Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintance, 1903) an alien invasive Aleyrodidae threatening the Mediterranean

The recent accidental introduction in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro of the invasive Orange Spiny Whitey (OSW), Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintance, 1903), is a new challenge for plant protection all over the Mediterranean and represents a menace to Citrus and many other host plants trade in this region. Today OSW is reported in the EPPO A2 list, as introduced, acclimatised and spreading in the EPPO region. In fact, starting from its primary detection sites in Italy (near Gallipoli, the province of Lecce, in Apulia), where it recorded in 2008, the whitey is still progressively invading new territories and widening its diusion. The pest infests citrus plants in fruit orchards, private and urban gardens, avenues, natural reserves and protected areas. Recent ndings in Apulia reveal the establishment of OSW up to the provinces of Taranto and Bari, considerably northwester than previously reported. Pest foci in or near main cities and towns are probably due to trade-dependent, passive dispersion of leaves-marketed fruits and plants for plantings. A. spiniferus is mainly a pest of evergreen plants; in Italy, it overwinters as juvenile xed under host plant leaves. In the warm season, OSW also infests many deciduous host plants, generating abundant populations that increase the dispersal ability of the species, consistently. We discuss the pest invading ability basing on the new territories gained by the insect and the possible advantages deriving to A. spiniferus by the above-mentioned alternate use of evergreen/deciduous host plants