Invasive species of insects in the ecosystems of the Aspromonte Mountain, Italy

The authors present a review of the species of insects existing in the ecosystem of Aspromonte and harmful to plants, with a particular reference to forest insects present in the National Park. The authors focus attention on the invasive and exotic species variously introduced over time. Aspromonte topographically is the area in the south of the Italian peninsula and has particular climatic peculiarities that make possible the presence of different habitats of particular ecological and natural beauty interest. Like other non-forest and forest ecosystems, Aspromonte in recent years has been extensively involved in the introduction and acclimatization of new species whose presence often becomes a normal element even inside the National Park of Aspromonte, which is a protected natural area established in 1989 to protect and safe-guard the environment of the territories within the province of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). In this brief review for each species Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, [Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951 and secondarly Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore, Phoracantha semipunctata (Fabricius 1775), Phoracantha recurva Newman, 1840, and so on] there are given brief notes on their bio-ecology and the relationships between the resource plant and the pest, with special reference to the mountain environment of the Southern Italy. Also, there are in-dicated the possible means useful to control and contain the different species. There are also discussed the possible implications scientific, technical and political order associated with their spread in the area.