Euscelidius variegatus (Kirschbaum, 1858)

Koufakis, Ioannis E., Pappas, Maria L., Kalaitzaki, Argyro P., Tsagkarakis, Antonios E., Thanou, Zoi N., Tzobanoglou, Despina K. & Broufas, George D., 2022, First record of two leafhoppers, Euscelis ohausi and Euscelidius variegatus, for the island of Crete, Greece (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), Fragmenta entomologica 54 (1), pp. 185-192 : 189

Euscelidius variegatus (Kirschbaum, 1858)

Material examined. GREECE: (CRETE), CHANIA, Zymvragou , 35°26’27.1”N 23°45’25.0”E, 300 m, 03 September 2018 (0 ♂, 1♀) ; Nerokourou , 35°29’12.8”N 24°01’28.0”E, 10 m, 11 June 2018 (5♂, 2♀) ; Zounaki , 35°28’55.3”N 23°49’45.8”E, 100 m, 24 May 2019 (0 ♂, 1♀) , 23 July 2018 (1♂, 1♀) ; Souda , 35°29’38.9”N 24°02’49.8”E, 7 m, 27 November 2018 (2♂, 2♀) . HER- AKLION, Fodele , 35°22’44.5”N 24°57’37.2”E, 45 m, 01 July 2019 (2♂, 1♀) .

Diagnosis. In Europe, the genus Euscelidius Ribaut, 1972 includes three species ( E. variegatus Kirschbaum, 1858 ; E. schenckii Kirschbaum, 1868 ; E. mundus Haupt, 1927 ) which have been also recorded in Greece ( Drosopoulos et al. 1986; Thanou et al. 2018). Specimens of E. variegatus from Crete were identified morphologically using identification keys and relevant literature ( Le Quesne 1969; Biedermann & Niedringhaus 2009; Thanou et al. 2018).

The base colour of adults is greyish yellow and the overall body length ranges from 3.7 to 4.7 mm in males while in females from 4.4 to 5.3 mm. Regarding males, the aedeagus, in side view, has hook-like apical appendages ( Fig. 2 ) ( Le Quesne, 1969; Biedermann and Niedringhaus, 2009). The vertex ( Fig. 5) has a light brownish colour with two blackish wedge-shaped marks right behind the ocelli and other more or less extensive dark markings, sometimes fused with these. At the frontoclypeus ( Fig. 6 ) there are two large dark patches near the upper margin, widely marked with dark transverse streaks below, which may be partly fused in lower part in darkly marked individuals. Anteclypeous has a few dark dots or a dark streak. Pronotum and scutellum has a light brownish colour with several brown or black markings. Fore wings are longer than abdomen with a light brownish colour and with more or less well-developed pattern of more or less fused irregular darker dots ( Le Quesne 1969).

Distribution. Euscelidius variegatus is widely distribut- ed in Europe, also known to occur in western (California, Washington, Oregon and Utah of USA) and eastern (Ontario, Canada).

North America ( Young 1955; Hamilton 1983; Parent et al. 2019)62 were erroneously recorded previously although 12 of the European species subsequently have been found in North America.

Two North American species have been introduced into Europe, and one European species has been found in South America; North America has received 61 species from Europe, 3 from Asia, and 1 from Africa. One pan-tropical species is probably a recent introduction into the Caribbean from the Old World. There are 30 transboreal leafhoppers, 5 transarctic species inhabiting the tundra and alpine meadows, and 9 inhabiting temperate regions of both Eurasia and North America.

Specifically, according to de Jong et al. (2014), this species has been recorded in Austria, Azores Is., Balearic Is., Belgium, Britain I., Bulgaria, Canary is., Czech Republic, French mainland, Germany, Italian mainland, Moldova, Near East, North Africa, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Sardinia, Sicily, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Distributed in the western Palearctic Region and in North America, E. variegatus is a great colonizer. Interestingly, it is capable to establish in continental islands such as Great Britain, Sardinia, Sicily and Balearic Islands ( Reis and Aguin-Pombo 2003). In Greece, E. variegatus was recorded for the first time in Athens (Attica) in olive and citrus orchards with Malaise trap and sweep netting ( Thanou et al. 2018). Nevertheless, information about its presence in the Greek islands is pending. In our study, we found E. variegatus in two prefectures (Chania and Heraklion) of Crete, occurring from 10 m up to 300 m of altitude; like in Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands, it was found in both dry and coastal areas of the island of Crete and in agricultural fields ( Lindberg 1941; Sergel & Baez 1990; Reis & Aguin-Pombo 2003).

Bio-ecology. In our study, adults were observed from April to September, but they were more abundant in June. Euscelidius variegatus is considered a polyphagous species ( Reis & Aguin-Pombo 2003) feeding on Fabaceae ( Trifolium repens var. repens ), Apiaceae ( Apium nodiflorum ), Chenopodiaceae , Lamiaceae , Malvaceae , Solanaceae and Vitaceae ( Alma et al. 1988; Cardoso 1974; DeLong & Severin 1947; Quartau 1980). In the present study however, adults were only found on Gramineae plants, specifically A. sativa in olive groves. Likewise, E. variegatus was found in Athens (Attica) in herbaceous vegetation growing within olive groves ( Thanou et al. 2018).

Figures

Fig. 2 – Ventral view of male and female Euscelis ohausi.

Fig. 6 – Ventral view of male and female Euscelidius variegatus.