Abstract The yellow‐spotted stink bug, Erthesina fullo (Thunberg) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a highly polyphagous stink bug native to Asia with a well‐documented history of human‐mediated dispersal. In recent years, its invasive range has started to expand into Europe. Here, we document the first record of this pest in Italy, based on an adult female collected on a parked vehicle in an urban area of Montegrotto Terme (Padua province, north‐eastern Italy) in early April 2026. Morphological examination confirmed the species identity. The early spring collection aligns with typical post‐overwintering emergence. Immediate targeted field surveys in the area yielded no additional specimens. Given its broad host range across economically important crops, the impact of E. fullo on European agriculture warrants close attention and further evaluation in Italy and neighbouring countries.

Research on the order Hemiptera Heteroptera was conducted in the 0.80-hectare active raised bog and its surrounding areas within the Paluaccio di Oga Nature Reserve. Thirty-four species were found in this area, five of which were strictly associated with bog vegetation. It is worth mentioning the rare species Sciocoris umbrinus (Wolff), which is typical of clearings at medium and high altitudes, as well as the Mediterranean species Oxycarenus lavaterae (F.).

Semi-natural habitats are considered fundamental for biodiversity conservation and the provision of biological control services in agroecosystems. However, crop pests that exploit different types of habitats during their life cycle might thrive in complex landscapes. Understanding how crop pests use a range of resources across the agroecosystem is fundamental to plan sustainable crop protection strategies. Here we explored the effects of local habitat type (i.e., annual crop, perennial crop, dry grassland and forest) and landscape composition (increasing cover of forest and dry grassland) on stink bug pests in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea) are polyphagous and highly mobile organisms considered a serious threat for numerous crops worldwide. To better understand how stink bugs used different habitats, we sampled active adults and juveniles in spring and summer, and overwintering individuals in autumn and winter. Our results showed that semi-natural habitats supported more abundant stink bug populations, potentially providing alternative feeding, reproduction, and overwintering sites. Specifically, we found more active adults and juveniles in dry grasslands, while forests hosted greater numbers of overwintering individuals. Moreover, forest cover in the landscape was positively related to active stink bug abundance in all sampled habitats. Finally, we found complex landscapes rich in overall semi-natural habitats to support higher abundance of overwintering individuals in both forests and dry grasslands, while perennial crop might provide suitable overwintering sites in highly simplified landscape. These results have important implications for pest management as crop fields situated in complex landscapes might be more susceptible to pest infestation. Effective control strategies may require a landscape-based approach.

Information regarding Pentatomoidea is scarce in Southern Italy, and in particular concering the Apulia region (Sourthern Italy), an area of high biodiversity potential. We conducted an extensive survey of Pentatomoidea fauna in the Alta Murgia National Park, a Site of Community Importance, and neighbouring areas located in central part of Apulia region. The survey was carried out in 2016, 2017 and 2020, sampling different habitat types. We found 55 species, with five new records for Apulia: Solenosthedium bilunatum, Acrosternum millierei, Sciocoris homalonotus, Cyphostethus tristriatus and Holcogaster fibulata. The polyphagous pest Halyomorpha halys was found only in urban areas, whereas Ventocoris falcatus, Ellipsocoris kalashiani and Tholagmus flavolineatus, considered rare species, were collected in dry grasslands, confirming the crucial role of natural habitat for biodiversity conservation.

The Nature Reserve Malpaga-Basella, located along the Serio River in Lombardy, was recently established in 2017. It is interesting as it presents plant species typical in dry grassland habitats, not present in the surrounding area. In this study, Heteroptera were surveyed in the Nature Reserve and in a bordering giant Miscanthus crop in 2019. The biodiversity of the reserve was well characterized by the presence of species linked to arid environments with steppe or Mediterranean characteristics, like Antheminia lunulata. Four species new for Lombardy were collected, Lygus italicus, Drymus pilipes, Ortholomus punctipennis, and Arenocoris waltlii. Giant Miscanthus hosted only a few ubiquitous species, also collected in the Nature Reserve.

The research was based on a short but intensive collecting trip made in April-September 2018-2020. Twenty two species were reported, many firstly recorded for collecting sites. From these species, 1 species belonging to each of the Stenocephalidae, Pyrrhocoridae, Reduviidae, Nabidae, Tingidae, Orsillidae, Artheneidae, Cymidae, Coreidae and Scutelleridae families, 2 species belonging to each Miridae and Lygaeidae (sensu stricto) families, 2 species belonging to Rhopalidae family, 3 species belonging to Pentatomidae family and 3 species belonging to Rhyparochromidae family were obtained. The most of these taxa are new records for these locations.

The first report of Phimodera flori Fieber, 1863 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in the Balkan Peninsula (Mt. Olympus, Greece) is presented. This continental European and Central Asian species is rare in southern Europe where it has been found only at high altitudes of the Alps and the Pyrenees so far. It has been regarded as extinct from the 1970’s in many countries. The species is recorded for the first time for Greece, being Mt. Olympus the southernmost known locality.

: The study was carried out in the provinces of Elazig and Diyarbakir between 2020-2021. In the studies conducted in nature and in laboratory conditions, it is observed that the species does not feed on advanced larval stages of the pest. From the species identified in the study, Deraeocoris trifasciatus Linnaeus, 1767 and Globiceps sphaegiformis Rossi, 1790 species belonging to the Miridae family were observed in nature, and Nagusta goedelii Kolenati, 1857 and Zelus (Diplodacus) renardii (Kolenati, 1856) species belonging to the Reduviidae family were observed to in laboratory conditions to feed on the pest. Geocoris luridus Fieber, 1844 and Geocoris putonianus Bergroth, 1892 species belonging to the Geocoridae family were found to be abundant in nature before the pest began to be observed in nature. Brachycoleus steini Jakovlev, 1884 specimens and Macrotylus ponticus Seidenstücker, 1966 found in abundance in the garden at the larval period of pest of these species. It has not been determined that they feed on pests. All species have been detected in the fauna of both provinces. These species are also the first record for the provinces where they have been found.

Specimens of Amnestus pusillus were collected in Veneto, Italy, at light. The species is of American origin and, outside its natural range, has been recorded previously from Iran and Asian part of Turkey. The present record is the first for Europe.

Due to the difficulties associated with detecting and correctly identifying mirids, developing an accurate species identification approach is crucial, especially for potential harmful species. Accurate identification is often hampered by inadequate morphological key characters, invalid and/or outdated systematics, and biases in the molecular data available in public databases. This study aimed to verify whether molecular characterization (i.e. DNA barcoding) is able to identify mirid species of economic relevance and if species delimitation approaches are reliable tools for species discrimination. Cytochrome c oxydase 1 (cox1) data from public genetic databases were compared with new data obtained from mirids sampled in different Italian localities, including an old specimen from private collection, showing contrasting results. Based on the DNA barcoding approach, for the genusOrthops, all sequences were unambiguously assigned to the same species, while inAdelphocoris, LygusandTrigonotylusthere were over-descriptions and/or misidentifications of species. On the other hand, inPolymerusandDeraeocoristhere was an underestimation of the taxonomic diversity. The present study highlighted an important methodological problem: DNA barcoding can be a good tool for pest identification and discrimination, but the taxonomic unreliability of public DNA databases can make this method useless or even misleading.

. The first records of Lasiocoris crassicornis (Lucas, 1849) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae: Rhyparochrominae: Megalonotini) for Lebanon and Israel are reported. Information on the known distribution of the species is sum-marized.

We provide the first annotated checklist of the Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) of the Site of Community Importance and Special Area of Conservation "Alpi Marittime" (IT1160056), based on literature records and unpublished material collected between 2012-2015 within two European projects in which the Alpi Marittime Nature Park was involved. The literature review provided a list of 62 species, recorded for the study area between 1884 and 1990, scattered in 14 papers. The new data here provided raise the total number of species occurring in this region to 208, grouped in 25 families and 135 genera. For each species reported in the catalogue, previous literature records, new data and the known distribution are provided. Among the most interesting findings, Saida henschii (Reuter, 1891) which was recently recorded for the first time in Italy, and Sternodentus obtusus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 which is rediscovered in the Piedmont region after more than a half century.