First record of Spilomena mocsaryi Kohl, 1898 (Hymenoptera) from Malta with a check-list of Maltese Crabronidae

Until now the Crabronidae fauna of the Maltese Islands comprised 45 species in 5 subfamilies. Recently, one of us (EX) while studying insect visitors on flowers of Capparis orientalis found a new crabronid species from Malta, Spilomena mocsaryi Kohl, 1898. A check-list of the 46 species of Crabronidae so far recorded from the Maltese Islands is provided.peer-reviewe

New records of Crabronidae (Hymenoptera : Apoidea) from the Maltese Islands with an updated checklist

Eight species of Crabronidae are recorded from the Maltese Islands for the first time: Cerceris flavilabris (Fabricius), Miscophus niger Dahlbom, Oxybelus trispinosus (Fabricius), Passaloecus brevilabris Wolf, Trypoxylon scutatum Chevrier, Prosopigastra creon (Nurse), Mimumesa unicolor (Vander Linden) and Nitela lucens Gayubo & Felton. Of these, Prosopigastra creon is recorded from Europe for the first time. A checklist of the fifty-four species of Maltese Crabronidae is also provided.peer-reviewe

DNA Barcoding of Central European Gasteruptiidae and the rarely-collected families Evaniidae, Stephanidae, Trigonalidae, and Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Apocrita)

The study presents DNA barcoding results of five families of Hymenoptera in Germany. DNA barcodes are provided for 24 of the 25 species of Gasteruption occurring in Central Europe, including 18 of the 19 species recorded from Germany. The genetic diversity was higher than expected, with five species exhibiting two or more Barcode Index Number (BINs), whereas BIN sharing occurred in four species. Gasteruption foveiceps Semenov, 1892, stat. nov. is removed from synonymy with G. nigrescens Schletterer, 1885 and treated as a distinct species

Symptoms Compatible With Long Coronavirus Disease (COVID) in Healthcare Workers With and Without Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection-Results of a Prospective Multicenter Cohort.

BACKGROUND The burden of long-term symptoms (ie, long COVID) in patients after mild COVID-19 is debated. Within a cohort of healthcare workers (HCWs), frequency and risk factors for symptoms compatible with long COVID are assessed. METHODS Participants answered baseline (August/September 2020) and weekly questionnaires on SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) results and acute disease symptoms. In January 2021, SARS-CoV-2 serology was performed; in March, symptoms compatible with long COVID (including psychometric scores) were asked and compared between HCWs with positive NPS, seropositive HCWs without positive NPS (presumable asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic infections), and negative controls. The effect of time since diagnosis and quantitative anti-spike protein antibodies (anti-S) was evaluated. Poisson regression was used to identify risk factors for symptom occurrence. RESULTS Of 3334 HCWs (median, 41 years; 80% female), 556 (17%) had a positive NPS and 228 (7%) were only seropositive. HCWs with positive NPS more frequently reported ≥1 symptom compared with controls (73% vs 52%, P 6 months ago; anti-S titers correlated with high symptom scores. Acute viral symptoms in weekly questionnaires best predicted long-COVID symptoms. Physical activity at baseline was negatively associated with neurocognitive impairment and fatigue scores. CONCLUSIONS Seropositive HCWs without positive NPS are only mildly affected by long COVID. Exhaustion/burnout is common, even in noninfected HCWs. Physical activity might be protective against neurocognitive impairment/fatigue symptoms after COVID-19

Risk and symptoms of COVID-19 in health professionals according to baseline immune status and booster vaccination during the Delta and Omicron waves in Switzerland-A multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND Knowledge about protection conferred by previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and/or vaccination against emerging viral variants allows clinicians, epidemiologists, and health authorities to predict and reduce the future Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) burden. We investigated the risk and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 (re)infection and vaccine breakthrough infection during the Delta and Omicron waves, depending on baseline immune status and subsequent vaccinations. METHODS AND FINDINGS In this prospective, multicentre cohort performed between August 2020 and March 2022, we recruited hospital employees from ten acute/nonacute healthcare networks in Eastern/Northern Switzerland. We determined immune status in September 2021 based on serology and previous SARS-CoV-2 infections/vaccinations: Group N (no immunity); Group V (twice vaccinated, uninfected); Group I (infected, unvaccinated); Group H (hybrid: infected and ≥1 vaccination). Date and symptoms of (re)infections and subsequent (booster) vaccinations were recorded until March 2022. We compared the time to positive SARS-CoV-2 swab and number of symptoms according to immune status, viral variant (i.e., Delta-dominant before December 27, 2021; Omicron-dominant on/after this date), and subsequent vaccinations, adjusting for exposure/behavior variables. Among 2,595 participants (median follow-up 171 days), we observed 764 (29%) (re)infections, thereof 591 during the Omicron period. Compared to group N, the hazard ratio (HR) for (re)infection was 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.22 to 0.50, p < 0.001) for V, 0.25 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.57, p = 0.001) for I, and 0.04 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.10, p < 0.001) for H in the Delta period. HRs substantially increased during the Omicron period for all groups; in multivariable analyses, only belonging to group H was associated with protection (adjusted HR [aHR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.77, p = 0.001); booster vaccination was associated with reduction of breakthrough infection risk in groups V (aHR 0.68, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.85, p = 0.001) and H (aHR 0.67, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.00, p = 0.048), largely observed in the early Omicron period. Group H (versus N, risk ratio (RR) 0.80, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.97, p = 0.021) and participants with booster vaccination (versus nonboosted, RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.88, p < 0.001) reported less symptoms during infection. Important limitations are that SARS-CoV-2 swab results were self-reported and that results on viral variants were inferred from the predominating strain circulating in the community at that time, rather than sequencing. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that hybrid immunity and booster vaccination are associated with a reduced risk and reduced symptom number of SARS-CoV-2 infection during Delta- and Omicron-dominant periods. For previously noninfected individuals, booster vaccination might reduce the risk of symptomatic Omicron infection, although this benefit seems to wane over time

Clinical symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection during the Omicron period in relation to baseline immune status and booster vaccination-A prospective multicentre cohort of health professionals (SURPRISE study).

The effects of different types of pre-existing immunity on the frequency of clinical symptoms caused by the SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection were prospectively assessed in healthcare workers during the Omicron period. Among 518 participants, hybrid immunity was associated with symptom reduction for dizziness, muscle or limb pain and headache as compared to vaccination only. Moreover, the frequencies of dizziness, cough and muscle or limb pain were lower in participants who had received a booster vaccine dose. Thus, hybrid immunity appeared to be superior in preventing specific symptoms during breakthrough infection compared to vaccination alone. A booster vaccine dose conferred additional symptom reduction

A Revision of Entomosericus Dahlbom 1845 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecidae) with Description of a New Species

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A review of the genus Homonotus D , 1843 in the West Palaearctic region with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)

Schmid-Egger, Christian (2018): A review of the genus Homonotus D , 1843 in the West Palaearctic region with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae). Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1): 809-824, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.400438

Review oI the genus Ammatomus A. COSTA, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) Irom the Palearctic region with description oI Iour new species

Schmid-Egger, Christian (2019): Review oI the genus Ammatomus A. COSTA, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) Irom the Palearctic region with description oI Iour new species. Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1): 437-457, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.375840

A review oI the Sphex flavipennis species group (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) in northwest AIrica with description oI two new species and a discussion oI a species Irom Sardinia

Schmid-Egger, Christian (2019): A review oI the Sphex flavipennis species group (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) in northwest AIrica with description oI two new species and a discussion oI a species Irom Sardinia. Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1): 459-471, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.375842