(Daejeon=Yonhap News) By Park Ju-young = It was predicted that the invasive pest 'Yellow Longhorn Beetle' that has settled in Jeju has a high possibility of establishing itself if it enters the South Coast region.
According to the National Institute of Forest Science of the Korea Forest Service on the 17th, an analysis of ecological information and domestic climate suitability for over 200 invasive pests through machine learning suggests that the Yellow Longhorn Beetle is likely to settle in some areas of the South Coast if it enters the region.
Originally from subtropical regions, the Yellow Longhorn Beetle was first reported in Jeju in 2019 and officially confirmed to have settled domestically in 2022.
During its larval stage, it primarily inhabits nettle trees, creating long tunnel-like holes inside the stems, causing trees to die or even fall. Adult beetles strip the branches and bark of nettle trees, causing them to wither and die.
In contrast, the dry wood termite discovered in Changwon, Gyeongnam in September 2023 was predicted to have a low possibility of domestic settlement.
Invasive pests can be eliminated during initial entry when their distribution range is narrow, but once they adapt to the domestic climate and spread, control becomes difficult, requiring continuous management.
With recent climate change expanding pest distribution ranges and increasing population numbers, there is an urgent need to establish a preemptive response system to prevent new subtropical invasive pest entries.
Researcher Nam Young-woo of the Forest Pest Research Division stated, "We are conducting research using artificial intelligence technology to predict and quickly respond to large-scale invasive pest occurrences" and "The calculated climate suitability will be used to quantitatively identify common characteristics of reported species and predict settlement possibilities of potential invasive pests not yet introduced."
jyoung@yna.co.kr