Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae of Montecristo Island (Tuscan Archipelago), with some new records for the Italian fauna

Data on the presence in the Island of Montecristo (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy) of 35 taxa of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera Ichneumonoidea) are provided. The specimens were collected with a Malaise trap in 2011 and 2012. Seven of the identified species were already known for the Tuscan archipelago, four for the Island of Montecristo. The total number of Ichneumonidae in the Archipelago rises from 20 to 49 species, that of Montecristo from 5 to 36. Eleven species are new records for South Italy. Townostilpnus chagrinator Aubert, 1916, previously known only from Corsica and southern France, is new to Italy

A review of insect parasitoids associated with Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) in Italy. 1. Diptera Tachinidae and Hymenoptera Braconidae (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae)

This paper is aimed to summarize the information available on the parasitoid complex of the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM), Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Lepidoptera Tortricidae) in Italy. The list is the result of the consultation of a vast bibliography published in Italy for almost two hundred years, from 1828 to date. This allowed the clarification and correction of misunderstandings and mistakes on the taxonomic position of each species listed. In Italy the complex of parasitoids detected on EGVM includes approximately 90 species belonging to ten families of Hymenoptera (Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Chalcididae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Torymidae, Trichogrammatidae, and Bethylidae) and one family of Diptera (Tachinidae). This paper deals with EGVM parasitoids of the families Tachinidae (Diptera) and Braconidae (Hymenoptera). Only two species of Tachinidae are associated to EGVM larvae in Italy, Actia pilipennis (Fallen) and Phytomyptera nigrina (Meigen), whereas the record of Eurysthaea scutellaris (Robineau-Desvoidy) is doubtful. Moreover, 21 species of Braconidae are reported to live on EGVM, but, unfortunately, eight of them were identified only at generic level. Bracon mellitor Say has been incorrectly listed among the parasitoids of L. botrana. Records concerning Ascogaster rufidens Wesmael, Meteorus sp., Microgaster rufipes Nees, and Microplitis tuberculifer (Wesmael) are uncertain. Keyword

Taxonomic revision of the Campoplex difformis group (Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae), with particular reference to species of economic importance

Despite their importance as potential biological control agents, species of the campoplegine genus Campoplex Gravenhorst, 1829 are hard to identify. Previous works provided short descriptions or poor illustrations of crucial characters, meaning it is often impossible to distinguish closely related species. We provide illustrations to identify species of the Campoplex difformis group and redescriptions of and illustrations for C. difformis (Gmelin, 1790), C. capitator Aubert, 1960, C. dubitator Horstmann, 1985, C. formosanae Horstmann, 2012, and C. unicingulatus (Schmiedeknecht, 1909). In addition, the taxonomic status of C. difformis is clarified; a lectotype is designated for C. capitator in Aubert’s collection in Lausanne and the host record for this species on Ancylis mitterbacheriana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) is queried; Campoplex corsicator Aubert, 1960 stat. nov. is removed from synonymy with Campoplex tibialis (Szépligeti, 1916) and redescribed

Food for honeybees? Pollinators and seed set of Anthyllis barba-jovis L. (Fabaceae) in arid coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin

Abundance and diversity of insect pollinators are declining in many ecosystems worldwide. The abundance and diversity of wild and managed bees are related to the availability of continuous floral resources. In particular, in Mediterranean basin countries, the presence of wildflower spots enhances the establishment of social Apoidea, since coastal regions are usually characterized by pollen and nectar shortage in early spring and late summer. Anthyllis barba-jovis produces both nectar and pollen as important food source for bees helping them to overcome early spring period food shortage. We investigated flowering, seed set, and pollinator diversity of A. barba-jovis in arid coastal environments of the Mediterranean basin. Pollinator abundance reached a maximum in early April. Honeybees were the most common pollinators followed by bumblebees and solitary bees. Plants prevented from entomophilous pollination showed inbreeding depression with a strong decrease in seed-set. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on pollination ecology of A. barba-jovis

La biodiversità degli Imenotteri Crisididi dei vigneti del Piemonte meridionale

Un progetto di ricerca del Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-ambientali dell’Università di Pisa è dedicato allo studio della biodiversità delle monoculture ed in particolare dei vigneti delle langhe piemontesi. Nei pressi della città di Alba (CN) sono state messe in funzione nel 2016 quattro trappole di tipo Malaise. Lo studio degli Imenotteri Crisididi catturati ha confermato in due casi la povertà di specie tipica delle monoculture. Le catture delle altre due trappole sono in linea con i risultati ottenuti in altri ambienti italiani e della Toscana in particolare. Le specie maggiormente presenti risultano essere Pseudomalus auratus e Trichrysis cyanea. Elampus albipennis viene segnalato per la prima volta dell’Italia. Degne di nota sono Philoctetes bogdanovii per la sua rarità in Italia e la recentemente descritta Cleptes striatipleuris, la cui distribuzione è ancora da accertare. Di un certo interesse è la maggior presenza di specie di Cleptes nei vigneti piemontesi indagati rispetto a quelli presenti in ambienti simili in Provincia di Pisa

Braconinae parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) emerged from larvae of Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) feeding on Daphne gnidium L.

The Bracon Fabricius, 1804 species, B. admotus Papp, 2000, and three species of the genus Habrobracon Ashmead, 1895, H. concolorans (Marshall, 1900), H. hebetor (Say, 1836) and H. pillerianae Fischer, 1980, were obtained from the larvae of Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) living on Daphne gnidium Linnaeus, 1753 (Thymelaeaceae) in the natural reserve of Migliarino-San Rossore- Massaciuccoli (Pisa - Central Italy). Bracon admotus, Habrobracon concolorans and H. pillerianae were found for the first time to be associated with L. botrana, while H. hebetor was reared for the first time from the larvae of Cryptoblabes gnidiella (Milliere, 1867) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Phycitinae). Bracon admotus and H. pillerianae are new fauna to Italy and Western Europe. A key is proposed for the determination of Habrobracon species reared from L. botrana and related Palaearctic species of this genus. Bracon (Habrobracon) lineatellae Fisher, 1968 is considered as a valid species

A molecular characterization of the invasive fig weevil Aclees taiwanensis in Italy

An economically important pest of Ficus carica L. is causing severe infestations in many fig nurseries and orchards in Italy. Belonging to the genus Aclees spp. (Coleoptera Curculionidae), this Asiatic species was accidentally introduced in Europe about 15 years ago, in a Tuscan nursery. Originally identified as Aclees cribratus Gyllenhal, it has been then reported as Aclees sp.cf. foveatus Voss and, more recently, identified as Aclees taiwanensis Kono. A serious damage to fig plants is caused mainly by the larvae, which drill tunnels into the wood and by adults that feed on buds, leaves and young fruits. The present survey applies molecular genetics techniques to reconstruct the genetic profile of the species. To this purpose, the partial sequence of the 18S rRNA gene and the hypervariable region ITS2 of the ribosomal cistron were used as molecular markers for specimens of A. taiwanensis collected in Italy and Aclees hirayamai Kono from Philippines. The analysis of the partial sequences of the 18S rRNA allowed the distinction of two haplotypes for each insect, except for a sample from Philippines, for which one haplotype does exist. The use of the ITS2 hypervariable region highlighted the existence of only one haplotype in the Italian accessions. Only in the sample collected in Lucca (2LU) two haplotypes were highlighted in ITS2. These results are discussed with the occurrence of A. taiwanensis in Italy

A review of insect parasitoids associated with Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) in Italy. 1. DipteraTachinidae and HymenopteraBraconidae (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae)

This paper is aimed to summarize the information available on the parasitoid complex of the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM), Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (LepidopteraTortricidae) in Italy. The list is the result of the consultation of a vast bibliography published in Italy for almost two hundred years, from 1828 to date. This allowed the clarification and correction of misunderstandings and mistakes on the taxonomic position of each species listed. In Italy the complex of parasitoids detected on EGVM includes approximately 90 species belonging to ten families of Hymenoptera (Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Chalcididae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Torymidae, Trichogrammatidae, and Bethylidae) and one family of Diptera (Tachinidae). This paper deals with EGVM parasitoids of the families Tachinidae (Diptera) and Braconidae (Hymenoptera). Only two species of Tachinidae are associated to EGVM larvae in Italy, Actia pilipennis (Fallen) and Phytomyptera nigrina (Meigen), whereas the record of Eurysthaea scutellaris (Robineau-Desvoidy) is doubtful. Moreover, 21 species of Braconidae are reported to live on EGVM, but, unfortunately, eight of them were identified only at generic level. Bracon mellitor Say has been incorrectly listed among the parasitoids of L. botrana. Records concerning Ascogaster rufidens Wesmael, Meteorus sp., Microgaster rufipes Nees, and Microplitis tuberculifer (Wesmael) are uncertain

Description of the male of Misetus strumiai Di Giovanni, Scaramozzino & Diller, 2018 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, Phaeogenini) from Italy

The genus Misetus Wesmael, 1845 is a small taxon of the subfamily Ichneumoninae, tribe Phaeogenini. The genus can be distinguished from other genera of the tribe by having mandible with two teeth, clypeus with more or less developed median apical tooth, genae short and sublinearly narrowed behind eyes in dorsal view; males are characterized by thyridia large and placed far off the base of metasomal tergite II; females are easily recognized by metasoma elongate and compressed apically, apical margin of last metasomal tergite more or less concave and ovipositor short and bent upwards (Selfa & Diller 1994, 1995, Di Giovanni et al. 2018). Misetus includes seven known species, six of which occur in Europe (Wesmael 1845, Kusigemati 1974, Kolarov 1985, Selfa & Diller 1995, Di Giovanni et al. 2018) and one in Japan and South Korea (Kwon et al. 2011; Yu et al. 2012). Misetus strumiai Di Giovanni, Scaramozzino & Diller, 2018 was described recently from females known only from the island of Montecristo (Italy, Tuscany) (Di Giovanni et al. 2018, Di Giovanni & Scaramozzino 2019). Here we described the male of this species and provide a comparative diagnosis with other known males of European members of the genus

A new species of Misetus Wesmael, 1845 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, Phaeogenini) from Italy, with updated key to the females of Palaearctic species

Giovanni, Filippo Di, Scaramozzino, Pier Luigi, Diller, Erich (2018): A new species of Misetus Wesmael, 1845 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, Phaeogenini) from Italy, with updated key to the females of Palaearctic species. Zootaxa 4374 (4): 594-600, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4374.4.