Ricania japonica: a new polyphagous insect found in the EPPO region
In 2010, specimens of Ricania japonica (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) were collected for the first time in Bulgaria along the Black Sea coast (estuary of the Veleka river). R. japonica is a polyphagous sap-feeding insect which can be found on trees, shrubs and weeds. It has also been recorded on crops, such as bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), fig (Ficus carica), grapevine (Vitis vinifera), Rubus sp., tea (Camelia sinensis), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), R. japonica is thought to originate from the Far East. According to the literature, it occurs in China (northern part), Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku), and Korean peninsula. This species has been introduced in the Caucasus and is reported to occur in Georgia, Crimea and Krasnodar (Khosta near Sochi, Russia). In Turkey, the first specimens of R. japonica were collected in 2007 in Rize (Black Sea region). Other Turkish papers are referring to the detection of another species, Ricania simulans, in the provinces of Artvin and Rize (Black Sea region) on apple (Malus domestica), aubergine (Solanum melongena), citrus, fig, kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa), grapevine, maize (Zea mays), pear (Pyrus communis) and tea. In the eastern part of the Black Sea region, R. simulans is considered to be widespread and has become a serious pest of kiwifruit and tea. However, it is not entirely clear whether one or two new Ricania species have been introduced into Turkey. In some Internet sources, it is stated that records of R. simulans in Turkey are misidentifications of R. japonica. Finally, it can be recalled that another Asian species, R. speculum, has recently been detected in Italy (EPPO RS 2015/172).
Sources
Ak K, Güçlü Ş, Eken C, Sekban R (2015) [Ricania simulans (Walker, 1851) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) a new pest for Turkey]. Turkish Journal of Entomology 39(2), 179-186 (in Turkish).
Demir E (2009) Ricania Germar, 1818 species of Western Palaearctic region (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Ricaniidae). Munis Entomology and Zoology 4(1), 271-275.
Gjonov I (2011) Ricania japonica Melichar, 1898 – a representative of family Ricaniidae (Homoptera, Fulgoromorpha), new to the fauna of Bulgaria. ZooNotes 23, 1-3.
Gjonov I, Shishiniova M (2014) Alien Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta, Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha) to Bulgaria. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science 20, 151-156.
Gnezdilov VM (1999) Addenda to the fauno of cicadina of Ciscaucasia and the West Caucasus (Homoptera). Zoosystematica Rossica 8, 73-75.
Göktürk T, Aksu Y (2014) Morphology, biology and damage of Ricania simulans (Walker) 1851 (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) which damages in the agriculture and forest areas. Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium of Turkey Forest Entomology and Pathology (Antalya, TR, 2014-04-07/09), 282-285.
Güçlü Ş, Ak K, Eken C, Akyol H, Sekban R Beytut B, Yildirim R (2010) Pathogenicity of Lecanicillium muscarium against Ricania simulans. Bulletin of Insectology 63(2), 243-246.
INTERNET
Ricania japonica. http://biriz.biz/cay/ricaniajaponicabayramgocmen.pdf
Öztemiz S, Doğanlar M (2015) Invasive plant pests (Insecta and Acarina) of Turkey. Munis Entomology and Zoology 10(1), 144-159.