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Blog

Host of the month - Pine

Matt Parratt discusses the different types of Pine (Pinus) and Dothistroma needle blight (DNB). 

Matt Parratt  •  15 Jul 2024

Blog

TreeAlert Demystified: What happens when you submit a report?

A question that the Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service team are often asked is, ‘What happens when I send in a TreeAlert enquiry, how does it all work?’  Here, Chris Berman, entomology diagnostician at Forest Research, pulls back the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes!

Chris Berman  •  23 Jan 2025

Pests and diseases

Agrilus fleischeri

Native to Asia, this beetle can infest poplar and willow trees with the beetles emerging from spring onwards.

Pests and diseases

Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp

The oriental chestnut gall wasp larvae cause galls to develop on the buds, leaves and leaf stalks of sweet chestnut trees making them vulnerable to other pests and diseases.

Blog

Plane Lace Bug: A Delicate Micro Menace Concealed in the City

On the 25^th of July 2024, a public observation was made on iNaturalist of an interesting tiny bug found on someone’s bag in central London. A scientist from Defra spotted the report and gathered more information from the informer, believing it to be a specimen of the plane lace bug (Corythucha ciliata) due to its lace-like appearance and the location of the find in central London, where London plane trees abound. 

Amirah Nigoumi  •  30 Apr 2025