© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Dipartimento di Gestione dei Sistemi Agroalimentari e
Ambientali (DiGeSA), sez. Entomologia applicata, Uni-
versità degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia, 100. 95123 Ca-
tania, Italy
Email:
.
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal
7:
53-59, 2014
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Invasive insect pests and their associated parasitoids on
ornamental urban plants on Corfu island -
Phytoliriomyza
jacarandae
Steyskal and Spencer 1978 (Diptera, Agromyzidae)
a new record in Greece
S. Bella
Summary
In this study the results of recent surveys on alien insect pests of ornamental urban plants
on the island of Corfu are reported. Overall seven alien species associated with allochthonous orna-
mental plants were recorded:
Acizzia jamatonica
(Kuwayama 1908),
Glycaspis brimblecombei
Moore
1964 (Hemiptera, Psyllidae),
Corythucha ciliata
(Say 1832) (Hemiptera, Tingidae),
Obolodiplosis robiniae
(Haldeman 1847) (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae),
Phytoliriomyza jacarandae
Steyskal and Spencer 1978 (Dip-
tera, Agromyzidae),
Cacyreus marshalli
Butler 1898 (Lepidoptera, Lycenidae) and
Leptocybe invasa
Fish-
er and La Salle 2004 (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae). Particularly,
Phytoliriomyza jacarandae
, a leafminer of
the Blue jacaranda tree
Jacaranda mimosifolia
D. Don. (Bignoniaceae) is reported for the first time from
Greece. Two associated parasitoids,
Platygaster robiniae
Buhl and Duso 2008 (Hymenoptera, Platyg-
astridae) and
Psyllaephagus bliteus
Riek 1962 (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) obtained from
Obolodiplosis
robiniae
and
Glycaspis brimblecombei
,
respectively, are also reported. Details on current distribution,
host plants and biological remarks are given for each species.
Additional keywords
: alien insects, first record, urban environment
Introduction
The introduction of alien insects is a grow-
ing phenomenon especially in countries
with intensive international movement of
goods and people. This is particularly evi-
dent in the Mediterranean Basin where cli-
matic conditions are more favourable for
the numerous tropical and subtropical spe-
cies to establish themselves. The continu-
ously increasing use of numerous species of
plants native to different regions of the plan-
et in European parks and gardens has been
enriching the European fauna with main-
ly alien species that develop on the same
host plants (Bella, 2013). In the last decade,
several invasive insect pests have been in-
troduced, have spread rapidly in the Medi-
terranean area and are causing serious dam-
age to agricultural, forest and ornamental
plants. Biological invasions by alien insect
species are a great ecological and economic
threat for their direct and indirect impact on
indigenous biodiversity.
The aim of this work was to identify alien
insect species on urban ornamental plants
on Corfu.
Field observations were made by
the author in the late summer 2013 in public
gardens in various towns.
Materials and methods
Samplings were carried out in August 2013
throughout Corfu. Ornamental exotic plants
were investigated to ascertain the presence
of possible pests, by beating or by careful vis-
