Te frst record of Megabruchidius tonkineus (Pic, 1904) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) on the territory of Georgia

Abstract

The invasive species Megabruchidius tonkineus (Pic, 1904) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) was emerged from seeds of Gleditsia sp., collected in urban belts in Kutaisi (Georgia). This is a new record for the fauna of Georgia. This is the second representative of the genus Megabruchidius Borowiec, 1984 and the fourth alien species of the subfamily Bruchinae, recorded on the territory of Georgia for the fve last years. This species develops in seeds of Gleditsia triacanthos L. and Gymnocladus dioicus (L.) K. Koch in the invasive range. In the North Caucasus, M. tonkineus was first found in Krasnodar in 2005 and additionally in Stavropol Region and the Republic of Adygea in 2011. Te sharp reduction of the number of M. tonkineus was observed since 2016 contemporary with the increasing of the number and expansion of the range of M. dorsalis (Fåhraeus, 1839), which was frst recorded in the region in 2013. Megabruchidius tonkineus was not found on the territory of Ciscaucasia and the North Caucasus during targeted feld research in 2015–2021. At the same time, M. dorsalis became a mass species, occurring everywhere in the host plant area and it extremely reduced the remaining seed production of Gleditsia triacanthos.

Keywords

• megabruchidius tonkineus
• megabruchidius dorsalis
• gleditsia
• frst record
• alien species
• georgia