The First Record of the Emerald Ash Borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera, Buprestidae) in Donbass.

Infestation with the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) was detected in September 2024 in roadside stands along the Debaltsevo–Lugansk–Rovenki highway in the Donbass region. A similar pest focus was found in the Sea of Azov region along the Rostov-on-Don–Novoazovsk highway, approximately 40 km west of Taganrog. Judging by the extent of spreading and the signs of tree decline, the species must have appeared in the Donbass region no later than 2021 or 2022. Adult parasitoid wasps Spathius polonicus Niezabitowski, 1910 were reared from the emerald ash borer larvae found in the infested trees. The invasion of A. planipennis in Donbass appears to depend on dispersal along roadside forest belts. It is notable that the species was not recorded in natural ravine forests of the Donetsk Ridge during forest pathology surveys in 2019–2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]