Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855)

English Brown marmorated stink bug   Status LU: established. 1st record: 2022, ITW 2022.
Lëtzebuergesch Brong marbréiert Bamwanz   Status Eur.: established. 1st record: 1998
Français Punaise diabolique   RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a
Deutsch Marmorierte Baumwanze   Wikipedia: English Français Deutsch Nederlands| Wikispecies: Wikispecies | CABI
Nederlands Bruin gemarmerde schildwants   Back to the list of neozoa

Brief description

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is native to China, Japan, Korea and other Asian regions. In 1998 it was collected in Pennsylvania/USA, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. The brown marmorated stink bug was probably first introduced to Europe during the repair work of the Chinese Garden in Zurich, Switzerland in the winter of 1998. The stink bug has been traced back to have travelled with roof tiles that were imported from Beijing, China. The first sighting in southern Germany was made in Konstanz in 2011. In Italy the first specimens were found in Modena in 2012 and afterwards in South Tyrol in 2016. The pest rapidly spread across Europe, and it is currently present in nearly every European country as well as in many parts of North and South America. The rapid spread of the species is linked to its ability to hitchhike, particularly in autumn when it seeks shelter in any man-made structure to overwinter, and easily travels with us and our means of transportation. H. halys has also a strong capacity to disperse at landscape levels throughout most periods of its lifetime. The species has over 100 reported host plants. It is widely considered to be an arboreal species and can frequently be found among woodlots. In orchards where H. halys is established in the USA, it is a season-long pest of tree fruit. In particular, peaches, nectarines, apples and Asian pears are heavily attacked. The brown marmorated stink bug is likely to invade homes in the fall. The bug survives the winter as an adult by entering houses and structures when autumn evenings become colder, often in the thousands. In one home, more than 26,000 stinkbugs were found overwintering. Once inside the house, they go into a state of hibernation (CABI 2013, Wikipedia contributors 2023).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Records of Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) in Luxembourg. Data source: Recorder-Lux, iNaturalist & GBIF, 2024-04-22.

There are only a few observations of the species documented for Luxembourg so far, the first one from September 2022 in Frisingen.

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

Bibliography

  • CABI, 2013. ‘Halyomorpha halys’ (2013) CABI Compendium.doi.org: 10.1079/cabicompendium.27377. [accessed 2023-11-14]
  • MNHNL, iNaturalist & GBIF, 2023. Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) in MNHNL-mdata, online portal combining species observation from Recorder-Lux, iNaturalist and GBIF. National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg. URL: https://mdata.mnhn.lu [Accessed 2023-11-14]
  • Wikipedia contributors, 2023. ‘Brown marmorated stink bug’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 November 2023, 19:56 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug> [accessed 2023-11-14]

 Page content last updated on 2023-12-14. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-10-26.

Echinogammarus berilloni Catta, 1878

English   Status LU: established. 1st record: 1962, ITW 1962.
Lëtzebuergesch   Status Eur.: established. 1st record: native to the Iberian Peninsula.
Français   RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a
Deutsch Igelflohkrebs   Wikipedia: | Wikispecies: Wikispecies | CABI
Nederlands   Back to the list of neozoa

Brief description

Native to the south-western Mediterranean basin, from northern Spain to south-western France (Basque country, Midi-Pyrénées), Echinogammarus berilloni Catta, 1878 has been observed for the first time in France in the mountains of the Basses-Pyrénées. By crossing the Pyrenees, the animal was able to reach the Loire, the Paris Basin and invaded most French rivers. French canals enabled the species to spread throughout Europe during the first half of the 20th century. From the Paris Basin, the animal spread to the tributaries of the Eseaut and the Meuse, and thus succeeded in colonising Belgium and the south of the Netherlands. The canal from the Marne to the Rhine gave it access to the north-east, the Moselle, the Saar and the Upper Rhine. This species, which grows to a size of 2 cm, lives in the middle and lower reaches of streams and rivers. It lives among vegetation and under rock and is euryhaline. It is also tolerant of high temperatures and organic pollution. E. berilloni shows a strong preference for vegetation and leaf litter as substratum when existing in single-species populations (Dhur & Massard 1995, Mayer et al. 2011, ONEMA 2015).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Records of Echinogammarus berilloni Catta, 1878 in Luxembourg. Data source: Recorder-Lux, iNaturalist & GBIF, 2024-04-22.

A fairly massive presence of Echinogammarus berilloni Catta, 1878 was reported in the region of the estuary of the river Sûre (Wasserbillig) and the middle and lower Moselle in 1962/1963. Upstream of the estuary of the Sûre, the species became rare. Between the early 1960s and the 1980s, various studies found that the species no longer existed in the Moselle upstream of Wasserbillig. It was assumed that the species became extinct after the Moselle was canalised, probably as a result of a dissolved oxygen caused by the reduction in the speed of the current velocity. It has to be clarified whether the more recent observation of the species in the Moselle in 2006 was an isolated event or contradicts the above-mentioned theory. In the Sûre and its tributaries, the species has persisted and recent sightings (2018, 2023) have been documented (Dhur & Massard 1995, MNHNL, 2000-).

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

Not assessed yet.

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

 

Bibliography

  • Dhur, G. et J.A. Massard, 1995. Etude historique et faunistique des Invertébrés immigrés ou introduits dans la Moselle luxembourgeoise et ses affluents. Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 96: 127-156. [PDF 1896 KB]
  • Mayer, G., A. Maas & D. Waloszek, 2011. Mouthpart Morphology of Three Sympatric Native and Nonnative Gammaridean Species: Gammarus pulex, G. fossarum, and Echinogammarus berilloni (Crustacea: Amphipoda), International Journal of Zoology, Volume 2012, Article ID 493420, 23 pp.
  • MNHNL, 2000-. Recorder-Lux, database on the natural heritage of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg. Echinogammarus berilloni (Catta, 1878) observed on 2023-10-17, occurrence ID DSS0043900002A6J, via https://mdata.mnhn.lu [accessed 2023-10-20].
  • ONEMA, 2015. Recueil de fiches d’identification, Espèces exotiques envahissantes des milieux aquatiques et associés en France métropolitaine, 168 pp.

 Page content last updated on 2023-12-14. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-10-26.

Publication of the Atlas of Mosquitoes of Luxembourg

The atlas contains an updated map of the invasive East Asian bush or rock pool mosquito Aedes japonicus.


Schaffner F., A. Weigand & C. Ries, 2023. – Atlas and catalogue of the mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) of Luxembourg. Ferrantia 87, Musée national d’histoire naturelle, Luxembourg, 117 p. [PDF 5.2 MB]

The Atlas of the Mosquitoes of Luxembourg has just been published in the Ferrantia series of the National Museum of Natural History and describes 28 species (31 taxa) of culicides found in the Grand Duchy.

Mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, Usutu or West Nile, have come back to the forefront in both human and animal health. To prevent outbreaks, it is necessary to acquire a solid knowledge of the mosquito fauna in the considered area. Therefore, and since the mosquito fauna of Luxembourg was only partially known, we suggested the construction of the first comprehensive mosquito diversity and distribution database for the Grand Duchy as a base for an atlas. This atlas of the mosquitoes of Luxembourg assembles a taxonomic list and species distribution maps.

The Atlas was developed in the framework of the MosquitoLUX (2019-2022) project implemented under the auspices of the Fondation faune-flore at the Scientific Research Centre of the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg. The Fondation faune-flore was the host institution and administrative manager of the project.

Funding consortium :
• 50%: National Museum of Natural History, Departments of Ecology and Zoology
• 25%: Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development
• 25%: Directorate of Health

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

Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov 1897

English Quagga mussel Status LU: absent.
Lëtzebuergesch Quaggamuschel Status Eur.: established.
Français Moule quagga RA: ISEIA: n/a. Harmonia+: n/a.
Deutsch Quagga-Dreikantmuschel Wikipedia: Wikipedia - English - Zebra mussel Wikipedia - Français - Moule zébrée Wikipedia - Deutsch - Zebramuschel Nederlands | Wikispecies: n/a | CABI
Nederlands 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.

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 2023-09-27. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2023-03-27.

Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787)

English Lime seed bug Status LU: established. 1st record: 2019.
Lëtzebuergesch Lannewanz Status Eur.: established. 1st record: n/a.
Français Punaise du tileul RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a.
Deutsch Lindenwanze Wikipedia: English Deutsch Nederlands | Wikispecies: Wikispecies |
Nederlands 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

Records of Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787) in Luxembourg. Data source: Recorder-Lux, iNaturalist & GBIF, 2024-04-22.

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.

Obama nungara Carbayo, Álvarez-Presas, Jones, Riutort 2016

English n/a Status LU: unknown.
Lëtzebuergesch Grousse gefleckte Landplattwuerm Status Eur.: established.
Français n/a RA: not yet assessed. Harmonia+: not yet assessed.
Deutsch n/a Wikipedia: Wikipedia - English - Brown bullhead Deutsch Français Nederlands  | Wikispecies: n/a
Nederlands 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

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

Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835)

English Red-necked longhorn beetle Status LU: absent.
Lëtzebuergesch Asiatesche Bisambockkiewerlek Status Eur.: casual. 1st record: 2008.
Français n/a RA: ISEIA: n/a Harmonia+: n/a
Deutsch Asiatischer Moschusbockkäfer Wikipedia: Deutsch | Wikispecies: Wikispecies | CABI
Nederlands 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.

Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque, 1820)

English Black bullhead Status LU: established. 1st record: 1892.
Lëtzebuergesch Schwaarzen Zwergwels1 Status Eur.: established.
Français Poisson-chat commun RA: not yet assessed. Harmonia+: not yet assessed.
Deutsch Schwarzer Zwergwels Wikipedia: Wikipedia - English - Brown bullhead Wikipedia - Français - Barbotte brune Wikipedia - Deutsch - Katzenwels Wikipedia - Nederlands - Bruine dwergmeerval | Wikispecies: Wikispecies - Ameiurus nebulosus
Nederlands 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.

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

First sighting of Vespa velutina nigrithorax in 2021

On Sunday 13 June 2021, a citizen of Rumelange discovered an initial nest of an Asian black hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) and reported it to the Natural History Museum. The initial nests of the native Eurasian hornet (Vespa crabro) look very similar.

Note: This occurrence/detection of an Invasive Alien Species of Union concern named Vespa velutina nigrithorax has been notified on 16 June 2021 by Luxembourg, pursuant to Article 16(2) of R.1143/2014. The EASIN Notification System automatically warns (all the other) European Member States whenever the occurrence/detection of an IAS of Union concern is notified.

 Page content last updated on 2021-06-18.