An Overview of Orthoptera Mass Occurrences in Croatia from 1900 to 2023.

During the last century, well-known locust species, such as Calliptamus italicus and Dociostaurus maroccanus, have produced outbreaks of varying degrees in the Balkans. The literature data on outbreaks in the region are scarce, and Croatia is not an exception. This study summarized the data on 23 Orthoptera mass occurrences in Croatia from 1900 to 2023 from 28 localities, representing 12 species. This is a low level of outbreak activity compared with other locust and pest grasshopper species in other parts of the world. The species with the most reporting is C. italicus with altogether six mass occurrences, while second is Barbitistes ocskayi and Miramella irena with three records, and in the third, place D. maroccanus and Gryllotalpa sp., each with two mass occurrences having been reported. One of the most notable swarms is that of Anacridium aegyptium which occurred around Sibenik in 1998, and this paper provides the first account of it, 25 years after it took place. The most recent outbreaks took place in 2022, and the most notable one was that of D. maroccanus swarm in Stikovo. The 2022 and 2023 reports were brief and muted, despite the affected agriculturists claiming significant damages.

Orthoptera faunas of Dinara, Svilaja, Kamesnica, and Troglav mountains and Livanjsko polje.

The Balkan peninsula is an important biogeographic region of Europe which houses the Dinaric Alps, a mountain range rich in biodiversity. The fauna of Orthoptera has, in recent years, been an important subject of study in Croatia, but many of the Dinaric mountains in Croatia remain poorly sampled. Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the exception of some foreign expeditions, remains almost completely unknown with regards to the distribution of Orthoptera. This paper presents the inventory of the orthopteran faunas of Dinara, Svilaja, Kamesnica, and Troglav mountains and Livanjsko polje, with research conducted in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2021 and 2022. A total of 67 localities were visited and 115 species were recorded. For each species in each locality, a simple abundance estimation was carried out and is reported here. A comparative checklist of species is provided, combining the literature and newly gathered data. Although many species were recorded, most of the visited areas would benefit from more research. Recently, with the establishment of Dinara Nature Park, conservation efforts in Croatia have increased but the same cannot be said for Bosnia and Herzegovina, where more conservation work is required.

Drug analysis in necrophagous flies and human tissues.

Necrophagous insects may provide useful information about the time, place and cause of death. In addition, they can serve as reliable alternative specimens for toxicological analysis in cases where human tissue and fluids, normally taken during autopsies, are not available, due to decomposition of the corpse. This paper reports the results of drug analysis of the larvae of two fly families, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae, collected from the body of a middle-aged man who had committed suicide approximately three weeks before his corpse was found. Multiple samples of decomposed human tissue, of the blowfly, and of the larval flesh were analysed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and amphetamine was detected in all samples. While the screening results were beyond doubt, the quantitative analysis was less clear, and further research is needed in this area.