First record of the tobacco flea beetle Epitrix hirtipennis Melsheimer [ Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae] in Russia.

The invasive pest of tobacco Epitrix hirtipennis ( Melsheimer, 1847) is recorded in Russia for the first time. In April 2013 two specimens were collected in Sochi and in May one specimen was collected in Tuapse (near the Black Sea shore, in the Northern Caucasus). Epitrix hirtipennis is native to North and Central America. It was first recorded in the EPPO region in 1983 in Italy. It was subsequently recorded in the Azores ( Portugal), Greece, Turkey, FYR of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Syria. Epitrix hirtipennis is the first known alien flea beetle in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]