In February 2022 an interception was confirmed at a nursery in England of the GB quarantine pest Pine Processionary Moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) on Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra trees imported from a French nursery that was within a designated pest free place of production for this moth.

Statutory plant health notices have been issued to the affected nurseries and the destruction of all infested Pinus trees has been completed. Investigations are ongoing and Defra, APHA and the Forestry Commission are assessing the appropriate mitigation measures for other species, not confirmed to be infested, from the affected French nursery.  

From a Scottish perspective, initial findings show that Scotland has not received supplies related to this incursion. 
 
Additionally, Scottish Forestry are now working to strengthen import requirements to further protect against the introduction and establishment of Pine Processionary Moth in GB, including a review of the option enabling import from pest free places of production. 

Further information on Pine Processionary Moth can be found on the Forest Research Website. 
Suspected sightings should be recorded via Tree Alert. 

Image credit: both images are of pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa Larva(e). Left photo by D.D. Cadahia, right photo by William M. Ciesla (Bugwood.org) Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.