First record of Eretmocerus iulii Laudonia et Melone (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), parasitoid of Aleurocanthus spiniferus Quaintance (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Montenegro

Following its initial detection in Europe (Italy, 2008), the orange spiny whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus has spread to Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and France. Since its first record in Montenegro in 2013, this highly invasive, polyphagous pest has spread throughout the entire coastal region and, since 2023, has further extended its range northwards. From an economic perspective, A. spiniferus poses a serious threat to mandarin production in Montenegro. As part of the 2025 Phytosanitary Surveillance Program for A. spiniferus in citrus orchards in the area of the town of Ulcinj, the most recently infested coastal area of Montenegro not yet severely affected by this whitefly, fully developed mandarin leaves were randomly collected from five citrus orchards to count the number of leaves infested by the whitefly. Stereomicroscopic examination of leaves collected at the end of October revealed the presence of several adult parasitoids of the genus Eretmocerus in samples from an untreated mandarin orchard. A total of 16 parasitoid specimens were transferred into Eppendorf tubes containing 96% ethanol. An additional 29 parasitoid specimens were collected during subsequent sampling in November. Morphological identification, carried out at the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), confirmed that all specimens belong to Eretmocerus iulii Laudonia & Melone. This therefore represents the first record of the parasitoid associated with A. spiniferus in Montenegro.