Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The recent emergence of <jats:italic>Xylella fastidiosa</jats:italic> in Europe is a major threat to agriculture, including olive, almond and grape. <jats:italic>Philaenus spumarius</jats:italic> is the predominant vector of <jats:italic>X. fastidiosa</jats:italic> in Europe. Understanding vector movement is critical for developing effective control measures against bacterial spread. In this study, our goal was to set up a flight-mill protocol to assess <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> flight potential and to analyse how different variables may affect its flight behaviour. We found that <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> was able to fly ≈ 500 m in 30 min with a maximum single flight of 5.5 km in 5.4 h. Based on the observations, the flight potential of the females was higher in spring and autumn than in summer, and that of the males was highest in autumn. Moreover, we found that <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> had a higher flight potential during the morning and the night than during the afternoon. Our results revealed that <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> is likely to disperse much further than the established sizes of the infected and buffer zones designated by the EU. This knowledge on the flight potential of <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> will be critical for improving management actions against <jats:italic>P. spumarius</jats:italic> and the spread of <jats:italic>X. fastidiosa</jats:italic> in Europe.</jats:p>