The caper (
Capparis spinosa
, of the family
Capparidaceae) thrives in temperate, trop-
ical and subtropical climate zones and is
a common species of the Mediterranean
coastal flora. It grows wild as a shrub of
up to 1 m height and 1.5 m width (or as
a creeper) on stony wasteland along the
coast, in rock crevices, in the mountains
and even on ruins.
In addition to its pharmaceutical use,
the caper is also known for its nutritive
qualities. Pickled young shoots, flower
buds and young leaves may be consumed
as appetizer or used in cookery.
Lately there has been a growing inter-
est by inhabitants of Ios and other Cyclad-
ic islands in culturing the caper. It provides
an additional source of family income in
particular to the inhabitants of those is-
lands where farming conditions are ad-
verse and jobs are hard to find. The pro-
motion of organic farming has evoked an
additional interest in the commercial ex-
ploitation of the wild growing caper and
has prompted its systematic culture in
the field or under simple greenhouses, in
small family farms, as is the case in the is-
land of Ios. The organic caper crop in the
field and under greenhouses in Ios, from
where the first sample of damaged caper
originated, is a typical example of such a
family run exploitation of culturing caper.
The identification of the insect was
made by using the adult beetles collected
from the first samples (twigs and shoots)
that were sent to the Laboratory in Sep-
tember 2005. Identification
to the genus
level was based on Brisout de Barneville
(1), Caillol (2), Κocher (5), Liotta (6), Solari
(10), Meyer (9) Hoffmann (3), and Vitale
(11). Professor Liotta (Facoltà di Agraria
dell’ Università di Palermo, Italy), provid-
ed information about the species
Αcalles
barbarus
(7). This species (Fig. 1) is report-
ed for the first time from Greece as it is a
new species of the Greek entomological
fauna.
Species of the genus
Αcalles
Schh. are
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal
1:
42-45, 2008
SHORT COMMUNICATION
First record of
Αcalles barbarus
(Lucas) (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae) in Greece. A serious pest of caper in
the island of Ios
C. Souliotis
1
Summary
Acalles barbarus
(Lucas) (Col.: Curculionidae) was found in 2005 on caper (
Cappar-
is spinosa
) plants of an organic crop in the island of Ios. It is a new species to the Greek entomo-
logical fauna. The insect attacks main shoots and twigs of the caper plants with the larvae boring
galleries on them. Damaged twigs are short, rather thin and scrubby with small chlorotic leaves.
First observations on biology and ethology of the insect in the area indicated that it completes
one generation per year, hibernates at the larval stage inside capper twigs and adult appearance
starts in mid-June to beginning of July.
1
Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Benaki Phy-
topathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., GR-145 61 Ki-
fissia (Athens), Greece
1...,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43 45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,...60