A scientific note on a new pest for European honeybees: first report of small hive beetle Aethina tumida, (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in Italy

International audienceThe small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray(Coleoptera Nitidulidae), is an important pest of honeybeesin many parts of the world. The beetle is native tosub-Saharan Africa and was unintentionally introducedinto USA (1996), Australia (2001) and in Canada(2002) (Ellis and Munn, 2005; Neumann and Ellis2008). In Europe the SHB was discovered in 2005 ina consignment of queens imported from Texas (USA)into Portugal and destroyed by the Portuguese NationalVeterinarian Services (Murilhas, 2005). Since then,Europe remained free from this pest