The entomofauna on Eucalyptus in Israel: A review

Abstract

http://www.eje.cz planted in the Israeli low-altitude arid and semiarid lands. These stands form recreation areas, green belts surrounding neighbourhoods and agricultural areas, used for watershed management, sources of food for honeybees and a major source of timber and fi rewood. To date, Eucalyptus forests cover about 11,000 ha, half of which is planted with E. camaldulensis and much of the rest with E. gomphocephala DC (27%) and E. occidentalis Endl. (12%), the latter predominantly in desert or semi desert areas in the Negev (Fig. 1) (Anonymous, 2017). Some ninety-six species of Eucalyptus comprising between 2.5-5% of the total number of ornamental trees planted in public urban areas (about 25,000 ha) (Heller et al., 2017), 90% of which consist of E. camaldulensis (Nazarian, 2016). A number of species of insects from the native range of Eucalyptus in Australia have been unintentionally introduced into Eucalyptus-growing regions throughout the world. An increasing number of insects native to the territories where Eucalyptus trees were planted outside Australia, especially in the southern hemisphere, have shifted onto these trees and achieved pest status (Paine et al., 2011). By the late 19th century, Eucalyptus forests were being planted in most of the Mediterranean Basin. Currently, three species, E. camaldulensis, E. globulus and E. gomphocephala, dominate the areas planted in the Western Mediterranean

First records of the alien Eucalyptus psyllids Blastopsylla occidentalis (Hemiptera, Aphalaridae) from Cyprus and Platyobria biemani (Hemiptera, Aphalaridae) from Cyprus and continental Greece

“…Given the extensive distribution of Eucalyptus spp. in Cyprus, the large number of their associated alien insects should be closely monitored (Spodek et al 2015;Mendel and Protasov 2019;Demetriou et al 2022). Structured surveys could be supplemented by opportunistic citizen-science approaches i.e.…”