S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 63. (Budapest, 2002)

FOLIA ENTOMOLOGICA HUNGARICA ROVARTANI KÖZLEMÉNYEK Volume 63 2002 pp. 49-51. Megabruchidius tonkineus (Pic, 1904) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) first found in Hungary T. JERMY, Á. SZENTESI and K.-W. ANTON Abstract: Adults of Megabruchidius tonkineus (Pic, 1904) emerged in the laboratory from pods of Gleditsia triacanthos collected in January and in October 2001 at the very centre of Budapest. It is likely that this tropical species is able to over-winter outdoors at least in urban surroundings of Hungary. The possible economic importance is discussed. Key words: Acanthoscelidini, Gleditsia triacanthos, acclimation This bruchid species has been described by M. Pic (1904) as Laria tonkinea after adults collected in "Tonkin" that was at that time a French colony (today the Northern part of Vietnam) with the capital city of Ha Nôi. The species was later named by Wendt (1980) as Bruchidius tonkineus, finally Borowiec (1984) redescribed and transferred it to the genus Megabruchidius Borowiec (1984) belonging to the tribe Acanthoscelidini. Data on distribution and host plants of M. tonkineus are almost non-existent. Pic (1904) briefly remarked that it was "common" in Tonkin, however, he provided no data on its biology. Wendt (1980) reported that adults were found in "Karl-Marx Stadt" (= Chemnitz), Germany, in a hotel room where they were thought to had been introduced by "the white seeds of an unknown Phaseolus species" originating from Vietnam. Wendt supposed that this tropical species would not be able to acclimate in Germany. Borowiec (1984: 126) examined "two males and two females, Vietnam, Co-loa, 20 km NE of Ha-noi, 7 May 1966, leg. R. Bielawski and B. Pisarski, coll. Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, and author's collection." No other published data on this species are known to us. The main abstracting journal of agricultural entomology issued monthly since 1915, the Review of Applied Entomology, have not mentioned any publication on this species so far. The third author received in January 2002 specimens of M. tonkineus from Dr Philippe Ponel (Institut Méditerranéen d'Écologie et de Paléoécologie, Univ. Mar-