Revisiting the non-native insect fauna of Greece: Current trends and an updated checklist

Demetriou, Jakovos; Kalaentzis, Konstantinos; Kazilas, Christos; Koutsoukos, Evangelos; Avtzis, Dimitrios Ν.; Georgiadis, Christos

doi:10.3897/neobiota.65.64686

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…The NATURA 2000 network covers 27.3% of the terrestrial area in the country (Spiliopoulou et al 2021). There are a large number of alien insects established in Greece (Anagnou-Veroniki et al 2008;Avtzis et al 2017;Demetriou et al 2021) and monitoring the spread of these, particularly in protected sites, could underpin strategic action. Monitoring H. axyridis in Greece is important because it could have adverse impacts on native species and ecosystem function.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment and spread of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece: based on contributions from citizen scientists

Angelidou¹,

Demetriou²,

Christou

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773), also known as the harlequin ladybird, is an invasive alien species intentionally introduced to many countries as a biological control agent of agricultural pests. In Greece, H. axyridis was first introduced as a biological control agent in 1994, with releases taking place between 1994 and 2000. For many years there was no evidence to indicate that H. axyridis had established self-sustaining populations. Following introduction to Greece in 2008, a recording scheme was launched but unfortunately failed to yield results and was discontinued meanwhile several online platforms have become available. Our study examines records from iΝaturalist and other databases, such as Alientoma and social media demonstrating that H. axyridis has been established in Greece since 2010. The distribution, phenology and presence of H. axyridis in different habitat types and protected areas are investigated, using both citizen science data and literature records. H. axyridis is present in 13 administrative districts of Greece, most of them in considerable distance from the initial release sites, and mainly inhabits urban and agricultural habitats as well as 17 NATURA 2000 sites. The adverse socioeconomic and environmental impacts of H. axyridis are briefly discussed alongside suggestions for action. Based on our findings, we propose the establishment of a national monitoring scheme for H. axyridis and native ladybirds, encouraging public participation in recording ladybird observations that will provide information on the distribution, spread and impact of this invasive alien species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment and spread of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece: based on contributions from citizen scientists

Angelidou¹,

Demetriou²,

Christou

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The establishment of an efficient early warning system has been stated as a necessary step towards mitigating the future impacts of alien insects in Greece [61]. Such a scheme for insects has yet to be found in the country and will be integrated to the Alientoma website in the near future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The catalogue of 469 alien insect species in Greece, which constitutes the backbone of this endeavour, was compiled after a thorough literature survey, review of museum collections and online databases [61]. In addition to the checklist, profiles of 50 species (an initial selection of easily recognisable species; all species were scheduled to be implemented) and details on their status, distribution, taxonomy, common names (also in Greek) and impacts were integrated into the website of Alientoma, which was created using the template for taxonomic websites of Scratchpads 2.0 [62].…”

Section: Construction Of the Websitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The alien insect fauna of Greece was first assessed by Avtzis et al (2017) [31], compiling a checklist for 266 species alongside analyses of feeding behaviour, invaded habitats and origin. This endeavour was supplemented by Demetriou et al (2021), raising the number of alien insects in the country to 469. Further increases in the number of alien insects in Greece were predicted, with new records of alien species being constantly discovered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alientoma, a Dynamic Database for Alien Insects in Greece and Its Use by Citizen Scientists in Mapping Alien Species

Kalaentzis

Kazilas

Demetriou³

et al. 2021

Insects

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Invasive alien species have been increasingly acknowledged as a major threat to native biodiversity and ecosystem services, while their adverse impacts expand to human health, society and the economy on a global scale. Insects represent one of the most numerous alien organismic groups, accounting for about one fifth of their total number. In Greece, a large number of alien insects have been identified, currently reaching 469 species. In recent decades, the contribution of citizen science towards detecting and mapping the distribution of alien insects has been steeply increasing. Addressing the need for up-to-date information on alien species as well as encouraging public participation in scientific research, the Alientoma website—derived from “alien” and the Greek word “entoma”, meaning insects, is presented. The website aims towards providing updated information on alien species of insects to the public as well as the scientific community, raising awareness about biological invasions and addressing their distribution and impacts inter alia. By maintaining a dynamic online database alongside a strong social media presence since its launch, Alientoma has attracted individuals mainly from Greece and Cyprus, interacting with the website through a total of 1512 sessions. Alientoma intends to establish a constantly increasing network of citizen scientists and to supplement early detection, monitoring and management efforts to mitigate the adverse impacts of alien insects in Greece.

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“…-Crete ( EPPO, 2018b; Leivadara et al, 2018): 200 trees near Heraklion (Leivadara et al, 2018); -Athens (Ekathimerini 2020;Demetriou et al, 2021): 1,300 trees in 2019 (Demetriou et al, 2021);…”

Section: Pest Distribution In the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

Pest categorisation of Xylotrechus chinensis

Bragard¹,

Baptista²,

Chatzivassiliou³

et al. 2021

EFS2

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The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Xylotrechus chinensis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) for the EU territory. This species is not included in the EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. X. chinensis is native to China, Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. It has recently been reported from Spain (Catalonia; Region of Valencia), Greece (Athens; Crete) and France (H erault; Gironde). X. chinensis attacks and kills Morus spp. in Europe and is also a pest of Malus domestica, Pyrus sp. and Vitis vinifera in Asia. This last species, however, was not confirmed as a host in an experimental study in Spain. The pest is univoltine. The adults are 1.5-2.5 cm long; they emerge between May and August. Each female produces approximately 80 eggs which are laid on the bark. The larvae live in the phloem and tunnel into the xylem where they pupate. Infested trees show injuries including longitudinal slits in the bark, caused by larval activity next to the surface and round exit holes from which frass emerges. The females respond to a male sex pheromone, which has not been developed into a detection method. The adults spread by flight as suggested by the local expansion of damage in Europe. However, wood packaging material and wooden objects can also be a pathway as suggested by interceptions in Germany and the USA. In Greece and Spain, hundreds of Morus trees have already been attacked within a few years, and often killed. The infested area has been observed to expand from 44 to 380 km 2 within 2 years in Spain (Catalonia). Phytosanitary measures are available to inhibit further introductions and slow the spread within the EU. X. chinensis satisfies all the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.

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Revisiting the non-native insect fauna of Greece: Current trends and an updated checklist

Cited by 13 publications

References 50 publications

Establishment and spread of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece: based on contributions from citizen scientists

Establishment and spread of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece: based on contributions from citizen scientists

Alientoma, a Dynamic Database for Alien Insects in Greece and Its Use by Citizen Scientists in Mapping Alien Species

Pest categorisation of Xylotrechus chinensis

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