Fragmenta entomologica

Field observation of Dorcus parallelipipedus feeding on the remains of Lucanus cervus cervus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Gianluca Nardi, Marco Bardiani — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A male of Dorcus parallelipipedus (Linnaeus, 1758) feeding on the remains of a Lucanus cervus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) female, which was probably preyed by a Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix Linnaeus, 1758) was observed and filmed in a relict oak-hornbeam forest of the Po Plain (N Italy, Lombardy region, Mantua province). This unusual behaviour is discussed and similar activities (cannibalism and entomophagy) of lucanids are highlighted.

Microleptinae, a new subfamily for the fauna of Italy (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Filippo Di Giovanni, Martin Schawarz, Giuseppe Fabrizio Turrisi — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Darwin wasp subfamily Microleptinae is reported for the first time in Italy, with Microleptes obenbergeri Gregor, 1938 discovered in Lombardy and Tuscany. This was the only subfamily of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) of the European fauna not yet recorded for the country.

A new population of Polyommatus ripartii (Freyer, 1830) in South Italy (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the present study, we recorded the presence of Polyommatus ripartii (Freyer, 1830) in a new area, enlarging the range of this species in southern Italy. Previously recorded only in the Pollino National Park, where it was initially described as a different species, a new population was discovered northward in the Appennino Lucano-Val d’Agri-Lagonegrese National Park.

First description of the female of Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu et al., 2020 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae, Meligethinae)

Meike Liu, Xinyue Wang, Simone Sabatelli, Paolo Audisio — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, the female of Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu, Yang, Huang, Cline, Sabatelli & Audisio, 2020, is reported for the first time, based on recently collected specimens from its type locality in Shennongjia National Forest Park, Hubei Province, China. Dorsal and ventral pictures of both male and female, along with pictures of their genitalia, are provided. The larval hostplant of L. hastipenis (almost certainly in the family Lamiaceae) still results unknown.

First records of the false click beetle Isorhipis marmottani from Italy (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae)

Alessandro Bruno Biscaccianti, Enrica Giuliano Grimaldi — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The rare central European beetle Isorhipis marmottani (Bonvouloir, 1871) is here reported for the first time from Italy (Emilia Romagna/Tuscany regions, Sasso Fratino Integral Nature Reserve). The currently known distribution, ecology, and biology, as well as the habitat of the species in the study area are briefl y discussed.

A new locality in northern Algeria for the endangered Maghrebian endemic butterfly Pseudophilotes fatma (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Pseudophilotes fatma is an endemic butterfly species found in northern Algeria and Morocco, listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. Previously, it was known only from a few localities of Algeria in the western part of the country and northern Morocco. In 2019 it has been recorded for the first time in Ghilassa Forest in the Bordj Bou Arréridj region of northern Algeria, about 100 km west of known Algerian distribution. This study also shortly discusses the current distribution of the species and sits endangerment.

Dangerous prey: a case of cannibalism between workers of Polistes jokahamae (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Polistinae)

Kazuo Yamazaki — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Workers of paper wasps (Polistinae) typically hunt insects, such as caterpillars, to provision their larvae and rarely attack conspecific workers when foraging. In an urban park in central Japan, a worker of Polistes jokahamae Radoszkowski, 1887 was observed disarticulating the body of a conspecific worker. This observation represents a rare case of cannibalism between workers in paper wasps.

Omphreus (Elladomphreus) eggeri, new species from the Peloponnese with description of a new subgenus (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Omphreini)

Vittorino Monzini, Riccardo Sciaky — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this article the systematics of the genus Omphreus is revisited, describing a new subgenus for the Greek species previously attributed to Paromphreus. Elladomphreus n. subg. differs from Paromphreus in the lateral gutter of pronotum deep and narrow all along, with 2-6 pore punctures, the striae deep and impunctate, the elytral surface smooth and shiny, the mandibles even longer and thinner. A new species belonging to this group is also described: Omphreus (Elladomphreus) eggeri n. sp. was collected on the Oros Panachaiko near Kalanistra (northern Peloponnese) in an interstitial forest environment. O. eggeri shows an average size smaller than O. krueperi but larger than O. aetolicus, with mandibles very elongated, pronotum smooth, narrower at base than at apex, elytra narrow, subparallel, with clearly marked humeral angles and with several setigerous pore-punctures on stria 6 and interval 7.

Myrmecophilus baronii Baccetti, 1966: biogeography and genetics (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae)

Louis-F Cassar, Angela G. Bartolo, Thomas Stalling, Sarah Schembri, Bruno Massa — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The presence of the ant cricket Myrmecophilus baronii Baccetti, 1966 is reconfirmed from the island of Pantelleria (Italy, Sicilian Channel), while new evidence of population clusters from northwest Malta is brought to light. The species is known from three separate geographical areas within the Mediterranean, spatially isolated from one another by the sea. Malta and Tunisia lie on opposite flanks of the Strait of Sicily, while Pantelleria, an island volcano of Quaternary age, lies on the graben that bisects the central Mediterranean area. The occurrence of the species in these three locations underscores the relevance of island biogeography in respect to taxa that lack the capacity to disperse over long distances unaided, as is the case of myrmecophilous crickets. The study considers passive dispersal, including sweepstakes routes, as a potential means of dispersal by M. baronii. It also includes an integrative systematics approach using both morphology and barcode sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA region and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses reveal that Myrmecophilus baronii, M. orientalis and M. ochraceus do not cluster with other Myrmecophilus species that had been DNA barcoded thus far. Given the species’ conservation status, notably its Habitats Directive designation as a priority species within European territory, this work provides new insight into habitat preferences and thus provides an important basis for conservation of this species.

Revision of the genus Nesosteropus Ganglbauer, 1891 (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Pterostichini)

Pier Mauro Giachino, Gianni Allegro, Luca Picciau, Dante Vailati — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The genus Nesosteropus Ganglbauer, 1891, which is part of the Speluncarius + Tapinopterus complex, is taxonomically reviewed and four new species from Greece are described: Nesosteropus euboicus n. sp., N. confusus n. sp., N. montisochae n. sp. and N. breiti n. sp. Nesosteropus diadochos (Lutschnik, 1915) has to be considered the type species of the genus.

Anophthalmus drpensis n. sp. from Slovenia (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Trechinae)

Pier Mauro Giachino, Bojan Kofler — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Anophthalmus drpensis n. sp. is described from caves of Soriška planina (north-west Slovenia). This new species differs from the related species of the “Anophthalmus schatzmayri species group” by external morphology and by shape of the copulatory lamella of endophallus.

Bradyrrhoa andreae sp. nov. from Central Italy (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Guido Govi, Gabriele Fiumi — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The habitus of a series of specimens from Central Italy referable to the genus Bradyrrhoa Zeller, 1848, combined with the examination of their genitalia and with a DNA barcoding analysis performed on 6 specimens, allowed the identification of a new species, which is described here as Bradyrrhoa andreae sp. nov. B. imperialella is also reported for the first time in Umbria (Central Italy).

The Porphyronota Burmeister, 1842 of Cameroon, with description of a new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae, Diplognathini)

Renzo Perissinotto, Sebastien Rojkoff — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Recent collections from Cameroon have revealed the occurrence of a new species of Porphyronota Burmeister, 1842 from Adamaoua and the Centre regions, P. antoinei sp. nov. This is described herein, along with a review of the known species of the country. The rehabilitation of the specific status of P. maculipennis Moser, 1916 is confirmed, as this species is clearly separated from P. hebraea (Olivier, 1789) by a number of diagnostic characters already highlighted by other authors and is also known mainly from Cameroon thus far. The occurrence of P. cinnamomea (Afzelius, 1817) in northern Cameroon is reported for the first time, and it is proposed that P. cinnamomea angolensis Holm, 1990 be upgraded to species level, P. angolensis stat. nov., as it is sufficiently different from the nominal form in the shape of its parameral apex and other key characters. The bioecology of the genus Porphyronota is discussed in the context of the prevailing habitat characteristics, the feeding and breeding patterns of the various taxa currently included in it. One group of species, previously constituting the obsolete genus Poecilophila Kolbe, 1893, lives in forest and open savanna habitats and its members breed within the soil or in rotten wood and feed on fruits, sap or flowers at the adult stage. A second group, probably composed of most if not all the other known species, lives in mountainous grassland habitats, undergoes period of dormancy underground and appears to depend on specific herbivore dung for larval growth.

Description of new species of Spilophorus (Prospilophorus) Holm & Perissinotto, 2010 with revision of the subgenus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae, Cremastocheilini)

Renzo Perissinotto, Thierry Garnier — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Despite two revisions of the genus Spilophorus Westwood, 1848 having been published fairly recently, new findings and closer analyses have revealed the existence of more species than previously reported. A new species of the endemic African subgenus Prosphilophorus Holm & Perissinotto, 2010 has been discovered in Cameroon and is hereby described as S. (P.) superbus sp. nov. A series of new specimens of S. (P.) grandis Schein, 1949 has also been found in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN, South Africa), making it possible to confirm the type locality for this species in South Africa and necessitating the erection of a new species, S. (P.) holmi sp. nov. for the specimens from Tanzania, previously grouped under the former taxon. Finally, two female specimens housed in the Museum of Central Africa (MRAC, Tervuren, Belgium) and other specimens reposited in private collections and previously regarded as belonging to S. (P.) aurifer Westwood, 1874 are here recognized as a separate species and described as S. (P.) congoensis sp. nov. , on the basis of their comparative
differences in dorsal ornamentation, sculpture and shape of the mentum. The genus appears to be of special significance for the biodiversity of the continent, due to its rather unique ecological characteristics of association with bird and ant aerial nests. The suggestion that species may represent highly specialized and isolated relicts, as highlighted in Holm & Perissinotto (2010), seems to be validated and strengthened by these findings.

Notes on the Genus Parastasia Westwood, 1841 from Thailand (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae)

Thitipong Hongsuwong, Chayaphol Phothaworn — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents new records from Thailand for four species of Scarabaeidae Rutelinae: Parastasia asahi Wada, 2008, P. burmeisteri Ohaus, 1898, P. dimidiata Erichson, 1845, and P. kraatzi Ohaus, 1900. A list of all Parastasia species occurring in Thailand is provided. Additionally, behavioral notes on some species of genus Parastasia are included and discussed.

What’s on the menu today? First report of nectarivory for Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Maria Pizarro-Borrull, Mario Alamo — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study reports the first observation of nectarivory in the predator reduviid Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Ribaut, 1921) in Spain. One individual of R. cuspidatus was observed sucking nectar from a Jacobaea vulgaris Gaertn. inflorescence in a grassland meadow in Berrecil de la Sierra (Spain). Our observation suggested that R. cuspidatus can use floral resources to obtain sugar or moisture during extreme climate conditions, such as can occur during Mediterranean summer.