290 J. FOR. SCI., 63, 2017 (6): 290–292 JOURNAL OF FOREST SCIENCE, 63, 2017 (6): 290–292 doi: 10.17221/3/2017-JFS First observations on the breeding ecology of invasive Dryocoetes himalayensis Strohmeyer, 1908 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in its introduced range in Europe – Short communication Jiří FOIT 1 *, Josef KAŠÁK 1 , Tomáš MÁJEK 1 , Miloš KNÍŽEK 2 , Gernot HOCH 3 , Gottfried STEYRER 3 1 Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic 2 Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Jíloviště-Strnady, Czech Republic 3 Department of Forest Protection, Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Vienna, Austria *Corresponding author: foit.jiri@google.com Abstract Foit J., Kašák J., Májek T., Knížek M., Hoch G., Steyrer G. (2017): First observations on the breeding ecology of invasive Dryocoetes himalayensis Strohmeyer, 1908 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in its introduced range in Europe. J. For. Sci., 63: 290–292. The invasive bark beetle species Dryocoetes himalayensis Strohmeyer, 1908, originated from Himalayan regions, ar- rived in Europe in the 1970s, and is now considered to be established in several European countries (Czech Republic, France and Switzerland). This species is reported to develop in walnut ( Juglans regia Linnaeus) and pear ( Pyrus lanata D. Don) in the region of its origin; however, to date, there has been no information regarding its host trees and breed- ing ecology in its introduced range. The present paper reports the development of D. himalayensis in declining black walnut trees ( Juglans nigra Linnaeus) in a floodplain forest of southern Moravia (Czech Republic). The galleries were associated with basal parts of trunks of various diameters (7–45 cm) and were accompanied by dark necrotic areas and noticeable outflow of black fluid from beetle entrance holes. Further studies on the bionomics of this species are necessary to clarify its potential status as a pest of walnut trees. Keywords: bark beetle; black walnut; Czech Republic; forestry; Juglans nigra; pest Supported by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic, Project Indicators of Tree Vital- ity Reg. No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0265, and by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Resolution RO0116 (reference number 10462/2016-MZE-17011). Invasive species represent one of the biggest threats to sustainable forestry (Chornesky et al. 2005). Information regarding the ecology of inva- sive species is an essential prerequisite for elimina- tion of their negative impacts on ecosystems. Dryo- coetes himalayensis Strohmeyer, 1908, is an invasive species with poorly known ecology. D. himalayen- sis was originally distributed only in the Himalayan region (India: Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttara- khand) (Wood, Bright 1992; Maiti, Saha 2009). Tis species was frst detected in Europe in 1975 in France and in 1980 in Switzerland (Knížek 2011a). It has been proposed as an introduced and estab- lished species in Europe (Kirkendall, Faccoli