Abstract
Lema bilineata (Germar) is an alien invasive leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) first recorded in Europe in the summer of 2017 in the province of Naples (Campania, Italy). It occurs on both cultivated plants (Nicotiana tabacum) and weeds (Salpichroa origanifolia and Datura spp.). Information on morphological characters, color variation and molecular data are deficient for L. bilineata, as is the case for most Lema species. These data could be useful to discriminate between this species and the closely related Lema daturaphila Kogan & Goeden, which has the same potential to become an alien invasive species. In this paper, color variation in adults and the morphology of the aedeagi and spermathecae of the two species are documented and compared, including micrographic images. Additional data on the current distribution of L. bilineata in Campania is also provided. The cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcoding region of both Italian and South African specimens of L. bilineata, as well as South African specimens of L. daturaphila, was sequenced. A preliminary phylogenetic tree is provided, based on the sequences available for Lema species.
Highlights
In July–August 2017 the leaf beetle called the Tobacco Slug, Lema bilineata (Germar, 1823)(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Criocerinae), was found on Physalis peruviana L. and subsequently on Salpichroa origanifolia (Lam.) Baill., in the province of Naples (Campania, Italy)
The color pattern of L. bilineata was observed on hundreds of specimens, both collected in several open fields in Campania and reared in the laboratory, as well as on 321 museum specimens from the
The most frequently observed color pattern for L. bilineata shows the elytra with broad black lateral longitudinal lines encircled by a pale creamy-yellow to yellowish-brown area, and a third broad black longitudinal line formed by the sutural margins that extends from the base to the apex and a short distance onto the outer elytral margin; the pronotum with two black spots on a yellowishto reddish-brown background, and the ventral side yellowish- to reddish-brown with black areas on the pro, meso- and metasternites, as well as the dorsal areas of the lateral thoracic sclerites
Summary
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Criocerinae), was found on Physalis peruviana L. and subsequently on Salpichroa origanifolia (Lam.) Baill., in the province of Naples (Campania, Italy). This finding was the first record for this species in Europe [1]. Lema bilineata is a species native to South America [2,3], which became invasive in South Africa, having probably been imported from Argentina in horse fodder during the Anglo Boer War [4] and successively spread to Zimbabwe [5] and Australia [6]. Lema bilineata is a moderately oligophagous species, feeding on host plants belonging exclusively to the family Solanaceae, with some other dubious exceptions reported. The only crop attacked by L. bilineata is Nicotiana tabacum
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