Hyphantria cunea Drury is a polyphagous quarantine pest, which is not evolutionarily tied to the territory of Ukraine. We have analyzed data from literary sources on the geographical spreading of Hyphantria cunea Drury, indicated the current area of the pest and noticed factors that influence the acclimatization of a pest. The motherland of Hyphantria cunea Drury is North America; in 1770, an entomologist Druri first described this species. The first indications of the harmfulness of Hyphantria cunea Drury are noted in the USA in 1899 and on the European continent Hyphantria cunea Drury was found near the city of Budapest (Hungary) on the island of Chepel in August 1940. By 1948, the pest had spread throughout Hungary and began to occupy the tree plantations of neighbouring countries, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Austria. At present, the pest is widespread in Europe, Asia, and North America. In Europe Hyphantria cunea Drury was found in countries such as: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Italy, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, France, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. In 1945 Hyphantria cunea Drury was found in Japan, in the parks of Tokyo. In 1979 – in China in Liaoning Province and in Southern Korea it was first described in 1958. In 2003, small foci of caterpillars of Hyphantria cunea Drury were found in Wellington (New Zealand). In Russia, the first foci of mass reproduction of Hyphantria cunea Drury were discovered in the forests of Krasnodar Krai in Krasnodar and Abinsk forest enterprises in 1976 on an area of 270 hectares. In Ukraine, the first foci of Hyphantria cunea Drury were found in Transcarpathia in 1952, in June, virtually all over the lowlands of the region. In the Northeastern part of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, in Sumy region in particular, Hyphantria cunea Drury was first registered in 2010. In Kharkiv region Hyphantria cunea Drury was discovered at the beginning of 80s of XX century. This article highlights the peculiarities of spreading of Hyphantria cunea Drury and its harmfulness. We have also established the ways of penetration and the current area of pest spreading in Ukraine and in the world. We have carried out the analysis of spreading data of the regulated pest in the territory of Ukraine and in the world, including in the territory of Kharkiv region and the factors, which influence the pest acclimatization have been noted.

Soya – is the main albuminous and oily crop of the world agriculture. It takes an important place in the structure of crops, grain, fodder and food balance. This is a strategic crop in solving the global food problem that is why it is grown on all continents in the main agricultural regions of our planet. In recent years soya has no competitors by the rates of crops growth and production volumes. Though Ukraine takes the first place in Europe by area of soya cultivation, its yield still does not correspond to potential possibilities. One of the factors which limit potential productivity is pests. Soybean protection from them is an important and relevant component for getting stably high yields and raising the quality of seeds simultaneously. Especially effective it has been monitoring in recent years as a result of an increase of sown areas and yield due to implementation of intensive technologies for soya cultivation. However, it should be taken into account that many species of harmful insects damage soya at all stages of ontogenesis, at the same time the loss of yield can make 30–40%. Harmful insect species from the following series have been discovered on soya crops in the Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine: Orthoptera, Homoptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.

One of the most dangerous pests of rape is a complex of the undulating flea beetles that can do harm to the plants from the phase of sprouting and until the harvest ripening. According to our research, all six species of the undulating flea beetles are spread in the Eastern Forest–Steppe of Ukraine. The most numerous species are Phyllotreta atra F. (about 71%) and Phyllotreta nigripes F., the latter is less numerous (about 16%). The rest 4 species make up from 0.4 to 8.8% in the population structure. The damage of spring rape sprouts caused by the leaf beetles both against the background with the fertilizers (N30P30K30) and against the background without the fertilizers significantly affects a weight of 1000 seeds. Against the background without the fertilizers it is a little less and R²=0.875 while against the background with the fertilizers R²=0.9986. The yield capacity of spring rape both against the background with the fertilizers (N30P30K30) and against the background without the fertilizers depends on the degree of the sprouts damaged by the leaf–eating pests largely. It is a little higher against the background without the fertilizers and R²=0.9995 while against the background with the fertilizers R²=0.9911. The presowing toxicity of spring rapeseeds with the subsequent spraying of the crops in the phase of sprouting, namely the toxicity of two pairs of true leaves, provides a reduction in the density of the undulating flea beetles population 7.5–10.0 times below the level of the economic threshold of harmfulness. The best field germination of rape seeds both against the background without the fertilizers and against the background with the fertilizers is noted. The applied insecticide and fungicide seed treatment agents have a negative affect on the laboratory germination of spring rape seed material. The worst indices of germination were noted in the variants when applying Royal FLO, 48% of water and suspension concentrate in the dose 5.0 L/t and Royal FLO, 48% of water and suspension concentrate+Taboo, 50% of suspension concentrate in the dose of 5.0+6.0 L/t and on the 9th day these indices were 77.0% and 76.5% respectively.