Ales PAJMON¹ & Gregor UREK^2
1 Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Plant Protection Department, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Maize production is of major importance in Slovenia as the greatest share of cultivated fields are sown with this field crop. The climate conditions are also favorable for the development of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera), therefore we have been regularly monitoring the possibility of appearance of this pest since 1996. As in 1998 a new focus of western corn rootworm has appeared in Italy, in 1999 the number of checkpoints was increased from the former 30 to the present 50. The majority of checkpoints, i.e. 32, were installed in the north-eastern part of Siovenia along the border with Hungary and partly with Croatia. In the western part of Slovenia along the border with Italy, 10 and around the Ljubljana International Airport 8 checkpoints were placed. Monitoring was carried out for two months while pheromone traps and yellow sticky traps were checked regularly and replaced with the new ones if necessary. Until now, not any western corn rootworm has been found at any checkpoint. Spreading of this pest elsewhere in Europe, primarily in neighboring countries, will influence the intensity of this kind of monitoring in Slovenia in future.