Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 68(1): 87-96, doi: 10.3897/travaux.68.e143160
The rapid expansion of Sphenophorus venatus in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, and notes on the west palearctic Sphenophorus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)
expand article infoGeorgios Gastouniotis‡, Georgios Kakiopoulos§
‡ University of Athens, Athens, Greece§ Unaffiliated, Athens, Greece

Corresponding author: Georgios Gastouniotis ( geogas50@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Ionut Stefan Iorgu
© Georgios Gastouniotis, Georgios Kakiopoulos.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Gastouniotis G, Kakiopoulos G (2025) The rapid expansion of Sphenophorus venatus in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, and notes on the west palearctic Sphenophorus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae). Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 68(1): 87-96. https://doi.org/10.3897/travaux.68.e143160
Open Access
Abstract
Sphenophorus venatus (Say, 1831), a species native to the Nearctic region, has recently been recorded in multiple Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan countries. This study compiles new records based on field surveys and citizen science platforms, confirming the species’ presence in Albania, Bulgaria, mainland Greece, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), Israel and Turkey. Clarifications of its distinction from related species in the western Palearctic, alongside notes on the Sphenophorus species in the region are provided.
Keywords
Curculionidae, Dryophthorinae, Sphenophorus, invasive species, new records