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First results on Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of dry grassland in Malpaga-Basella Nature Reserve (Italy)
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First Results on Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of Dry Grassland in Malpaga-Basella Nature Reserve (Italy)
by Lidia Limonta
1,* [ORCID] , Paolo Gaini
2 and Paride Dioli
3 [ORCID]
1
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, MI, Italy
2
Via Oratorio 2, 24050 Cavernago, BG, Italy
3
Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano, Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano, MI, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diversity 2022, 14(11), 981; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14110981
Received: 15 September 2022 / Revised: 4 November 2022 / Accepted: 9 November 2022 / Published: 15 November 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Diversity in Fragmented Habitats)
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Abstract
The Nature Reserve Malpaga-Basella, located along the Serio River in Lombardy, was recently established in 2017. It is interesting as it presents plant species typical in dry grassland habitats, not present in the surrounding area. In this study, Heteroptera were surveyed in the Nature Reserve and in a bordering giant Miscanthus crop in 2019. The biodiversity of the reserve was well characterized by the presence of species linked to arid environments with steppe or Mediterranean characteristics, like Antheminia lunulata. Four species new for Lombardy were collected, Lygus italicus, Drymus pilipes, Ortholomus punctipennis, and Arenocoris waltlii. Giant Miscanthus hosted only a few ubiquitous species, also collected in the Nature Reserve
New record of Ellipsocoris kalashiani Carapezza 2009 in Europe, found in Apulia, Italy (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae)
No full textEllipsocoris kalashiani is recorded for the first time in Apulia (Southern Italy). The specie was described by Carapezza (2009) from Eastern Turkey and Western Armenia, but no records have ever been reported for Europe. Recently, few individuals of this species were found in Alta Murgia National Park (Apulia, Italy), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Community Importance (SCI), characterized by natural forests and dry grassland habitats, with Mediterranean-steppe vegetation. The specimens were collected in two different localities, about 40 km apart from each other, suggesting a long-standing presence in that area. This study provides the first report of the species for the Italian Heteroptera fauna and several hypotheses about its presence there. However, further investigations are needed in order to clarify some ecologi- cal aspects, such as its unknown host plant
Heteroptera on flowering spontaneous herbs in differently managed orchards
No full textHeteroptera in two different plant mixtures are considered. The first plot is a mixture of species with different flowering periods, the second one presents mainly Gramineae. As foreseen, the first plot presents a higher number of species of Heteroptera, and in the second one the species are mainly phytophagous rather than predaceous
First evidence of Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) feeding on rice (Oryza sativa L.)
No full textThe brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) is a pest of numerous annual and perennial crops. Additional distribution records for H. halys are provided from northern Italy where rice is cultivated, and the presence of adults feeding on panicles gives the first evidence of an association between this pest and rice (Oryza sativa L.), a crop not previously recorded as a host plant
Semi-natural habitats support populations of stink bug pests in agricultural landscapes
No full textSemi-natural habitats are considered fundamental for biodiversity conservation and the provision of biological control services in agroecosystems. However, crop pests that exploit different types of habitats during their life cycle might thrive in complex landscapes. Understanding how crop pests use a range of resources across the agroecosystem is fundamental to plan sustainable crop protection strategies. Here we explored the effects of local habitat type (i.e., annual crop, perennial crop, dry grassland and forest) and landscape composition (increasing cover of forest and dry grassland) on stink bug pests in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea) are polyphagous and highly mobile organisms considered a serious threat for numerous crops worldwide. To better understand how stink bugs used different habitats, we sampled active adults and juveniles in spring and summer, and overwintering individuals in autumn and winter. Our results showed that semi -natural habitats supported more abundant stink bug populations, potentially providing alternative feeding, reproduction, and overwintering sites. Specifically, we found more active adults and juveniles in dry grasslands, while forests hosted greater numbers of overwintering individuals. Moreover, forest cover in the landscape was positively related to active stink bug abundance in all sampled habitats. Finally, we found complex landscapes rich in overall semi-natural habitats to support higher abundance of overwintering individuals in both forests and dry grasslands, while perennial crop might provide suitable overwintering sites in highly simplified landscape. These results have important implications for pest management as crop fields situated in complex landscapes might be more susceptible to pest infestation. Effective control strategies may require a landscape-based approach
Tracking the spread of Halyomorpha halys in Italy combining citizen science and spatial modelling
No full textNative to Asia, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is currently one of the most invasive pests in the world. Extremely polyphagous, once introduced in a new territory, BMSB rapidly becomes a key pest of fruit orchards and other crops.
The first detection of BMSB in Italy was in Emilia Romagna in 2012, and now is rapidly dispersing in Northern Italy and in the rest of the country. The detection timely activated a survey that combined active search with citizen science using multimedia channels. Data concerning time and location of the findings and population abundance were collected. The spread of BMSB in Italy was tracked obtaining the current distribution map.
To investigate the spatial pattern of dispersal in the early stage of spread, a 116 x 134 km area contain the location of the first detection was considered and divided in 2 x 2 km cells. Rules are specified to define the occupancy of each cell and follow the spread dynamics in a discrete-space and derive a first estimation of the spread rate. Aspects of the temporal population dynamics were investigated estimating the transition probability among different classes of abundance in the cells. Predicting population growth is important since field data in the Northern Italian show that as pest abundance increases the pest becomes a serious threat in fruit orchards.
Our findings confirm the potential fast spread of BMSB that could rapidly invade wide areas facilitated by passive transportation at long distance. These preliminary results together with data on phenology, host plants and behaviour collected in the same area could be considered to build more accurate model on the spatial-temporal population dynamics. This model could be used as a tool supporting the design of spread management strategies and guiding crop protection measures
THE MIDDLE TRIASSIC LAGERSTÄTTE OF MONTE SAN GIORGIO REVEALS THE OLDEST LACE BUGS (HEMIPTERA: TINGIDAE): <em>ARCHETINGIS LADINICA</em> GEN N. SP N.
No full textA new genus and species of fossil lace bugs (Hemiptera; Tingidae), Archetingis ladinica gen. n. et sp. n. is described from the lower Kalkschieferzone (Meride Limestone, Upper Ladinian) of the Swiss side of Monte San Giorgio. The new taxon clearly resembles modern Tingidae in its hemelytra and pronotum, with two rows of areole, in the presence of bucculae closed at the anterior end, not extending beyond the apex of the head, and in the presence of a labial groove on the meso-/metathoracic sternum. Distinctive features are the thick femurs of the first and second pair of legs, the exceptional size (total length of ~12 mm) if compared with both fossil and extant species. Archetingis ladinica gen. n. et sp. n. represents by far the oldest known species of this family and brings back the origin of Tingidae of approximately 140 My, well into the Middle Triassic. The discovery of A. ladinica, beside its evolutionary consequences on the origin of extant Tingidae, provides evidences for the presence of terrestrial ecosystems nearby to the depositional environment. According to the living and trophic behavior of extant Tingidae, those emerged lands had to be covered by vegetation
Heteroptera collected in Valsesia, Northern Italy
No full textThe survey of Heteroptera carried out in 2016 along the nature path “Bosco dei Tigli” (Lime Trees Wood) in Piode (Piedmont, 900
m a.s.l.), highlighted 74 species, belonging to 68 genera in total. The number of species of each family well represents the Italian
Heteroptera composition, with the prevalence of Miridae and Pentatomidae. The Miridae Criocoris nigripes var. apicalis (Fieber,
1861), a new record in the Alps, and Dicyphus flavoviridis (Tamanini, 1949), an Italian endemic taxon, were collected. Atractotomus parvulus (Reuter, 1878) and Orthotylus viridinervis (Kirschbaum, 1856) were recorded for the first time in Piedmont. Piode is the most Northern area, with Sondrio, where the Mediterranean Lygaeidae Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1784) was found
Zelus renardii (Kolenati, 1856), a newly established alien species in Italy (Hemiptera: Reduviidae, Harpactorinae)
No full textThis note adds new occurrence records of the hemipteran alien species Zelus renardii (Kolenati, 1856) in Italy by citizens, entomologists and photographers. This species was recorded for first time in Rome in 2013
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