Lecanosticta acicola(Thüm.) Syd., a serious foliage pathogen of pines in many regions of the world, is an emerging invasive species in northern Europe. After the first record ofL. acicolaonPinus ponderosaDougl. ex Laws. in northern Estonia in 2008, monitoring was started to investigate the spread and host range of the fungus in the country. By the beginning of 2015,L. acicolawas also recorded onP. uncinataMill. ex Mirb., P. mugoTurra and onP. mugovar.pumilio(Haenke) Zenari, being the northernmost records of the fungus in Europe. So far, the single native pine speciesPinus sylvestrisL. has not been found to be infected. Molecular analysis proved infection ofL. acicolaon pines in five different localities of Estonia: in Tallinn (mainly in the Botanic Garden, northern Estonia), in Tori and Kärdla (western Estonia), in Vasula and Kärevere (east-central Estonia). The sexual state (teleomorph) of the fungus was not found, but the existence of the both mating types, MAT1-1 and MAT1-2, was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]