Abstract: [Objective] Platypus parallelus (Coleoptera:Platypodidae) is an important quarantine pest, it is increasingly intercepted by some China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureaus. This species is native to Central America but has established its populations in Hainan Province, China. Its further northern expansion across Qiongzhou Strait is of great concern, posing threats to forestry and environment to mainland China. Predicting its potential distribution can provide reference for interrupting its transmission and early monitoring.[Method] Based on the information resources platform of animal and plant inspection and quarantine in China, the interception records of P. parallelus at entry ports in China were retrieved and counted. According to the current distribution records of bark beetles, two groups of climatic variables (5 environmental variables and 9 environmental variables) were selected to compare the local ecological space of bark beetles with that of China. The niche conservativeness of bark beetles in the process of invasion in China was tested. Based on the two groups of environmental variables, niche models were constructed in the native Central American region and transferred to China. China and other countries and regions in the world will test the mode Classical native classical ecological niche model approaches were used to predict its potential distributions in China.[Result]P. parallelus are mainly captured in imported timbers from the import of wood products at the ports of Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. The ecological space occupied by beetles in China overlapped with that occupied by their native land; and their niche was conservative during its invasion in China. Comparing to native space, there are large vacancy of ecological space in China, where indicated that high invasion potentials might exist. In niche model prediction, compared with the prediction based on nine environmental variables model, the prediction based on five environmental variables was more conservative. The model results based on two sets of variables showed that the suitable habitats for bark beetles are mainly distributed Central America, central areas in South America, central Africa, and northern Australia. In China, Hainan, Taiwan and Guangdong provinces are suitable to P. parallelus invasion. In addition, Yunnan and southern Guangxi are also susceptible to P. parallelus.[Conclusion] Most of regions in Hainan, Taiwan, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Guangxi, together with the coastal areas in Fujian, have high invasion risk, and these areas are mostly concentrated in coastal areas, with frequent trade activities, which is conducive to the establishment and spread of the pest in the invaded areas. These high-risk areas should carry out early warning and monitoring to prevent its expansion from Hainan to the mainland or secondary invasion.

Key words: Platypus parallelus, Platypodidae, potential distribution, ecological niche modeling, MaxEnt