Metcalfa pruinosa (Say, 1830) introduced into the Czech Republic: (Hemiptera, Flatidae)

Abstract

A large population of the Nearctic planthopper Metcalfa pruinosa (Say, 1830) (Hemiptera, Flatidae), introduced and acclimatized in South Europe in late 1970's, was found in 2001 in an outdoor ornamental gardening shop in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic, being the first record of the species and the family in the country and its northernmost record in Europe. M. pruinosa, probably introduced in the egg stage on ornamental shrubs from Italy, prefered young twigs of Thuja occidentalis, Juniperus communis and Sorbus aucuparia and was also found in numbers on Lilium spp. The damage on affected plants was rather of an aesthetic kind (spots of waxy filaments on shoots), even though a production of honeydew and a consequent development of sooty moulds was also observed. A brief review of published information on the distribution, biology and economic importance of M. pruinosa is given.