Outbreak of an exotic flatid, Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) (Hemiptera: Flatidae), in the capital region of Korea

The citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa ( Say, 1830) (Hemiptera: Flatidae), has a native distribution in eastern North America, It has recently invaded Italy in 1979 and has since spread to other European countries. In 2009, Metcalfa pruinosa was discovered in Seoul and the Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea. This is the first record in the eastern part of Palaearctic. One year after its discovery, in July 2010, we found significant populations and serious damage on many deciduous forest trees, ornamental trees, and agricultural crops in central regions of the Korean Peninsula. In this paper, we report the status of the outbreak and discuss the biology, morphological characters, distribution, host plants, and the importance of M. pruinosa as a potential insect pest in the Korean Peninsula.

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► In 2009, Metcalfa pruinosa was suddenly discovered in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea as the first record in the eastern part of Palaearctic.
► One year after in July 2010, we found significant populations and serious damage on many deciduous trees in the forests, ornamental trees, and even on agricultural crops in central regions of the Korean Peninsula.
► We report the status of the outbreak, biology, morphological characters, distribution, host plants, and the importance of M. pruinosa as a potential insect pest in the Korean Peninsula.