Confirmation of the presence of the pistachio psyllid Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer, 1989 in Spain.

Agonoscena pistaciae is a serious pest of pistachio in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. In this paper the presence of the species in Spain and Western Europe is confirmed. It is widespread in the regions of Castilla–La Mancha and Extremadura in Central Spain, where it develops mostly on Pistacia terebinthus, in contrast to the Middle East, where its preferred host is Pistacia vera. In the literature and internet sources, A. pistaciae is often confused with other, morphologically similar species, namely A. succincta and A. targionii. Morphological characters are listed and illustrated for the identification of the species found in the West Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]