Jewels on the go: exotic buprestids around the world (Coleoptera, Buprestidae)

Buprestidae (Coleoptera: Buprestoidea) is one of the three wood-borer beetle groups of major phytosani-tary interest worldwide, together with Cerambycidae and Scolytinae (Curculionidae). As in other beetle families, some buprestid species have been unintentionally or intentionally introduced around the world, in some cases causing significant environmental and economic damage in the invaded territories. Despite the phytosanitary relevance of the Buprestidae, information regarding the identity of exotic buprestids, their biogeographic areas of origin, introduction pathways, and larval host plants, have remained scattered in the literature. Our objective was to summarize much of the existing knowledge on these topics in the present paper. Our analysis resulted in a list of 115 exotic buprestids worldwide, representing introduc-tions both within and between biogeographic realms and corresponding to less than 1% of the known buprestid species worldwide. Invasiveness does not seem to be linked to their larval host plant preferences, as introduced species utilize 158 plant genera in 70 plant families and are equally represented in all feeding guilds (monophagous, oligophagous, and polyphagous). As trade of plants or plant parts can serve as a pathway for future introductions, the information reported in this review can help in pest risk assessment.

Automated summary

Buprestidae is a wood-borer beetle group that is of major phytosanitary interest worldwide. Information on exotic buprestids, including their identity, biogeographic areas of origin, introduction pathways, and larval host plants, has been scattered in the literature. This study aims to summarize existing knowledge on these topics. The analysis resulted in a list of 115 exotic buprestids worldwide, representing less than 1% of the known buprestid species. The findings suggest that invasiveness is not linked to larval host plant preferences, as introduced species utilize a wide range of plant genera and feeding guilds.