Zhuravleva, Elena N., Golub, Viktor B., Kirichenko, Natalia I., Shoshina, Elena I., Soboleva, Viktoria A., Karpun, Natalia N., and Musolin, Dmitrii L.
The azalea lace bug Stephanitis (Stephanitis) pyrioides (Scott, 1874) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) originates from the East Palaearctic. In 2020, this alien species was recorded for the first time in the European part of Russia (Krasnodar Territory, Sochi), notably attacking Rhododendron × hybridum hort. It most likely arrived there with plants for planting from Italy. The main morphological characteristics of adults and larvae are described and illustrated. The morphological differences between S. pyrioides and closely related S. pyri (Fabricius, 1775) are highlighted in the key to distinguish these two species, bearing in mind that now both of them can be found in the south of the European part of Russia. Additionally, DNA barcoding data for S. pyrioides from Sochi were analysed against other related species of Stephanitis whose DNA barcodes are available in Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and GenBank: S. takeyai Drake et Maa, 1955, S. oberti (Kolenati, 1857), S. mendica Horváth, 1912, and S. chinensis Drake, 1948. The bionomics, distribution, damage and impact of S. pyrioides are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]