Terrestrial amphipoda collected in greenhouses in the Netherlands

During the years 1942-1949 investigations were made on the fauna of the greenhouses of several Botanic Gardens in the Netherlands, on the initiative of Dr. A. D. J. Meeuse; material was also collected in greenhouses belonging to other institutions and in those kept for commercial purposes. A list of publications based on the results of these investigations has been given by Van der Hammen (1969). In a number of greenhouses the terrestrial amphipod, Talitroides alluaudi (Chevreux), was collected. This paper reviews the distribution of this species in Dutch greenhouses, and gives a survey of the occurrence of terrestrial species or the genus Talitroides in Europe. The genus Talitroides was erected by Bonnier (1898) for a species later named T. bonnieri by Stebbing (1906). Many authors consider Talitroides to be no more than a subgenus of Talitrus Bosc, but as the genera within the superfamily Talitridae can by no means be said to be settled, and as the representatives of Talitroides form, at least ecologically, a dearly defined complex, the name Talitroides will here be used. It is probable that this species-complex will have to be broken up into several genera, as the structural differences between the species (e.g. in the reduction of pleopods and 3rd uropods) are very considerable. The members of this genus form a characteristic element of the leaf-mould fauna of tropical and southern subtropical countries, chiefly in the Indo-Pacific area (cf. Hurley, 1959, 1968), but several species have been accidentally transported by man and have established themselves in greenhouses throughout the world, especially before the widespread use of modern insecticides. The terrestrial leaf-hoppers do not tolerate low temperatures and require a high, constant humidity