Page 5 - Volume 4, Issue 2, July 2011
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© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Geranium Bronze butterfly report
33
ported as a pest species in its area of ori-
gin, probably due to autochthonous para-
sitoids and predators that manage to keep
its population under the damage threshold.
The introduction of the Geranium Bronze
into Europe is having a great impact on the
nursery sector, with a consequent decrease
in the demand of geraniums, which are ever
more often replaced by customers with oth-
er ornamental plants. Furthermore, the Ge-
ranium Bronze could cause problems in the
mountainous and hilly habitats where wild
Geranium
spp. commonly exist. Adapta-
tion of
C. marshalli
in these habitats could
threaten the native flora and biodiversity
through competition with other species
such as
Eumedonia eumedon
(Esper) (Lepi-
doptera:
Lycaenidae) and
Aricia nicias
(Mei-
gen) (Lepidoptera: Lycaneidae) (8).
Aricia ni-
cias
has been characterized as rare for Spain
(5) while
E. eumedon
has been characterized
as vulnerable in Greece (11).
No parasitoids or predators were ob-
served in Italy for
C. marshalli
(4) except of
a single case where an egg of the pest was
parasitized by
Trichogramma evanescens
Westwood. In South Africa,
Apanteles
spp.
have been reported to kill third- instar lar-
vae of the pest (2). Products based on
Bacil-
lus thuringiensis
or diflubenzuron, flufenox-
uron, hexaflumuron, lambda-cyhalothrin,
α-cypermethrin and benfuracarb could be
used as insecticides for the control of
C.
marshalli
(9).
For the long-term control of
the Geranium Bronze with
B. thuringiensis
-
based insecticides it would be advisable to
combine Cry1Ab with Cry1Ba (6). It would
be wise to start a monitoring programme
for this pest in
Pelargonium
spp. nurseries as
well as in urban resident areas of mainland
Greece and the islands where these plants
are widely used in gardens and in balconies.
Additionally, surveys could be undertaken
in the monitored areas in order to identify
predators or parasitoids that could be used
as potential biocontrol agents for this pest.
We would like to thank Mr Timothy Cowles for
providing with photos and Mr Rob Parker for
sharing with us his interest on butterflies, es-
pecially regarding the Geranium Bronze But-
terfly.
Literature cited
Baufeld, P. 1993. Pest risk analysis of
1.
Cacyreus
marshalli
from a phytosanitary point of view.
Nachrichtenblatt des Deutschen Pflanzenschutz-
dienstes,
45: 257-262.
Clark, G.C. and Dickson, C.G.C. 1971.
2.
Life histories
of the South African lycaenid butterflies
, pp. 60-
61. Purnell, Cape Town, South Africa.
Eitschberger, U. and Stamer, P. 1990.
3.
Cacyreus
marshalli
, a new species of butterfly for the fau-
na of Europe?
Atalanta,
21: 101-108.
Favilli, L. and Manganelli, G. 2006. Life history of
4.
Cacyreus marshalli
, a South African species re-
cently introduced into Italy.
Bollettino della Soci-
eta Entomologica Italiana,
138: 51–61.
Gärdenfors, U. 2005. Rödlistade arter i Sverige
5.
2005. The 2005 Red List of Swedish Species. 496
pp. ArtDatabanken, SLU, Uppsala.
Herrero, S., Borja, M. and Ferre´, J. 2002. Extent
6.
of Variation of the
Bacillus thuringiensis
Tox-
in Reservoir: the Case of the Geranium Bronze,
Cacyreus marshalli
Butler (Lepidoptera: Lycaeni-
dae).
Applied and Environmental Microbiology,
68: 4090–4094.
Parker, R. 2010.
7.
Cacyreus mashalli
Butler, 1898
(Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) newly recorded for
Corfu, with notes on other butterflies on the is-
land in September 2008.
Entomologist’s Gazette,
61: 40-42.
Quacchia, A.,
8.
Ferracini, C., Bonelli, S., Balletto, E.
and Alma, A. 2008. Can the Geranium Bronze,
Cacyreus marshalli
, become a threat for Europe-
an biodiversity?
Biodiversity and Conservation,
17: 1429-1437.
Web sites
9.
/
_
10.
GREECE/Nees_anaphores_New_records.html
.
11.
Gärdenfors
Received: 8 November 2010 ; Accepted: 1 June 2011
