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First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Heteroptera: Coreidae) from Cyprus

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Abstract

The western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910, an invasive, originally Nearctic species, is reported from the island of Cyprus for the first time. The new record is discussed.
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Zeitsch rift der A rbeitsgeme inschaft Ö sterreic hischer Entom ologen 71: 177-178 Wien, Dezember 2019 ISS N 0375 -5223
First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910
(Hetero ptera: Coreidae) from Cyprus
Torsten van der Heyden & Herbert Zettel
Abstract
The western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910, an invasive,
originally Nearctic species, is reported from the island of Cyprus for the rst time. The
new record is discussed.
K ey w or d s: Hetero ptera, Coreinae, Anisoscelini, invasive species, distribution, Medi-
terranean Region, Republic of Cypr us.
Zusammenfassung
Die Amerikanische Kiefernwanze, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidem ann, 1910, eine
invasive, ursprünglich nearktische Art, wird erstmals von der Insel Zypern gemeldet.
Der Neufund wird diskutiert.
Introduction
Since its rst detection in Italy in 1999, the western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus
occidentalis Heideman n, 1910, has spread over most of Europe (van der Heyden 2 019a).
Recently, the species has extended its distribution area in the most eastern part of the
Mediterranean Region (van der Heyden 2019b).
New record of Leptoglossus occidentalis and discussion
M a te r i al e x a mi n e d: Republic of Cyprus, Paphos District, Paphos Forest, northeast of Kan-
naviou Reservoir, N34°56.75', E32°36.9', 470 m a.s.l., 6.IV.2019, 1 ♀, leg. & det. H. Zettel, coll.
Natural History Museum Vienna.
D e s c r ip t io n of h a bi ta t: The Paphos Forest is located in the western part of the
Troodos Mountains. It is a state forest chiey composed of Mediterranean pine forests.
The locality where Leptoglossus occidentalis was found holds old growth trees of Pinus
brutia, some of them more than 50 cm in diameter. It was close to a small stream and to
a forest road. The specimen was found on low shrubs (unidentied) after windy weather.
Distribution in the region: Recently, Leptoglossus occidentalis has been reported
from Turkey, in both the western and the eastern part of the country (Fent & Kment 2011,
ÖZgen et al. 2017), Lebanon (nemer 2015), the Golan Heights (van der Heyden 2018) and
Israel (van der Heyden 2019b). As the island of Cy prus is locat ed in the ea stern pa r t of the
Mediterranean Region and very close to the localities of aforementioned recent records of
L. occidentalis in that area, the presence of the species on the island had been expected.
The species might have reached Cyprus actively, as L. occidentalis is known to y well
178
and to reach islands (van der Heyden 2017), or passively, transported by a boat or ship,
very likely introduced from a nearby coast. As the site of the rst record is located more
than 100 km from the nearest coast and about 3 km from the next settlement, we suspect
that L. occidentalis already lived on Cyprus undiscovered for a longer time.
References
Fent m. & Kment P., 2011: First record of the invasive western conifer seed bug Leptoglossus
occidentalis (Hetero ptera: Coreidae) in Turkey. – North-Western Journal of Zoology 7 (1): 72 – 80.
nemer N., 2015: Report on insect pests associated with conelet losses and their management in
Pinus pinea forests in Lebanon. – FAO, Baabda, 45 pp.
Özgen İ, Dioli P. & Çelik V., 2017: New and interesting record of western conifer seed bug: Lepto-
glossus occidentalis (Heidema nn, 1910) (Hetero ptera: Coreidae) in Eastern Turkey. – Journal
of Entomology and Zoology St udies 5 (5): 830 – 833.
van der Heyden T., 2017: Leptoglossus occidentalis Hei demann, 1910 (Hemi ptera: Hetero ptera:
Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) has reached the Greek island of Crete. – Arquivos Ento-
molóxicos 18: 185 – 187.
van der Heyden T., 2018: First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemi ptera:
Hetero ptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in the Golan Heights. – Revista gaditana de
Entomología 9 (1): 1 – 3.
van der Heyde n T., 2019a: Summarized data on the European distr ibution of Leptoglossus
occidentalis Heideman n (Hetero ptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini). – Revista Chilena
de Entomología 45 (3): 499 – 502.
van der Heyden T., 2019b: Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Hetero ptera: Coreidae: Coreinae:
Anisoscelini) in Israel. – Revista Chilena de Entomología 45 (3): 435 – 437.
Authors’ addresses: Torsten van der Heyden, Immenweide 83, 22523 Hamburg,
Germany. E-mail: tmvdh@web.de
Herbert Zettel, 2nd Zoological Department, Natural History
Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
E-mail: herbert.zettel@nhm-wien.ac.at
... In 2015, it was detected in Lebanon [12] and, more recently, in Crete and in the northern part of the Golan Heights [54,55]. The invasion continues and new records from different countries in Africa, South America and Europe have been recorded from 2019 until 2021 [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63]. ...
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  • Jan 2019
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  • T Van Der Heyden
van der Heyden T., 2019b: Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Hetero ptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini) in Israel. -Revista Chilena de Entomología 45 (3): 435 -437.