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First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Costa Rica

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Torsten van der Heyden at Independent Researcher
Torsten van der Heyden
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The first record of Leptoglossus occidentalis from Costa Rica is reported. Additional information on the distribution of the species is given. Its possible spreading in Latin America is discussed. This is the sixteenth part of a series of publications about different Heteroptera in Costa Rica.
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Scientic Note
First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann
(Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Costa Rica
Primera cita de Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann
(Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) en Costa Rica
Torsten van der Heyden1
1 Immenweide 83, D-22523 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: tmvdh@web.de
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:00D1D622-BC82-4FF8-8D31-78216AD3CC76
Abstract. The rst record of Leptoglossus occidentalis from Costa Rica is reported. Additional
information on the distribution of the species is given. Its possible spreading in Latin America is
discussed. This is the sixteenth part of a series of publications about dierent Heteroptera in Costa
Rica.
Key words: Invasive species, distribution, Latin America, Europe, Mediterranean Region, Hemiptera.
Resumen. Se presenta la primera cita de Leptoglossus occidentalis de Costa Rica. Se da información
adicional acerca de la distribución de la especie. Se discute su posible divulgación en América Latina.
Esta es la decimosexta parte de una serie de publicaciones sobre diferentes heterópteros en Costa
Rica.
Palabras clave: Especie invasora, distribución, América Latina, Europa, Región Mediterránea,
Hemiptera.
Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Fig. 1), commonly known as the Western Conifer
Seed Bug, is a Nearctic coreid native to western North America and widely distributed in
Canada, the United States of America and Mexico (Brailovsky 2014; Lesieur et al. 2018).
Recently, this invasive alien species has extended its distribution in Europe and in the
Mediterranean Region, in particular in its eastern part (van der Heyden 2017, 2018a, 2018b,
2018c; Lesieur et al. 2018), as well as in Chile, where it was very likely introduced by human
transport activities (Faúndez and Rocca 2017; Faúndez et al. 2017, 2018).
An adult specimen of L. occidentalis was photographed in the district of San Rafael in
the province of Alajuela, located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The photograph was
published in the online database iNaturalist as taken on 28-XI-2018 (Aguilar 2018).
As L. occidentalis has not been reported for Costa Rica in scientic publications yet, the
record reported in this note is the rst one for this country.
In 2014, the newly described Leptoglossus franckei Brailovsky, 2014 and Leptoglossus gonagra
(Fabricius, 1775), two other of 62 species within the genus Leptoglossus Guérin-Méneville,
1831, were reported for Costa Rica for the rst time (Brailovsky 2014; van der Heyden and
Gamboa Hidalgo 2014; CoreoideaSF Team 2019). Thus, L. occidentalis is the sixteenth species
of the genus Leptoglossus reported for this country.
www.biotaxa.org/rce Revista Chilena de Entomología (2019) 45 (1): 51-53.
Este es un artículo de acceso abierto distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons License (CC BY NC 4.0)
Received 15 January 2019 / Accepted 28 January 2019 / Published online 31 January 2019
Responsible Editor: José Mondaca E.
van der Heyden: First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann in Costa Rica.
52
Very likely, L. occidentalis was accidentally introduced to Costa Rica. Research should
be done to investigate whether there exists an established population of the species in the
country. In that case, it could possibly serve as a bridgehead between the populations in the
southern part of North America and in Chile.
Literature Cited
Aguilar, D. (2018) Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis). Photograph to be
found on iNaturalist [Online database]. Available from:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18704296. (Accessed: 15-I-2019).
Brailovsky, H. (2014) Illustrated key for identication of the species included in the
genus Leptoglossus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini), and
descriptions of ve new species and new synonyms. Zootaxa, 3794(1): 143-178.
CoreoideaSF Team (2019) Coreoidea Species File Online. Version 5.0/5.0. Available from:
http://Coreoidea.SpeciesFile.org. (Accessed: 15-I-2019).
Faúndez, E.I. and Rocca, J.R. (2017) La chinche de las coníferas occidental, Leptoglossus
occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae) en Chile; rápida expansión, posibles
impactos y desafíos. Revista Chilena de Entomología, 42: 25-27.
Faúndez, E.I., Rocca, J.R. and Villablanca, J. (2017) Detection of the invasive western
conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Heteroptera: Coreidae:
Coreinae) in Chile. Arquivos Entomolóxicos, 17: 317-320.
Figure 1. Specimen of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910. (Photograph: Torsten van der Heyden).
1
Revista Chilena de Entomología 45 (1) 2019
53
Faúndez, E.I., Rocca, J.R. and Villablanca, J. (2018) On the establishment of the western
conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae) in Chile.
Revista Chilena de Entomología, 44(2): 207-210.
Lesieur, V., Lombaert, E., Guillemaud, T., Courtial, B., Strong, W., Roques, A. and Auger-
Rozenberg, M.-A. (2018) The rapid spread of Leptoglossus occidentalis in Europe: a
bridgehead invasion. Journal of Pest Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-0993-x.
van der Heyden, T. (2017) Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemiptera:
Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) has reached the Greek island of Crete.
Arquivos Entomolóxicos, 18: 185-187.
van der Heyden, T. (2018a) First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910
(Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in the Golan Heights.
Revista gaditana de Entomología, IX(1): 1-3.
van der Heyden, T. (2018b) First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera:
Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Albania. Revista Chilena de Entomología, 44(3): 355-356.
van der Heyden, T. (2018c) New data on the distribution of Leptoglossus occidentalis
Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini), including the rst record
of the species in Georgia. Revista Chilena de Entomología, 44(4): 433-435.
van der Heyden, T. and Gamboa Hidalgo, I. (2014) First record of Leptoglossus gonagra
(Fabricius, 1775) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Costa
Rica. Arquivos Entomolóxicos, 12: 81-84.
First Finding of Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heid. (Heteroptera, Coreidae) in Armenia
Article
  • Oct 2021
Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.
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Impact assessment of Leptoglossus occidentalis in Pinus pinea: Integrating population density and seed loss
Article
  • Sep 2021
  • FOREST ECOL MANAG
The production of the highly valued seeds of stone pine has decreased all over the Mediterranean region during the last two decades. This phenomenon coincided with the establishment in Europe of the invasive species Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hemiptera, Coreidae). The putative impact of L. occidentalis on pine seeds has raised the need for responses among the scientific community. Still, the subject is at some extent controversial and other hypothesis has been raised, such as the influence of climate in flowering, pollination and cone survival. Until now, we lack an effective measure of the impact of this bug on seed yield. Here we integrate results from seed loss on mature cones with the monitoring of the bug population at site level during five consecutive years. The seed loss was assessed by comparing naturally exposed cones (N) with those protected by an insect exclusion bag (E). Both type of cones were analysed on fertilized plus irrigated trees (fertirrigated plots) and on control ones. Observed seed loss per cone was closely related with the population dynamics of L. occidentalis. We found a strong positive correlation between seed loss per cone and average insect density of current Nt and previous year Nt-1 (R² = 0.98). For similar insect density, cones from fertirrigated plots presented a higher seed loss than control ones. Additionally, the insect population dynamics was framed with climate data for the 5 years period and a climatic theoretical explanation is hypothesized.
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Alien Invasion: The Case of the Western Conifer-Seed Bug (Heteroptera: Coreidae) in Chile, Overreaction, and Misidentifications
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2020
Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heidemann) is an invasive species introduced in Europe, Asia, and most recently South America. In the present study, we report the overreaction situation caused by this bug in Chile, as it has been confused with kissing bugs (Reduviidae: Triatominae), Chagas’ disease vectors. During 2018 and first months of 2019, we received 74 alleged cases of kissing bugs to confirm identification. From these, a total of 63 were identified as L. occidentalis, representing a 85% of the total denounces. Additionally, the first bite case in a human is described. The situation caused by L. occidentalis in Chile is discussed, and an illustrated table is provided to correctly identify this species and tell it apart from Triatomines. It is concluded that L. occidentalis is well established in Chile, and it is necessary to educate the population on recognition of the bug and to avoid overreaction as the species can inflict painful bites, but not transmit any disease.
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On the establishment of the western conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae) in Chile
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2018
After the first interceptions of Leptoglossus occidentalis in Chile, the first also in the southern hemisphere, a year later new collecting confirms the establishment of this species in the country. The records are from diverse localities and regions in the country, including places far away from the coastal areas, where it initially was observed. Although there are still not records of economic damage, the establishment of this species in the country may lead to infestations on pine plantations. Also, there are several native coniferous species, with conservation problems that may be reached by this species. Therefore it is urged to local authorities to start education and control programs regarding this species.
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The rapid spread of Leptoglossus occidentalis in Europe: a bridgehead invasion
  • Jan 2017
  • J PEST SCI
  • 185-187
  • V Lesieur
  • E Lombaert
  • T Guillemaud
  • B Courtial
  • W Strong
  • A Roques
  • M.-A Augerrozenberg
Lesieur, V., Lombaert, E., Guillemaud, T., Courtial, B., Strong, W., Roques, A. and AugerRozenberg, M.-A. (2018) The rapid spread of Leptoglossus occidentalis in Europe: a bridgehead invasion. Journal of Pest Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-0993-x. van der Heyden, T. (2017) Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) has reached the Greek island of Crete. Arquivos Entomolóxicos, 18: 185-187.
  • Jan 2018
  • 1-3
  • T Van Der Heyden
van der Heyden, T. (2018a) First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in the Golan Heights. Revista gaditana de Entomología, IX(1): 1-3.
  • Jan 2018
  • 355-356
  • T Van Der Heyden
van der Heyden, T. (2018b) First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Albania. Revista Chilena de Entomología, 44(3): 355-356.