Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok XIX. - Natura Somogyiensis 35. / Miscellanea 19. (Kaposvár, 2020)
Szinetár, Cs. - Kenyeres, Z.: Introducing of Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) (Insecta, Mantodea) to Hungary raising questions of fauna-changes
134 Natura Somogyiensis Adventive species have also appeared in Polyneoptera fauna of Hungary. According to Puskás (2018), successful colonisation typically occurs among synanthropic species (.Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, Acheta domesticus, Diestrammena asynamord) but, through human activities, natural habitats can also host self-propagating populations of alien species such as that of Meconema meridionale. The recent years have seen a growing number of accidental introductions of alien Orthoptera and Mantodea species to Hungary through import of garden plants. Such cases include new records on Anacridium aegyptium, Eupholidoptera schmidti and Ameles spallanzania (Puskás 2018). In this short paper we publish the latest record of the latter species from Szombathely. Results On October 10, 2020, the first author of this paper found a small-sized, approx. 20 mm long, male Mantodea species (Figs: 1-2) on the rear parcel shelf of his car. In the preceding days the car was on Szársomlyó hill at Nagyharsány, South Hungary. The trunk space and its objects were in direct contact with the grassland fauna of the hillside during 4-5 hours of fieldwork. During the same period, pot plants (one Peperomia graveolens and one Rudbeckia fulgida) purchased in a Szombathely garden centre were also kept in the trunk space for approx, one hour. The garden plants partly came from abroad and partly from Hungarian horticulturists. In case of the plants in question, we could not determine the exact place of origin. We captured the insect in good condition and were able to keep it in a terrarium for five days, during which time it fed on the fruit flies offered. The captured specimen was identified based on the works of Battiston & Fontana (2005) Fig.: 1. Specimen of Ameles spallanzania collected at Szombathely (Western Hungary)
