First records of rockrose prickly leaf beetle Dicladispa testacea (Linnaeus, 1767) (Chrysomelidae) breeding in Britain, with comments on its global distribution

摘要

On 8 August 2021 an enquiry with a photograph was received by the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) garden advice service asking whether the insect in the image was a rockrose prickly leaf beetle. The enquirer, Janet Shears, said that the beetles were found on an established rockrose in her sister-in-law's front garden in Morden, Surrey (TQ2466) and that the 'Rock Rose is infested with the insect... which causes the leaves to curl up'. The beetle was confirmed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) of DEFRA as Dicladispa testacea (Linnaeus, 1767). The beetles had been present in the previous season (2020) and the host plant had been present for at least 10 years. This was the first confirmed record of the beetle breeding in Britain and the authors could not find any other reports of individuals being found in Britain. Further specimens were requested and more than 30 adults (dead) and some plant samples of the affected rockrose were received from the same garden on 20 August and 13 September 2021.