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The new species Atrichopogon (Atrichopogon) tolfensis n. sp. from Tolfa Mountains (Italy, Latium, and Rome) is described and illustrated. Both sexes of the species were collected using cantharidin-baited traps from June 2020 to January 2021. The new species is an atypical member of the genus Atrichopogon.

Larvae of the two European species of the genus Pyrochroa (P. coccinea and P. serraticornis) are redescribed, for the first time based on Italian samples, and new relevant and distinctive characters have emerged from P. serraticornis. Particularly, the presence of a single urogomphal pit between urogomphi (representing a new condition for the entire family), and new characters of mandibles, open new questions about the current taxonomic status of the European species.

Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of the genus Microdon Meigen have larvae that live in ant nests where they are predatory on ant larvae. Reflecting the exceptional challenges of this very specialized lifestyle, Microdon eggs, larvae and puparia are highly distinctive in their morphology. Detailed descriptions of these immature stages is, however, lacking for all but a very few species, and much of this has been limited through the sole use of light microscopes. Here, using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), we present detailed, comparative descriptions of the immature stages of three European Microdon species: M. analis, M. devius and M. myrmicae. Given that many adult Microdon species are very similar to each other in their outward appearance, we demonstrate that the morphology of their immature stages can improve our understanding of the phylogeny of the genus. We also discuss how particular adaptations of the immature morphology may allow their myrmecophilous life within ant nests. In this paper new diagnostic features are also presented to distinguish M. myrmicae from its sibling species M. mutabilis—the two are morphologically indistinguishable as adults.

The Rosalia longicorn (Rosalia alpina) is a strictly protected saproxylic beetle, widely distributed in Central and Southern Europe and mainly associated with ancient beech forests. To improve knowledge about the conservation status of R. alpina in Italy, available molecular markers (microsatellites and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I(COI)) were tested for the first time on Italian populations. The study was performed in four sampling sites distributed in two areas placed in Northern (“Foreste Casentinesi” National Park) and Central Apennines (“Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise” National Park) where populational data about Rosalia longicorn were collected in the framework of the European LIFE MIPP Project. The genetic relationship among Apennine and Central/South-eastern European populations was explored by a comparison with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data from literature. Microsatellite markers were only partially informative when applied to R. alpina Italian individuals, although providing some preliminary indication on an extensive gene flow among populations from the Apennines and local ongoing processes of genetic erosion. Genetic data are consistent with previous ecological data suggesting that the maintenance of variability in this species could be related to both habitat continuity and preservation of large senescent or standing dead trees in forests. Finally, a peculiar origin of the Apennine populations of R. alpina from a putative “Glacial Refugium” in Italy was inferred through COI data. The high genetic distance scored among the analysed populations and those from Central and South-eastern Europe indicates that the R. alpina deme from Apennine Mountains might represent a relevant conservation unit in Europe. Further genetic analyses will allow assessing other possible conservation units of R. alpina and, thus, defining large-scale conservation strategies to protect this endangered longhorn beetle in Europe.