Phratora (Chaetoceroides) vulgatissima (Linnaeus, 1758)

Gil, Francisco, Marques, André & Grosso-Silva, José Manuel, 2023, Lachnaia gallaeca Baselga & Ruiz-García, 2007 new for Portugal and confirmation of Phratora vulgatissima (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Arquivos Entomolóxicos 26, pp. 105-108 : 107

Phratora (Chaetoceroides) vulgatissima (Linnaeus, 1758) , confirmed for Portugal

Material examined:

Aveiro district: Santa Maria da Feira municipality :

x Parque das Ribeiras do Rio Uíma (40.991045, -8.512170; MGRS 29TNF4137; 124 m a.s.l.), 26/03/2022, 2 ♂♂, J.M. Grosso-Silva leg. (MHNCUP/ART/41080 and MHNCUP/ART/ 41081);

x Parque das Ribeiras do Rio Uíma (40.989433, -8.510493; MGRS 29TNF4137; 125 m a.s.l.), 17/02/2023, 1 ♂, André Marques leg. (MHNCUP/ART/41093);

x Parque das Ribeiras do Rio Uíma (40.991799, -8.511480; MGRS 29TNF4137; 122 m a.s.l.), 17/02/2023, 1 ♂, André Marques leg. (MHNCUP/ART/41094).

Porto district: Lousada municipality:

x CaniÇo (41.329625, -8.297802; MGRS 29TNF 5875, 367 m a.s.l.), 28/04/2022, 1 ♀, Francisco Gil leg. (MHNCUP/ART/41090);

x Peneuque (41.292449, -8.223068; MGRS 29TNF 6571, 192 m a.s.l.), 29/04/2022, 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, Francisco Gil leg. (respectively MHNCUP/ART/41091 and MHNCUP/ART/41092).

Phratora (Chaetoceroides) vulgatissima (Linnaeus, 1758) , the blue willow beetle, is a leaf beetle associated to several species of Salix ( Salicaceae ) with a very wide distribution extending from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Siberia ( PETITPIERRE, 2020).

There are doubts about the extent of the distribution of P. vulgatissima in Iberia: according to PETITPIERRE (2020), it definitely occurs in Salamanca and the four Galician provinces, whereas the records from Navarra and Girona may derive from confusion with other species of Phratora Chevrolat, 1836 . Considering the location of Galicia and Salamanca in the Iberian Peninsula and the fact that the species is widespread in France ( WINKELMAN & DEBREUIL, 2008), it seems clear that its Iberian distribution range is in need of revision in northern Spain.

In Portugal, the species was only recorded once, from Coimbra, by OLIVEIRA (1891) (repeated in OLIVEIRA, 1893). The records presented here are the first from Portugal in over 130 years, confirming its presence in the country and adding two new districts (Aveiro and Porto) to its known distribution, as shown in Map 2 .

Figures

Map 2.- Iberian distribution of Phratora (Chaetoceroides) vulgatissima (Linnaeus, 1758), with the previously known Spanish provinces in grey, the new Portuguese districts in green, and the new Portuguese MGRS 100 km2 squares in orange.