Pest database
Use the pest database to determine the cause of damage of your tree or shrub!
The purpose of this atlas is to help orient in a wide range of pests that can damage our trees and shrubs in the forest, in gardens, parks, etc. Take the "first step" to the accurate result. The symbology and text should quickly help determine the cause of the damage. To verify the accuracy of the determination and obtain additional information, we recommend reaching for other more detailed sources of information.
See the full pests database here: https://www.forestpests.eu/atlas
Each species has a separate pest card, where there are one or more photos and a a short description of the pest. Individual species are clearly arranged alphabetically in the atlas. They can be easily filtered according to selected parameters. Species are divided into six categories (bacteria and viruses, insects, fungi, mites, animals, other). The user can choose one of 60 trees and set the place where the pest is detected (trunk, roots, leaf/needle, fruit/seed, branch) etc.
The card of each pest contains:
- a brief description of the species, symptom, endangered trees and shrubs, place of damage, significance, category of the pest, its presence/absence in Slovakia, and information on whether or not it is an invasive species,
- each species contains one or more photos. Only 24 images are displayed on the main page of the species; if the page contains more photos, it is necessary to open the gallery with more pictures.
- One of the important assumption for the correct determination of the pest is the data on its occurrence so far. Therefore, for each pest species, a map of the distribution of that species is displayed on the pest card. Places of occurrence are generated by the system based on information from users and also from data added by experts. Red poits indicete the presence approwed by the expert, blue poits are points that were putted into the system by user without previus confirmation by expers.
- Video showing the pest in selected cases, which can also help users with identification.
- More detailed information in some cases (especialy in case of invasive pests).
- Trends of pest presence in the section "Seasonal frequency of occurence", where you can fing the seasonal trends and also trend by years (all data generated from users inquiries).
The atlas includes more than 500 species of the most important pests of woody plants and shrubs. Species are arranged alphabetically. They can be easily filtered according to the selected parameters. The applicant can quickly filter the species that most likely caused the damage.
EXPRESSIONS USED
Symptom
By symptom is meant the evidence that indicates the presence of pest or disease on a tree. It is usually a description of the place of damage or the nature of the pest's activity on the tree. The symptom is a visible sign of damage. It is not always specific enough to identify the cause of the damage based on one symptom. This is because different types of pests can have the same (or very similar) symptoms. Therefore, you need to have as much information about the damage as possible and find more signs. In any case, the symptom will help locate the damage's place.
Endangered woody plants
The user can filter pests according to the tree species on which the tree is harmed. One pest species often damages more than one tree, so it often happens that several species of trees are mentioned for one type of pest. The woody plants on which the pest rarely occurs or rarely cause damage are not listed.
Damaged plant parts
The damaged part is a significant identifier. Most pests are permanently attached to some part of the tree, such as roots, leaves, or trunk. Pest filtering based on the tree parts will enable a fast selection of species that are most likely to occur. Only a few pests harm several parts. These include, for example, cockchafers whose imagines are causing damage on leaves and larvae on tree roots. But there are very few such examples.
Significance
This feature is related to the woody plant's health status.
The "very significant" is the species that can cause the death of woody plants in a relatively short time, or its action stimulates the secondary pests, which then subsequently cause wilting and death of woody plants. As a rule, it can cause the death of a tree in a short time. If it is detected, immediate measures must be taken, as it can overpopulate and then cause catastrophic damage to the stands.
The "significant" is the species that can not cause the death of woody plants in a short time. Usually, the tree can wither over a longer time and gradually die due to the pest's activity. It ordinarily cannot cause the death of a tree, but it significantly worsens its health. The longer its action lasts, the more significant its activity can be..
The "less important" is the species that can cause damage to the tree, but this usually does not directly cause the tree's death. It reduces physiological resistance, causes deformations, etc. Sometimes its occurrence does not negatively affect the health of the tree. It can act as a pest only, in particular, specific cases.
Pest category
Pests are divided into 6 categories. The most represented are insects and fungi. Other groups are represented to a lesser extent. The systematics of pests is not emphasized. Instead, pest names that correspond to common terminology have been used (http://www.faunaeur.org/, http://www.indexfungorum.org, Ferianc, 1975).
Found in Europe
Because the atlas is intended primarily for users from Europe, we also provide information on whether the species occurs in Europe. Especially some invasive alien pests have been included even though they are not present in Europe yet. However, their arrival is expected soon, so we consider it necessary to inform the professional public about them in advance.
Invasive alien species
A non-native or invasive alien species (IAS) lives outside its native distributional range. Not every non-native species is also invasive. However, the species become invasive if it begins to spread rapidly in the territory; it has not yet occurred and begins to cause economic or other damages in the new area of distribution.
Similar damage
Up to four species are shown at the bottom of the pest card, causing similar damage. However, it is not always the same woody plant. The emphasis is not on systematics, and they are not identical species from the systematics point of view but from the point of view of similar damage.
On this page, we have tried to use terms that are understandable to the broadest public. But, in some cases, we cannot use equivalents of technical terms because they simply do not exist. For this case, we have prepared a list of explanations to help you better understand the texts.
| Expression | Explanation |
| anamorphic stage (anamorph) | The stage of the fungus produces asexual spores. |
| assimilation organ | Needle or leaf of a tree. There are reactions, providing the exchange of substances and energy from the environment into substances necessary for the plant's life. |
| ascospore | Sexually produced spore in ascus of fungi class Ascomycetes. |
| basidiospore | Reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi |
| bivoltine | Insect species that have two generations per year during its development. |
| defoliation | Leaves of plants fall off, caused by abiotic or biotic factors. |
| defoliator | A pest that is causing defoliation. |
| diapause | It is a physiological state where total activity is reduced to a minimum. Insects are thus able to overcome recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions. It can occur at any stage of development. |
| entomophagous | Feeding mainly on insects. |
| entomopathogenic | Causing diseases to insect. |
| pheromone | Substances (attractants) that are produced by insects and are released into the environment. A form of insect communication (signals for reproductive activity - sexual pheromones, concentration - aggregation pheromones, warning, defensive, territorial, trace-marking, and social regulation in the insect population). |
| fructification | Production of spores by fungi; also a fruiting body |
| phytophagous | Feeding on living plants. |
| gradation | An overgrowth or an outbreak of a specific species, associated with economic (or other) damage. |
| gradation area | The area in which a particular insect species has explosive growth |
| imago | An insect in its final, adult, sexually mature state. |
| imperfect stage | Developmental stage in which fungi reproduce by asexual spores, primarily by conidia. |
| instar | The developmental stage of insect larva between molts |
| introduction | Accidental or intentional introduction of new non-native organisms. |
| conidium (syn. conidiospore) on conidiophores | An asexual fungus spore formed from the end or side of the hypha or on specific parts of the hypha. (Phytopath.) |
| larva | Each juvenile postembryonic stage of an insect, an individual who has not reached sexual maturity and final form. |
| intermediate hosts | A type of host allows some species - phytophagous or parasitoids - to survive when the primary host is missing. It often acts as a parasite vector to reach its definitive host. |
| mine | It's a trail left by insect larvae as it feeds in the parenchyma of a leaf. |
| monophage | An animal with a high degree of specialization feeds on a single type of food (e.g., a single plant species). |
| oligophage | An animal whose food specialization is not as narrow as that of monophagous. Feeding on s few specific types of food (e.g., a single plant genus or family). |
| polyphage | A species of animal with a broad, non-specific range of food sources. Popularly - "omnivore". |
| false caterpillar | Hymenopteran larva. |
| parasite | An organism that obtains a substantial part of the nutrients and energy for its existence from another living organism (host). As a result of this relationship, the host usually dies. |
| pathogen | A cellular (bacteria, fungi, etc.) or non-cellular (virus) organism capable of causing disease on a single host or group of hosts. |
| population | A community of individuals of one species living in a defined area. |
| population dynamics | A process involving changes in the structure of the population. |
| gallery | A track of insect activity on plant organs. |
| resistance | The ability of the host organism to resist a harmful pathogenic factor, the ability to reduce or overcome the effects of that negative factor (the opposite of susceptibility). |
| rhizomorph | A long, strongly branching cord-like mycelial formation of black or black-brown color similar to thin roots. |
| saprophyte | An organism that lives on a dead substrate of plant origin. |
| sistens | Developmental generation line of aphides of the family Adelgidaae, characterized by specific morphological and bionomic properties. |
| stroma | The fruiting body - a compact mycelial structure in or on which fructifications are usually formed. |
| mycelial fan | A white fanlike array of fungal hyphae of a characteristic fungal odor. |
| maturation feeding | A feed of adult insects, during which the genitals mature. |
| ascus | A suck-like cell usually contains eight ascospores. These were formed after karyogamy and reduction division. The pockets are opened by a lid (operculum). |
| spore | The microscopically small reproductive unit of fungi consists of one or more cells; in function, it is analogous to the green plant's seeds. |
