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Early invaders: farmers, the granary weevil and other uninvited guests in the Neolithic

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Abstract

The Neolithic and the spread of agriculture saw several introductions of insect species associated with the environments and activities of the first farmers. Fossil insect research from the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilio in Macedonia, northern Greece, provides evidence for the early European introduction of a flightless weevil, the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius, which has since become cosmopolitan and one of the most important pests of stored cereals. The records of the granary weevil from the middle Neolithic in northern Greece illuminate the significance of surplus storage for the spread of agriculture. The granary weevil and the house fly, Musca domestica were also introduced in the Neolithic of central Europe, with the expansion of Linear Band Keramik (LBK) culture groups. This paper reviews Neolithic insect introductions in Europe, including storage pests, discusses their distribution during different periods and the reasons behind the trends observed. Storage farming may be differentiated from pastoral farming on the basis of insect introductions arriving with incoming agricultural groups.

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Acknowledgements

The British School at Athens is thanked for support through a Fitch Senior Visiting Fellowship to EP to undertake pilot research from Dispilio. The Leverhulme Trust is acknowledged for funding over the years to PCB and EP which helped in formulating some of the ideas in this paper. Cathy Morgan and Vaggelio Kyriatzi are thanked for their support to EP during her fellowship in the Fitch Laboratory. Thanks are also due to Anastasios Panayotakopoulos for his help with the illustrations. Marina Sofronidou and colleagues from the Dispilio excavation are warmly acknowledged for their help. The late Georgios Hourmouziadis is acknowledged for embracing this research, for his vision and generosity. Last but not least the editor Francis Howarth, the editor-in-chief Daniel Simberloff and anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their insightful and constructive comments which improved the paper.

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  1. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP, UK

    Eva Panagiotakopulu

  2. Independent Researcher, 20 Den Bank Close, Sheffield, S10 5PE, UK

    Paul C. Buckland

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  1. Eva Panagiotakopulu
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  2. Paul C. Buckland
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Correspondence to Eva Panagiotakopulu.

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Panagiotakopulu, E., Buckland, P.C. Early invaders: farmers, the granary weevil and other uninvited guests in the Neolithic. Biol Invasions 20, 219–233 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1528-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1528-8

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