Association of the scuttle fly Megaselia leucozona Schmitz (Diptera: Phoridae) with sweat bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), with a description of the male fly

Megaselia leucozona Schmitz (Diptera, Phoridae) is reported from nests of Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby and Halictus scabiosae (Rossi) in Central Italy. The flies patrolled two nesting sites of the hosts and sometimes mated close to their nest entrances before entering. Observations agree with the general behaviour reported for other Megaselia species associated with fossorial bees and wasps. The hitherto unknownmale of M. leucozona is described, and the original description of a female is augmented and modified. This is the first report of a scuttle fly associated with nests of Halictidae in the Palaearctic Region

Medicinal Plant Use and Health Sovereignty: Findings from the Tajik and Afghan Pamirs

Medicinal plants are indicators of indigenous knowledge in the context of political volatility and sociocultural and ecological change in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Medicinal plants are the primary health care option in this region of Central Asia. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate that medicinal plants contribute to health security and sovereignty in a time of instability. We illustrate the nutritional as well as medicinal significance of plants in the daily lives of villagers. Based on over a decade and half of research related to resilience and livelihood security, we present plant uses in the context of mountain communities. Villagers identified over 58 cultivated and noncultivated plants and described 310 distinct uses within 63 categories of treatment and prevention. Presence of knowledge about medicinal plants is directly connected to their use

Searching for the right target: oviposition and feeding behaviour in Bombylius bee flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae)

Bee flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae) are ectoparasitoids of larval stages of insects, often digger bees and wasps. We studied the behavior of 4 species of the genus Bombylius at a nest aggregation of their host bee, Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby, and at an adjacent feeding site. Although eggs were frequently thrown on vegetation patches, the number of eggs oviposited and the time spent in hovering flight were higher at host nest entrances. Bombylius females fed essentially on 3 (2 Caryophyllaceae and 1 Asteraceae) of 9 blooming plant species found in the area. Oviposition and feeding activities had different daily distributions. In general agreement with optimal foraging theories, Bombylius females exhibited the strongest interest in the predicted target, i.e., the host nest, and fed essentially on a few but highly exploited plants in the close vicinity of the host nesting site

Biology of Lasioglossum (L.) majus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a largely solitary sweat bee with behavioural adaptations to communality

Within the bee family Halictidae there have been three origins of sociality. Although detection of origins and reversal from sociality requires phylogenetic studies, at a behavioural level a predisposition to sociality can be detected by analysis of intra-specific interactions. We studied aspects of nesting biology and behavioural interactions in Lasioglossum (Lasioglossum) majus, a poorly known halictine inhabiting temperate regions of Europe, which is suspected to be solitary. Nests were found to be largely used by one female, but some were shared by more than one individual. These few nests, whose entrances were very close to each other, were found to be connected underground. A few individuals were observed to enter in a nest where a female was waiting, behaving as a guard and allowing the incoming bee to enter the nest. By use of circle-tube experiments, the behavioural repertoire exhibited by females during encounters was assessed. Levels of withdrawal and cooperative events were comparable with those observed in other solitary nesting species, but aggressive events were very rare, as in several observed communal species. We conclude that L. (L.) majus females, despite general solitary nesting, possess behavioural components enabling them to adopt, probably in high nestdensity areas, nest-sharing strategies. A similar kind of local social polymorphism has been observed in two other species of the subgenus Lasioglossum, but these are the first data available on a European species and the first record of subterranean connections among nests of halictid bees

Two new species of scuttle fly (Diptera: Phoridae) associated with cellophane bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) in Chile

Megaselia boesii Disney sp. nov. and M. polidorii Disney sp. nov. (Diptera, Phoridae) are described and are reported visiting nests of Colletes lucens Vachal, 1909 (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). This is the first report of scuttle flies associated to this bee family

Gli Sfecidi (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) del Parco Regionale del Ticino

A check list of apoid wasp species (Hymenoptera) found in some areas of the Lombardia-side of the Ticino Regional Park (Northern Italy). A total of 22 species belonging to 8 subfamilies were collected

Provisioning patterns and choice of prey in the digger wasp Cerceris arenaria (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): the role of prey size

At a nest site in Northern Italy of females of the weevil-hunting digger wasp Cerceris arenaria L. (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) the provisioning activity and predator-prey relationship were investigated, in particular their specialization in choice of prey. Females were active from middle of June to end of July, and from 8.00 to 19.00. The wasps made provisioning flights throughout the day, mostly in late morning and early afternoon. Individual wasps generally only hunted for 1 or 2 prey species of all those available, maybe because of their higher abundance. The size of prey, which is positively correlated with that of the female wasps, seems to be the main factor determining choice of prey. The nature of the provisioning flights seems to be related to the size of the prey, being more frequent and shorter for smaller weevils. The correlation between prey and wasp biomass is discussed in relation to the size range of the wasps

The spermatozoa of Hirudinea with examples from three different taxa

The ultrastructure of mature spermatozoa from three leech species, Haemadipsa zeylanica (. Moquin-Tandon, 1826) (Haemadipsidae), Theromyzon tessulatum (. M\ufcller, 1774) and Placobdella costata (Fr. M\ufcller, 1846) (Glossiphoniidae), was investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. While the three species showed the general features of hirudinid spermatozoa, considerable variation was found in nearly all characters examined: the anterior acrosome varied in length and in shape the nuclei also varied in size and show a very complicated shape which is maintained for the whole length in the two glossiphonids, while in the haemadipsid, it showed two different morphological regions. The single mitochondrion, which is surrounded by an electron-dense sheath, is straight in H and T. tessulatum, but twisted in P. costata. The flagellum in the three studied species is of the prominent central sheath type. The basal body is absent in the three species and the central apparatus of the flagellum was observed penetrating to the miochondrion. By comparing the present data with those from "oligochaeta", Branchiobdellida and Acanthobdellida, we found that only the presence of an anterior acrosome characterizes the true leeches and at present should be regarded as an autapomorphic character of Euhirudinea