Completing Linnaeus's inventory of the Swedish insect fauna: Only 5,000 species left?

Despite more than 250 years of taxonomic research, we still have only a vague idea about the true size and composition of the faunas and floras of the planet. Many biodiversity inventories provide limited insight because they focus on a small taxonomic subsample or a tiny geographic area. Here, we report on the size and composition of the Swedish insect fauna, thought to represent roughly half of the diversity of multicellular life in one of the largest European countries. Our results are based on more than a decade of data from the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative and its massive inventory of the country's insect fauna, the Swedish Malaise Trap Project The fauna is considered one of the best known in the world, but the initiative has nevertheless revealed a surprising amount of hidden diversity: more than 3,000 new species (301 new to science) have been documented so far. Here, we use three independent methods to analyze the true size and composition of the fauna at the family or subfamily level: (1) assessments by experts who have been working on the most poorly known groups in the fauna; (2) estimates based on the proportion of new species discovered in the Malaise trap inventory; and (3) extrapolations based on species abundance and incidence data from the inventory. For the last method, we develop a new estimator, the combined non-parametric estimator, which we show is less sensitive to poor coverage of the species pool than other popular estimators. The three methods converge on similar estimates of the size and composition of the fauna, suggesting that it comprises around 33,000 species. Of those, 8,600 (26%) were unknown at the start of the inventory and 5,000 (15%) still await discovery. We analyze the taxonomic and ecological composition of the estimated fauna, and show that most of the new species belong to Hymenoptera and Diptera groups that are decomposers or parasitoids. Thus, current knowledge of the Swedish insect fauna is strongly biased taxonomically and ecologically, and we show that similar but even stronger biases have distorted our understanding of the fauna in the past. We analyze latitudinal gradients in the size and composition of known European insect faunas and show that several of the patterns contradict the Swedish data, presumably due to similar knowledge biases. Addressing these biases is critical in understanding insect biomes and the ecosystem services they provide. Our results emphasize the need to broaden the taxonomic scope of current insect monitoring efforts, a task that is all the more urgent as recent studies indicate a possible worldwide decline in insect faunas

A new species group in Megaselia, the lucifrons group, with description of a new species (Diptera, Phoridae)

Volume: 512Start Page: 89End Page: 10

Abaristophora kolaensis Disney, n. sp.

Abaristophora kolaensis Disney, n. sp. Figs 14–19 Material examined: HOLOTYPE 3, “ RUSSIA, Kola Peninsula, 2 km S. of Monchegorsk / in yellow pan trap / 16–26.vii. 2010 / M. Kozlov” (MZUC, on slide). Description. Male. Frons brown and clearly broader than long, with dense but very small microtrichia and numerous strong hairs. The pre-ocellar bristles are further apart than the antials and lower on the frons than the mediolaterals. The anterolaterals are higher on the frons than the antials and close to the eye margins. Postpedicel brown, lacking subcutaneous pit sensilla and shaped as in Fig. 14. Palp a slightly dusky yellow, 0.24 mm long and about 5 times as long as greatest breadth (viewed from above), with 6 bristles (the longest being 0.13 mm long) and 4 times as many hairs. Labrum straw yellow (but appears brown against the darker basiproboscis) and only about 0.11 mm long and 0.06–0.07 mm wide (compared with maximum width of the base of the postpedicel of 0.13 to 0.14 mm). Labella pale with only a few small spinules in addition to hairs. Thorax brown with 3 bristles on notopleuron, the most anterior being the strongest. Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs and posterior pair of bristles. Mesopleuron with a dozen hairs close behind the anterior spiracle. Abdomen with brown tergites and venter. The hairs of the tergites sparse but longer posteriorly on T 1, laterally and posteriorly on T 2 and at the posterior margins of T 3 to T 6. Hypopygium brown and as shown in Figs 15, 16, and lateral microsculpture as in Fig. 19 (similar to that of A. arctophila shown in Fig. 10). Legs mainly brown except for yellow fore tibiae and all tarsi. Fore tibia with 15 near dorsal small spines, the most basal being the longest, and similar numerous anteroventral spines (Fig. 17). Fore tarsus with a posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and segment 5 a little longer than 4. Mid tibia with a near dorsal hair palisade extending almost 0.8 time its length, with a near dorsal bristle just before end of first quarter and a posterodorsal bristle just above this, with 5 hair combs on the anterior face of last third that end dorsally with a longer hair with a curved tip. Mid tarsus with a posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and segment 5 a little longer than 4. Hind femur with hairs below basal quarter shorter than those of anteroventral last quarter and microsculpture in basal half as Fig. 18. Hind tibia with a dorsal hair palisade, with a small anterodorsal bristle just beyond end of first quarter, 2 small pre-apical bristles, one anterodorsal and the other anteroventral, and a long and a short spur. Wing 1.8–1.9 mm long. Costal index 0.60. Costal ratios 0.9: 1. Costal cilia towards tip 0.10 mm long. Vein 3 with a small hair at base, and with 4 axillary bristles. Costa expands in distal half so it becomes wider than the slightly expanded tip of vein 3. Thick veins yellowish grey. Sc very pale and fading away before encountering vein 3. Veins 4–6 very pale and 7 not evident. Vein 4 has its pale base sharply curved forwards so that it meets vein 3 at about 90 o. Vein 5 is almost straight. Vein 6 starts off divergent and straight before curving apically to be about parallel with vein 5 before curving away to meet the wing margin at about 90 o. Membrane almost colourless. Haltere with brown stem and dark brown knob. Remarks. This species closely resembles A. arctophila, but is immediately distinguished by the apical elongation of the postpedicel bearing longer trichiae that are distally recurved basally (Fig. 14) as opposed to being directed apically. The same feature distinguishes it from A. sachalinensis and the Nearctic A. diversipennis. The latter is further distinguished by its dark palps and its costal section 1 being clearly longer than section 2. In addition the hind tibia of A. sachalinensis differs from that of A. kolaensis in having two irregular rows of small, posteroventral spinules (fig. 21 in Michailovskaya 2004). The hypopygia of these species are very similar, differing in only small details; which recalls the situation in the large genus Dohrniphora Dahl, in which many have very similar hypopygia but are readily distinguished by features of the legs, palps, and other external structures. Distribution. Palaearctic (Russia [North European Territory]).Published as part of Pape, Thomas, Ulefors, Sven-Olof & Disney, R. Henry L., 2013, Palaearctic Abaristophora (Diptera: Phoridae): First female of A. arctophila Schmitz, 1927 and a new species from N. W. Russia, pp. 249-256 in Zootaxa 3681 (3) on page 255, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/21622

Palaearctic Abaristophora (Diptera: Phoridae): First female of A. arctophila Schmitz, 1927 and a new species from N. W. Russia

Pape, Thomas, Ulefors, Sven-Olof, Disney, R. Henry L. (2013): Palaearctic Abaristophora (Diptera: Phoridae): First female of A. arctophila Schmitz, 1927 and a new species from N. W. Russia. Zootaxa 3681 (3): 249-256, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3681.3.

Abaristophora arctophila Schmitz 1927

Abaristophora arctophila Schmitz, 1927 Figs 1–13 Material examined: LECTOTYPE 3, herewith designated, RUSSIA: “Kamtschatka: / Jawino. / 7.VIII. 1917 / Y. Wuorentaus ” [FMNH]. Condition poor, without head, wings, and legs, but fully identifiable. “Anaristophora [sic] / arctophila / Schmitz 3 / n.g. n.sp. / Syntype ” “Mus. Zool. H:fors / Spec. typ. 4718 / Anaristophora / arctophila Schmitz ”. Paralectotype 3, RUSSIA, “Kamtschatka: / Jawino. / 7.VIII. 1917 / Y. Wuorentaus.” Further labels: “Anaristophora [sic] / arctophila / n.g. n.sp. / Schmitz / Syntype ” and “Rest im 1 mikr.Präp.” Head and fore legs glued to a piece of cardboard on a pin, remaining parts mounted on a slide labelled “ Abaristophora / s.str. arcto- / phila Schmitz / 3 ” [ZFMK]. Additional material: 2 Ƥ 50 3 SWEDEN: Västerbotten, Vindelns Kommun, Kulbäckslidens försökspark, bog edge at Degerö Stormyr (Trap ID 59, N 64 ° 10.899 ’, E 19 ° 33.548 ’), 01.viii– 18.viii. 2003 (coll. event ID 211), Swedish Malaise Trap Project, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. [1 Ƥ 1 3 coated with goldplatinum and mounted on a SEM stub, deposited in ZMUC, other material deposited in SMNH.] Description. Male, see Schmitz (1927, 1929, 1951). Female. Frons brown, triangular, slightly longer than broad and protruding between antennae, equipped with numerous strong hairs. The pre-ocellar bristles are slightly further apart than the antials and situated lower on the frons than the mediolaterals. The anterolaterals are much higher on the frons than the antials and not particularly close to the eye margins. Antials are low on the frons, and a line between the antial socket and the base of the palp is in front of the antennal insertion. Postpedicel brown, without apparent subcutaneous pit sensilla. Palp light brown at base grading into straw yellowish at tip, about 4–5 times as long as greatest breadth (viewed from above), with 6 bristles and 4 times as many hairs. Proboscis light brown and very elongate, almost as long as combined length of thorax plus abdomen. Labella straw yellow with only a few small spinules in addition to the 8 hairs. Thorax brown with 3 bristles on notopleuron, the most anterior being the strongest. Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Mesopleuron with 9–10 hairs close behind the anterior spiracle. Abdomen with brown tergites and light brown venter. The hairs of the tergites short and sparse and found mainly in the posterior half and in particular on or near posterior margin, with hairs of T 6 stronger and more numerous. Legs mainly brown except for light brown or straw yellow fore tibiae and all tarsi. Fore tibia with 17–18 anterodorsal small spines of about equal length, proximal larger and set in a proportionally larger socket, and numerous similar anteroventral spines. Fore tarsus with a posterior hair palisade on segments 1–3 and an anterodorsal palisade on segment 1, segment 5 a little longer than 4. Mid tibia with a near dorsal hair palisade extending 0.8 time its length, with an anterior bristle just before end of first quarter and a posterodorsal bristle just above this, with 4 hair combs on the anterior face of last third and apically with an anterior and a posteroventral bristle, the latter twice as long as the former. Mid tarsus with anterodorsal, anteroventral, posterodorsal and posteroventral hair palisades on segments 1–2, and segment 5 as long as 4. Hind tibia with a dorsal hair palisade in full length, with a small anterodorsal bristle just beyond end of first quarter, 1 small anterodorsal pre-apical bristle, and a long and a short spur. Hind tarsus with a posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–3. Wing vein 3 with 2–3 small hairs at base, and with 4 axillary bristles. Costa expands in distal half so become about as wide as the slightly expanded tip of vein 3. Thick veins light brown. Sc very pale and fading away before encountering vein 3. Veins 4– 6 very pale and 7 not evident. Vein 4 has its pale base is sharply curved anteriorly so that it meets vein 3 at about 90 o. Vein 5 is almost straight. Vein 6 starts off divergent and straight before curving apically to be about parallel with vein 5 before curving away to meet the wing margin at about 90 o. Membrane almost colourless. Haltere with brown stem and dark brown knob. Distribution. Palaearctic (Estonia, Russia [Far East], Sweden). Remarks. Abaristophora arctophila is morphologically very similar to A. sachalinensis, as interpreted from the detailed and well-illustrated redescription of the latter by Nakayama & Shima (2006). These authors mentioned that A. sachalinensis is distinguished from other species of Abaristophora (s.str.) by the absence of a tibial bristle on the fore tibia. Male hypopygium of Abaristophora arctophila differs from that of A. sachalinensis by presenting a slightly narrower (or more saddle-shaped) epandrium in strict, right, lateral view and having the anterior basal plate of the phallus apically truncated and with a short, posteriorly directed process. Abaristophora sachalinensis has the anterior basal plate rounded apically and without any posterior process (compare Figs 8, 9, 11, 12 with relevant figures in Nakayama & Shima 2006). Both the male and the female from the series of Abaristophora arctophila from Sweden that were examined under the SEM had several pollen grains of Hieracium sp. sticking to the microtrichiae (e.g., on the palps, Fig. 6), thus indicating that the species is visiting the inflorescences of Asteraceae. The biology of members of Abaristophora is otherwise unknown (Nakayama & Shima 2006). Discussion and lectotype designation. Abaristophora arctophila was described from two males, none of which was designated as holotype (Schmitz 1927). The species was later redescribed twice (Schmitz 1929, 1951), and in both cases Schmitz explicitly referred to the “ Holotype in Mus. Helsingfors”. While it seems evident that Schmitz had a preference for the specimen in FMNH to be name-bearing, none of his works fulfil the requirement for an explicit selection given by ICZN Article 74.5, which states: “When the original work reveals that the taxon had been based on more than one specimen, a subsequent use of the term " holotype " does not constitute a valid lectotype designation unless the author, when wrongly using that term, explicitly indicated that he or she was selecting from the type series that particular specimen to serve as the name-bearing type ”. Schmitz’ (1929, 1951) use of the word “ Holotype ” is not in itself a formal lectotype designation, and there is nothing to indicate that he made a selection among the two syntypes. While the apparent conspecificity of the two specimens of the original type series may arguably make a lectotype designation redundant from a taxonomic point of view, we consider Schmitz’ (1929) reference to the FMNH specimen as the holotype justification for a formal selection of this specimen to be the name-bearing specimen and therefore to serve as a recognized standard of reference for any future nomenclatural issues relating to the identity of the nominal taxon. The head, wings and legs of the lectotype most probably were removed to be mounted separately, but no slides were recovered neither in Helsinki nor in the Schmitz collection at the Museum Koenig in Bonn, Germany. Still, the abdomen remains fully intact and with the hypopygium sufficiently exposed to allow a detailed study, here confirming the conspecificity of the lectotype and the additional specimens from Sweden. No attempt was made to retrieve and study the strongly damaged Estonian specimen as the absence of a hypopygium would prevent a conclusive identification. The wing venation of the Estonian specimen (Schmitz 1951, fig. 77), however, leaves no doubt that it belongs to Abaristophora (s.str.), and we consider an assignment to A. arctophila to be the best corroborated working hypothesis.Published as part of Pape, Thomas, Ulefors, Sven-Olof & Disney, R. Henry L., 2013, Palaearctic Abaristophora (Diptera: Phoridae): First female of A. arctophila Schmitz, 1927 and a new species from N. W. Russia, pp. 249-256 in Zootaxa 3681 (3) on pages 250-253, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/21622