The rapid expansion of Sphenophorus venatus in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, and notes on the west palearctic Sphenophorus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)

Sphenophorus venatus (Say, 1831), a species native to the Nearctic region, has recently been recorded in multiple Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan countries. This study compiles new records based on field surveys and citizen science platforms, confirming the species’ presence in Albania, Bulgaria, mainland Greece, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), Israel and Turkey. Clarifications of its distinction from related species in the western Palearctic, alongside notes on the Sphenophorus species in the region are provided.