On the genus Scaphisoma Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae) from Georgia, with description of a new species

Five species of Scaphisoma Leach, 1815 are recorded from Georgia. The new species S. caucasicum sp. n. is described from Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, and two, S. assimile assimile Erichson, 1845 and S. subalpinum subalpinum Reitter, 1880 are recorded for Georgia for the first time. The new species can be externally compared with North Korean S. hapiroense Löbl, 1968, from which it can be readily distinguished from in the antennomere V shorter than the combined length of the antennomeres III and IV, the very fine pronotal punctation, and the light apical area of the elytra weakly delimited. The aedeagal characters of S. caucasicum sp. n. are similar to those of Chinese S. latro Löbl, 2000

The genus Raiboscelis Allard, 1876 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): taxonomic history, nomenclature, morphology

The present paper reviews the history of taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Raiboscelis Allard, 1876. The original spelling of this genus name is Raibosceles. While Raibosceles was rarely used, the spelling Raiboscelis was adopted by many authors and is in prevailing usage. Consequently, it should be used to denote this taxon [ICZN Art. 33.3.1, and also 33.2.3.1]. The genus Hipponome Laporte, 1840 was established for Helops azureus Brullé, 1832, a valid species known as Raiboscelis azureus. Thus, Hipponome is a senior synonym of Raiboscelis. As Hipponome was not used as valid after 1899 to our knowledge, it may be declared nomen oblitum. Raiboscelis Allard, 1876 is currently used and here declared nomen protectum. The required supporting references [ICZN Art. 23.9.1.2] are annexed. The genus Raiboscelis is redefined and the relevant taxonomic characters are illustrate

Spin-photon interface and spin-controlled photon switching in a nanobeam waveguide

Access to the electron spin is at the heart of many protocols for integrated and distributed quantum-information processing [1-4]. For instance, interfacing the spin-state of an electron and a photon can be utilized to perform quantum gates between photons [2,5] or to entangle remote spin states [6-9]. Ultimately, a quantum network of entangled spins constitutes a new paradigm in quantum optics [1]. Towards this goal, an integrated spin-photon interface would be a major leap forward. Here we demonstrate an efficient and optically programmable interface between the spin of an electron in a quantum dot and photons in a nanophotonic waveguide. The spin can be deterministically prepared with a fidelity of 96\%. Subsequently the system is used to implement a "single-spin photonic switch", where the spin state of the electron directs the flow of photons through the waveguide. The spin-photon interface may enable on-chip photon-photon gates [2], single-photon transistors [10], and efficient photonic cluster state generation [11]

Where have all the beetles gone? Long‐term study reveals carabid species decline in a nature reserve in Northern Germany

1. The drastic insect decline has received increasing attention in scientific as well as in public media. Long-term studies of insect diversity trends are still rare, even though such studies are highly important to assess extent, drivers and potential consequences of insect loss in ecosystems. 2. To gain insights into carabid diversity trends of ancient and sustainably managed woodlands, we analysed data of carabid beetles from a trapping study that has been run for 24 years in an old nature reserve of Northern Germany, the Luneburg Heath. We examined temporal changes in several diversity measures € (e.g. biomass, species richness, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity) and tested diverse species traits as predictor variables for species occurrence. 3. In contrast to recently published long-term studies of insect diversity, we did not observe a decline in biomass, but in species richness and phylogenetic diversity in carabids at our study site. Additionally, hibernation stage predicted the occurrence probability of carabids: Species hibernating as imagines or both imagines and larvae and breeding in spring showed strongest declines. 4. We assume the detected trends to be the result of external effects such as climate change and the application of pesticides in the surrounding. Our results suggest that the drivers for the insect decline and the responses are multifaceted. This highlights the importance of long-term studies with identification of the catches to, at best, species level to support the understanding of mechanisms driving changes in insect diversity and abundance

Forty years of carabid beetle research in Europe - from taxonomy, biology, ecology and population studies to bioindication, habitat assessment and conservation

Volume: 100Start Page: 55End Page: 14

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

A new species of Scaphisoma Leach, 1815 from New Guinea and a new replacement name (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae)

Löbl, I., Ogawa, R. (2017): A new species of Scaphisoma Leach, 1815 from New Guinea and a new replacement name (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae). In: Telnov, Dmitry, Barclay, Maxwell VL, Pauwels, Olivier SG, Beccaloni, George W (Eds): Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea, Volume 3. Latvia: Entomological Society of Latvia: 415-418, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.109803