| Summary: | Mediterranean pine engraver, <i>Orthotomicus erosus</i> was never considered as a significant pest in Croatia and did not appear in high population densities until 2017, when it reached outbreak level in Aleppo pine stands. The beetle was first detected in Marjan Forest Park, Split, and was soon recorded in other parts of the Dalmatian coast. Soon after the outbreak occurred, we observed that all of the attacked trees exhibit severe blue staining in the sapwood which indicated fungal infection caused by the <i>Ophiostomatales</i> group of fungi. This raised the need to investigate their relationship with <i>O. erosus</i> and the pine decline, and the main aim of this study was to isolate and identify them. Isolates were obtained from adult <i>O. erosus</i> beetles, their galleries, and blue-stained sapwood, and identified according to the morphological characteristics and DNA sequencing. A total of six <i>Ophiostomatales</i> (<i>Ophiostoma ips</i>, <i>O. piceae</i>, <i>Graphilbum</i> cf. <i>rectangulosporium</i>, <i>O. floccosum</i>, <i>Sporothrix pseudoabietina</i> and <i>Ceratocystiopsis</i> cf. <i>minuta</i>) were identified in the study. This is the first record of <i>Ophiostomatales</i> as organisms associated with the pest <i>O. erosus</i> and pine species in Croatia.
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