Stephanitis (Stephanitis) pyrioides (SCOTT 1874)

Kment, P., 2007, First record of the alien lace bug Stephanitis pyrioides in Greece and note on Corythucha ciliata from Portugal (Heteroptera: Tingidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 39 (1), pp. 421-429 : 422-423

Stephanitis (Stephanitis) pyrioides (SCOTT 1874)

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Greece: Athens centr., Kifisiá (Elatis 6), 60 m a.s.l., lamp dome, 17.vii.1999, 1, S. Drosopoulos lgt., P. Kment det. ( PKPC) ; Fokís district , Delfi, on Rhododendron sp. , 3.vi.1995, 3 3 (1 pair in copula), P. Lauterer lgt., P. Kment det. ( MMBC, PKPC) .

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Stephanitis pyrioides (syn. S. azaleae HORVÁTH 1905) is native to eastern Asia (Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Russian Far East, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan) (DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956, TAKEYA 1963, LEE 1967, PÉRICART 1983, PÉRICART & GOLUB 1996). It was introduced to Australia (Canberra, New South Wales, Queensland; collected already in 1924) ( DRAKE 1961, CASSIS & GROSS 1995), Argentina (collected in April 1924 in Ituzaingó) ( BLANCHARD 1926), Brazil (discovered in 1996 in São Paulo) ( BERGMANN et al. 1997), the USA (first records from 1910) ( HORVÁTH 1912, DICKERSON & WEISS 1917, FROESCHNER 1988), and Georgia (Caucasus) (found in 1936) ( PÉRICART 1983). In Europe, this species was introduced for the first time to the Netherlands in 1904 ( FOKKER 1905, HORVÁTH 1912) and later again in 1995 and 1998 with the host plant. However, the possibility of breeding in the Netherlands remaines a question ( AUKEMA et al. 1997, AUKEMA & HERMES 2006). It was also listed from England ( STICHEL 1960, DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956) and Germany (DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956), but no exact records from these countries were ever reported. SOUTHWOOD & LESTON (1959) did not list this species from Great Britain and it is not included in the recent checklist of German Heteroptera (HOFFMANN & MELBER 2003) either. The record from Morocco (GOMEZ- MENOR 1954) was based on missidentification of S. chlorophana (FIEBER 1861) (see PÉRICART 1983). In October 2004, S. pyrioides was found in the Botanical Garden in Lucca, Italy (DEL BENE & PLUOT SIGWALT 2005); in this locality, the oviposition were observed. New species for Greece.

H o s t p l a n t s Stephanitis pyrioides develops on various species of azaleas and rhododendrons (e.g., Rhododendron amoenum , R. amurasaki, R. benigeri, R. brachycarpum , R. calendulaceum , R. hinodegeri, R. hatsugeri, R. indicum , R. kaempheri, R. ledifolium album, R. maximum , R. molle , R. mucronatum , R. mucronulatum , R. obtusum , R. ponticum , R. shirogeri, R. shibori, R. schlippenbachii , R. yedoense , R. yedoense poukhanense, R. yodogawa) ( Ericaceae ) (DICKERSON & WEISS 1917, DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956, MEAD 1967, PÉRICART 1984, BUNTIN et al. 1996, BERGMANN et al. 1997) as well as their hybrids and cultivars (e.g., BUNTIN et al. 1996, KLINGEMAN 2000c, NEAL & DOUGLASS 1988, SCHULTZ 1993). It feeds also on other Ericaecea, Kalmia latifolia and K. angustifolia (DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956, MEAD 1967), Pieris ovalifolia (DRAKE & RUHOFF 1956) and Lyonia neziki ( TAKEYA 1963) . STREITO (2006) reported a finding on Platanus sp. (Platanaceae) from the Chinese province Hunan, where it co-occurred with Corythucha ciliata .

B i o n o m i c s:Recently, various aspects of biology and ecology of S. pyrioides were studied in several papers – life cycle ( BAILEY 1951, BRAMAN et al. 1992, CASEY & RAUPP 1999b, COFFELT & SCHULTZ 1988, DEL BENE & PLUOT- SIGWALT 2005, HWANG et al. 1998, NALEPA & BAKER 1994, NEAL & BENTZ 1997, NEAL & DOUGLASS 1988), hybridisation (NEAL & OLIVER 1991), parasitoids ( BRAMAN et al. 1992), ecology ( BENTZ 2003; BRAMAN et al. 2000; SHREWSBURY et al. 2002, 2004; SHREWSBURY & RAUPP 2000; STEWART et al. 2002; TRUMBULE & DENNO 1995), host plant acceptance and resistance ( BALSDON et al.1995; BRAMAN & PENDLEY 1992; CHAPPELL & ROBACKER 2006; SCHULTZ 1993; WANG et al. 1998, 1999), feeding injury of the host plant ( BUNTIN et al. 1996; KLINGEMAN et al. 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2001a), pest management ( BRAMAN et al. 2000, CASEY & RAUPP 1999a, KLINGEMAN et al. 2001b, NAKASUGA 1994, TRUMBULE & DENNO 1995, TRUMBULE et al. 1995).

N o t e: Stephanitis pyrioides is most similar to another alien species – S. takeyai , living on Pieris japonica (Ericaceae) . Among the native European species, it is most similar to S. chlorophana . For identification of adults see MEAD (1967), DEL BENE & PLUOT- SIGWALT (2005) and STREITO (2006). For the descriptions of larval instars see DICKERSON & WEISS (1917), MAA (1957), PÉRICART (1984), and BERGMANN et al. (1997).