Entomologists of Altai State University took part in the international project to save the eucalyptus forests of Indonesia from pests

Almost three years of work on the study of eucalyptus pests in Indonesia culminated in the publication of an article by a group of authors from Indonesia, Japan and Russia.

Eucalyptus trees, which are known to originate mainly from Australia and adjacent islands, are actively cultivated in other tropical and subtropical regions of the world for the needs of the forestry, pulp and paper, and medical industries.

Eucalyptus trees introduced into the Sumatra province of Western Indonesia were actively damaged by local pests. The most active pest was the species Polyphagozerra coffeae. It is widespread in tropical Asia and damages plants of thirty-four families, including such important crops as coffee, cocoa, tea, ginger, etc. Serious damage to wood has been identified on eucalyptus plantations on the island of Riau in Western Indonesia.

Through the collective work of scientists from three countries on various aspects of the pest activity, its life cycle was clearly established, its natural enemies and a number of other points were identified.

“A long work together with Indonesian entomologists from the International Fund for the Asia-Pacific Region and Japanese specialists from the University of Kyushu ended with the publication of a detailed article on the biology of one of the most important insect pests in Southeast Asia in a specialized entomological journal”, noted AltSU professor Roman Yakovlev.

An article titled “Notes on the biology and natural enemies of Polyphagozerra coffeae (Nietner, 1861) infesting Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) trees in Riau, Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Cossidae, Zeuzerinae)”, prepared by a group of scientists from three countries, has been published in the authoritative international journal“ SHILAP Revista de lepidopterologia”, published by the Spanish American Society of Lepidopterology since 1973.

This publication includes empirical and theoretical studies on all aspects of lepidopterology (taxonomy, phylogeny, morphology, bionomy, ecology, faunistics and zoogeography, as well as bibliographic articles on the history of lepidopterology, or book reviews on these topics) from around the world with special emphasis on the study of conservation biology.