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Recently, human activities have impacted biodiversity-rich forest in western Rwanda, creating a need to enhance restoration activities of degraded lands in the region. To evaluate the effects of reforestation activities on the community composition of soil-litter ants, research was conducted in Gishwati tropical montane forest, located in northern-western part of Rwanda. The ant fauna was studied in reforested lands dominated by regenerated native species and exotic tree species. Further, a primary forest made of native trees served as a reference. In each forest type, nine sampling points were used to sample ants. Ant specimens were collected using pitfalls, hand sampling and Winkler extractor. They were identified to subfamilies, genus and species levels using dichotomous keys, and also statistically analysed for species richness, diversity, evenness and community composition. We collected a total of 2,481 individuals from 5 subfamilies, 18 genera and 35 species. Higher abundance, diversity and species richness were found in soil-litter under natural primary and secondary forests dominated by regenerated native plant species compared to exotic tree forest. The ant community composition analysis indicated higher similarities in ant species sampled under primary native forest and secondary forest dominated by regenerated native species. Reforestation by regenerating native species may be given priority in restoration of degraded lands due to their importance in species richness and species diversity.

1. Communities across trophic levels, and the functional roles they play, are vital for the sustained provision of ecosystem services. In forest systems, diversification of overstorey composition has been shown to be a key driver of biodiversity, but its influence on across-trophic level relationships remains scarcely known. Species across trophic levels in varied overstorey compositions are also differentially susceptible to fragmentation context. We hypothesise that fragmentation will disrupt community relationships associated with particular overstorey compositions. 2. We test this hypothesis using a tree diversity research platform across 53 deciduous woodland plots in central Belgium. We estimate species' abundances within nine, generally taxonomic, community groups across trophic levels: understorey vegetation; leaf miners and gall formers; woodlice, millipedes; carabid beetles, harvestmen, spiders, birds, bats. We use multiple co-inertia analyses to examine how taxonomic and trophic role community matrices covary across gradients of overstorey composition, via three different tree species diversification pathways, and fragmentation. 3. For all trophic role groups, across all plots, there was at least one significant pairwise comparison. Apart from comparisons involving bats, there was at least one significant pairwise correlation between taxonomic groups too. These results indicate correlated community matrices across trophic levels. Overstorey composition related to community tightness, that is, the level of co-ordinated change among taxonomic and/or trophic role groups as revealed by multiple co-inertia analyses. Notably, diversifying woodlands of beech Fagus sylvatica or red oak Quercus rubra with pedunculate oak Quercus robur correlated with increased taxonomic community tightness. Diversifying pedunculate oak forest stands with other overstorey species related to unchanged community tightness. Evidence was lacking for fragmentation affecting community tightness, singly or by interacting with overstorey composition. 4. Synthesis. Overall, changing tree species composition and fragmentation level affected across-trophic level community relationships differently. Yet, we demonstrated a clear signal that diversifying monoculture stands with particular species correlated with greater community tightness, and co-ordinated change among sets of community groups, across trophic levels and regardless of fragmentation context. We postulate that having tighter community relationships suggests that measures to improve biodiversity at one trophic level (i.e. trees) could affect other groups, and their associated roles, in a co-ordinated manner.

Culiseta (Allotheobaldia) longiareolata (Macquart) (Diptera: Culicidae) is an ornithophilic mosquito species that occurs in the southern Palaearctic Region from the Azores to Central Asia, the Ethiopian Region, India, and Pakistan. Although it has a widespread distribution range, the species was only recently reported in Western and Central Europe. Between 2017 and 2020, larvae, pupae, and adults of Cs. longiareolata (n = 161) were found at 13 distinct locations in Belgium (n = 4) and The Netherlands (n = 9). Collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified and the identification was then validated by COI DNA barcoding. These are the first records of the species in the above-mentioned countries. The present results suggest that Cs. longiareolata could be increasing its distribution range in temperate regions, indicating a warming climate. As the species might be a potential vector of bird pathogens (e.g., West Nile virus), its spread in Western Europe is noteworthy.

Simple Summary Ants, due to their high ecological diversity, are challenging to properly sample. This issue has been addressed by many authors devising multiple sampling techniques. Depending on the habitats sampled, the effectiveness and complementarity of the sampling techniques may vary. Only little work has been done in open temperate habitats. This study aimed to assess the relative efficiency of two common sampling methods: pitfall and bait trapping. The comparison was performed using both a taxonomic (species count) and a functional (i.e., acknowledging of ecological characteristics of species to describe an assemblage of species) approach. Pitfall traps captured more species and a wider set of functional traits than did bait traps, and all species caught by bait traps were also caught by pitfall traps. It therefore appears that in the particular context of open temperate habitats, using bait traps on top of pitfall traps will cost time without information gained and that pitfalls should thus be favored in this context. Abstract Whereas bait and pitfall trappings are two of the most commonly used techniques for sampling ant assemblages, they have not been properly compared in temperate open habitats. In this study, taking advantage of a large-scale project of heathland restoration (three sites along the French Atlantic Coast forming a north-south gradient), we evaluated the relative efficiency of these two methods for assessing both taxonomic and functional diversities of ants. Ants were collected and identified to species level, and six traits related to morphology, behavior (diet, dispersal and maximum foraging distance), and social life (colony size and dominance type) were attributed to all 23 species. Both observed and estimated species richness were significantly higher in pitfalls compared to spatially pair-matched bait traps. Functional richness followed the same pattern, with consistent results for both community weighted mean (CWM) and Rao’s quadratic entropy. Taxonomic and functional diversities from pitfall assemblages increased from north to south locations, following a pattern frequently reported at larger spatial scales. Bait trapping can hardly be considered a complementary method to pitfall trapping for sampling ants in open temperate habitats, as it appears basically redundant with the latter sampling method, at least in coastal heathlands of the East-Atlantic coast.

To maintain savanna vegetation, mid-seasonal fire has been applied since 1961 in the Lamto Savanna (Côte d'Ivoire). However, this prescribed fire has not impeded tree encroachment during recent years, nor have its effects on insect assemblages been documented. Also the impact of tree intrusion on insect assemblages is poorly studied in savanna. To prevent tree density increasing, a change in fire regime might be a solution. In this study, we examined the effect of different fire regimes (early, mid-seasonal and late fires) on leaf-litter ant assemblages in order to suggest appropriate measures for preventing tree invasion without having an effect on insect communities. Sampling was implemented by combining pitfall trapping and leaf-litter sampling before and after three different fire regimes, early, mid-seasonal and late fires. While the ant species richness declined after the passage of early and mid-seasonal fires, significantly more species were found in the burnt savanna after the late fire. However, the losses or gains of species due to different fire regimes did not cause severe changes in the ant species composition. Of the functional groups identified, only the generalists and specialist predators were respectively strongly affected by the early and mid-seasonal fires, certainly due to micro-habitat modification. Based on the trends observed in the present study, we suggest sampling other invertebrate fauna in similar savanna plots to find out if other insect groups have similar reactions to the applied fire regimes.

The Galapagos Islands constitute one of the most pristine tropical systems on Earth. However, the complex and fragile equilibrium of native species is threatened by invasive species, among which is one of the most successful ants in the world, the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata. We characterized the genetic structure and diversity of populations of S. geminata in the Galapagos Islands and unravelled the archipelago colonization by combining Bayesian clustering methods and coalescent-based scenario testing. Using 12 microsatellite markers and one mitochondrial DNA fragment (COI), we analysed individuals collected in all main invaded islands of the archipelago and from the native areas in Costa Rica and mainland Ecuador. We also used mitochondrial DNA to infer evolutionary relationships of samples collected in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Costa Rica and other Latin American countries. Our results showed that genetic diversity was significantly lower in Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador populations when compared to Costa Rican populations, and that samples from Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador (Guayaquil) clustered in a single group and all share a single mtDNA haplotype. Approximate Bayesian Computation favoured a scenario assuming that populations from Galapagos Islands diverged from mainland Ecuador. The city of Guyaquil, an obligatory hub for tourism and trade, could act as a bridgehead.

Social insect colonies provide a valuable resource that attracts and offers shelter to a large community of arthropods. Previous research has suggested that many specialist parasites of social insects chemically mimic their host in order to evade aggression. In the present study, we carry out a systematic study to test how common such chemical deception is across a group of 22 arthropods that are associated with red wood ants (Formica rufa group). In contrast to the examples of chemical mimicry documented in some highly specialized parasites in previous studies, we find that most of the rather unspecialized red wood ant associates surveyed did not use mimicry of the cuticular hydrocarbon recognition cues to evade host detection. Instead, we found that myrmecophiles with lower cuticular hydrocarbon concentrations provoked less host aggression. Therefore, some myrmecophiles with low hydrocarbon concentrations appear to evade host detection via a strategy known as chemical insignificance. Others showed no chemical disguise at all and, instead, relied on behavioral adaptations such as particular defense or evasion tactics, in order to evade host aggression. Overall, this study indicates that unspecialized myrmecophiles do not require the matching of host recognition cues and advanced strategies of chemical mimicry, but can integrate in a hostile ant nest via either chemical insignificance or specific behavioral adaptations. ispartof: Journal of Chemical Ecology vol:43 issue:7 pages:644-661 ispartof: location:United States status: published

The insect fauna of the Galapagos Islands is considered among the most pristine in the world and is well-studied in the preserved areas. However, introduced species are numerous and damaging, particularly in disturbed areas such as agricultural zones. In this study, we examined the arthropod diversity in two agricultural sites on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos; a shaded mixed coffee plantation and an abandoned avocado plantation. We combined three sampling techniques to obtain a detailed picture of the invertebrate fauna in the leaf litter and in the lower arbustive zone. We then compared the two sites to assess the variation in arthropod fauna depending on the degree of disturbance. During the study, we collected individuals belonging to 96 taxa within the classes Arachnida, Insecta, Malacostracea and Diplopoda. More than half of the species were either endemic or native, but introduced species constituted the great majority (83.5%) of the sampled specimens. The invasive fire ant Solenopsis gemin...

We investigated the ant community structure in cocoa farms in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Ants were collected on the cocoa trees during the years 2006 and 2007 using chemical knock‐down. We tested the hypothesis of the existence of deterministic factor in the structuration of ant mosaic using C‐Score; we assessed the relationship between the numerical dominant and subdominant ant species using Spearman correlation test and discussed on the influence of vegetation structure and farm management on the ant community structure. A total of 53 ant species belonging to 20 genera and five subfamilies were identified from a set of 51,525 workers collected. C‐score analysis supported the hypothesis that ant community were structured by competition. Negative relationships were found between dominant ant species. Farming practices which were mainly pruning, chemical treatment and habitat structure appeared to influence the ecological status and distribution of dominant ant species.

The digitization of museum specimens is a key priority in the Digital Era. Digital databases help to avoid unnecessary manipulation hazards to delicate collections, increase their accessibility to third party researchers, and contribute to the ongoing documentation of global biodiversity. Time, workforce and the need of specialized infrastructures limit the processing of the vast number of specimens in natural history collections. Cheaper, easy-to-use methods and volunteer programs are developing quickly to help bridge the gap. We present the results of combining citizen science for the digitization of an entomological collection in conjunction with the cooperation of a taxonomic expert for the remote identification of samples. In addition, we provide an assessment of the avoided monetary costs and the time needed for each step of the process. A photographic inventory of specimens belonging to the leaf beetle genus Calligrapha was compiled by volunteers using a low-cost compact camera and the species were identified using these images. Using digital photographs allowed for a rapid screening of specimens in the collection and resulted in an updated taxonomic identification of the Calligrapha collection at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The pictures of the specimens and their original labels, as well as the new information from this endeavor were placed in an online public catalogue. This study demonstrates a worked example of how digitization has led to a practical, useful outcome through cooperation with an end user and highlights the value of museum collection digitization projects.

An important issue in biodiversity conservation is the early detection of introduced and invasive organisms and identification of regions that may either be points of introduction or be particularly prone to invasion. Among insects, ants are easily transported worldwide by humans, and several species, such as Solenopsis geminata or Pheidole megacephala, can be highly invasive. To establish an initial baseline for urban ant monitoring in Côte d’Ivoire (Western Africa), fifteen cities - equally distributed over the three main ecoregions of the country - were surveyed using tuna baits as sampling method. A total of 103 ant species from 22 genera and 5 subfamilies were collected. We identified 10 potentially invasive species, amongst them two new species for the country: Solenopsis geminata and Solenopsis globularia. Another highly invasive species, Paratrechina longicornis, was the most abundant species collected throughout the country. Potentially invasive ant species co-occurred with non-invasive species, and contributed importantly to the structure of ant assemblages of all sampled urban habitats. The present study provides evidence that introduced and invasive ant species are established in cities of Côte d’Ivoire, often in high numbers and are occurring over large areas of invasion.

Living in close association with other organisms has proven to be a widespread and successful strategy in nature. Some communities are completely driven by symbiotic associations and therefore, intimate relationships among the partners can be expected. Here, we analyzed in-depth the food web of a particularly rich community of arthropods found in strict association with European red wood ants (Formica rufa group). We studied the trophic links between different ant-associated myrmecophiles and food sources associated with the host ant, but also tested predator-prey links among myrmecophiles themselves. Our approach combined direct feeding tests and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for a large number of myrmecophiles. The results of the direct feeding tests reveal a complex food web. Most myrmecophiles were found to parasitize on ant brood. Moreover, we encountered multiple trophic predator-prey links among the myrmecophiles. The results of the stable isotope analyses complement these findings and indicate the existence of multiple trophic levels and trophic isotopic niche compartmentalization. delta N-15 values were strongly correlated with the trophic levels based on the direct tests, reflecting that delta N-15 values of myrmecophiles increased with higher trophic levels. This strong correlation underlines the strength of stable isotopes as a powerful tool to assess trophic levels. In addition, the stable isotope data suggest that most species only facultatively prey on ant brood. The presence of numerous trophic interactions among symbionts clearly contrasts with the traditional view of social insects nests as offering an enemy-free space for symbionts. Interestingly, the ant host can indirectly benefit from these interactions because brood predators are also preyed upon by other myrmecophiles. Overall, this study provides unique insights into the complex interactions in a small symbiont microcosm system and suggests that the interactions between host and symbiont might be mediated by other symbionts in the same community.

1. We investigated ant communities in all main vegetation zones of the model island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos archipelago (155 collection points, spread over 21 sites; 28 ant species collected), and evaluated the distribution, coexistence, and effect of environmental factors in a community composed of endemic, probably endemic, and introduced ants of the New World and exotic origin. 2. Introduced species were the most frequent, occurring in 98% of the samples, yet endemic and probably endemic species still occurred in 54% of the samples, and constituted one of three most common species. The present study revealed that the habitat type along with altitude and the tree cover are the primary factors shaping ant community composition. Little evidence was found for a competitively structured assemblage of ant species. 3. The present study confirmed the predominance of two dominant invasive species, Solenopsis geminata Fabricius and Wasmannia auropunctata Roger, whose abundances are negatively correlated. The abundance of S. geminata is positively correlated with the overall species richness, and with the proportion of other introduced species. The presence of both invasive ants is associated with a low evenness of ant communities. 4. The present study (i) stresses the dominance of introduced species and the relative resistance of endemic species, (ii) highlights the on-going processes of species introductions and (iii) points out the need for adequate monitoring and conservation of the pristine and threatened environments that constitute the Galapagos Islands.

Identifying patterns in the effects of temperature on species' population abundances could help develop a general framework for predicting the consequences of climate change across different communities and realms. We used long-term population time series data from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species communities within central Europe to compare the effects of temperature on abundance across a broad range of taxonomic groups. We asked whether there was an average relationship between temperatures in different seasons and annual abundances of species in a community, and whether species attributes (temperature range of distribution, range size, habitat breadth, dispersal ability, body size, and lifespan) explained interspecific variation in the relationship between temperature and abundance. We found that, on average, warmer winter temperatures were associated with greater abundances in terrestrial communities (ground beetles, spiders, and birds) but not always in aquatic communities (freshwater and marine invertebrates and fish). The abundances of species with large geographical ranges, larger body sizes, and longer lifespans tended to be less related to temperature. Our results suggest that climate change may have, in general, positive effects on species’ abundances within many terrestrial communities in central Europe while the effects are less predictable in aquatic communities.

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Abstract: Social insects have a highly developed nestmate and species recognition system that is quite effective at keeping out unwanted intruders. Rare cases of “parabiosis,” however, are known in some ants where two species apparently live peacefully alongside each other within the same nest. Here, we report on such an association between the tiny Afrotropical ant Strumigenys maynei and the large ant Platythyrea conradti. We demonstrated that both ants peacefully share the same arboreal nests in spite of the presence of clearly distinct nestmate recognition cues. Because of the large size differences, we hypothesized that each of the two species would benefit from specializing in carrying out particular tasks, in analogy to the size-related division of labor observed in species with size-polymorphic workers. In line with this theory, we found that the tiny ant S. maynei was highly efficient at nest defense against intranidal arthropods and alien ant intruders, whereas the large ant P. conradti was highly skilled in nest engineering. We argue that the described association is likely mutualistic, as P. conradti clearly benefited from the supreme defense capabilities of S. maynei, and that, conversely, S. maynei took advantage of small prey thriving in the organic nest material collected by P. conradti. Significance statement: Associations between social insects are typically parasitic in nature. A few cases, however, are known of beneficial associations between social insects. Here, we report such a rare association between two Afrotropical species that share the same nest even though they lack matching colony odors. The large ant Platythyrea conradti benefited from the presence of Strumigenys maynei as this tiny, but highly aggressive, ant was much more efficient in attacking intranidal and extranidal enemies. S. maynei in turn took advantage of P. conradti as this ant constructs a unique nest which attracts suitable prey. ispartof: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology vol:71 issue:3 status: published

Digitization of specimen collections has become a key priority of many natural history museums. The camera systems built for this purpose are expensive, providing a barrier in institutes with limited funding, and therefore hampering progress. An assessment is made on whether a low cost compact camera with image stacking functionality can help expedite the digitization process in large museums or provide smaller institutes and amateur entomologists with the means to digitize their collections. Images of a professional setup were compared with the Olympus Stylus TG-4 Tough, a low-cost compact camera with internal focus stacking functions. Parameters considered include image quality, digitization speed, price, and ease-of-use. The compact camera’s image quality, although inferior to the professional setup, is exceptional considering its fourfold lower price point. Producing the image slices in the compact camera is a matter of seconds and when optimal image quality is less of a priority, the internal stacking function omits the need for dedicated stacking software altogether, further decreasing the cost and speeding up the process. In general, it is found that, aware of its limitations, this compact camera is capable of digitizing entomological collections with sufficient quality. As technology advances, more institutes and amateur entomologists will be able to easily and affordably catalogue their specimens.

Climate change, land-use change, pollution and exploitation are among the main drivers of species' population trends; however, their relative importance is much debated. We used a unique collection of over 1,000 local population time series in 22 communities across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms within central Europe to compare the impacts of long-term temperature change and other environmental drivers from 1980 onwards. To disentangle different drivers, we related species' population trends to species- and driver-specific attributes, such as temperature and habitat preference or pollution tolerance. We found a consistent impact of temperature change on the local abundances of terrestrial species. Populations of warm-dwelling species increased more than those of cold-dwelling species. In contrast, impacts of temperature change on aquatic species' abundances were variable. Effects of temperature preference were more consistent in terrestrial communities than effects of habitat preference, suggesting that the impacts of temperature change have become widespread for recent changes in abundance within many terrestrial communities of central Europe., Additionally, we appreciate the open access marine data provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. We thank the following scientists for taxonomic or technical advice: C. Brendel, T. Caprano, R. Claus, K. Desender, A. Flakus, P. R. Flakus, S. Fritz, E.-M. Gerstner, J.-P. Maelfait, E.-L. Neuschulz, S. Pauls, C. Printzen, I. Schmitt and H. Turin, and I. Bartomeus for comments on a previous version of the manuscript. R.A. was supported by the EUproject LIMNOTIP funded under the seventh European Commission Framework Programme (FP7) ERA-Net Scheme (Biodiversa, 01LC1207A) and the long-term ecological research program at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB). R.W.B. was supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) through Theme 3 of their Strategic Research Programme. S.D. acknowledges support of the German Research Foundation DFG (grant DO 1880/1-1). S.S. acknowledges the support from the FP7 project EU BON (grant no. 308454). S.K., I.Kü. and O.S. acknowledge funding thorough the Helmholtz Association’s Programme Oriented Funding, Topic ‘Land use, biodiversity, and ecosystem services: Sustaining human livelihoods’. O.S. also acknowledges the support from FP7 via the Integrated Project STEP (grant no. 244090). D.E.B. was funded by a Landes–Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich–ökonomischer Exzellenz (LOEWE) excellence initiative of the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts and the German Research Foundation (DFG: Grant no. BO 1221/23-1).

Urban ecosystems house artificial infrastructures such as ports, transport stations and commercial centres which are often introduction foci for exotic species. The connectivity of these structures to other centres specialised in commodity flows located in urban cores, enhances the accidental transport and spreading of exotic species which can become invasive. Despite this fact, targeted investigations to detect establishment of invasive species in tropical urban landscapes are lacking. A survey conducted on ant communities in 15 cities throughout Cote d'Ivoire (West Africa) allowed us to find the highly invasive tropical fire ant (TFA) Solenopsis geminata for the first time in the country. DNA analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) of two specimens of S. geminata found that they had a close genetic relationship with specimens from Venezuela. From the 15 towns surveyed throughout Cote d'Ivoire, this ant was discovered only in industrial areas of Abidjan near the port zone suggesting an early stage of invasion.

Since the 1950s, bumblebee (Bombus) species are showing a clear decline worldwide. Although many plausible drivers have been hypothesized, the cause(s) of this phenomenon remain debated. Here, genetic diversity in recent versus historical populations of bumblebee species was investigated by selecting four currently restricted and four currently widespread species. Specimens from five locations in Belgium were genotyped at 16 microsatellite loci, comparing historical specimens (1913–1915) with recent ones (2013–2015). Surprisingly, our results showed temporal stability of genetic diversity in the restricted species. Furthermore, both historical and recent populations of restricted species showed a significantly lower genetic diversity than found in populations of co-occurring widespread species. The difference in genetic diversity between species was thus already present before the alleged recent drivers of bumblebee decline could have acted (from the 1950’s). These results suggest that the alleged drivers are not directly linked with the genetic variation of currently declining bumblebee populations. A future sampling in the entire distribution range of these species will infer if the observed link between low genetic diversity and population distribution on the Belgium scale correlates with species decline on a global scale.

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Bengaluru, India Univ Nebraska, Lincoln, NE USA CENAK Ctr Nat Kunde, Hamburg, Germany Ohio Hist Connect, Columbus, OH USA Univ Fed Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Univ Malaga, Malaga, Spain Chinese Acad Sci, Qingdao, Shandong, Peoples R China Benemerita Univ Autonoma Puebla, Puebla, Mexico Natl Polytech Inst, Ctr Res & Adv Studies, Irapuato, Mexico Field Museum Nat Hist, Chicago, IL 60605 USA Univ Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 USA Univ Fed Lavras, Lavras, Brazil Nat Hist Museum, Vienna, Austria La Sierra Univ, Riverside, CA USA Univ San Francisco Quito, Quito, Ecuador Univ Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China CUNY, New York, NY 10021 USA CAS, Inst Vertebrate Biol, Brno, Czech Republic Sorbonne Univ, MECADEV, Museum Natl Hist Nat, Paris, France Univ Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, Brazil Zool Staatssammlung Munchen, Munich, Germany Univ Michigan, Dearborn, MI 48128 USA Smithsonian Inst, Natl Museum Nat Hist, Washington, DC USA Helmholtz Ctr Environm Res, Leipzig, Germany Santa Rosa Jr Coll, Santa Rosa, CA USA George Washington Univ, Washington, DC 20037 USA Inst Teknol Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia Earlham Coll, Richmond, IN USA Senckenberg Forschungsinst & Nat Museum, Frankfurt, Germany Univ Estadual Londrina, Londrina, Parana, Brazil Univ Koblenz Landau, Koblenz, Germany Nat Hist Museum, London, England Ditsong Natl Museum Nat Hist, Pretoria, South Africa Bombay Nat Hist Soc, Bombay, Maharashtra, India Philipps Univ Marburg, Marburg, Germany Hess Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany Smithsonian Conservat Biol Inst, Washington, DC USA Univ Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary Staatliches Museum Nat Kunde, Stuttgart, Germany UFT, Tocantins, Portugal Museum Nat Kunde, Berlin, Germany Nat Hist Riksmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden Hikarigaoka, Munakata, Japan Inst Agr & Environm Sci, Tartu, Estonia Univ Los Andes, Merida, Venezuela Bat Jungle, Monteverde, Costa Rica Texas A&M Univ, College Stn, TX USA Yale Univ, New Haven, CT USA Univ Estadual Paulista, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, Brazil Museo Nacl Hist Nat, Montevideo, Uruguay Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Fdn Miguel Lillo, San Miguel De Tucuman, Argentina Roger Tory Peterson Inst Nat Hist, Jamestown, VA USA Univ Fed Reconcavo Bahia, Cruz Das Almas, Brazil South China Normal Univ, Guangzhou 510631, Guangdong, Peoples R China Museu Ciencias Tecnol PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Univ Fed Tocantins, Porto Nacl, Brazil Univ Toronto, Scarborough, ON, Canada Univ Nacl Colombia, Inst Ciencias Nat, Bogota, Colombia Natl Museum Philippines, Manila, Philippines NOVA Univ Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Regina, SK, Canada Deutsch Zentrum Marine Biodiversitatsforsch, Hamburg, Germany Ctr Invest Biol Noroeste, La Paz, Mexico Naturalis Biodivers Ctr, Leiden, Netherlands Univ Douala, Douala, Cameroon Vet & Farmaceut Univ Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Univ Swaziland, Kwaluseni, Eswatini Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Univ Claude Bernard, Lyon, France Museum Vertebrate Zool, Berkeley, CA USA Smithsonian Inst, Washington, DC 20560 USA Nat Hist Museum & Inst, Chiba, Japan Senckenberg Biodiversitat & Klima Forschunsgzentr, Frankfurt, Germany Marquette Univ, Milwaukee, WI 53233 USA Univ Firenze, Museo Storia Nat, Florence, Italy Univ Fed Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil Fed Univ ABC, Sao Bernardo, Brazil Univ Fed Goias, Goiania, Go, Brazil Univ Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, AK USA Egerton Univ, Egerton, Kenya Museo Hist Nat, Lima, Peru IKIAM Univ Reg Amazon, Tena, Ecuador Univ Hyogo, Sanda, Japan Inst Rech Dev, Paris, France Univ Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil Niedersachs Landesbetrieb Wasserwirtschaft Kusten, Hannover, Germany Univ Complutense Madrid, Madrid, Spain Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Ctr Nacl Patagon, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Roosevelt Univ, Coll Profess Studies, Chicago, IL 60605 USA Western Kentucky Univ, Bowling Green, KY 42101 USA Univ Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy Univ Fed Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil Univ Fed Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil Inst Bio & Geociencias Noroeste Argentino, Salta, Argentina Inst Venezolano Invest Cient, Caracas, Venezuela Umweltbundesamt, Vienna, Austria Penclen, Plumelec, France CNRS MNHN UPMC, Ctr Rech Paleobiodivers & Paleoenvironm, Paris, France Staatl Museum Nat Kunde, Stuttgart, Germany Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Museo Argentino Ciencias Nat Bernardino Rivada, Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina Ctr Biol Gest Populat INRA, Montferrier Sur Lez, France Loyola Univ Chicago, Chicago, IL USA Pontificia Univ Catolica Rio do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Durban Museum Nat Sci, Durban, South Africa Univ Estado Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Brigham Young Univ, Provo, UT 84602 USA Museo Hist Nat La Salle, Caracas, Venezuela Univ Vet Med Hannover, Hannover, Germany Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia Texas Tech Univ, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA Francis Marion Univ, Florence, SC USA Univ Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA Univ Connecticut, Groton, CT USA Fed Univ ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil Univ Fed Uberlandia, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil Fed Univ Para, Belem, Para, Brazil Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven, CT USA Univ Texas Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 USA Senckenberg Deutsch Entomol Inst, Muncheberg, Germany CSIRO, Natl Res Collect, Canberra, ACT, Australia Univ Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa Univ Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea Univ Estadual Sao Paulo, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Senckenberg Forsch Inst & Nat Museum, Frankfurt, Germany Ocean Univ China, Inst Marine Biodivers & Evolut, Qingdao, Shandong, Peoples R China Univ Fed Para, Altamira, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Assis, Brazil UPMC, Ctr Rech Paleobiodiversite & Paleoenvironm, CNRS, MNHN, Paris, France Tech Univ Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany Charles Univ Prague, Dept Zool, Prague, Czech Republic Univ Nacl Expt los Llanos Occident Ezequiel Zamor, Guanare, Venezuela Long Isl Univ, Brooklyn, NY USA Univ Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan Pontificia Univ Catolica Ecuador, Museo Zool, Escuela Ciencias Biol, Quito, Ecuador Indiana Univ Penn, Indiana, PA USA IRD, Dakar, Senegal State Museum Nat Hist Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany Univ Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France Univ Ghent, Ghent, Belgium Univ Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium Karlsruhe Inst Technol, Karlsruhe, Germany Ctr Cellular & Mol Biol, Hyderabad, India Univ Fed ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil Yale Peabody Museum Nat Hist, New Haven, CT USA Univ Innsbruck, Mondsee, Austria Bethune Cookman Univ, Daytona Beach, FL USA Natl Museum Nat & Sci, Tokyo, Japan Zool Garten Koln, Cologne, Germany Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sao Vicente, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Assis, Brazil

‘Carabidologists do it all’ (Niemelä 1996a) is a phrase with which most European carabidologists are familiar. Indeed, during the last half a century, professional and amateur entomologists have contributed enormously to our understanding of the basic biology of carabid beetles. The success of the field is in no small part due to regular European Carabidologists’ Meetings, which started in 1969 in Wijster, the Netherlands, with the 14th meeting again held in the Netherlands in 2009, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first meeting and 50 years of long-term research in the Dwingelderveld. This paper offers a subjective summary of some of the major developments in carabidology since the 1960s. Taxonomy of the family Carabidae is now reasonably established, and the application of modern taxonomic tools has brought up several surprises like elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Progress has been made on the ultimate and proximate factors of seasonality and timing of reproduction, which only exceptionally show non-seasonality. Triggers can be linked to evolutionary events and plausibly explained by the “taxon cycle” theory. Fairly little is still known about certain feeding preferences, including granivory and ants, as well as unique life history strategies, such as ectoparasitism and predation on higher taxa. The study of carabids has been instrumental in developing metapopulation theory (even if it was termed differently). Dispersal is one of the areas intensively studied, and results show an intricate interaction between walking and flying as the major mechanisms. The ecological study of carabids is still hampered by some unresolved questions about sampling and data evaluation. It is recognised that knowledge is uneven, especially concerning larvae and species in tropical areas. By their abundance and wide distribution, carabid beetles can be useful in population studies, bioindication, conservation biology and landscape ecology. Indeed, 40 years of carabidological research have provided so much data and insights, that among insects - and arguably most other terrestrial organisms - carabid beetles are one of the most worthwhile model groups for biological studies.

Background A host infected with multiple parasitic species provides a unique system to test evolutionary and ecological hypotheses. Different parasitic species associated with a single host are expected to occupy different niches. This niche specialization can evolve from intraguild competition among parasites. However, niche specialization can also be structured directly by the host when its defence strategy depends on the parasite’s potential impact. Then it can be expected that species with low or no tendency to prey on host brood will elicit less aggression than severe brood parasitic species and will be able to integrate better in the host system. We examined this hypothesis in a large community of symbionts associated with European red wood ants (Formica rufa group) by testing the association between 1) level of symbiont integration (i.e. presence in dense brood chambers vs. less populated chambers without brood) 2) level of ant aggression towards the symbiont 3) brood predation tendency of the symbiont. Results Symbionts differed vastly in integration level and we demonstrated for the first time that relatively unspecialized ant symbionts or myrmecophiles occur preferentially in brood chambers. Based on their integration level, we categorize the tested myrmecophiles into three categories: 1) species attracted to the dense brood chambers 2) species rarely or never present in the brood chambers 3) species randomly distributed throughout the nest. The associates varied greatly in brood predation tendency and in aggression elicited. However, we did not find a correlation for the whole myrmecophile community between a) brood predation tendency and host’s aggression b) integration level and host’s aggression c) integration level and brood predation tendency. Conclusions Our results indicate that red wood ants did not act more hostile towards species that have a high tendency to prey on brood compared to species that are less likely or do not prey on brood. We show that potentially harmful parasites can penetrate into the deepest parts of a social insect fortress. We discuss these seemingly paradoxical findings in relation to models on coevolution and evolutionary arms races and list factors which can make the presence of potentially harmful parasites within the brood chambers evolutionary stable. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0583-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Digitization of the natural history specimens usually occurs by taking detailed pictures from different sides or producing 3D models. Additionally this is normally limited to imaging the specimen while exposed by light of the visual spectrum. However many specimens can see in or react to other spectra as well. Fluorescence is a well known reaction to the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum by animals, plants, minerals etc. but rarely taken into account while examining natural history specimens. Our tests show that museum specimens still fluoresce when exposed to UV light of 395 nm and 365 nm, even after many years of preservation. When the UV exposure is used in the digitization of specimens using our low cost focus stacking (2D+) setup, the resulting pictures reveal more detail than the conventional 2D+ images. Differences in fluorescence using 395 nm or 365 nm UV lights were noticed, however there isn’t a preferred wavelength as some specimens react more to the first, while others have better results with the latter exposure. Given the increased detail and the low cost of the system, UV exposure should be considered while digitizing natural history museum collections.

Red Lists estimate the extinction risk of species at global or regional levels and are important instruments in conservation policies. Global Red List assessments are readily available via the IUCN website (https://www.iucnredlist.org) and are regularly updated by (taxonomic) experts. Regional Red Lists, however, are not always easy to find and often use local criteria to assess the local extinction risk of species. Here, we publish a database with the outcome of 38 Red List assessments in Flanders (northern Belgium) between 1994 and 2018. In total, the database contains 6,224 records of 5,039 unique taxa pertaining to 24 different taxonomic groups. Using a quality control procedure, we evaluated the criteria used, the number of records, the temporal and spatial distribution of the data and the up-to-dateness of the Red Lists. This way, nineteen Red Lists were approved as being of sufficient high quality (i.e. validated) and nineteen others were not. Once validated, Red Lists are approved by the regional Minister of Environment and published in the Belgian Official Gazette acquiring legal status. For the validated Red Lists, we additionally compiled (life-history) traits that are applicable to a wide variety of species groups (taxonomic kingdom, environment, biotope, nutrient level, dispersal capacity, lifespan and cuddliness). The publication of this dataset allows comparison of Red List statuses with other European regions and countries and permits analyses about how certain (life-history) traits can explain the Red List status of species. The dataset will be regularly updated by adding new Red List (re)assessments and/or additional (life-history) traits.