A small number of Ips cembrae bark beetles have been intercepted in the west of Scotland conifer bark beetle Pest Free Area.  Ground surveys have not detected any breeding populations, but a temporary cessation of movement of larch to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been put in place until further surveillance is completed.  Visit the Scottish Forestry website for more information. 

Further information on Ips cembrae can be found on the Forest Research website.  Suspected sightings should be reported via TreeAlert

Image credit: large larch bark beetle (Ips cembrae) by Stanislaw Kinelski, Bugwood.org, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.