Altica ampelophaga Guerin-Meneville, 1858 - new record of Flea Beetle for Malta (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

The Chrysomelidae is a very large family of phytophagous beetles with some 40,000 described species. The majority of adults are leaf feeders, with some species specializing on a wide variety of seeds, and fewer species are associated with pollen. The feeding regime is diverse as they may feed externally on the leaf tissue or on the roots, within leaves, stems or roots often as miners, or within the seed itself. Very few species are myrmecophiles. Some species are considered as agricultural pests, causing direct damage to various parts of the plant; most noticeable is the reduction of leaf area or sometimes indirect damage via the transmission of plant viruses. However, several species have also been used successfully in biological control programmes for the control of invasive weeds.peer-reviewe

Rediscovery of a rare gall on Rosa sempervirens induced by Diplolepis eglanteriae (Hartig, 1840) (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) in Malta

Diplolepis eglanteriae is a cynipid wasp inducing characteristic smooth pea-like galls on Rosa sempervirens. The gall was first reported as occurring in Malta in 1926 at Buskett. During the present study, the presence of this gall was confirmed and although it was not found again in Buskett it was found in three other localities on Malta. Three chalcid parasitoids were found associated with these galls, namely Eupelmus (Macroneura) muellneri Ruschka, 1921 (Eupelmidae), Stepanovia eurytomae (Nees, 1834) (Eulophidae) and Pteromalus sp. near bedeguaris (Pteromalidae); the latter two are here recorded for the first time from the Maltese Islands.peer-reviewe

Drugs and the athlete : what is the price for winning at any cost?

Man has always sought to go faster, higher, quicker and has embarked on all kinds of means in order to achieve these aims. The first use of performance enhancing compounds can be traced back to the ancient Olympic Games, but the first list of banned ergogenic aids was only issued in 1967. Yet athletes are still being found positive. They should be educated that these drugs are not only on the list because they are illegal means of achieving results, but all of them have side effects which can lead to severe short-term and long-term health problems for athletes. Drug doping in Maltese sports could become a major ethical, educational, financial, and health management problem. Community pharmacists have an important role to play in advising athletes, sportsmen and women about which drugs or OTCs can or cannot be taken during sports events.peer-reviewe

A second Palaearctic record of Monoxia obesula (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Galerucinae)

Monoxia obesula Blake is here recorded for the first time from Malta. This constitutes the second record for the Palaearctic Region, as the species was previously found in Sardinia (Italy) in 2013. In Malta, M. obesula was found on Chenopodium album, which represents a new host-plant record for this beetle.peer-reviewe

A new tree dwelling aphid, Greenidea ficicola Takahashi, 1921 for Malta (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea: Greenideidae)

Greenidea ficicola is recorded for the first time from the Maltese Islands. Distributional, ecological and taxonomic notes are included for this speciespeer-reviewe

Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle, 2004 and Ophelimus maskelli Haliday, 1844 - two new records of gall forming Eulophidae from Malta (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea)

The Eulophidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) currently accommodates more than 4,000 described species worldwide in some 300 genera (noyES, 2003). In Europe, the family is represented by about 1,100 species (GAuld & Bolton, 1988). Eleven species have previously been recorded from Malta in various scattered publications, but of these only two were reported as occurring in Malta in the Fauna Europaea database (mitroiu, 2004). The purpose of the present work is to add a further two new records of the family from Malta bringing the total number of species known from these islands to 13, and to bring together the previously recorded species in the form of a short annotated list with referencespeer-reviewe

Stereoisomeric pharmacovigilance and racemic drugs in hospital formularies

The rapid emergence of published data regarding drug enantiomers should be reflected in the use of racemic drugs in the clinical setting. The Department of Pharmacy, University of Malta, becoming aware of the problems created by the unknowledgeable use of racemic drugs has conducted two studies. The first study data focused on quantifying the number of chiral drugs in the Maltese National Formulary, being administered as racemic mixtures, in order to provide a better basis for purchase specifications when procuring drugs. The second study analyzed attitudes by physicians towards drug chirality.peer-reviewe

Updates in the flora of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

During the last 5 years, this author has been involved in the research and exploration of the flora of the Maltese islands in order to create and update the website http://www.maltawildplants.com. This paper consists of several important discoveries of new populations of very rare or endangered floral species for the Maltese Islands which were recorded during field surveys to collect material for this website. It also includes the species Calendula bicolor Rafin., which is a new record for the Maltese islands.peer-reviewe

Dasineura papaveris (Winnertz, 1853) - new record of a gall-midge from Malta (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae)

New record of a gall-midge from Maltapeer-reviewe

Syrphophilus bizonarius (Gravenhorst, 1829) (Hymenoptera) - new to Malta, with a revised check-list of the Ichneumonidae of the Maltese Islands

The Ichneumonidae is a species rich family with 36,179 valid species recorded by yu & horStmAnn (1997). Ichneumonids utilise a diverse array of insects and arachnids as their hosts and play an essential role in the normal functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. They have also been used successfully as biocontrol agents (GuPtA, 1991).peer-reviewe