The Alticini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) of Sicily: Recent records and updated checklist

Abstract

This paper compiles an updated checklist of the Sicilian flea beetle species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) by a critical bibliographic screening and adding new material, mainly collected by the first author in the last few decades. The data provided expand the known distribution of many poorly known species in Sicily. An updated checklist of the species recorded from the island, including those based on unpublished data or extracted from recently examined material, is supplied: 161 species are reported, about half of the whole Italian flea beetle fauna presently known. The new records for Sicily include seven species: Altica carduorum Meneville-Guerin, 1858; Chaetocnema obesa (Boieldieu, 1859); Longitarsus helvolus Kutschera, 1863; L. monticola Kutschera, 1863; L. rectilineatus (Foudras, 1860); Mniophila muscorum (Koch, 1803) and the alien species Epitrix hirtipennis (Melsheimer, 1847), an invasive pest of tobacco from North America. Finally, we question the occurrence of Longitarsus membranaceus (Foudras, 1960) in Sicily.