Present status of aphid studies in Malta (Central Mediterranean) with special reference to tree dwelling species.

Abstract

A critical review of aphid literature dealing with Maltese records revealed the presence of 50 species. Most of these records were included in local journals, some of which not accessible to the rest of the scientific community. Because of this, the Fauna Europaea Project and other works about aphids in Europe included only a few aphid records from Malta. In the present paper all names are corrected and updated and doubtful records have been highlighted. Although many species of trees which are known to host aphids are lacking in Malta, and those present are often rare and with confined distributions, aphid records total 25 species and most of these aphids can be considered as locally rare.