Improving the Knowledge of the Pest Scaptocoris castanea Perty (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae), Further Information for its Early Detection and Prevention Based on Ecological Niche Modeling

Abstract

Scaptocoris castanea Perty is an important soil-borne pest that attacks roots of various crops in all its stages. In South America it is widely distributed and in North America there are two isolated records registered more than 40 years ago. Early detection and prevention are key features for pest management; therefore, having a detailed understanding of the life cycle and knowing how to identify all the stages of the invader is essential. Despite the importance of S. castanea in agriculture, there are no descriptions or illustrations to aid the identification of its nymphs so here we describe and illustrate the fifth instar. To prevent its expansion it is important to know where the species is and where it could get established. We explored if the North American records might belong to established populations and two possible scenarios could have occur either they were accidental catches or they belong to established populations adapted to novel climates as they are in regions where the environmental conditions are outside the range of those where the species is established. The regions we identified where it could get established and preventive actions should be taken are in Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru. Finally, the extent of the regions it could invade in the next two decades are very different depending on the capacity of the species to adapt to novel climates.