Quagga mussel	Status LU: absent.
	Quaggamuschel	Status Eur.: established.
	Moule quagga	RA: ISEIA: n/a. Harmonia+: n/a.
	Quagga-Dreikantmuschel	Wikipedia: | Wikispecies: n/a | CABI
	Quagga mussel	Back to the list of invertebrates

Brief description

The quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis, also known as Dreissena bugensis or Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a species (or subspecies) of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Dreissenidae. It has an average lifespan of 3 to 5 years. The species is indigenous to the Dnieper River drainage of Ukraine, and is named after the quagga, an extinct subspecies of African zebra. The invasive quagga mussel is currently of major concern as it spreads in the rivers and lakes of Europe and also in the Great Lakes of North America.

Quagga mussels are presumed to have originated in the Ukrainian section of the Black Sea. The expansion of its range in Europe began only after 1940 and likely was associated with construction of interbasin canals and creation of impoundments along the large European rivers. Today, they are an invasive species found throughout western Europe. In Germany, quagga mussels were first identified in 2005, and now populate many inland waters, such as the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, the Main, and the Rhine. They were first identified in Switzerland in 2015 and in Lake Constance in 2016, where they have since spread massively and caused considerable problems, in particular to the machinery in waterworks. In 2014, the species was reported at Wraysbury Reservoir, not far from London’s Heathrow Airport in the valley of the River Thames. In Ireland, the mussels were first discovered in 2021 in two lakes on the River Shannon: Lough Derg and Lough Ree.

The mussel is expected to compete with existing zebra mussels and native species. Due to these biological traits, Dreissena spp. can substantially affect the environment, food webs and biodiversity of the ecosystems they invade, and cause tremendous economic damage in raw water-using industries, potable water treatment plants, and electric power stations. This species was identified as the top ranking invasive species threat to the UK in a study of almost 600 non-native species (CABI 2014, Wikipedia contributors 2022).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov 1897 has not been documented yet.

A flyer about invasive mussels has been published by natur&ëmwelt.

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Bibliography

• CABI, 2014. Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov 1897. In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. URL: www.cabi.org/isc [accessed 2023-01-23]
• Wikipedia contributors, 2022. ‘Dreissena rostriformis bugensis‘, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 November 2022, 22:31 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga_mussel> [accessed 2023-01-23]

 Page content last updated on 2024-09-09. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-03-27.

	Lime seed bug	Status LU: established. 1st record: 2019.
	Lannewanz	Status Eur.: established. 1st record: n/a.
	Punaise du tileul	RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a.
	Lindenwanze	Wikipedia: | Wikispecies: |
	Lindenspitskop	Back to the list of neozoa

Brief description

Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787) can reach a length of 4.5–5.4 millimetres in adult females, and 4.2–5 millimetres in males. Adult bugs are mostly red, white and black colored. The head, the entire prothorax, the scutellum and the antennae are black. The nymphs can be easily recognized by their black head and the red-colored abdomen.There are usually two annual generations. These bugs are found on and feed upon plants in the family Malvaceae, such as Tilia, Althea, Hibiscus, and Malva.

The original range of the lime bug is the western Mediterranean, including western North Africa and the Canary Islands. The original range in Europe is given as: the Iberian Peninsula, France, north to Aquitaine and Haute-Vienne, almost all of Italy, marginally to Ticino and South Tyrol, and the northwest of the Balkan Peninsula. Since about the mid-1990s, the species began to spread northward and eastward from here. By 2000, Hungary (1994), Slovakia (1995) and Bulgaria were reached, and Austria in 2001. The first German record, from the Upper Rhine plain, dates from 2004, from where the species spread rapidly northward in the Rhine valley. Isolated findings in England, the Netherlands and Finland are based on introduced animals, the species could not establish itself here so far. In northern Germany the species has been detected in Berlin in 2019. In Switzerland, mass occurrences are already reported for 2005. Towards the east, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania were colonized. Meanwhile, the species also occurs in northern France, as far as Normandy.

In the fall, the bugs congregate on trunks and branches of lime trees, where they form colonies. The mass appearance of these bugs is observed quite often. The bug is considered an invasive pest in some countries (Wikipedia contributors, 2023).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Observations of the species in Luxembourg exist since 2019, when it was documented in the City of Luxembourg (Bonnevoie) as well as in the Moselle valley (Grevenmacher, Remerschen), in Rosport-Hoelt and Mondorf-les-Bains (Schneider 2020).

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Bibliography

• Schneider, N., 2020. Premières mentions d’Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787), de Tropidothorax leucopterus (Goeze, 1778) et de Stephanitis takeyai Drake & Maa, 1955 (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera) au Luxembourg. Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 122: 99-102. [PDF 387 KB]
• Wikipedia contributors, 2023. ‘Oxycarenus lavaterae‘, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 January 2023, 12:31 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/>Oxycarenus lavaterae> [accessed 2023-01-23]
• Wikipedia contributors, 2023. ‘Oxycarenus lavaterae‘, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 November 2020, 08:34 UTC, <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/>Lindenwanze> [accessed 2023-01-23]

 Page content last updated on 2023-09-27. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-03-27.

	n/a	Status LU: unknown.
	Grousse gefleckte Landplattwuerm	Status Eur.: established.
	n/a	RA: not yet assessed. Harmonia+: not yet assessed.
	n/a	Wikipedia:    | Wikispecies: n/a
	Grote gevlekte landplatworm	Back to the list of invertebrates

Brief description

Obama nungara Carbayo, Álvarez-Presas, Jones, Riutort 2016 is a medium-sized land planarian with a lanceolate body, up to 70 millimetres long. The species is native to South America. Populations in the two southernmost Brazilian states, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul are most certainly native. The species is also found in Argentina, where it may be native or introduced. It is very common in human-disturbed areas, especially gardens and parks.

Obama nungara was probably introduced to Europe through the plant trade. Since 2008, a large land planarian has been found in several localities in Europe, including Guernsey, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy and, more recently, Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia. It was identified as possibly of Neotropical origin and belonging to the genus Obama, but its true identity was not resolved at first. In a study published in 2020, Obama nungara was recorded from Italy, Switzerland, and 72 of the 96 Departments of Metropolitan France. The species was especially abundant along the Atlantic coast, from the Spanish border to Brittany, and along the Mediterranean coast, from the Spanish border to the Italian border. More than half of the records were from an altitude below 50 m, and no record was from above 500 m. However, in 2019, a specimen was found on São Miguel Island (Azores) at an altitude of 947 meters.

Local abundance in continental Europe was considered impressive, with hundreds of specimens found in a small garden. On the basis of a molecular analysis, the study also concluded that the population which has invaded several countries in Europe came from Argentina, not Brazil.

Obama nungara is a predatory flatworm that actively hunts earthworms and snails. Because of its hunting behaviour and its wide distribution, it might be the most dangerous land planarian for biodiversity and soil ecology in Europe. It has no natural predators in Europe (Wikipedia contributors 2022).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Obama nungara has not been documented in Luxembourg yet.

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Source: GBIF.org: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/map?q=Obama%20nungara [Accessed 27/02/2023]

Bibliography

• Wikipedia contributors, 2022. ‘Obama nungara‘, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 October 2022, 07:02 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/>Obama_nungara> [accessed 2023-01-22]

 Page content last updated on 2023-09-27. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-03-27.

	Red-necked longhorn beetle	Status LU: absent.
	Asiatesche Bisambockkiewerlek	Status Eur.: casual. 1st record: 2008.
	n/a	RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a
	Asiatischer Moschusbockkäfer	Wikipedia: | Wikispecies: | CABI
	n/a	Back to the list of neozoa

Brief description

Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835) is native across the south-eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions. It is recorded from China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. A. bungii is an oligophagous species; its host range is largely limited to Prunus spp.. The species has entered Europe several times with international trade. The first detection in Europe was in 2008 when three adults were intercepted among wooden pallets in a warehouse in Bristol, UK. The larvae of A. bungii grow inside host trees by consuming the wood. Several generations can develop within an individual tree, leading to its death. The beetle presents a significant risk to all stone fruit-growing countries in Europe and neighbouring countries (CABI 2022).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835) has not yet been recorded in Luxembourg.

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Bibliography

• CABI, 2014. Aromia bungii (red necked longicorn) In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. URL: www.cabi.org [accessed 2023-01-20]

 Page content last updated on 2023-09-27. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-03-27.

	Black bullhead	Status LU: established. 1st record: 1892.
	Schwaarzen Zwergwels1	Status Eur.: established.
	Poisson-chat commun	RA: not yet assessed. Harmonia+: not yet assessed.
	Schwarzer Zwergwels	Wikipedia:     | Wikispecies:
	Zwarte dwergmeerval	Back to the list of vertebrates

Brief description

Ameiurus melas L., the black bullhead or black bullhead catfish is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins, and no scales. It can be identified from other bullheads as the barbels are black, and it has a tan crescent around the tail. Its caudal fin is truncated (squared off at the corners). Like virtually all catfish, it is nocturnal, preferring to feed at night, although young feed during the day. It has a typical length of 8-14 in, with the largest specimen being 24 in, making it the largest of the bullheads. It is typically black or dark brown on the dorsal side of its body and yellow or white on the ventral side.

Like most of the bullheads it has a squared tail fin, which is strikingly different from the forked tail of channel and blue catfish. It is a bottom-rover fish, meaning it is well-adapted for bottom living.

The species, which is known to be invasive, was brought to Europe as early as the 19th century and later also spread through the aquarium trade. In warmer waters, the bullhead, which is tolerant of oxygen deficits and higher temperatures, often reproduces very strongly.

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

In 1892, eight live specimens of Ameiurus melas L. were introduced in a pond near Diekirch. In 1996/1997, the species could not be detected during a systematic survey. In 1998, the black bullhead was documented by a recreational fisherman in the Moselle near Bech-Kleinmacher. In 2005, 2 adult and 300 juvenile bullheads were caught in the Moselle near Stadtbredimus during a systematic survey. A second breeding occurrence of about 500 individuals was observed in the same year in the marina near Schwebsange. The black bullhead has established itself as an independent population in the Luxembourgian Moselle (Administration de la Gestion de l’Eau 2010).

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Bibliography

• Administration de la gestion de l’eau, 2010. Les poissons au Luxembourg : Cartographie des poissons, lamproies et écrevisses du grand-duché de Luxembourg. 2e éd., 213 pp.

 Page content last updated on 2023-09-27. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2022-09-06.

1. Administration de la gestion de l’eau 2010: 166.[↩]