Otiorhynchus meridionalis, an invasive weevil species new to the fauna of The Netherlands (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Once again a new invasive weevil species can be reported to have established itself in The Netherlands. And once again it is a species belonging to the genus Otiorhynchus. The species, O. meridionalis, is the sixth of this economically important genus that has.. succeeded in reaching our country. Otiorhynchus meridionalis is also recently reported from other countries in Europe and it has been introduced in the USA where it now occurs in several states. Our specimens were collected from ligustrum, but O. meridionalis is known to accept a variety of plant species including horticultural crops, ornamental shrubs and also fruit trees. Nevertheles it is not regarded as a major pest species at the moment. In this contribution we present the new records as well as some information on its recognition, distribution and foodplant associations.