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Natural History Sciences. Atti Soc. it. Sci. nat. Museo civ. Stor. nat. Milano, 6 (1): 33-36, 2019 DOI: 10.4081/nhs.2019.395
First records of Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985 for Albania
(Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeidae: Lygaeinae)
Torsten van der Heyden1*, Paride Dioli2
1 Immenweide 83, 22523 Hamburg, Germany.
2 c/o Museo civico di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Entomologia,
Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano, Italia.
E-mail: paridedioli@virgilio.it
* Corresponding author: tmvdh@web.de
© 2018 Torsten van der Heyden, Paride Dioli
Received: 16 March 2018
Accepted for publication: 5 September 2018
Online publication: 29 November 2018
Abstract - The rst records of Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985 in
Albania are reported. Additional information on the ecology (habitat
preferences, host plants) and the distribution of this species is given.
Key words: Lygaeus simulans, Lygaeidae, Heteroptera, Hexapoda,
Albania, occurrence records, faunistics.
Riassunto - Prime segnalazioni di Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985
per l’Albania (Hemiptera: Eterottera: Lygaeidae: Lygaeinae).
Sono riportate le prime segnalazioni di Lygaeus simulans Deckert,
1985 in Albania. Ulteriori dati sull’ecologia (habitat, piante ospiti) e
sulla distribuzione di questa specie vengono altresì forniti.
Parole chiave: Lygaeus simulans, Lygaeidae, Heteroptera, Hexa-
poda, Albania, nuovi reperti, distribuzione faunistica.
INTRODUCTION
Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985 is morphologically
very similar to the closely related Lygaeus equestris (Lin-
naeus, 1758). Both species occur sympatric and syntopic
in various parts of the Palaearctic Region (Deckert, 1985;
Péricart, 1998; Maschler, 2002).
Lygaeus simulans seems to prefer continental climates
with dry and warm conditions (Deckert, 1985; Péricart,
1998; Rabitsch & Deckert, 2008). The species has been
found on Adonis vernalis L., Digitalis purpurea L. and
Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. (Deckert, 1985; Ra-
bitsch & Waitzbauer, 1996; Péricart, 1998; Rabitsch &
Deckert, 2008).
In Europe, L. simulans has been reported from the
following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, France (including the island of Cor-
sica), Germany, Great Britain (including the Channel
Islands), Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan (European
part), Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia
(European part), Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
and Ukraine (Deckert 1985; Lis, 1987; Kondorosy,
1989; Costas & Vázquez, 1991; Gusev & Tatarnikov,
1991; Josifov, 1990, 1993; Dioli et al., 1994; Rabitsch
& Waitzbauer, 1996; Péricart, 1998, 2001; Aukema,
2013).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
NW-ALBANIA. Theth (Lat: 42.383112, Lon:
19.791355), 21.VI.2014, 1 ex., photograph by Peter La-
Belle (Fig. 1).
Looking among the material collected by the second
author (P.D.) and colleagues in Albania during a scientic
and mountaineering expedition carried out in 1993 (Dioli,
1993), it was possible to nd a specimen of L. simulans
with these label data:
NW-ALBANIA. Okol, scree at the base of Mount Ma-
ja Harapit, 1200 m, 12.VII.1993, 1 ex., male, legit F.Penati
(P.Dioli Collection).
The photograph (LaBelle, Fig. 1) and the specimen
male collected (leg. Penati, Coll. Dioli) in the same area
were subject to a careful evaluation to highlight the parti-
cular characteristics that distinguish this species from L.
equestris:
L. simulans: Bristles of the rst antennal dense; por-
tion of the head to the antennal insertion, protruding later-
ally. Black stripes of the head, close to the eyes, narrow.
Frontal red part, wide. Bristles on the surface of scutellum
of greater length than that of the remaining dorsal regions.
The most visible characteristics, in the photograph, are
the reduced presence of dark stripes on the head, near the
eyes and the portion of the head, near the antennal inser-
tion which is protruding laterally.
L. equestris: Bristles of the rst antennal article sparse;
portion of the head, at the antennal insertion, straight
and slightly protruding. Black stripes of the head, near
the eyes, wide. Frontal red part, narrow. Bristles on the
surface of scutellum approximately equal to that of the
remaining dorsal regions.
We also decided to examine the specimens of L. eque-
stris collected by Livio Tamanini in Albania in 1941
34
(Mancini, 1953). From a verication in Tamanini’s col-
lection at the Museum of Rovereto (Trento), no specimen
of L. simulans emerged.
DISCUSSION
As L. simulans has not been reported from Albania in
scientic publications after the date of description, the
records reported in this paper are the rst ones for this
country.
The villages of Theth (800 m) and Okol (base of
Mount Maja Harapit, 1200 m) are not far from each other
(800 m) (Fig. 2). Their altitude is compatible with most of
the records of L. simulans mentioned in literature. Parti-
cularly in Southern Europe, ndings of this species were
generally made at locations between 700 and 1400-1500
m altitude, with a maximum of 2600 m, which is conside-
red outside the norm (Dioli et al., 1994).
The presence of L. simulans in plains and in large ci-
ties is rare and seems accidental, due to transport of logs
(e.g. Florence, Rome) while, in its range, the presence of
the species is conrmed almost exclusively in mountai-
nous regions (Dioli et al., 1994). Therefore, even taking
into account the ecological needs, the species seems to
Fig. 1 - Specimen of Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985, mountains near Theth, Shkodër, Albania, 21.VI.2014. / Esemplare di Lygaeus
simulans Deckert, 1985, montagne vicino a Theth, Shkodër, Albania, 21.VI.2014. (Photo / Foto: Peter LaBelle).
have a Euro-Centroasiatic distribution with a propensity
for the mountains (Dioli et al., 1994).
Recently another species, Lygaeus creticus Lucas,
1854, was reported as new for Albania (van der Heyden,
2017). So, three species of the genus Lygaeus Fabricius,
1794 are currently known from Albania: L. creticus, L.
equestris and L. simulans (Péricart, 2001; Aukema, 2013;
van der Heyden, 2017).
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Peter LaBelle (Thetford,
Vermont, United States of America) and Giuseppe Popi
Miotti (Sondrio, Italy) for allowing us to use their photo-
graphs to illustrate this paper. Furthermore, we would li-
ke to thank Petr Kment (National Museum, Department
of Entomology, Prague, Czech Republic) for helpful in-
formation. Special thanks to our colleague heteropterist
Filippo Maria Buzzetti (Museum of Rovereto, Trento,
Italy) for the examination of the specimens collected by
Livio Tamanini in Albania previously to the description
of L. simulans. Finally, we would like to thank the ano-
nymous reviewers for their suggestions to improve this
paper.
TORSTEN VAN DER HEYDEN, PARIDE DIOLI
35
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Fig. 2 - View of the valley of Theth, Shkodër, Albania. In the foreground the villages of Theth and Okol, in the background the chain
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FIRST RECORDS OF LYGAEUS SIMULANS DECKERT, 1985 FOR ALBANIA (HEMIPTERA: HETEROPTERA: LYGAEIDAE: LYGAEINAE)
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TORSTEN VAN DER HEYDEN, PARIDE DIOLI
