Probability of the Emerald Ash Borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera, Buprestidae) Spreading by Flight in the Green Spaces along the M10 Highway from Moscow to St. Petersburg

The emerald ash borer ( Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) was introduced to Moscow, from where it began active radial spreading since the mid-2000s outbreak, advancing in the northern directions much less than in the southern ones. Agrilus planipennis is able to spread both by flight and by hitchhiking, covering long distances directly on vehicles or with transported goods. The emerald ash borer disperses by flight in case of the presence and abundance of host plants (ash trees) along its dispersal route. Although A. planipennis was first recorded in St. Petersburg in 2020, it could have probably got there by hitchhiking. The emerald ash borer could hardly have reached the city on its own, since there are no continuous ash stands in the largest part of the area between Moscow and St. Petersburg. There is also no sufficient food resource (ash trees) along the M10 highway, linking these cities; the ashes and their stands are scanty and separated by long distances. Knowing the distribution pattern of the food resources along the A. planipennis supposed flight path, it is possible to draw conclusions about the prospects for its movement in one or another direction, make distribution forecasts, and, in some cases, prevent the local advancement of A. planipennis making gaps in the stands of host plants, for example, in roadside plantings.