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
Natura Somogyiensis 35: 133-138. Kaposvár, 2020 Submitted: 26.11, 2020; Accepted: 28.11, 2020; Published: 05.12, 2020 DOI: 10.24394/NatSom.2020.35.133 www.smmi.hu/termtud/ns/ns.htm Introducing of Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) (Insecta, Mantodea) to Hungary raising questions of fauna-changes Csaba Szinetár1, Zoltán Kenyeres2 'Department of Zoology, Savaria Centre, Eötvös Loránd University, PO Box 170, H-9700 Szombathely, Károlyi Gáspár tér 4., Hungary, e-mail: szcsaba.bdtf@gmail.com 2Acrida Conservational Research L.P. H-8300 Tapolca, Deák F. u. 7., Hungary, e-mail: kenyeres@acridabt.hu Szinetár, Cs. & Kenyeres, Z.: Introducing of Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) (Insecta, Mantodea) to Hungary raising questions of fauna-changes. Abstract: In October 2020, a male specimen of Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) was discovered in the trunk of a car in Szombathely, Western Hungary. In the preceding days the car was on Szársomlyó hill at Nagyharsány, Southern Hungary. During this time the trunk space and its objects were in direct contact with the grassland fauna of the hillside and with plants purchased in a Szombathely garden centre. It seems more likely that the discovered specimen was introduced from abroad. However, considering that the Hungarian south-facing, dry grassland slopes are climatically suitable for this species, presence-absence surveys in natural habitats (especially in the hill ranges of SW-Hungary) would be important. Keywords: alien species, invasion, migration, colonization, plant transport, anthtropogenic Introduction It has been clearly observed that accidental transfer of alien species results in biotic homogenisation, reshaping the local fauna (New 2016). Europe is especially heavily affected by this phenomenon with estimates forecasting some 2,500 alien species by the mid-21 st century (Seebens et al. 2020). It has been rarely discussed, however, that the observed behaviour and predisposition for colonisation of these introduced species vary greatly in their new habitats (often in a different continent). It is the highly adaptable, generalist alien species that pose real threats to a local fauna through becoming invasive (New 2016, Sáringer-Kenyeres et al. 2020). It is estimated that only 10 percent of all alien species should be considered potentially invasive or pests from a human perspective (Anton 2020). Alien and invasive species are in the focus of Hungarian zoological research too (Báldi et al. 2017). Such species from almost all major taxons have already appeared. Their colonisation success and share within the local fauna vary significantly. For instance, merely three percent of the Hungarian spider fauna can be considered adventive and only one third of these species can establish self-sustaining populations (Hornung et al. 2017 in Báldi et al. 2017). ISSN 1587-1908 (Print); ISSN 2062-9990 (Online)
