First report: Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff, 1876), new invasive ambrosia beetle in Montenegro

Key message 

The ambrosia beetle Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff, 1876), originally from Southeast Asia, was first found in Europe in 2010, specifically in Italy. Since then, X. compactus has rapidly spread across southern Europe, including France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Malta, Slovenia, Russia, Croatia, and Switzerland, gradually moving northward through lower-elevation areas. In 2023, a single female was found near the village of Kameno in Montenegro. This female was sifted through leaf litter in rocky terrain within a deciduous forest mainly populated by oak and hornbeam trees, located 2.5 km from the international port of Herceg Novi.

Keywords 
Ambrosia beetle; Montenegro; Xylosandrus compactus

Publication 
Fiala, T., Knížek, M. & Holuša, J. First report: Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff, 1876), new invasive ambrosia beetle in Montenegro. Annals of Forest Science 82, 16 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-025-01290-x

Handling editor 
Aurélien Sallé