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doi: 10.3897/biorisk.4.64
Published: 06.07.2010
Viewed by: 1423
| Abstract
We record 201 alien curculionoids established in Europe, of which 72 originates from outside Europe. Aliens to Europe belong to five families, but four-fifth of them are from family Curculionidae. Many families and subfamilies, among which species-rich ones, have few representatives among alien curculionoids, whereas some others are over-represented; these latter, Dryophthoridae, Cossoninae and specially Scolytinae, all contains many xylophagous species. The number of new records of alien species increases continuously, with an acceleration during the last decades. Aliens to Europe originate from all parts of the world, but mainly Asia; few alien curculionoids originate from Africa. Italy and France host the largest number of alien to Europe. The number of aliens per country decreases eastwards, but is mainly correlated with importations amount and, secondary, with warm climates. All alien curculionoids have been introduced accidentally via international shipping. Wood and seed borers are specially liable to human-mediated dispersal due to their protected habitat. Alien curculionoids mainly attack stems, and half of them are xylophagous. The majority of alien curculionoids live in human-modified habitats, but many species live in forests and other natural or semi-natural habitats. Several species are pests, among which grain feeders as Sitophilus sp. are the most damaging.
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