Corythucha arcuata

Corythucha arcuata, the oak lace bug, is a species of Tingidae that is a pest of oaks. It is native to the New World, and was first observed in Europe in 2000.^[2]

Corythucha arcuata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Family:	Tingidae
Genus:	Corythucha
Species:	C. arcuata
Binomial name
Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832)[1]

Life cycle

It overwinters as an adult and has multiple generations per year that overlap. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, there are three generations and the average first appearance of adults is after 159 growing degree-days and the first generation of eggs hatch after an average of 378 growing degree-days.^[3]

Pest status

A decade after its introduction to Europe, it began to spread rapidly, and has now become a major invasive pest in over 20 EU countries, where it forms large infestations on several oak species, and often does considerable damage, such that negative long-term effects on oak health and survival are expected.^[4][5] As of 2023, prospects for control of this invasive pest were considered poor, with projections that a continual spread across Europe is inevitable unless control can be achieved.^[4] While there is at least one potential biological control agent known from its native range in the United States (an egg parasitoid mymarid wasp^[6]), there are no known predators or parasites in Europe.^[5]