Rapid range expansion of Ligurian leafhopper, Eupteryx decemnotata Rey, 1891 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a potential pest of garden and greenhouse herbs, in Europe

Herbert Nickel & Werner E. Holzinger
Russian Entomol. J. 15(3): 57–63

 

Abstract

Data on range expansion of the typhlocybid leafhopper Eupteryx decemnotata Rey, 1891 in Europe are compiled. Until the mid 1980s the species was known only in Mediterranean regions of France and Italy, but during the last decade it has been found in Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, southern Britain and large parts of Germany. Invasion into most parts of central Europe and Britain only since the 1990s is well documented, whereas populations from Greece and Portugal may be indigenous. The species is oligophagous on cultivated sage (Salvia officinalis), catmint (Nepeta cataria), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and other aromatic species of Lamiaceae. Increased feeding can weaken host plants and damage has been reported on sage and rosemary. Dispersal occurs probably largely by commercial trade of infested plants.

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Rapid range expansion of Ligurian leafhopper, Eupteryx decemnotata Rey, 1891 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a potential pest of garden and greenhouse herbs, in Europe