Specimen photographed in Frankfurt am Main (Hessen) on July 29, 2014.
Subspecies
No subspecies are recognized.
Synonyms
Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910
Theognis occidentalis (Heidemann, 1910)
Theognis occidentalis (Heidemann, 1910)
Identification
No information has been entered yet.
Distribution
Originally described from the western USA and Canada. This species has
recently significantly enlarged its range and has colonized most of
North America. It has also spread to other continents and has first been
recorded in Europe in 1999 and in Asia in 2009. In the meantime, the
species has spread throughout Europe and is also recorded from several
locations in Turkey, China and Japan (summarized in Werner 2011). In Germany, the species has first been recorded in 2006
and is since been recorded from several Bundesländer, including
Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Niedersachsen,
Berlin, Brandenburg, Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg, and Bayern (Werner 2011).
Biology
The nymphs and adults feed on the seeds of a
variety of conifers, including species of the genera Abies, Picea,
Tsuga, Pseudotsuga, Pinus, Cedrus, and Calocedrus. They also feed on sap
from fresh cones, needles, twigs, buds and flowers. If they occur in
masses the species can become a pest species and may cause severe loss
of seed production.