Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

In the present study, we analysed the bee fauna reported in the Egadi Archipelago (circumsicilian islands). Field and bibliographical research carried out have allowed us to identify 40 taxa, between species and subspecies, belonging to five families: Colletidae (3 species), Andrenidae (9 spp.), Halictidae (4 spp.), Megachilidae (15 spp.), and Apidae (9 spp.). Twenty-seven species are reported here for the first time for the Egadi Archipelago, together with 13 species previously known from this archipelago, of which five are confirmed. For each species, details on collection data, distribution, and plants visited are given. Amongst the species recorded, Hylaeus duckei (Alfken, 1904) (Colletidae) and Osmia alfkenii Ducke, 1899 (Megachilidae) are new for Sicily. We include the first ‘Checklist of bees of Egadi’s Archipelago’ (40 species reported). Furthermore, the Apidae Nomada sicula Schwarz, 1974 is reported for the first time as a parasite of Panurgus siculus Morawitz, 1871 (Andrenidae) and Lasioglossum parvulum (Schenck, 1853) (Halictidae) species.

After 15 years from its publication, the Szeptycki’s check-list of the Protura of the World has been updated. Five new genera and 98 new species since then were added. New taxonomical combinations have been adopted. Updates to the species distribution were also added. Globally, the new list shows 831 species belonging to 77 genera arranged in seven families and three orders.

The Santolina chamaecyparissus complex includes 13 species of dwarf aromatic evergreen shrubs from the western Mediterranean Basin. Five native species occurring in Italy are currently accepted. Four of them are endemic to relatively restricted areas in the peninsula, whereas S. corsica Jord. & Fourr. is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia. The taxonomic treatments of Italian Santolina have been changing significantly in the past, probably due to the misinterpretation of naturalised populations of S. chamaecyparissus, a widely cultivated pentaploid species, which occasionally escapes from cultivation through agamospermy or vegetative propagation. In this study, we carried out the first quantitative morphometric and comparative niche analyses concerning the four species endemic to continental Italy (S. etrusca, S. ligustica, S. neapolitana, and S. pinnata). Morphometric analyses (PCoA, Random Forest, and univariate analyses) show that these species can be easily distinguished by combinations of character states, whereas niche analyses (Schoener’s D and similarity test) suggest that they occur in distinct climatic conditions. Based on our results, we fully confirm the taxonomic distinctiveness of these species. An updated identification key, including all Santolina species occurring in Italy, is presented.

On the sole basis of morphometric analysis, it was routinely presumed that Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758), Zizeeria knysna (Trimen, 1862) and Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775), occur in Malta. Recent DNA-based investigations (in-part combined with morphometric analysis) on islands and continental landmasses in the central Mediterranean shed light on the phylogeography of these and other, closely related, species. The present contribution focuses on seasonal and multi-location investigations within Malta of the genera Pontia, Zizeeria and Polyommatus. Voucher specimens from Sicily, Lampedusa and Spain are also analysed. A total of 43 specimens, in the following configuration are examined: Pontia (n = 21), Polyommatus (n _{= 11), Zizeeria (n = 11). DNA results obtained confirm the presence in Malta of Pontia edusa (Fabricius, 1777), Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865) and Polyommatus celina (Austaut, 1879); conversely, Z. knysna and P. icarus are not reported from within the suite of specimens sequenced, while the presence of P. daplidice is confirmed from Lampedusa and, predictably, from the arid Monegros region in Spain.}

The salticid spider Habrocestum graecum Dalmas, 1920, until now only known from Greece, is for the first time recorded in Italy. Observations on ecology and behavior are also reported and pictures of its habitus and genitalia are provided. Furthermore, the first DNA barcode sequence for H. graecum is produced and made publicly available. The species has been observed in Puglia, in South-Eastern Italy, and a trans-Ionian dispersal pattern is most likely the cause of its presence both in Greece and Southern Italy, as reported for other taxa with similar distribution in different animal groups.

We present a data set on marine mites (family Halacaridae) in European waters. The data set gathers all the published records of marine mites from the North European Seas, Lusitania, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea marine provinces, all belonging to the temperate North Atlantic geographical realm. The database includes 3006 records collected from 260 original publications. For each record, the dataset provides complementary taxonomic, geographical, and ecological information, as well as remarks regarding the sampling methods used in each study. We use this dataset to briefly discuss potential knowledge gaps and biases across marine regions and habitats. We hope that these data will provide a baseline for further studies in biogeography and ecology.

The amount of available Citizen Science data has increased significantly in the last two decades and has been used in several biogeographic studies as well. Citizen Science data are mostly collected through digital platforms, and especially mobile Apps. While the adoption of novel Information and Communications Technology (ICT) approaches potentially allow for a wider participation, recent studies have highlighted that the ability of making an intensive use of smartphones and mobile apps could decrease with users’ age. At the same time, data quality and commitment of volunteers in citizen science activities often increases with the age of volunteers. During the CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science MONitoring) project volunteers provided their year of birth, thus allowing for inferences on the relation between age and data quality and retention rate. In this manuscript, a further investigation is carried out for understanding the potential effect of the digital gap that exists especially between young adults and old adults on participation to citizen science activities. In the case of CSMON-LIFE, older age classes are under-represented, if compared to the overall Italian population. While the difference cannot be with absolute certainty ascribed to one factor alone, it can be hypothesized that a relevant contribution to the limited participation of old adults could be due to the intensive adoption of mobile Apps. Furthermore, it seems that choice of mobile devices among volunteers is quite different from that made by the average population based on availability in the Italian market, possibly evidencing an overall higher education of citizen scientists. Therefore, it can be said that digital divide can have a negative effect on the participation of volunteers belonging to the older age classes, even if this effect will probably slowly disappear in the future.

This work presents an updated checklist and distribution of Coleoptera Elateridae of Italy. The data come from literature, from museums and private collections directly examined by the authors. The subfamilies Lissominae, Cebrioninae and Drilinae, which were previously considered independent families, are not included in the checklist, because there are not sufficient data. The distribution of the species is recorded and figured on maps at the provincial level, provided in a supplementary file, while the world distribution is given at the state level according to the Palearctic catalogue published by Cate in 2007 and the most recent works. The genus Pseudathous Méquignon, 1930 was resurrected for the species previously classified in the genus Hemicrepidius Germar, 1839 and Megathous nigerrimus (Desbrochers des Loges, 1870) is transferred to the genus Hemicrepidius Germar, 1839 according to recent taxonomic revision. For not recorded species that may occur in Italy, we remand to the volume of the Fauna d'Italia.

We present a dataset reporting the checklist of the species of the family Simuliidae (Diptera, Nematocera) for Italy, updating the one previously published in the series ‘Checklist delle Specie della Fauna d'Italia’ in 1995. The records of the updated checklist refer to the 70 species currently known from areas politically falling within the borders of Italy (belonging to 6 genera: 55 to Simulium genus, 8 to Prosimulium, 3 to Metacnephia, 2 to Urosimulium, 1 to Greniera, 1 to Twinnia) at the regional level (20 terrestrial units). The records refer to various freshwater lotic habitats, from glacier melting waters to large plain rivers. The previous checklist reported a total number of 71 species, of which one represented in Italy with 2 subspecies, belonging to 5 genera: 58 to Simulium genus, 9 to Prosimulium, 3 to Metacnephia, 1 to Greniera, 1 to Twinnia; Urosimulium genus was separated from Prosimulium, 8 species changed subgenus (since the former was disregarded), 1 new species was added, 2 species names were changed while 3 species and 1 subspecies were put in synonymy with other species. Scanning 18 papers we found published between 1997 and 2020, we could expand the regional records. The dataset is freely available from Lifewatch at https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/en/initiatives/checklist-fauna-italia-en/checklist. The dataset will be dynamically updated with new records; this paper describes the state of the art of the dataset on December 2021.