The Forestry Commission has recently urged that woodland managers, land owners and tree nurseries to remain vigilant after new breeding populations of the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) were identified in Kent.

Visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eight-toothed-european-spruce-bark-beetle-ips-typographus for information on identification and reporting of this pest.

[From GOV.UK guidance site] The larger eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) is considered a serious pest on spruce in Europe and has recently been found in the wider environment in England as part of routine plant health surveillance activity.

The beetle is mainly a secondary pest, preferring stressed or weakened trees. However, under the right environmental conditions, beetle numbers can increase enough to result in attacks on living trees.

If left uncontrolled, the beetle, in association with pathogenic fungi (particularly the blue stain fungus Endoconidiophora polonica), has the potential to cause significant damage to Britain’s spruce-based forestry and timber industries.

Image: Ips typographis by Bjørn Økland, Norwegian Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org. licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.