Accurate and rapid identification of insect species is essential for effective biosurveillance, especially with increasing global trade and the spread of invasive pests. DNA barcoding has become a powerful tool for specimen identification, but its reliability depends heavily on the completeness and accuracy of reference databases. Many existing databases remain fragmentary and contain poorly annotated or misidentified records. Here, we present a curated DNA barcode reference library of 4097 DNA barcodes representing 169 species of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), a group frequently intercepted in European biosurveillance programmes using multi-pheromone traps. By prioritizing taxonomic validation and data quality, this library provides a robust resource for accurate specimen identification. Beyond biosurveillance, it also supports ecological research, as cerambycids are valuable bioindicators of forest health. Our results highlight the critical role of expert curation in ensuring the accuracy of barcode libraries used for both pest monitoring and biodiversity assessment.

Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a xylem-limited bacterium that has been recorded in several European countries since its detection in 2013 in Apulia (Italy). Given the prominence of the wine industry in many southern European countries, a big threat is the development of Pierce's disease in grapevines. Yet, the insect-habitat and insect-plant interaction networks in which xylem feeders, possible vectors of Xf, are involved around European vineyards are largely unknown. Here we describe these networks in three key wine-growing regions of southern France (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) to identify primary xylem feeder habitats, and assess their specialization degree at the habitat, plant family, and plant species levels. A total of 92 landscapes (and 700 sites) were studied over three sampling sessions in the fall 2020, spring 2021, and fall 2021. Among the habitats sampled, meadows hosted the largest xylem feeder communities, followed by alfalfa fields. Vineyard headlands and inter-rows hosted slightly smaller xylem feeder communities, indicating that potential Xf vectors thrive near crops. Grapevines hosted few xylem feeders, suggesting rare but possible transfer to vulnerable crops. Philaenus spumarius, Aphrophora alni, Lepyronia coleoptrata, and Cicadella viridis were all similarly generalists at the habitat, plant family or plant species level. The only specialist was Aphrophora grp. salicina, which was restricted to riparian forests and to Salicaceae. Neophilaenus spp. were extremely specialist at the plant family level (Poaceae), but rather generalist at the habitat and plant species levels. All 1017 insects screened for the presence of Xf tested negative, showing that Xf is not widespread in the studied regions. Our study provides new basic ecological information on potential vectors of Xf, especially on their specialization and feeding preferences, as well as practical information that may be relevant for the design of epidemiological surveillance plans.

Le fulgore tacheté (Lycorma delicatula) est un insecte originaire du sud de la Chine et de Taïwan, introduit dans d’autres parties de l’Asie puis aux États-Unis. Il se nourrit de la sève de nombreuses plantes, dont la vigne et l’ailante glanduleux (Ailanthus altissima), et peut provoquer des pertes importantes dans les vignobles. La présence en Europe d’un grand nombre de plantes hôtes et la similarité entre le climat européen et celui des régions asiatiques et américaines déjà colonisées rendent son établissement vraisemblable en cas d’introduction. La sensibilisation des acteurs du monde agricole et la mise en place d’une surveillance précoce apparaissent donc essentielles.

A new species of Compsidolon Reuter, 1899, from Morocco (Hemiptera, Miridae, Phylinae). Compsidolon (Coniortodes) pericarti n. sp. is described from Morocco. This species was compared to the 21 species of the subgenus Coniortodes, based on literature and specimens present in the first author’s collection. Illustrations of the habitus for both sexes and their respective genitalia are provided.

The pentatomid tribe Strachiini includes numerous crop pests, notably the genus Eurydema Laporte, 1833, which comprises Palaearctic species feeding on cruciferous plants. In a context of reduced pesticide use and increased biological invasions, the damage caused by Strachiini to European crops has increased over the past few years. Rapid identification of these pests at all stages of their development is therefore becoming crucial. In this context, we investigated whether DNA barcoding can reliably distinguish all developmental stages of Western European Strachiini species and invasive congeners. We analysed 325 specimens collected worldwide, using both newly generated in-home and publicly available COI sequences. Species boundaries were assessed through distance-based and phylogenetic tree-based methods, including Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and Maximum Likelihood (ML). Morphological identification of Strachiini was generally consistent and reached a consensus, except for a few challenging species pairs such as Eurydema fieberi Schummel, 1837 / E. rotundicollis (Dohrn, 1860) and Eurydema spectabilis Horváth, 1882 / E. eckerleini Josifov, 1961. We therefore used as reference material in this study, specimens preserved in institutional or private collections, consensually identified by several generations of specialists. Our results confirms that Eurydema species of agronomic importance and their related invasive congeners can be reliably identified through DNA barcoding except for several species within the large genus Eurydema, for which discrepancies between morphological and molecular identifications were highlighted. A curated set of validated sequences has been deposited in the BOLD Systems (https://id.boldsystems.org/), GenBank, NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and ARTHEMIS databases (https://arthemisdb.supagro.inrae.fr/) to support accurate molecular identification. The taxonomic issues highlighted in the large genus Eurydema are discussed. They will require further investigation and may lead to necessary taxonomic revisions, hence, some of these (e.g. involving the widespread pest species E. ornata) could have agronomic implications.

Agrilus planipennis, the emerald ash borer, is a species native to East Asia that was accidentally introduced to North America and Eastern Europe. In North America, it is responsible for tremendous damage. In Europe, its range has quickly expanded from the east where it was introduced in 2003, and it threatens the species of the genus Fraxinus. We developed an ensemble modelling approach to model the potential range of A. planipennis according to current climate conditions and four scenarios of climate change: SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 SSP5-8.5 in the period 2041-2060. We used three algorithms; random forest, boosted regression trees and Bayesian additive regression trees with occurrence data from both native and invaded ranges. The results indicate that most of the European continent is climatically suitable for A. planipennis. In Western Europe, the northern limit of the range is located in the British Isles and southern Scandinavia. The projection of the models according to estimates of future climate conditions shows that climate suitability would mostly remain unchanged in 2041-2060. During that period, the potential range is expected to slightly shrink in the south, around the Mediterranean Basin, and expand at its northern limit. Our results confirm that A. planipennis is, and will remain, a major threat to forest and ornamental ash tree health across Europe.

The genus Dicyphus Fieber, 1858 (Miridae: Bryocorinae: Dicyphini) comprises small plant bugs well known for their zoophytophagous diet and predatory activity, making them useful in biological control. Despite their importance in plant protection, many species remain difficult or impossible to identify. This is the case of both species Dicyphus (Dicyphus) bolivari Lindberg, 1934 and Dicyphus (Dicyphus) tamaninii Wagner, 1951, commonly found in vegetable crops in Western Europe. We have conducted a taxonomic study integrating morphological (including male and female genitalia), molecular, biogeographical, and biological data. The following new synonymy is proposed: Dicyphus bolivari Lindberg, 1934 = Dicyphus tamaninii Wagner, 1951, syn. nov. The synonymies established by Sanchez & Cassis (2018), Dicyphus bolivari Lindberg, 1934 = Dicyphus bolivari atlanticus Wagner, 1951 = D. maroccanus Wagner, 1951, are confirmed. Dicyphus bolivari is compared to closely related species. The following country records are added to D. bolivari range: Channel Islands: Guernsey, Italy: Sardinia, Monaco, Asian part of Turkey and Cyprus.

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa presents a potential risk to the Moroccan flora, particularly for the citrus, olive, almond and grapevine industries. Philaenus tesselatus, the meadow spittlebug, is the most important Moroccan spittlebug, though recorded with uneven occurrence and considered to be the main potential insect vector of X. fastidiosa. A three-year field survey (2019 to 2021) was conducted at three sites in the provinces of Larache and Kenitra in northwestern Morocco, to study seasonal abundance, phenology and host-plant colonization by nymphs. Philaenus tesselatus is a univoltine species. Nymphs occurred in groundcover from end of mid-March to mid-May, with abundance peaking between end of March and mid-May. Emergence of teneral adults occurred between April and May, depending on the year. Adults were present on ground vegetation from March until early August, with the highest abundances surveyed by sweep net in April, and occurred in canopy in low abundance between the end of May and mid-September, depending on site. Both nymphal and adult abundances were significantly higher in Larache than at the other two sites. Philaenus tesselatus, the meadow spittlebug, is a polyphagous species, recorded on nine botanical families of host plant species including Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae, Apiaceae, Primulaceae, Urticaceae, Papaveraceae and Malvaceae, and 37 host plant species, of which 29 were identified. The Asteraceae were best represented. Carduus pycnocephalus, Vulpia geniculata, Anthoxanthum odoratum and Cistus salviifolius were the most suitable for this spittlebug. Avena barbata, L. foemina, Scolymus hispanicus and S. oleraceus were dominant in the herbaceous layer. Philaenus tesselatus preferred to feed on the mid-section of the host plants. A single foam can host zero to five individuals, but foams with one or two nymphs were most frequent. Implications of our findings for the setting up of a survey program to control X. fastidiosa and its vectors in case the bacterium is introduced to Morocco are discussed.

First report of Spanagonicus albofasciatus on Reunion Island (Hemiptera, Miridae, Phylinae, Nasocorini). As part of a study of functional biodiversity in sugarcane agrosystems aimed at developing management strategies for sugarcane pests, an arthropod trapping system was set up over a two-year period. As a result of these collections, Spanagonicus albofasciatus (Reuter, 1907), a species of bug of American origin, was reported for the first time in La Réunion. Thirty-two individuals of this species were caught in and around sugarcane plots, most of them above 500 m altitude. The biology of the species is presented below. Although its introduction does not appear to be deliberate, this bug already seems to be well established.

SummaryA new species of the genus Cryptostemma Herrich-Schaeffer, 1835, C. karukeraensis n. sp., was collected in several localities of the island of Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe), by prospecting the particular micro-habitats specific to the Dipsocoridae. Males and females (macropterous) and 5th instar nymphs are described and illustrated, in particular details of the pregenital abdomen, and the highly asymmetric and modified genitalia in the male. Among its American congeners, the new species shows morphological similarities with C. haywardi Wygodzinsky described from Argentina, but differs in male and female genital characters. The standard barcode DNA sequence (COI) is given for this new species, which is the third known dipsocoromorphan representative from Guadeloupe, after Ceratocombus bifenestratus Poppius, 1910 (Ceratocombidae) and Schizoptera elegans Poppius, 1910 (Schizopteridae).

Philaenus spumarius (Ps) is considered the main insect vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in Europe. As such, it is a key actor of the Xf pathosystem on which surveillance and management strategies could be implemented. Although research effort has increased in the past years, the ecological factors shaping Ps abundance and distribution across landscapes are still poorly known in most regions of Europe. We selected 64 plots of 500m2 in Corsican semi-natural habitats in which we sampled nymphs and adults of Ps during three years. While local or surrounding vegetation structure (low or high scrubland) had little effect on Ps abundance, we highlighted a positive relationship between Ps abundance and the density of Cistus monspeliensis in the plots. We also found larger populations of Ps in cooler and moister plots. The pattern of host association highlighted here is unique, which calls for more studies on the ecology of Ps in Europe, to help designing surveillance and management strategy for Xf.

We describe the process by which the quarantine whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae), was detected in France. The initial observation was made by a volunteer who reported a picture of an adult in the Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel (INPN Espèces), a citizen science resource developed by l’Office Français de la Biodiversité and the French Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. The specimen was suspected to be A. spiniferus from this picture by one of the expert entomologists in charge of the Hemiptera group validation. Once the species was identified, it was mounted on a slide and the information was officially passed on to the ministry in charge of agriculture via a communication channel set up in advance for this type of situation. The ministry then triggered the regulatory actions planned in the event of the suspected detection of quarantine organisms. Sampling was quickly carried out and the specimens collected on this occasion were formally identified as belonging to the species A. spiniferus. This led to the formalization of an outbreak in France. This sequence of decisions took just two months from the first observation to the implementation of a management plan. This case presents how incursion preparedness contributes to a rapid response. Furthermore, this case exemplifies how citizen science can contribute to the early detection of invasive species and highlights the importance of informing both the general public and professionals about major environmental issues.

Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a vector-borne plant bacterium native to the Americas, which causes severe diseases to agricultural crops, ornamental plants and forest trees. The bacterium is becoming a source of worldwide health plant concern and disease outbreaks associated with Xf have occurred outside of its native range (in Europe, Asia and the Middle East). Several studies have estimated risks associated with Xf outbreaks in invaded regions under current climate conditions, but future climate change has been seldom addressed. In the present study, we calibrated correlative models of bioclimatic species distribution to forecast the potential range and severity of two economically important Xf-related diseases (Pierce's disease and the bacterial leaf scorch of shade trees) by the period 2040-2060. Models predict that conditions could become highly favourable for Pierce's disease in economically important wine-producing regions of the world, highlighting the need to design control strategies. Similarly, models suggest that risk of bacterial leaf scorch of shade trees might increase in temperate regions where it is still apparently absent. However, we note that substantial uncertainty in predictions arises from high levels of correlation among climatic variables in the calibration data set. The inherent lack of knowledge concerning whether the distribution of Xf-related diseases is at climatic equilibrium or not in Europe may also influence our predictions. The models provide valuable information to identify regions where increased surveillance efforts should be made and where control strategies are required.

A new species of the genus Vannius from Guadeloupe Island (Hemiptera, Miridae, Cylapinae, Vanniini). A new species of Vannius, V. dusoulieri n. sp. is described on a female specimen collected on Guadeloupe Island. Habitus, pretarsal structures and female genitalia are illustrated.