Efficiency of traps in collecting selected Diptera families according to the used bait: Comparison of baits and mixtures in a field experiment

Traps made from PET bottles were used to assess the efficiency of four baits in terms of the number of individuals for selected Diptera families collecting in Eastern Slovak gardens in summer and autumn. Bait used in traps significantly affected the taxonomical composition of the samples obtained. Moreover, significant differences in bait efficiencies and temporal shift in bait efficiencies were confirmed for the Diptera order and for selected dipteran families. The most effective bait for baited-trap Diptera sampling was beer, followed by wine, meat, and syrup from the summer sampling season. In the autumn sampling season, the wine was most effective, followed by beer, syrup, and meat. For the family Scatopsidae wine, and for the family Platystomatidae, meat were the most effective baits. Drosophilidae were most attracted to beer in summer and to wine bait in autumn

Current state of invasion of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) in Ukraine

Ukraine is on the invasion front of spotted-wing Drosophila suzuki (Matsumura, 1931) spreading in Europe. Despite this globally important pest was confirmed only on the southernmost tip of its territory, recently published species distribution models expect its occurrence also in other Ukrainian regions. Therefore, we conducted two-year monitoring (2018-2019) during the whole fruit ripening season; samples were collected on the whole Ukrainian territory; standard bait traps and active capture by an insect net were employed. Individuals of the species were recorded only at the end of the vegetation season (August–October) and only in the westernmost part of Ukraine (Transcarpathian region); in the region predicted by recent ecological niche modeling. The late occurrence of D. suzuki probably reflects the presence of suitable food/fruit for the larvae at the end of the growing season. Our results confirm the importance of monitoring of this pest, together with the investigation of factors that may affect its invasion

Checklist of Empididae and Hybotidae (Diptera) flies from selected sites in Slovakia (Central Europe), with new records of five species for Slovakia

A checklist of Diptera families Empididae and Hybotidae from 25 selected sites in Slovakia is presented. The checklist comprises 91 taxa (51 species of family Empididae and 40 species of family Hybotidae) including the first records of Platypalpus eximius (Oldenberg, 1924) and P. optivus (Collin, 1926) from family Hybotidae, and Hilara lugubris (Zetterstedt, 1819), H. sturmii Wiedemann in Meigen, 1822 and Rhamphomyia (Holoclera) caliginosa Collin, 1926 from family Empididae

Two new species of Molophilus Curtis from the Mediterranean and Transcaucasia (Diptera, Limoniidae)

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First records of one genus and three species of long-legged flies (Diptera, Dolichopodidae) from Slovakia

First records of three species of long–legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) of the subfamily Medeterinae from Slovakia are presented. Systenus pallipes (von Roser, 1840) and Systenus leucurus Loew, 1859 emerged from rearing units with sediment from a water–filled tree hole of elm (Ulmus sp.), and Systenus scholtzii (Loew, 1850) from rearing units with similar sediments from birch (Betula sp.). The relevance of this approach i.e. the rearing process of immature stages from tree holes in laboratory conditions is briefly discussed

Checklist of known moth flies and sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from Armenia and Azerbaijan

All credible and available published records for 17 species of moth flies known so far from Armenia (Phlebotominae 11 species, Psychodinae 6 species) and Azerbaijan (Phlebotominae 18 species) are summarized. The first records of 18 species of Psychodinae (tribes Mormiini, Paramormiini, Psychodini, Pericomaini) from Armenia and 6 new faunistic records (tribes Psychodini, Pericomaini) for the fauna of Azerbaijan are listed. The checklist of recent moth flies from Armenia includes now 35 species, and from Azerbaijan, 24 species

Invertebrates in overlooked aquatic ecosystem in the middle of the town

Background and Purpose: Fountains are common, but usually overlooked anthrotelmata to which just only little attention has been paid. This work brings the first, more comprehensive evidence about seasonal urban fountain ecosystems and their biodiversity in Prešov town (Slovakia).Materials and Methods: The biodiversity of aquatic organisms from 6 fountains in Prešov town (Slovakia) were studied and basic environmental characteristics, such as pH, temperature, oxygen saturation and electrical conductivity (25 °C), were measured in 2014. Water depth of studied fountains varied between 10–30 cm and water volume from 1.9 to 51 m3. For statistical evaluation was used Friedman’s Rank Sum test (Friedman 1937), non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test (Kruskal & Wallis 1952) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Cluster analysis of the abundance, based on the Euclidean distance and the paired group algorithm in PAST 2.17c (Hammer et al. 2001) was used to highlight the relationship among the taxa.Results and Conclusion: During initial research was found over 58 taxa of the phyla Rotifera, Nematoda and Arthropoda. The most abundant insect group from these habitats was the Diptera order. The species Zavrelimyia nubila (Diptera: Chrinomidae) is recorded in Slovakia for the first time. The abundance of evaluated insects taxa differed depending on the date, but also was influenced by water characteristics. Water volume and water depth negatively but not significantly correlated with abundance of all evaluated orders. Water pH showed positive significant correlation with abundance of beetles, and negative, but not significant, correlation with abundance of flies and mayflies

The first evidence of microplastics in plant-formed fresh-water micro-ecosystems: Dipsacus teasel phytotelmata in Slovakia contaminated with MPs

Tiny pieces of plastic, or microplastics, are one of the emerging pollutants in a wide range of different ecosystems. However, they have, thus far, not been confirmed from phytotelmata – specific small water-filled cavities provided by terrestrial plants. The authors confirmed microplastics (141 μm – 2.4 mm long fibres of several colour and blue and orange fragments with diameters of 9–81 μm) in quantities from 101 to 409 per ml in Dipsacus telmata from two different periods. The phytotelmata, therefore, appear to be possible indicators of current and future microplastic pollution of the environment. However, further research is needed to obtain accurate information and verify the methodology for possible assessment of the local environmental burden of microplastics

New and additional faunistic records of the long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Azerbaijan and Georgia

New and additional faunistic records for 13 species of Dolichopodidae were given from Azerbaijan and Georgia. The species richness of Azerbaijan increased to 92 taxa as Sybistroma transcaucasica (Stackelberg, 1941) and Thinophilus quadrimaculatus Becker, 1902 are the new records for the Azerbaijan territory. Campsicnemus marginatus Loew, 1857, Sybistroma transcaucasica (Stackelberg, 1941) and Tachytrechus hamatus Loew, 1871 are recorded for the first time in Georgia and the species diversity increased to 74 taxa. and additional faunistic records for 13 species of Dolichopodidae were given from Azerbaijan and Georgia

Records of Limoniidae and Pediciidae (Diptera) from Armenia, with the first Armenian checklist of these families

Records of species of the families Limoniidae and Pediciidae are presented from Armenia. A total of 38 species of Limoniidae and four species of Pediciidae are listed. Of these, 27 species of Limoniidae and one species of Pediciidae represent the first records from Armenia. The first checklist of these families from Armenia is appended, containing 77 species of Limoniidae and six species of Pediciidae