New distributional record of Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae), Thessaloniki, Greece

Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 has been recorded from North Africa, Malta, and Iberia. During a recent visit to Thessaloniki, Greece, several Anthrenus species were collected, including A. dorsatus. The previously known distribution of A. dorsatus suggested that this species was restricted to the western Mediterranean basin, possibly with a coastal bias. This record extends the known range of A. dorsatus farther east and providing more evidence of range expansion in the pimpinellae species group across Europe, possibly driven by global climate change

Effects of urbanisation and landscape heterogeneity mediated by feeding guild and body size in a community of coprophilous beetles

Although the impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity are well studied, the precise response of some invertebrate groups remains poorly known. Dung-associated beetles are little studied in an urban context, especially in temperate regions. We considered how landscape heterogeneity, assessed at three spatial scales (250, 500 and 1000 metre radius), mediates the community composition of coprophilous beetles on a broad urban gradient. Beetles were sampled using simple dung-baited traps, placed at 48 sites stratified across three distance bands around a large urban centre in England. The most urban sites hosted the lowest abundance of saprophagous beetles, with a lower mean body length relative to the least urban sites. Predicted overall species richness and the richness of saprophagous species were also lowest at the most urban sites. Ordination analyses followed by variation partitioning revealed that landscape heterogeneity across the urban gradient explained a small but significant proportion of community composition. Heterogeneity data for a 500-metre radius around each site provided the best fit with beetle community data. Larger saprophagous species were associated with lower amounts of manmade surface and improved grassland. Some individual species, particularly predators, appeared to be positively associated with urban or urban fringe sites. This study is probably the first to examine the response of the whole coprophilous beetle community to urbanisation. Our results suggest that the response of this community to urbanisation matches expectations based on other taxonomic groups, whilst emphasising the complex nature of this response, with some smaller-bodied species potentially benefitting from urbanisation

\u3ci\u3eAnthrenus\u3c/i\u3e (\u3ci\u3eAnthrenus\u3c/i\u3e) \u3ci\u3emuehlei\u3c/i\u3e, a New Species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae) from Iran

A new species, Anthrenus muehlei Holloway and Herrmann (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae), from Iran is described. Images of internal and external features are presented. Only female specimens were found and described, but the bursa copulatrix contains obvious sclerites enabling easy differentiation from all other known species from the Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex. The possible function and taxonomic implication of the sclerites is mentioned. ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:97661C20-803E-4785-A4B0-58B16C94D9A

Variation in the susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae to botanicals across a metropolitan region of Nigeria

Pesticide resistance is normally associated with genetic changes, resulting in varied responses to insecticides between different populations. There is little evidence of resistance to plant allelochemicals; it is likely that their efficacy varies between genetically diverse populations, which may lead to the development of resistance in the future. This study evaluated the response of Anopheles gambiae (larvae and adults) from spatially different populations to acetone extracts of two botanicals, Piper guineense and Eugenia aromatica. Mosquito samples from 10 locations within Akure metropolis in Southwest Nigeria were tested for variation in susceptibility to the toxic effect of botanical extracts. The spatial distribution of the tolerance magnitude (T.M.) of the mosquito populations to the botanicals was also mapped. The populations of An. gambiae manifested significant differences in their level of tolerance to the botanicals. The centre of the metropolis was the hot spot of tolerance to the botanicals. There was a significant positive correlation between the adulticidal activities of both botanicals and initial knockdown. Hence, knockdown by these botanicals could be a predictor of their subsequent mortality. In revealing variation in response to botanical pesticides, our work has demonstrated that any future use of botanicals as alternative environmentally friendly vector control chemicals needs to be closely monitored to ensure that resistance does not develop

New distributional record of Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae) on the island of Mallorca, Spain

The carpet beetle Anthrenus dorsatus has previously been recorded from North Africa and Malta. During a recent visit to the island of Mallorca several Anthrenus species were collected which included a number of Anthrenus dorsatusspecimens. This record adds a new species both to the island of Mallorca and to the Spanish checklist. These records extend our knowledge of the distribution of A. dorsatus and provide more evidence of range expansion in the pimpinel-lae species group across Europe, possibly because of global climate change

Anthrenus (Anthrenus) mumbaiensis sp. nov. from India and a morphometric examination of Anthrenus (Anthrenus) festivus (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Anthrenini)

All examples of Anthrenus (Anthrenus) festivus were borrowed from the Natural History Museum, London for dissection to provide good images of external and internal features. Images of habitus, ventrites and antennae are presented along with aedeagus and sternite IX. The purpose of this was to provide clear information for future comparative taxonomic studies. During the examination of the specimens, a new species was discovered that had been collected in Bombay (Mumbai) in the late 19th century. Images of external and internal features of the holotype (male) and paratype (female) are provided. The new species is named Anthrenus (Anthrenus) mumbaiensis after the location of collection. Collection data from the study specimens, Andreas Herrmann’s private collection, the literature, and verifiable images on iNaturalist were used to generate a distribution map. The map showed that A. festivus is found mainly in coastal regions of the western Mediterranean

Linking mesoscale landscape heterogeneity and biodiversity: gardens and tree cover significantly modify flower-visiting beetle communities

Context Maintaining biodiversity in multifunction landscapes is a significant challenge. Planning for the impacts of change requires knowledge of how species respond to landscape heterogeneity. Some insect groups are known to respond to heterogeneity at the mesoscale, defined here as hundreds of metres. However, for many taxa these effects are poorly known. Objectives To identify key elements of mesoscale landscape heterogeneity influencing community composition in flower-visiting beetles, and whether landscape explains any variation in beetle communities beyond that driven by immediate habitat cover. Methods Flower-visiting beetles were sampled from 36 transects, laid out using a 6 km2 grid located in southern Britain. Landscape heterogeneity was measured for 30 and 200 m buffers around the transects and the relative response of beetle communities to each assessed using ordination analyses followed by variation partitioning. Results The composition of immediately adjacent habitat (30 m) and mesoscale landscape heterogeneity (200 m) explained unique portions of the variation in flower-visiting beetle communities. A number of species, including those affiliated with deadwood habitats, were positively linked to tree cover in the surrounding mesoscale landscape. Gardens covered a smaller area than trees but modified beetle communities to the same extent. Conclusions The local abundance of some flower-visiting beetles is modified by the composition of the surrounding landscape. Results highlight the importance of tree cover for maintaining insect biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, while suggesting that gardens associated with small urban areas may have a disproportionate influence on biodiversity

Neotype designation of Anthrenus goliath Saulcy in Mulsant & Rey, 1867 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae)

Anecdotal evidence indicates that the holotype of Anthrenus goliath Saulcy in Mulsant & Rey, 1867 was lost along with other holotypes in Mulsant’s collection through neglect and poor storage prior to transfer to Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, in 1944. Here, a (male) neotype for A. goliath is designated. The only feasible confusion species, A. corona Holloway, 2021 is considered to ensure the neotype is definitively A. goliath. Images of habitus, antenna, aedeagus, and sternite IX are illustrated. A female of the species is also shown. The only known location of A. goliath currently known is Egyp

Orphilus aegeanus (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Orphilinae): a new species from Greece and Turkey

The family Dermestidae Latreille 1804 contains over 1700 species worldwide (Háva 2021). The subfamily Orphilinae LeConte 1861 is small containing only two genera: Ranolus (Blair 1929) with seven species distributed across Australasia and Indonesia, and Orphilus Erichson 1846 with six species from the Palaearctic and Nearctic (Háva 2021). Of the Orphilus species, O. ater Erichson 1846 and O. subnitidus LeConte 1861 occur in North America, O. kabakovi Háva and Kadej 2014 occurs in Asia, whilst O. africanus Háva 2005, O. beali Zhantiev 2001, and O. niger (Rossi 1790) are found in Europe (Háva 2021). Orphilus species externally are very similar to each other, and this has most likely impeded the development of the taxonomy of the genus, at least in the Palaearctic. Until 2000, all individuals from the Palaearctic were believed to belong to the same species, O. niger. Since 2000, two further species have been discovered (Zhantiev 2001; Hava 2005) through dissection of male genitalia, which show substantial structural differences among species. During a survey of over 150 specimens held in the collection of one of us (AH), a further Orphilus species, O. aegeanus, was discovered. In the current study, we describe O. aegeanus and compare it to the most likely confusion species, O. africanus. All insects were floated from the mounting card and macerated in 2% acetic acid for a period of 5 days prior to dissection. Dissection was carried out under a Brunel BMSL zoom stereo LED microscope and involved detaching the abdomen from the rest of the insect using two entomological needles. The soft tergites were then peeled away from the harder ventrites to expose the genitalia. The aedeagus was pushed out between abdominal sternites IX and X using an entomological needle. The aedeagus was then detached from the sternites. Images of habitus were captured at ×20 magnification using a Canon EOS 1300D camera mounted on the BMSL microscope. The antennae were teased out and images were captured at ×100 magnification using the EOS 1300D camera mounted on a Brunel monocular SP28 microscope. Using the same set up, dorsal and ventral surfaces of the aedeagi were captured at x100 magnification, and images of the tips of the median lobe were captured at x 200 magnification. All images were fed through Helicon Focus Pro version 8 focus-stacking software. Morphometric measurements were made using DsCap.Ink Software version 3.90. Measurements taken: body length (BL): distance from anterior margin of pronotum to the apex of the elytra, and body width (BW): maximum distance across the elytra. After dissection, all body parts were mounted on card. British Natural History Museum, London (BNHM)