New sightings reveal establishment and spread of the allochthonous mantid Ameles spallanzania Rossi, 1792 in Hungary (Insecta, Mantodea)

2025/04/23 by Áron Székely, Márk László, Ádám Mészáros +1 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Fossil Insects in Amber #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Species Distribution and Climate Change

paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/evolsyst.9.146658

openalex publication_date 2025/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Biological invasions driven by climate change are one of the major challenges of today’s native ecosystems. One species that undergoes such a phenomenon is Ameles spallanzania Rossi, 1792 (Insecta, Mantodea, Amelidae), a Mediterranean mantid with an extensive range expansion over the last few years. Although several studies mention this northward shift, only one occurrence has been published from Hungary until now. We present all the 27 new localities and data on this allochthonous species, concluding that it has established breeding populations in Hungary, with a growing number of observations suggesting continued expansion towards Central Europe.

Citations

• Accelerated invasion through the evolution of dispersal behaviour
• First occurrence of Hypena lividalis (Hübner, 1796) in Hungary (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)

Cited by

• Northernmost recorded breeding of the Black Pennant Selysiothemis nigra (Vander Linden, 1825) shows further spread in the Carpathian Basin (Odonata, Libellulidae)

Discussions

• The European dwarf mantis (Ameles spallanzania) has established breeding populations in Hungary, with a growing number of observations suggesting continued expansion towards Central Europe, this new s [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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