Alessandra Riccieri

A preliminary review of the genus Sybaris is presented, including a checklist of the species, with updated synonymies and distributional data. Zonitis sikkimensis Pic, 1910 and Lytta travancorensis Pic, 1916 are transferred to the genus Sybaris (comb. nov.), and a detailed description of S. travancorensis is provided. New faunistic records of several Afrotropical and Oriental species are reported. In addition, taxonomic remarks and illustrations of previously unfigured morphological characters are presented.

Aim: Pleistocene climatic oscillations profoundly shaped Mediterranean mountain biotas through recurrent cycles of isolation and connectivity. Yet, despite the Central Apennines being a major centre of local endemism, this region has received limited attention in genomic studies addressing biogeographic processes. Here, we examine how climatically driven distributional shifts have promoted microgeographic diversification and endemism in sky‐island systems of this mountain region. Location: Central Apennines, Italy. Taxon: Italohippus (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Methods: We used genome‐wide ddRAD‐seq data to infer phylogenetic relationships, divergence times, species limits, population structure, demographic history and introgression. Morphological differentiation was quantified using geometric and linear morphometrics of forewings. Past range dynamics and spatial patterns of climatic suitability were reconstructed by projecting species‐specific environmental niche models from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present. Results: Phylogenomic analyses reveal a Middle–Late Pleistocene diversification of Italohippus structured along a continuum of evolutionary divergence across the Central Apennines. Northern populations, corresponding to the taxon I. modestus , form a distinct allopatric lineage likely originating under geographic isolation and the evolution of partial reproductive barriers. In contrast, populations at the southern rear edge of the genus range, corresponding to I. albicornis, show weak genomic and morphological differentiation from I. monticola , consistent with incipient but incomplete speciation. Paleodistribution models and demographic reconstructions indicate marked latitudinal contrasts in glacial impacts, with higher availability and continuity of climatically suitable habitats and introgression in northern and central sectors and more persistent isolation in the south. Main Conclusions: Our results support a biogeographic model of intermittently connected sky‐island refugia in the Central Apennines, generating spatially heterogeneous opportunities for divergence and persistence across latitudes. By integrating different sources of data, we show how climatically driven distributional shifts have shaped the emergence and maintenance of geographically structured evolutionary lineages in Mediterranean mountain systems, highlighting key processes underlying the origin and persistence of endemic alpine biodiversity in the face of rapid climate warming.

Insect-microbes holobionts integrate host and microbial functions, with symbionts supporting nutrition, immunity, and defence, while producing metabolites, including beetle-derived compounds with therapeutic potential. Cantharidin is a toxic terpene produced by blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae), endowed with defensive and pharmacological properties. Male insects produce and contain cantharidin in large quantities and transfer it to females upon mating. This study is aimed to gain information about the involvement of insect-associated bacteria in cantharidin biogenesis. To support the possibility that bacteria participate in cantharidin biogenesis, cantharidin antibacterial activity was assessed against six reference strains of representative species of Bacillota and Pseudomonadota from publicly available culture collections. All bacterial strains tolerated concentrations up to 600 µg/ml cantharidin in a standard antibacterial susceptibility test. To identify candidate bacterial lineages, 16S rRNA metataxonomic profiling of the V5–V6 region was performed in males and females from different Meloidae subfamilies and tribes. Analysis of the insect-associated microbiomes of the five cantharidin-producing species ( Lydus trimaculatus , Meloe proscarabaeus , Mylabris variabilis , Hycleus polymorphus , Zonitis flava ) revealed communities dominated by Pseudomonadota , with secondary contributions from Actinomycetota in Z. flava and M. proscarabaeus and Cyanobacteriota in the other host insects. Although overall community structure and composition did not differ significantly between sexes, a few taxa displayed consistent male-associated patterns, with Staphylococcus , Cutibacterium and one Enterobacteriaceae ASV resulting more abundant in males across all species. The intrinsic bacterial resistance to cantharidin, with both quantitative and qualitative differences in microbiome structure between male and female insects, makes the hypothesis of a putative involvement of bacteria in cantharidin biogenesis still viable.

In this paper, a new species belonging to the Andrena pilipes/nigrospina complex, Andrena culucciaesp. nov., is described and illustrated from northern Sardinia (Italy). The species is distinguished by significant morphological characters, including the structure of the genital capsule and the translucent marginal zones of the tergites in males, as well as the coloration patterns of setae in females. These characters are discussed in detail and compared with those of closely related species. Morphological evidence is complemented by COI barcode data, which supports the distinctiveness of the new taxon, although they do not fully resolve the phylogenetic relationships within the A. pilipes/nigrospina complex. Both Neighbor-Joining and Maximum Likelihood trees consistently place A. culucciaesp. nov. in a well-supported monophyletic clade. The COI data also reveal p-distance values between A. culucciaesp. nov. and both A. nigrospina Thomson, 1872 and A. pilipes Fabricius, 1781 that are higher than those observed between A. nigrospina and A. pilipes themselves, and show distinct haplotypes for all three taxa. Furthermore, we argue that the Sardinian subspecies Andrena pilipes iliensis Alfken, 1938 is not valid, as it lacks significant morphological and molecular divergence from A. pilipes s.s. An identification key for the Andrena pilipes/nigrospina complex is provided. Ecological data on A. culucciaesp. nov. are also presented, suggesting a possible association with coastal dune habitats. This highlights important conservation implications, given the ecological vulnerability of these environments in the Mediterranean region.

Italy hosts 27 species of Dermaptera, five belonging to Forficula, which were never thoroughly investigated. We integrated morphological (morphometric measurements) and molecular data (mitochondrial COI, 16S and nuclear 28S, ITS2) to revise the Italian species, focusing on the endemic taxa, and on the diversity within F. auricularia to reveal the presence of cryptic species. Our data were integrated with those available for other West Mediterranean Forficula. Our results confirmed the taxonomic status of the endemic F. apennina and F. silana, that belong to different lineages but share some morphological traits. The endemic Pseudochelidura orsinii and P.galvagnii resulted nested within Forficula, and a new taxonomic arrangement is proposed (Forficula orsinii: resurrected combination and Forficula galvagnii: new combination). Molecular data revealed the presence in Pantelleria and Sardinia of F. mediterranea, cryptic with F.auricularia and reported only from Spain and Morocco. Morphometric data showed a distinction between West Mediterranean and Italian specimens of F. mediterranea, indicating a divergent selection within this species. This study provides new insights for the Italian Forficulidae, highlighting the importance of combining different approaches in the study of species diversity for their conservation. Indeed, F.apennina and F. galvagnii are high altitude species which seem to be affected by global warming so much to raise fears for their conservation.

Wild bees are essential pollinators of both native and cultivated plants, but their populations are declining worldwide. Conservation efforts are hindered by insufficient data, especially in the Mediterranean basin, which hosts some of the most diverse pollinator communities in the world. Particularly in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, information on the bee fauna is still limited. The aim of this work was to provide the first checklist of ApoideaAnthophila from an unexplored peninsula in north-eastern Sardinia (Italy), by combining traditional (morphologically-based) taxonomy and DNA barcoding. In addition, records of flower visits are provided and shown in a visitor network to enrich the scarce data on the associations between wild bees and plants in the Mediterranean Region. Bees were sampled from April to October 2022–2023 with two Malaise traps and nets. DNA was extracted to amplify sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cyotochrome oxydase I, which were then compared with those in BOLD using the identification tool and by constructing neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees. Seventy-six different species belonging to 29 genera and six families were collected and identified. A total of 212 COI sequences were obtained for 61 different species, many of which had not yet been sequenced from Italian populations. Five of the collected taxa are Sardo-Corsican endemics, whereas six species are newly recorded from Sardinia. Finally, we highlight potential taxonomic issues and new flower visit records, emphasizing the need for further research to better understand the taxonomy and ecology of this diverse group of insects toward their conservation.

Blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are currently subdivided into three subfamilies: Eleticinae (a basal group), Nemognathinae, and Meloinae. These are all characterized by the endogenous production of the defensive terpene cantharidin (CA), whereas the two most derived subfamilies show a hypermetamorphic larval development. Here, we provide novel draft genome assemblies of five species sampled across the three blister beetle subfamilies (Iselma pallidipennis, Stenodera caucasica, Zonitis immaculata, Lydus trimaculatus, and Mylabris variabilis) and performed a comparative analysis with other available Meloidae genomes and the closely‐related canthariphilous species (Pyrochroa serraticornis) to disclose adaptations at a molecular level. Our results highlighted the expansion and selection of genes potentially responsible for CA production and metabolism, as well as its mobilization and vesicular compartmentalization. Furthermore, we observed adaptive selection patterns and gain of genes devoted to epigenetic regulation, development, and morphogenesis, possibly related to hypermetamorphosis. We hypothesize that most genetic adaptations occurred to support both CA biosynthesis and hypermetamorphosis, two crucial aspects of Meloidae biology that likely contributed to their evolutionary success.

The Italian geographic region is characterized by complex and diversified biogeographic patterns and is represented by a high number of endemic species. Endemic species characterized by a limited distribution range should be a primary concern in conservation. This article aimed to investigate the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of 2 Italian endemic species of the wingless blister beetle genus Meloe Linnaeus, 1758: Meloe (Eurymeloe) apenninicus and Meloe (E.) baudii. Our inferences, based on morphological characters, 2 mitochondrial (16S and COI) and 2 nuclear (CAD and 28S) markers and the use of 3 species delimitation analyses approaches, pointed out the presence of a new Italian endemic species (M. (E.) digiuliorumsp. n.), here described, and 3 different patterns of phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities. M. digiuliorum is close to the Spanish endemic M. orobatescomb. n., revealing a possible fragmentation of the ancestor range in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.84 Mya) followed by isolation in Italy and Spain. M. apenninicus is the sister species of the European-Anatolian M. rugous and M. cfr. rugosus, and this pattern originated around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (ca. 2.83 Mya) likely influenced by the climatic fluctuations and the presence of the Alpine barrier. Finally, 2 subspecies were referred to M. baudii: the nominal one, endemic to Italy, and the Turanian-E European M. b. glazunovistat. n., disclosing a third more recent (ca. 0.64 Mya) pattern of biogeographic disjunction.