Insect Biodiversity in a Prealpine Suburban Hilly Area in Italy.

Human activities and habitat fragmentation are known to greatly influence biodiversity. The aim of this study was to update an entomological checklist of a prealpine area in Italy, and also to evaluate the influence of different habitats and the proximity to cities on the entomological fauna. This study included different areas of a local park in Northern Italy, covering about 4000 ha, and situated at altitudes between 190 and 960 m asl. The surveys were carried out between 2010 and 2013 using different monitoring techniques (pitfall traps, car mounted nets, light traps, direct catches on soil and vegetation, visual sampling, gall collection). Furthermore, to assess the effect of habitat and locality on the composition of epigeic beetles, pitfall traps were set and inspected from April to September. All captured specimens were classified to species level. A total of 409 species were recorded, belonging to 7 orders and 78 families. A total of 76.1% were represented by Coleoptera, 13% Lepidoptera, 9.4% Hymenoptera, followed by other orders. In particular, some species with peculiar characteristics, or whose presence in the area had not been previously reported, were detected, such as Atheta pseudoelongatula, Ocypus rhaeticus, Tasgius tricinctus, Euplagia quadripunctaria, Scotopteryx angularia, Elachista constitella, Parornix bifurca, Oegoconia huemeri, and Lasius (Lasius) alienus. It seems possible that the habitat affected the community more than the locality. The woods showed a reduced biodiversity, and a simplified community structure. The comparison of the same habitats in different localities did not show significant differences.

Review of the genus Lesteva Latreille, 1797 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini) of the Iberian Peninsula.

New taxonomic, diagnostic, and faunistic data for twelve species of the genus Lesteva Latreille, 1797 of the Iberian Peninsula and adjacent territories are provided. Six species are (re-) described and illustrated: L. (s.str.) aterrima Lohse, 1967, L. (s.str.) balearica Lohse, 1967, L. (s.str.) lusitana Lohse, 1955, L. (s.str.) mariei Jarrige, 1963, L. (s.str.) mateui Jarrige, 1954, and L. (s.str.) osellai Zanetti Shavrin, sp.n. (Portugal, Spain). The following new synonymies are established: L. (s.str.) fontinalis Kiesenwetter, 1850 = L. (s.str.) fontinalis gustavi Herman, 2001 syn.n., L. (s.str.) mateui = L. cazorlana Lohse, 1987 syn.n., L. (s.str.) pubescens Mannerheim, 1830 = L. fageli Lohse, 1960 syn.n. A lectotype is designated for L. (s.str.) fontinalis. Images of habitus and aedeagi of L. (s.str.) aterrima, L. (s.str.) balearica, L. (s.str.) cazorlana, L. (s.str.) fontinalis, L. (s.str.) hanseni Lohse, 1953, L. (s.str.) mariei Jarrige, 1963, and L. (s.str.) pubescens are provided. A key to the species of Portugal and Spain, and a distributional map for some species are provided. New records are reported for L. (Lestevina) sicula heeri Fauvel, 1871 from Morocco, L. (s.str.) hanseni Lohse, 1953 and L. (s.str.) pubescens from Portugal, and L. (s.str.) mariei from Spain.

Revision of Acrulia Thomson, 1858 and Dialycera Ganglbauer, 1895, with taxonomic notes on related genera and description of a new genus from the Caucasus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Omaliini).

Two Palaearctic genera of the tribe Omaliini McLeay, 1825 are revised, redefined, and discussed: Acrulia Thomson, 1858, containing A. inflata (Gyllenhal, 1813), A. assingi Zanetti Shavrin, sp.n. (Greece: Thessalia, Pelopónnisos), and A. akbesiana (Pic, 1898), revalidated from the synonymy with Dialycera aspera (Eppelsheim, 1889), and the genus Dialycera Ganglbauer, 1895, containing D. distincticornis (Baudi di Selve, 1870), D. aspera and D. minuta Luze, 1906. Taxonomic and faunistic notes for three species of the genus Acruliopsis Zerche, 2003 (A. denticollis (Sharp, 1889), A. tumidula (Mäklin, 1853) and A. ussuriensis Zerche, 2003) and four Palaearctic species of the genus Hapalaraea Thomson, 1858 (H. alutacea (Reitter, 1909), H. armeniaca (Székessy, 1939) comb.n. (from Acrulia), H. pygmaea (Paykull, 1800), and H. settei Zanetti, 1983) are provided. Hapalaraea alutacea and H. armeniaca are redescribed. Pseudodialycera Zanetti Shavrin, gen.n., with the type species P. striatripennis (Aubé, 1850) comb.n. (from Dialycera) from the Caucasus, is described. A neotype for Acrulia akbesiana, and lectotypes for Omalium asperum Eppelsheim, 1889, O. inflatum Gyllenhal, 1813, and Phyllodrepa (Hapalaraea) alutacea Reitter, 1909 are designated. The following two synonymies are established: Acrulia akbesiana = Dialycera bimaculata Luze, 1906 syn.n., Hapalaraea pygmaea = Acrulia angusticollis Reitter, 1909 syn.n. The main morphological structures, including the genitalia and terminalia, are figured. Zoogeographic data are provided and mapped (except for Hapalaraea). Keys to the species of Acrulia and Dialycera, and a key to studied genera of Omaliini are provided. Several new records are reported: Acrulia inflata from Estonia, Greece, and Kazakhstan, Dialycera distincticornis from Montenegro and Greece, D. aspera from Greece and Jordan, and D. minuta from Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

First Canadian records of genera Apimela Mulsant & Rey and Gyronycha Casey from New Brunswick: description of two new species and new provincial distribution records (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae).

Two genera, Apimela Mulsant & Rey and Gyronycha Casey (both Aleocharinae: Oxypodini: Meoticina), are recorded from New Brunswick and Canada for the first time. The following species are newly recorded or described as new in New Brunswick and Canada: Apimela fusciceps (Casey); A. canadensis Klimaszewski & Webster, sp. n.; and Gyronycha pseudoobscura Klimaszewski & Webster, sp. n. The genera are defined and the key for species identification is provided. Color habitus images and black and white images of the median lobe of the aedeagus, spermatheca, tergite, and sternite VIII are provided for all species occurring in Canada, and Apimela macella (Erichson), the type species of genus Apimela, and G. valens Casey, the type species of Gyronycha. New or additional habitat data are provided for the species treated in this contribution. The following new synonym is established: Gyronycha lepida Casey, 1911 (NC), is a synonym of G. fusciceps Casey, 1894 (NC).