Leptoglossus clypealis (Heidemann) (Heteroptera, Coreidae) a potential global invader: use of ecological niche modeling to predict possible current and future worldwide distributions

OLIVERA L.; MINGHETTI, E.; MONTEMAYOR, S. I.

La Plata

Encuentro; Sixth Quadrennial Meeting of the International Heteropterists? Society; 2018

Leptoglossus clypealis (Heidemann) (Heteroptera, Coreidae), is a phytophagous true bug, native to the central and southern United States and northern Mexico. In the recent years it has rapidly expanded its distribution to the middle of United States toward to the east coast, and from the southeastern of Canada to south of Mexico. It has been reported feeding on several crops, most of them with economic importance like Helianthus sp. (sunflower), Phaseolus vulgaris L. (beans), Pistacia vera L. (pistachio), Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb (almond) and Solanum tuberosum L. (potato). It represents a serious agricultural problem and currently it has pest status. Within this genus there is another species with similar characteristics that has been considered for a long time a major pest, L. occidentalis, and that has become a highly successful worldwide invader. The recognition of possible susceptible areas to be invaded is an important step to establish suitable management programs such as the development of biological control solutions, or of strategies for understanding invasion pathways and preventing new accidental introductions. The identification of areas climatically suitable for the establishment of invasive species offers a great opportunity for preventing or slowing invasions. These areas can be recognized through the development of ecological niche models (ENM), which identify the climatological requirements of a species based on its known distribution and allows the recognition of similar conditions on different regions or time periods. Thus, the information provided by ENM should be considered when defining strategies for the containment of invasive species. The aims of the present study are: to compare the climatic niche of L. clypealis and L. occidentalis in order to determine if a similar pattern of expansion could be expected in L. clypealis; to identify climatically suitable areas for the establishment of L. clypealis worldwide; to explore if L. clypealis occurs in regions where the climatic conditions are different to the ones in its native range to evaluate if it could be expected its establishment in regions with different climates; to generate ecological niche models projected to future climate reconstructions (period 2050).