First Record of Cacopsylla pulchella (Hemiptera, Psyllidae) in Albania

Ejup Çota,Marta Kovač,Milan Pernek

doi:10.15177/seefor.20-14

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify plant lice Cacopsylla pulchella as a new alien insect in the fauna of Albania. In order to assess the potential of this insect as a pest causing damages on trees, infestation level assessment was used. In the first decade of June 2020 samples were collected at three locations in Albania, where Cercis siliquastrum is grown. Samples were collected and brought to the laboratory for further analysis. Field research was performed to assess distribution and infestation intensity across various localities. The intensity of infestation was assessed by visual examination and was categorized according to previously determined categories. C. pulchella was confirmed on C. siliquastrum in three localities in Albania. Most of the infested trees had a moderate or high intensity of infestation. Compared to the results of other countries, it seems that the Judas trees are under heavy attack in Albania. Librazhd and Elbansn districts had the highest recorded infestation level. Infested trees found in this study should be inspected in the following years and this alien insect should be further monitored in order to estimate its potential of becoming an invasive pest in this country.

Highlights

The most important alien invasive species regarding their number and impact belong to the group of insects (Brockerhoff and Liebhold 2017)
Samples were collected at the beginning of June 2020 at three locations in Albania, mostly in the Mediterranean area, where Judas trees are grown in parks as well as in natural stands (Figure 1)
The intensity of infestation was assessed by visual examination and was categorized into four categories (Pernek et al 2020): 0) no symptoms visible from distance or when observing single leaves, 1) low - symptoms are not visible when looking at the whole tree, only few specimens can be detected sporadically on single leaves, 2) moderate – symptoms are barely visible when looking at the whole tree, more than 5 specimens can be counted on 50% of the observed leaves; 3) high – symptoms are visible when looking at the whole tree from distance, more than 10 specimens can be counted on at least 50% of the observed leaves

Summary

Introduction

The most important alien invasive species regarding their number and impact belong to the group of insects (Brockerhoff and Liebhold 2017). Cacopsylla pulchella Low (Hemiptera, Psyllidae) is a jumping plant–lice that is considered to be an alien species in Europe (Mifsud et al 2010) and was first recorded in 1964 in France (Hodkinson and White 1979). It was confirmed in many European countries such as Austria, Great Britain, Greece, Switzerland (Zeidan-Gèze and Burckhardt 1998), Germany, Italy, Ukraine (Burckhardt 2010), Spain, Portugal (Sánchez 2011), Slovenia (Seljak 2006), Hungary (Ripka 2008), Serbia (Jerinić-Prodanović 2011), Russia (Balakhnina et al 2015) and Croatia (Pernek et al 2020).

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Results