Seen for the first time in Muğla, teams are on alert

First seen in Turkey in 2014 and subsequently detected in Antalya, Bartın, Trabzon, and Zonguldak respectively until 2020, the destructive, quarantined pest known as the 'citrus longhorned beetle' was spotted on plane trees in the Köyceğiz district of Muğla in mid-May.

It is estimated that the citrus longhorned beetle, which can destroy maple, horse chestnut, alder, birch, hornbeam, citrus, hazelnut, cotoneaster, beech, apple, pear, plum, poplar, elm, plane, and acacia trees, was transported to our country via timber and ornamental plants arriving from abroad.

To create a plan for combating and taking precautions against the citrus longhorned beetle, an information meeting was held by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry on May 22, 2024, with the participation of district agriculture directorates, chambers of agriculture, metropolitan and district municipalities, regional directorates of forestry, and the Bornova Plant Protection Research Institute, where information was exchanged.

In accordance with the established plan, the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality sprayed and began monitoring 15 infected plane trees located in areas under its jurisdiction.

Biologist Pınar Gitmez from the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Department of Agricultural Services stated that they have taken measures for the 15 trees in their area of responsibility regarding the destructive longhorned beetle seen in the Köyceğiz district in mid-May and that these trees will be monitored.

Pınar Gitmez said, "The destructive, quarantined citrus longhorned beetle was detected in our Köyceğiz district in mid-May. It was identified on two plane trees on the main road in the center of Köyceğiz. The District Directorate of Agriculture investigated and marked the other infected trees. We drilled a number of holes in the trees appropriate to their trunk thickness and intervened with pesticides. We injected the pesticide. We covered them with paste and wrapped the area to prevent the larvae from emerging. In this way, the spraying of 15 trees has begun. We will continue to monitor them. We also ask our citizens to notify the Metropolitan and Provincial Directorate of Agriculture teams when they see this beetle."