Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857

Heyden, Torsten van der, 2023, New records of Heteroptera from the Canary Islands (Spain), VII, Arquivos Entomolóxicos 27, pp. 81-82 : 81

So far, the invasive Nearctic assassin bug species

Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857

(Heteroptera: Reduviidae ) has been reported from the islands of Tenerife ( BAENA & SANTOS, 2021; VAN DER HEYDEN, 2022), Lanzarote ( VAN DER HEYDEN, 2023a) and Fuerteventura ( VAN DER HEYDEN, 2023b).

The species is present on the island of Gran Canaria, too: On 24-09-2023, it was found near Meloneras, located in the extreme south of the island. Two related photos were uploaded to the online database iNaturalist (see here). Assumingly, this record, the first one for the island of Gran Canaria, will be reported more extensively by the photographer and a co-author.

On 07-10-2023, an adult specimen of Z. renardii ( Fig. 1 ) was found nearby; just about 500 m north of the first finding. A photo of the specimen was uploaded to the online database iNaturalist (see here).

A stable population of Z. renardii seems to exist on the island of Gran Canaria, at least in the south of the island.

Figures

Fig. 1.– Adult specimen of Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857, near Meloneras, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. (Photo: Harald Dühmert).