Journal of Economic Entomology (2018) 111, 1256-1260

Dimitrios N. Avtzis, Dimitrios Petsopoulos, George I. Memtsas, Nickolas G. Kavallieratos, Christos G. Athanassiou and Maria C. Boukouvala (2018)
Revisiting the distribution of Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) and T. pityocampa ENA clade in Greece
Journal of Economic Entomology 111 (3), 1256-1260
Abstract: In the present work, we sampled individuals of the processionary pine moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis and Schiffermüller; Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) from different areas of Greece between 2014 and 2016. These samples were sequenced for a 760-bp long mtDNA COI locus and the haplotypes retrieved clearly showed that the occurrence of T. pityocampa in Greece is being considerably restricted, with only 8 individuals out of the 221 exhibiting T. pityocampa haplotypes and the rest being identified as T. pityocampa ENA clade haplotypes. To that, one haplotype in particular exhibited the highest abundance and broadest geographic distribution, occurring both in mainland and on islands. Our data suggest a rather recent and rapid population expansion of the ENA clade in Greece and a concomitant recent displacement of T. pityocampa. It thus seems that the relation between T. pityocampa and T. pityocampa ENA clade needs to be further and thorough analyzed before the taxonomic status of T. pityocampa ENA clade can be concluded with confidence.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Nickolas G. Kavallieratos, Dimitrios Avtzis

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Thaumetopoea pityocampa		Greece