© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Invasive insect pests on ornamental urban plants on Corfu island
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Hemiptera, Tingidae
Corythucha ciliata (Say 1832)
Native range: species of Nearctic origin.
Distribution: now widespread across Europe
in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain,
France (including Corsica), Italy (including
Sardinia and Sicily), Belgium, Netherlands,
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Slo-
venia, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey,
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hunga-
ry and Bulgaria. It has been found in Chile,
southern Russia, Korea, China, Japan and
Australia (Bella, 2013).
Host plant: feeds primarily on Sycamore
trees,
Platanus
(Platanaceae), especially
P. oc-
cidentalis
L.; other host plants are
Brousson-
etia papyrifera
(L.) Vent.,
Carya ovata
(Mill.)
Koch,
Tila
sp.,
Chamaedaphne
sp.,
Fraxinus
sp., and
Quercus laurifolia
Michx.
Material examined: Corfu city, 39°37΄N,
19°55΄E, 10 m a.s.l., 17.VIII.2013, adults on Pla-
tanus sp.
Biological remarks:
C. ciliata
feeds on the
underside of leaves desiccating the tissue,
which may drop prematurely. A single fe-
male can lay up to 350 eggs along the leaf
veins. There are five immature instars, and in
Europe one life cycle is completed in just 20
to 50 days and several generations can oc-
cur each year (Malumphy
et al
., 2006).
Diptera, Cecidomyiidae
Obolodiplosis robiniae (Haldeman 1847)
Native range: species of Nearctic origin.
Distribution: in Europe, it was first noticed
during 2003 in Italy, and subsequently it has
rapidly spread throughout a large part of Eu-
rope. It has also been observed in South Ko-
rea, China, Japan, New Zealand, Ucraina and
Russia (Bella, 2013). For the Corfu the spe-
cies is reported by Skuhravá and Skuhravý
(2006).
Host plant: different species of
Robinia
(Fa-
baceae: Papilionoideae).
Material examined: Benitses, 39°32΄N,
19°54΄E, 6 m a.s.l., 16.VIII.2013; Corfu city,
39°37’N, 19°55’E, m 10 a.s.l., 17.VIII.2013. Galls
and larvae have been observed on the Black
locust tree,
R. pseudoacacia
L.
Biological remarks: the larvae form charac-
teristic leaf-margin roll galls. Usually 1-2 lar-
vae can be found in a gall and 1-3 galls per
leaflet. The larvae of the summer genera-
tions pupate inside the galls on the trees,
while those of the autumn generation pu-
pate in the soil after leaf fall. Several gener-
ations (2, 3 or even 4) of the gall midge may
develop in a year depending on climatic
conditions (Bella, 2007).
Diptera, Agromyzidae
Phytoliriomyza jacarandae Steyskal and
Spencer 1978
Native range: species of South American or-
igin.
Distribution: it is widespread in Argenti-
na (Córdoba), the United States of Ameri-
ca (California), Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa (Spencer, 1990). In the Palaeart-
ic region, the only records are in Italy (Ligu-
ria and Sicily regions) and Portugal (Bella
et
al.
, 2007; Bella, 2013).
Host plant: monophagous leafminer of the
Blue jacaranda tree,
Jacaranda mimosifolia
D. Don. (Bignoniaceae).
Material examined: Kato Garouna, 39°32΄N,
19°51΄E, 216 m a.s.l., 16.VIII.2013.
Biological remarks: the young larva produc-
es a short linear brown mine in a single leaf-
let developing into an irregular blotch. The
affected leaves drop and the larva pupate in
the soil. The canopy quickly yellows and de-
foliates (Bella
et al.
, 2007).
Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae
Cacyreus marshalli Butler 1898
Native range: species of South African ori-
gin (Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozam-
bique, Zimbabwe and South Africa).
Distribution: it is widespread in the Balear-
ic Islands, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Nor-
way, Finland, Sweden, France, Corsica, Bel-
gium, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain,
Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Slovenia, Croa-
tia, Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, Slova-
kia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel, Estonia, Ukraine,
