The interplay of climate and land use change affects the distribution of EU bumblebees.

Bumblebees in Europe have been in steady decline since the 1900s. This decline is expected to continue with climate change as the main driver. However, at the local scale, land use and land cover (LULC) change strongly affects the occurrence of bumblebees. At present, LULC change is rarely included in models of future distributions of species. This study's objective is to compare the roles of dynamic LULC change and climate change on the projected distribution patterns of 48 European bumblebee species for three change scenarios until 2100 at the scales of Europe, and Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg (BENELUX). We compared three types of models: (1) only climate covariates, (2) climate and static LULC covariates and (3) climate and dynamic LULC covariates. The climate and LULC change scenarios used in the models include, extreme growth applied strategy (GRAS), business as might be usual and sustainable European development goals. We analysed model performance, range gain/loss and the shift in range limits for all bumblebees. Overall, model performance improved with the introduction of LULC covariates. Dynamic models projected less range loss and gain than climate-only projections, and greater range loss and gain than static models. Overall, there is considerable variation in species responses and effects were most pronounced at the BENELUX scale. The majority of species were predicted to lose considerable range, particularly under the extreme growth scenario (GRAS; overall mean: 64% ± 34). Model simulations project a number of local extinctions and considerable range loss at the BENELUX scale (overall mean: 56% ± 39). Therefore, we recommend species-specific modelling to understand how LULC and climate interact in future modelling. The efficacy of dynamic LULC change should improve with higher thematic and spatial resolution. Nevertheless, current broad scale representations of change in major land use classes impact modelled future distribution patterns.

Convergent Reversion to Single Mating in a Wasp Social Parasite.

While eusociality arose in species with single-mating females, multiple mating by queens has evolved repeatedly across the social ants, bees, and wasps. Understanding the benefits and costs of multiple mating of queens is important because polyandry results in reduced relatedness between siblings, reducing kin-selected benefits of helping while also selecting for secondary social traits that reduce intracolony conflict. The leading hypothesis for the benefits of polyandry in social insects emphasizes advantages of a genetically diverse workforce. Workerless social parasite species (inquilines) provide a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis, since they are derived from social ancestors but do not produce workers of their own. Such parasites are thus predicted to evolve single mating because they would experience the costs of multiple mating but not the benefits if such benefits accrue through the production of a genetically diverse group of workers. Here we show that the workerless social parasite Dolichovespula arctica, a derived parasite of wasps, has reverted to obligate single mating from a facultatively polyandrous ancestor, mirroring a similar reversion from obligate polyandry to approximate monandry in a social parasite of fungus-farming ants. This finding and a comparison with two other cases where inquilinism did not induce reversal to monandry support the hypothesis that facultative polyandry can be costly and may be maintained by benefits of a genetically diverse workforce.

Two new Ptychoptera Meigen, 1803 (Diptera, Ptychopteridae) from the Western Palaearctic.

Ptychopteraxanthopleura Dvorák, Obona & Manko, sp. nov. from Azerbaijan and Georgia, and Ptychopterastaryi Dvorák, Obona & Manko, sp. nov. from Bulgaria are described. P.xanthopleurasp. nov. differs from the other member of the lacustris group mainly by having almost completely yellow pleurae, and by the shape of the epandrium and gonocoxites. The diagnostics of P.staryisp. nov. and P.incognita Török, Kolcsár & Keresztes, 2015 based on male genitalia are provided.

The scorpionflies (Mecoptera) from Lagodekhi Reserve, with some distributional and seasonal activity data.

We studied scorpionflies of Lagodekhi Reserve for the first time. Three species were recorded from the area, Panorpa similis Esben-Petersen, P. connexa McLachlan, and P. arcuata (Navás). Seasonal activity is also studied.

New records of Sylvicola (Diptera: Anisopodidae) from Romania.

BACKGROUND: Anisopodidae (window gnats or wood gnats) is a small family of nematocerous Diptera. Until now only Sylvicola (Anisopus) punctatus (Fabricius, 1787) and Sylvicola (Sylvicola) fenestralis (Scopoli, 1763)​ were reported from Romania. NEW INFORMATION: New faunistic records of Sylvicola (Diptera: Anisopodidae) are presented. Sylvicola (Sylvicola) cinctus (Fabricius, 1787) and S. (Anisopus) fuscatus (Fabricius, 1775) are recorded from Romania for the first time. An identification key and illustrations of Romanian Sylvicola species are presented.