation (19,7 and 13,6% accordingly) in comparison with Northern Caucasus and Volga Districts were tee infestation has reached 27,9 and 29,0% accordingly. Levels of tree infestation of the most common ash species F. excelsior and F. pennsylvanica are not significantly different: 17,8 and 21,2% accordingly. The luck of information about this prominent pathology of ash can be partially explained by masking of its symptoms by damage of ash trees caused by emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, distributed on the territory of 20 European subjects of the Russian Federation and also by often ground fires. There is an urgent need of including this pathogen into the list of partially distributed quarantine organisms on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The main efforts should be concentrated on discovery of pathogen resistant genotypes and populations of ash for producing resistant plant forms, creation of genetic reservation zones and seed orchards.