

On April 30th, at Villa Thuret – INRA students from Etablissement Vert d’Azur Antibes, were informed about xylosandrus and SAMFIX LIFE Program through a course by CEIBA Diagnostic de l’arbre”
At end of April, has been finish the installation of the traps considered in Action C3 for el Tello and Surroundings. Traps has been distributed accordingly high, medium and low risk points of Xylosandrus craussiusculus dispersion. Traps will be revised fortnightly.
On April 27th, at Villa Thuret – INRA, 257 visitors for a “Great biodiversity challenge” during the Festival des Jardins de la Côte d’Azur. SAMFIX LIFE Programme was presented both through a stand concerning biological invasions, in particular xylosandrus, and a guided visit explaining the traps.
On April 26th, Catherine Ducatillion informed some HORTIS members association about xylosandrus at Villa Thuret – INRA concerning LIFE Programme. HORTIS association gathers public gardens and public green spaces managers called “Les responsables nature en ville”.
On April 20th, Marc Bottin, botanist approved by INRA – Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique , informed people visiting the Jardin Thuret about xylosandrus through Communauté d’Agglomération Sophia Antipolis “Balades au jardin” also set up by CPIE and Association des Amis du Jardin.
The materials, used during last month to inform park rangers, inspectors, nurseries and other stakeholders, are now available in the download section. You can find useful information on what Xylosandrus and the damage they cause look like, what we currently know about their threat, what the 2019 monitoring campaign of SAMFIX is about in France
Today the sampling campaign of Xylosandrus spp at Circeo Park kicked off. Researchers from UNITUS and INRA together with staff of the Circeo National Park are working at the moment at the Promontory and in the State Forest to install the traps. Goal is to verify the invasion status and to select a specific lure for Xylosandrus, useful to activate future
The activities of SAMFIX, with particular attention to the fungal-insect association and related risk, were presented as oral communication at the final meeting of the Action COST FP1406: pine canker – strategies for the management of gibberella circulated in greenhouses and forests (PINESTRENGTH), in Skopje (Macedonia), on March 26th.
On March 26th, a theorico-practical training day has been imparted for plant health inspectors and autorities of Generalitat Valenciana, under Action A4.2. At the first part, SAMFIX project has been presented and we speak on biology, ecology, distribution and invasive process of Xylosandrus craussiusculus. After a coffe break a mini-workshop of insect identification and tree
LIFE SAMFIX team reuned in the beautiful garden of Villa Thuret at Antibes. Preparing for the first trapping season that will be kicked off in forthcoming months. Highly necessary because previous activities have shown that infestation is spreading along the Tyrrhenian coast. No time to lose! Stay tuned