Bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus Latr.) of the thermal spring Pymvashor, north-east of European Russia

A bumblebee community was studied at Pymvashor, the only thermal spring in North European Russia. The bumblebee fauna comprised 12 species, which is a large number when compared to other native tundra ecosystems. Most of the species recorded were ubiquitous, 3 were forest species and 2 were typical tundra species. The presence of the ubiquitous and forest species in the bumblebee community appears to be due to the landscape features and the perennial impact of the hot springs, under the influence of which specific extrazonal ecosystems arise that are different from those typical of the tundra zone

New and recent records of moth and butterfly species (Insecta: Lepidoptera) from Praslin and Mahé Islands, Seychelles

We report recent records of 17 Lepidoptera species from 15 genera and 11 families, which were collected on the Inner Seychelles in January 2013. From Praslin Island, 11 species, including two Seychelles endemics, were recorded for the first time. These records have significantly expanded the list of the lepidopteran fauna of Praslin to 54 species. Four species were newly collected after a long-term (ca. 50 years) absence of their specimens in samples from the Seychelles archipelago. In addition, seven species were rediscovered from separate islands. Our findings highlight that there is some evidence of faunal exchange between the two largest islands of the granitic Seychelles and that the lepidopteran fauna of Praslin has been largely underestimated

First record of Bombus (Alpigenobombus) wurflenii Radoszkowski, 1860 in the Kola Peninsula, NW Russia

In this paper we present the first record of Bombus wurflenii from northern Russia. This species was found in the southwestern part of the Kola Peninsula, near the town of Kandalaksha in 2016. The nearest confirmed record of the species is in northern Sweden. In Russia, B. wurflenii was known earlier but only from southern Ural. The status of the population of B. wurflenii in the Kola Peninsula is unknown and needs further research

Widespread continental mtDNA lineages prevail in the bumblebee fauna of Iceland

Origins of the fauna in Iceland is controversial, although the majority of modern research supports the postglacial colonization of this island by terrestrial invertebrates rather than their long-term survival in glacial refugia. In this study, we use three bumblebee species as a model to test the hypothesis regarding possible cryptic refugia in Iceland and to evaluate a putative origin of recently introduced taxa. Bombus jonellus is thought to be a possible native Icelandic lineage, whereas B. lucorum and B. hortorum were evidently introduced in the second half of the 20th century. These phylogeographic analyses reveal that the Icelandic Bombus jonellus shares two COI lineages, one of which also occurs in populations on the British Isles and in mainland Europe, but a second lineage (BJ-02) has not been recorded anywhere. These results indicate that this species may have colonized Iceland two times and that the lineage BJ-02 may reflect a more ancient Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene founder event (e.g., from the British Isles). The Icelandic populations of both Bombus lucorum and B. hortorum share the COI lineages that were recorded as widespread throughout Eurasia, from the European countries across Russia to China and Japan. The findings presented here highlight that the bumblebee fauna of Iceland comprises mainly widespread ubiquitous lineages that arrived via natural or human-mediated dispersal events from the British Isles or the mainland

A nearly complete database on the records and ecology of the rarest boreal tiger moth from 1840s to 2020

Global environmental changes may cause dramatic insect declines but over century-long time series of certain species’ records are rarely available for scientific research. The Menetries’ Tiger Moth (Arctia menetriesii) appears to be the most enigmatic example among boreal insects. Although it occurs throughout the entire Eurasian taiga biome, it is so rare that less than 100 specimens were recorded since its original description in 1846. Here, we present the database, which contains nearly all available information on the species’ records collected from 1840s to 2020. The data on A. menetriesii records (N = 78) through geographic regions, environments, and different timeframes are compiled and unified. The database may serve as the basis for a wide array of future research such as the distribution modeling and predictions of range shifts under climate changes. It represents a unique example of a more than century-long dataset of distributional, ecological, and phenological data designed for an exceptionally rare but widespread boreal insect, which primarily occurs in hard-to-reach, uninhabited areas of Eurasia.Peer reviewe

Bioerosion of siliceous rocks driven by rock-boring freshwater insects

Macrobioerosion of mineral substrates in fresh water is a little-known geological process. Two examples of rock-boring bivalve molluscs were recently described from freshwater environments. To the best of our knowledge, rock-boring freshwater insects were previously unknown. Here, we report on the discovery of insect larvae boring into submerged siltstone (aleurolite) rocks in tropical Asia. These larvae belong to a new mayfly species and perform their borings using enlarged mandibles. Their traces represent a horizontally oriented, tunnel-like macroboring with two apertures. To date, only three rock-boring animals are known to occur in fresh water globally: a mayfly, a piddock, and a shipworm. All the three species originated within primarily wood-boring clades, indicating a simplified evolutionary shift from wood to hardground substrate based on a set of morphological and anatomical preadaptations evolved in wood borers (e.g., massive larval mandibular tusks in mayflies and specific body, shell, and muscle structure in bivalves)

Contribution to the knowledge of the fauna of the long-tongued bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea: Megachilidae, Apidae) in the north of the Arkhangelsk Region

This article is devoted to a study of the fauna of the long-tongued bees in the north of the Arkhangelsk Region, which is located in the northeast of the European part of Russia, but excludes the Arctic islands. This group includes the bees of the families Megachilidae and Apidae. Forty-four (44) species of bees were found in this region. Most of them (29) are bumblebees (genus Bombus). Fourteen (14) species are megachilid bees (genus Osmia, Coelioxys and Megachile) and one species is Apis mellifera. The largest number of species (39) was recorded in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River, due to the long research on this territory. The lowest number of species (16) was recorded in the Mezensky District. In the north of the studied region, the tundra species of B. lapponicus is only presented for the Mezensky District. Many species of bumblebees in the regional fauna belong to the ecological group of the meadow species. These are B. soroeensis, B. ruderarius, B. rupestris and a number of others. They are typical for meadow and ruderal habitats, and are usually not presented in the native taiga habitats. These meadow species are widely represented in the valleys of large rivers, such as the Northern Dvina, the Onega, and the Mezen. Compared to bumblebees, megachilid bees are much rarer in the north of the Arkhangelsk Region. Apis mellifera is presented in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River, but here it is rare, compared to the southern part of the Arkhangelsk Region

Local fauna of bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River

This article is devoted to an investigation of the local fauna of bumblebees in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River in northern Russia where 27 species of bumblebees were found during the present study. The basis of the local fauna of bumblebees in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River is related to species with a wide range. The majority of the species are Transpalaearctic. Holarctic, Sub-Transpalaearctic, whereas West-Central Palaearctic are less represented. According to the latitudinal aspect the majority of the species are temperate, and the rest are boreal and arcto-temperate. One of species found in the local fauna is subboreal. The number of species in the studied local fauna is the largest among the local faunae of the northern part of the Arkhangelsk Region. It is comparable to the local faunae of the southern part of this region. Here is recorded species such as Bombus soroeensis, B. distinguedus, B. ruderarius, B. veteranus, B. humilis, and others, which are not typical of native taiga habitats but are the meadow species in the European North of Russia. Due to the wide development of meadows and ruderal communities in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River, these species are widely represented here. The rare species in the studied local fauna are B. patagiatus, B. humilis, B. consobrinus, and B. schrencki

Bombus (Pyrobombus) jonellus (Kirby, 1802) in the north-western Russian Plain: its distribution and ecology

The fauna and ecology of bumblebees in the European North are quite well-studied. However, there is a scarcity of information about the distribution and ecology of certain species of bumblebees, especially for the territory of Northern Russia. In this study, we summarised materials concerning Bombus (Pyrobombus) jonellus (Kirby, 1802), which is typical bumblebee species for the north-western portion of the Russian Plain and surrounding areas. The studied territory includes the Arkhangelsk Region and the western part of the Nenets Autonomous District, i.e. a wide strip from taiga to tundra ecosystems. Due to the studies of materials that were collected over a period 17 years, we established that B. jonellus is widely distributed and the northern border of its range within the studied region reaches the northern part of the Kanin Peninsula. In the north-western Russian Plain, B. jonellus has been found in various types of habitats, the most common being coniferous and birch forests, secondary meadows and ruderal patches. In the Solovetsky Islands, White Sea, Russia, B. jonellus is typical on coastal heathlands. In the northern part of the studied region, B. jonellus has a tendency to forage in open habitats and visits a wide range of entomophilous plants, mostly of the family Ericaceae. Our findings highlight that the territory of the north-western Russian Plain and surrounding areas is where B. jonellus is widely distributed and abundant, being recorded in different types of habitats

Distribution and habitat preference of Bombus (Kallobombus) soroeensis (Fabricius, 1777) on the territory of Arkhangelsk Region

In this paper, we summarise material pertaining to the distribution and habitat preference of Bombus (Kallobombus) soroeensis (Fabricius, 1777) on the territory of Arkhangelsk Region. B. soroeensis is widely represented on the territory as nominative subspecies B. soroeensis ssp. soroeensis, which is common mainly in Fennoscandia, the British Isles and Eastern Europe. The northern border of the species range in the Arkhangelsk Region is the lower reaches of the Mezen River, located in the transition zone between the northern taiga and the forest-tundra. This locality is probably one of the most northern records of this species in the northern part of the Russian Plain. In Eastern Fennoscandia, B. soroeensis is distributed far to the north, i.e., in the northern parts of Finland and Norway. In relation to the habitat preference, B. soroeensis in the study region belongs to the category of meadow species. This species is typical of different types of meadows and ruderal habitats. B. soroeensis is not typical with regards to the native taiga habitats, in most cases. This is similar to the situation on the territory of Finland, where this species is associated with open meadow habitats. Individuals of B. soroeensis have been recorded on a wide range of entomophilous plants, and the main examples are Rhinanthus minor, Epilobium angustifolium, Cirsium arvense, Scorzoneroides autumnalis, Lotus corniculatus