DOI: 10.3897/contrib.entomol.75.e138001

Authors: Andreas Krüger, Anke Crecelius, Denise Fischer, Ralf M. Hagen

Abstract: In the three consecutive years of 2022–2024, three female specimens of the phlebotomine sandfly Phlebotomus mascittii were trapped in two locations in the vicinity of Coblenz, western Germany. These records slightly expand the distribution limits of the species in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate to the north, at latitudes 50°18'N and 50°15'N, respectively, and represent the second northernmost Palearctic sandfly locations so far.

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DOI: 10.3897/contrib.entomol.74.e120333

Authors: Thomas Thieme, Klaus Schrameyer, Carsten A. Brühl, Gerrit Öhm

Abstract: Es wird über die Nachweise und die Ausbreitung der zwei nichtwirtswechselnden Blattlausarten Crypturaphis grassii Silvestri, 1935 und Neotoxoptera formosana (Takahashi, 1921) in Deutschland berichtet. Auf hohe Besiedelungsdichte reagiert die monophage, nur Alnus cordata besiedelnde C. grassii mit der verstärkten Produktion von geflügelten Morphen, die eine schnelle Ausbreitung ermöglichen. Diese Reaktion ist stark reduziert bei der polyphagen, zahlreiche Taxa des Genus Allium L. besiedelnden N. formosana, deren Ausbreitung hauptsächlich vom anthropogenen Transport besiedelter Wirtspflanzen abhängig ist.

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DOI: 10.3897/contrib.entomol.73.e102511

Authors: Aslak Kappel Hansen, Josh Jenkins Shaw

Abstract: High altitude ecosystems are often home to endemic species that have evolved in isolation from their low elevation counterparts. In many cases, especially in insects, such mountain endemics are often apterous (due to their reduced ability to fly and disperse). In most cases, so far, these mountain endemics are genetically differentiated from lowland sister species or populations. During an excursion in Central Spain, we encountered two such strikingly different morphotypes of the rove beetle Lobrathium multipunctum (Gravenhorst, 1802) (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae). The morphotype from high elevation was smaller and paler than those at low elevation, which were slightly larger, darker and regularly coloured. The high altitude morphotype was earlier considered a separate species (Lobrathium hispanicum Dodero, 1916) from its widespread lower-land counterpart (Lobrathium multipunctum (Gravenhorst, 1802)) before their relatively recent synonymy. Using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode region, we tested whether these distinct morphotypes are distinct species. We found that their synonymy is supported, based on multiple species delimitation methods. We suggest that this phenomenon may be more widespread amongst insects and other organismal groups. We note that the presence of high altitude morphotypes which are phylogenetically nested within, or genetically identical to, widespread lowland species (regular morphotype) is rarely reported in the literature on beetles (and other insects). These findings thus highlight the need for caution when describing mountain endemics and further highlight DNA barcoding as a helpful tool for their study.

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