Abstract
The box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) origins from East Asia. In Europe, it was recorded for the first time in 2007, and in Poland in 2012. By the end of 2020, it was found all over Poland. There are no published data on the range of C. perspectalis occurrence in Poland because it is not a quarantine pest in the European Union and is not subject to official monitoring. Data collected in 2018–2020 via a website dedicated to monitoring, for the first time, illustrate the current range and its largest concentrations in southern and central Poland. The monitoring confirmed that the main directions of the invasion are related to the main communication routes of Poland (south-north) and are of a long-distance character. The dispersal pattern corresponds to the model developed for Cameraria ohridella: a stratified dispersal model that considers long-distance road/rail transport. The second important factor contributing to the invasion of C. perspectalis are large human communities enabling rapid local dispersion (a diffusion model). Comparing its invasion with the monitoring data from 2007–2013 of two other invasive pests of Poland: Ostrinia nubilalis and Diabrotica virgifera, shows that a diffusion model best describes the spatial spread of these pests only to uninhabited neighboring areas.
Highlights
The natural range of the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859) is in Southeast Asia’s humid subtropical regions
The problem was that in the national database, which is responsible for tracking the spread of various species in Poland, operating as part of the Biodiversity Map conducted by The Polish Biodiversity Information Network (PolBIN, KSIB) in 2018, only one town was listed (Warsaw) to be infested by C. perspectalis [29]
In the last 2020 year of research, we revealed the presence of box tree moths in Warmian-Masurian, KuyavianPomeranian, and Podlaskie voivodeships (No.: 3, 6, and 8)
Summary
The natural range of the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859) is in Southeast Asia’s humid subtropical regions. Described in the mid-nineteenth century from China, it was found in India half a century later. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, its presence was confirmed in Korea, Japan, and Russia’s the Far East [1,2,3]. C. perspectalis was recorded in Europe for the first time in 2007 in Germany (Baden-Württemberg, the city of Weil am Rhein) and in the Netherlands. Considering the size of the damage done at the place of its first finding should be assumed that it was brought to Europe at least two years earlier. The places of dispersion to Europe are most probably the distribution centers of ornamental plants imported from China in Germany and the Netherlands [1]. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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