Silvia Gisondi

Citizen science (CS) has been proven to be a powerful approach for biodiversity monitoring, offering large-scale and long-term data collection opportunities. This study explores the possibility of reusing images collected under a CS initiative aimed at mapping the distribution of the European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus [L.]) in Italy for ethological purposes. Volunteers contributed 2,090 photographic records and, among them, more than one-third were valid for ethological purposes. These records were analyzed to investigate specific behaviors, exploited substrate and seasonal preferences, considering specimen number and sex. Single males represent the majority of the sample, and the most represented couple is male–female. Regarding the ethological traits, the most recorded one is standing/walking for single specimens (both males and females) and reproductive behavior for couples. In addition, a sex-related seasonal variation has been observed with single individuals recorded mainly in July and couples in June. Moreover, substrate preferences indicated males’ affinity for natural wood and females’ inclination toward bare ground. However, the lack of detailed environmental cues limited additional behavioral insights. This being given, the present study underscores the possibility of leveraging volunteer-collected data from an existing CS initiative for ethological purposes, even if some limitations were encountered. For this reason, good practices are provided in order to ensure a broader applicability of ecological and behavioral research in current or future CS projects.

Occurrence data provide an important baseline for the planning of conservation strategies and for the protection of species and habitats. However, collecting such data usually requires energy and it is time-consuming. Recently, citizen science has been shown to be a suitable approach for the study and monitoring of biodiversity, as it allows for the collection of a large number of records, distributed spatially and over time. Additionally, this approach enable the generation of new knowledge and fosters environmental awareness in the participating volunteers. The present paper describes the data collected during the first citizenscience project on protected insect species in Italy. The dataset contains occurrence records of 31 taxa observed all over Italian national territory in 10 years for a total of 5,975 records. The aim of the project was to increase the knowledge, to document the distribution of the target taxa and to provide valuable data useful for the reporting of these insects as required by Articles 11 and 17 of the Habitats Directive.

The present paper describes a sampling-event dataset on species belonging to two families of Diptera (Syrphidae and Asilidae) collected between 2012 and 2019 in two Italian beech forests located in the central Apennines. The reference dataset consists of an annotated checklist and has been published on Zenodo. Syrphidae and Asilidae are two widespread and key ecological groups, including predator, pollinator and saproxylic species. Despite their pivotal role in both natural and man-made ecosystems, these families are still poorly known in terms of local distribution and open-access sampling-event data are rare in Italy. This open-access dataset includes 2,295 specimens for a total of 21 Asilidae and 65 Syrphidae species. Information about the collection (e.g. place, date, methods applied, collector) and the identification (e.g. species name, author, taxon ID) of the species is provided. Given the current biodiversity crisis, the publication of checklists, sampling-event data and datasets on insect communities in open-access repositories is highly recommended, as it represents the opportunity to share biodiversity information amongst different stakeholders. Moreover, such data are also a valuable source of information for nature reserve managers responsible for monitoring the conservation status of protected and endangered species and habitats and for evaluating the effects of conservation actions over time.

Cantharidin (CTD) is a defensive compound autogenously and exclusively produced by two phylogenetically related beetle families: Meloidae and Oedemeridae. Although this molecule usually acts as a strong deterrent against potential predators and parasites, some arthropod species, collectively named ‘canthariphilous species’, are attracted to CTD. Some species can sequester CTD from the CTD-producing species, using it as a chemical defense against enemies. The present paper focuses on the first-ever description of canthariphilous interactions between a checkered beetle species (Coleoptera: Cleridae) and a CTD -producing species. Field observations revealed individuals of the phytophagous beetle Tilloidea transversalis (Charpentier, 1825) (Coleoptera: Cleridae) biting individuals of the blister beetle Lydus trimaculatus (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera: Meloidae). Laboratory behavioral experiments followed to verify if this peculiar behavior of T. transversalis also occurs on other co-occurring species. Moreover, chemical analyses were performed to assess whether T. transversalis can sequester CTD. Our results show that T. transversalis only attacks CTD-producing species. However, while chemical analyses prove that T. transversalis can sequester CTD from the hemolymph of L. trimaculatus, some clues (based on a CTD-baited traps sampling) suggest that this beetle, contrarily to other canthariphilous species, does not appear to show a high attraction to pure synthetic CTD. Thus, other unknown signals, alone or in combination with CTD, could be implicated in triggering the canthariphilous behaviors of T. transversalis.

Three new species of Rhinophoridae (Aporeomyia elaphocerasp. nov., Baniassa pennatasp. nov. from the Oriental Region, and Phyto mambillasp. nov. from the Afrotropical Region) are described, illustrated and compared with congeners. Genus-level affiliation of the new species is based on a morphology-based phylogeny, preliminarily accepting a paraphyletic Phyto Robineau-Desvoidy awaiting incorporation of molecular data. Keys to the species of the genus Aporeomyia Pape & Shima as well as to the Afrotropical species of the genus Phyto Robineau-Desvoidy are given.

A key to the world genera and a checklist of the world species for the family Polleniidae, including distributions, are provided. The following taxonomic and nomenclatural changes are proposed:Nitellia hermoniellaLehrer, 2007 =Pollenia mediterraneaGrunin, 1966,syn. nov.,Pollenia bentaliaLehrer, 2007 =Pollenia semicinereaVilleneuve, 1911,syn. nov.,Dasypoda angustifronsJacentkovský, 1941 =Pollenia tenuiforcepsSéguy, 1928,syn. nov.;AnthracomyzaMalloch, 1928,resurrected name(monotypic; type speciesAnthracomyia atratulaMalloch) is considered a valid name and tentatively assigned to Polleniidae, givingAnthracomyza atratula(Malloch, 1927) as aresurrected combination;Morinia crassitarsis(Villeneuve, 1936),stat. rev.is considered a valid species, andMicronitelliaEnderlein, 1936,stat. nov.is considered an available name.

The present paper reports data on the biology of eleven species of tachinid flies collected in Italy and Spain on different host plants and emerged from different host larvae. An annotated list of the eleven species emerged from the collected lepidopterans is provided; information about distribution and biology are given as well as the description of their puparia. Two new parasitoid species of the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM) Lobesia botrana were recorded: Clemelis massilia, whose host preferences were unknown so far, and Neoplectops pomonellae. A list of lepidopteran pest species with their associated plants and tachinid parasitoids is then given in order to highlight the relationships among the three components of the biocenosis (plant, herbivore and parasitoid). Eventually, due to the great economic importance of L. botrana in viticulture, a preliminary identification key to the puparia of its tachinid parasitoids is provided.