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The larch woolly adelgid Adelges laricis Vallot (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) infests spruce Picea spp. and larch Larix spp. in the Northern Hemisphere. The present field and laboratory research embraced the hitherto unknown aspects of the biology and ecology of A. laricis on its secondary host, the European larch Larix decidua Mill. in Poland. The study showed that the A. laricis population on L. decidua was represented by exulis sistens females at dwarf stem bases, exulis progrediens mobile 1st instar nymphs (crawlers) on needles, exulis progrediens sessile “woolly” nymphs and “woolly” adults on needles, and winged sexupara females. The maximum abundance of the A. laricis population occurred from the end of April until mid-May, which coincided with the predomination of crawlers in the age structure of the population. The most important limiting weather component was high rainfall, affecting mainly the crawlers. Eight species of Coccinellidae were recorded on adelgid-infested larch trees and Exochomus quadripustulatus (L.) was the dominant species. The main differences in food consumption strategies among adelgid developmental stages were related to the duration of phloem sap ingestion. While the total duration of sap consumption at a given time was similar in all adelgid instars studied, the individual bouts of sap ingestion were much shorter in crawlers than in the sessile forms. The specific probing behavior of the mobile nymphs probably reflects the crawlers’ strategy to evaluate plant sap quality in different phloem vessels. It is likely that such strategy is a behavioral preadaptation for finding abundant food sources for permanent settling before crawlers develop into sessile nymphs and adult females. The feeding strategy of crawlers promotes the rapid dispersal of the population. Therefore, the control of A. laricis on L. decidua should focus on the early stages of the population development, which would most effectively reduce the final damage.

Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensification. We collected bibliographical information on life history traits (i.e. body mass, brain size, age of sexual maturity, clutch size, number of clutches, lifespan) of 30 species of birds recorded during field surveys in eight European countries. The index ''brood value'' was calculated to know each species’ level of reproductive investment per clutch. Intensification gradients at two spatial scales were obtained from field data through PCA, related to management practices at the field scale and the variation in structure and composition of farmland at the landscape scale respectively. We calculated the functional diversity index (FD) and the community-weighted mean (CWM) for each trait and sampling area, and linear mixed models in relation to the two intensification gradients were performed. Results showed that stronger intensification at the field level favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes, also decreasing overall trait diversity. It also restricts the range of strategies for parental investment, reducing the functional diversity of the brood value index. More intensive field management would favor bird communities dominated by generalist and even introduced and/or managed hunting species, while putting at risk those farmland- and grassland-adapted species, typically more associated with the provision of ecosystem services. This highlights the relevance of field management (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) for the functional composition of bird communities and the conservation of farmland biodiversity. These findings add to existing knowledge on how species’ pace of life and cognitive capacity interact with drivers of global change, such as agricultural intensification.

Three ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) species, Coccinella septempunctata L., C. undecimpunctata L. and Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), were recorded as hosts of Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank, 1802) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the Iranian provinces of Khuzestan and Kurdistan. Coccinella undecimpunctata is a new host of this parasitoid in the country and both provinces are its new distribution records. The rates of emergence of D. coccinellae from field-collected C. septempunctata and H. variegata were very low (below 1%), while C. undecimpunctata was parasitized to a much higher degree (26.7%).

This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) from two islands in the Canary archipelago: Tenerife, the largest island, and La Gomera, the second smallest. As they clearly differ in size but are similar in location and geological age, they are a suitable model for testing the species–area relationship. Our study shows that, in line with this main assumption of the theory of island biogeography, clearly more species occur on a large island (Tenerife) than on a small one (La Gomera). The field surveys documented the occurrence of 35 ladybird species on Tenerife (including 5 not previously reported from this island) and of 20 species on La Gomera (2 species new to the island). Coelopterus sp. collected on Tenerife (a single female that could not be identified to species) is the first record of this genus for the whole Canary Islands. Taking our data and previously published records into account, 47 species of Coccinellidae are known to occur on Tenerife and 26 species on La Gomera. Tenerife has by far the richest ladybird fauna of all the Canary Islands (the next in line, Gran Canaria, has 41 recorded species), but it also has the highest number of non-native ladybird species. All of the ten non-native species recorded in the Canary Islands are found on Tenerife, and for most of them, Tenerife was the island of their first appearance in the archipelago. This island, much more distant from the mainland than the other relatively large islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote), appears to be the main recipient of ladybirds immigrating to the Canary Islands. Tenerife can play this role probably because of its great habitat diversity and altitude variation, as well as intensive tourism and trade-related transport.

Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) is a braconid parasitoid of ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and has exceptionally wide geographical and host ranges. Based on published and unpublished sources Dinocampus coccinellae probably occurs throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic zones, but some regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa (except its southernmost part) and the Malay Archipelago, have not so far been surveyed for this wasp. In most of its extensive range D. coccinellae was present before the widespread use of classical biological control. It is likely, however, to have reached some oceanic islands and archipelagos at a later date, along with ladybirds used as biocontrol agents. At least 72 species of Coccinellidae are hosts of D. coccinellae. Three of them, Vibidia duodecimguttata (Poda), Calvia decemguttata (L.) and Coccinella miranda Wollaston, are reported here for the first time as hosts of this parasitoid. The most often reported host of D. coccinellae worldwide is Coccinella septempunctata L. followed by Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer) and Hippodamia convergens Guerin.

Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniomycetes) are biotrophic microfungi always attached to the exoskeleton of their arthropod hosts. They do not form hyphae or a mycelium; instead, they undergo determinate growth, developing from a two-celled ascospore to form a multicellular thallus. Hesperomyces virescens has been reported on over 30 species of ladybirds (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae); in reality, it represents a complex of species, presumably segregated by host genus association. In this study, we report on Hesperomyces thalli on Hyperaspis vinciguerrae from the Canary Islands and compare them with the Hesperomyces hyperaspidis described on Hyperaspis sp. from Trinidad. We generated the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the large subunit (LSU) nuclear ribosomal RNA gene, and the minichromosome maintenance complex component 7 (MCM7) protein-coding gene. Our phylogenetic reconstruction of Hesperomyces based on a concatenated ITS–LSU–MCM7 dataset revealed Hesperomyces sp. ex Hy. vinciguerrae as a member of the He. virescens species complex distinct from He. virescens sensu stricto (s.s.). It also revealed that the Hesperomyces sp. ex Chilocorus bipustulatus from Algeria is different from He. virescens s.s., which is associated with Chilocorus stigma from the USA. This suggests that the species of Hesperomyces are not solely segregated by host association, but that there is also a biogeographical component involved. Based on these data, we refrained from referring our material from Hy. vinciguerrae to He. hyperaspidis. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of MCM7 as a useful marker for species delimitation in Hesperomyces.

This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) of La Palma, one of the western islands of the Canarian archipelago. The field survey of 54 study sites resulted in recording 2494 ladybird individuals belonging to 26 species. Seven of the species recorded were new to La Palma, including two, Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan) and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), which were not registered so far on any of the Canary Islands. Novius conicollis (Korschefsky) is synonymized with N. cruentatus (Mulsant). Taking our survey and literature reports into account, a total of at least 35 species of Coccinellidae have so far been recorded on La Palma. This richness in species is lower compared to that of the central islands of the Canarian archipelago, Gran Canaria (42 species) and Tenerife (41 species), but higher than that of the remaining four islands (between 22 and 27 species). The detection of two alien species new to La Palma, Nephaspis bicolor Gordon and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), confirms earlier observations that colonization of the Canary Islands by ladybird species of exotic origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon.

Hesperomyces virescens (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales), a fungal ectoparasite, is thus far reported on Harmonia axyridis from five continents: North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. While it is known that He. virescens can cause mortality of Ha. axyridis under laboratory conditions, the role of biotic and abiotic factors in influencing the distribution of He. virescens in the field is unknown. We collected and screened 3,568 adult Ha. axyridis from 23 locations in seven countries in Central Europe between October and November 2018 to test the effect of selected host characters and climate and landscape variables on the infection probability with He. virescens. Mean parasite prevalence of He. virescens on Ha. axyridis was 17.9%, ranging among samples from 0 to 46.4%. Host sex, climate, and landscape composition did not have any significant effect on the infection probability of He. virescens on Ha. axyridis. Two color forms, f. conspicua and f. spectabilis, had a significantly lower parasite prevalence compared to the common Ha. axyridis f. novemdecimsignata.

• Agricultural intensification affects life history and functional trait diversity of farmland bird communities. • We calculated the functional diversity index and the community-weighted mean for six life history traits and the brood value index of 30 bird species in eight European farmland areas. • Stronger agricultural intensification at the field level (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes. Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensification. We collected bibliographical information on life history traits (i.e. body mass, brain size, age of sexual maturity, clutch size, number of clutches, lifespan) of 30 species of birds recorded during field surveys in eight European countries. The index "brood value" was calculated to know each species' level of reproductive investment per clutch. Intensification gradients at two spatial scales were obtained from field data through PCA, related to management practices at the field scale and the variation in structure and composition of farmland at the landscape scale respectively. We calculated the functional diversity index (FD) and the community-weighted mean (CWM) for each trait and sampling area, and linear mixed models in relation to the two intensification gradients were performed. Results showed that stronger intensification at the field level favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes, also decreasing overall trait diversity. It also restricts the range of strategies for parental investment, reducing the functional diversity of the brood value index. More intensive field management would favor bird communities dominated by generalist and even introduced and/or managed hunting species, while putting at risk those farmland- and grassland-adapted species, typically more associated with the provision of ecosystem services. This highlights the relevance of field management (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) for the functional composition of bird communities and the conservation of farmland biodiversity. These findings add to existing knowledge on how species' pace of life and cognitive capacity interact with drivers of global change, such as agricultural intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated food niches, diet diversity and individual food specialization of the larvae and adults of four species of ladybirds, Sospita vigintiguttata (L.), Calvia quindecimguttata (F.), C. quatuordecimguttata (L.) and C. decemguttata (L.), co-occurring in European alder carr forests. The first two species are considered to be strict habitat specialists associated with alders (Alnus spp.) in marshy forests and the other two are less habitat-specialized, inhabiting various deciduous trees and shrubs. Our investigations were based on the analysis of food remains in frass produced by field-collected ladybirds. In each of the species studied, adults had more diversified diets than larvae based on Levins' D index of diversity. The most diverse diet recorded for adults was that for S. vigintiguttata followed by C. quatuordecimguttata, C. quindecimguttata and C. decemguttata. The diversity of larval diet was higher for the habitat specialists, C. quindecimguttata and S. vigintiguttata, than for the more habitat-generalists Calvia decemguttata and C. quatuordecimguttata. Although the main type of prey recorded for both adults and larvae of each of the species studied was aphids, other types of prey made up a relatively high part of the diet of different species/stage combinations. Psylla alni (L.), for example, was frequently recorded in the frass of adults and larvae of S. vigintiguttata and of adults of C. quatuordecimguttata and chrysomelid larvae commonly in the frass of adults and larvae of C. quindecimguttata. Quite a high proportion of the frass of all the species studied contained the remains of Psocodea. The niche width of adults was broader than that of larvae except in C. quindecimguttata in which it was the opposite. The larval niches of the strict habitat specialists, C. quindecimguttata and S. vigintiguttata, were broader than those of the less habitat-specialists C. decemguttata and C. quatuordecimguttata. Adults of all the species studied showed relatively higher levels of food specialization than larvae, except for C. quindecimguttata. The results of this study indicate that ecological specialization is a complex phenomenon and habitat specialization does not imply food specialization.

Chrząszcze z rodziny biedronkowatych (Coccinellidae), jako ważny czynnik ograniczający liczebność stawonogów powodujących szkody w uprawach, są częstym obiektem badań entomologicznych. Do odłowów stosuje się różne metody, przy czym do rzadziej wykorzystywanych należy metoda przywabiania chrząszczy do światła. W niniejszych badaniach zastosowaliśmy tę metodę do odłowu biedronek w rezerwacie Jata k. Łukowa oraz w dwóch kompleksach leśnych położonych w granicach administracyjnych Warszawy: w rezerwacie Las Bielański i w Lesie Młocińskim. Nocne odłowy owadów do samołówek świetlnych prowadzono w latach 2018 i 2019 między marcem a listopadem, jednak biedronki wpadały do pułapek w okresie od kwietnia do września. Łącznie na trzech stanowiskach odłowiono 347 osobników Coccinellidae należących do 16 gatunków. Największe bogactwo gatunkowe (15 gatunków), a jednocześnie najmniejszą średnią liczebność biedronek (1,3 osobnika na próbę) odnotowano w Jacie. W Lesie Bielańskim stwierdzono 9 gatunków i średnio 4 osobniki na próbę, a w Lesie Młocińskim 4 gatunki i średnio 2,2 osobnika na próbę. Na wszystkich trzech stanowiskach gatunkiem dominującym była Calvia decemguttata (L.). Wysoki udział miały również Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) i Vibidia duodecimguttata (Poda). Większość odłowionych osobników biedronek (71%) należała do gatunków pozbawionych ubarwienia ostrzegawczego, co może pośrednio świadczyć o ich nocnym trybie życia.

Dinocampus coccinellae is a parasitoid wasp usually parasitizing ladybird beetles of the tribe Coccinellini. A field survey conducted between March and November 2016 revealed three hosts of this parasitoid in the Srinagar district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir: two members of the Coccinellini (Oenopia conglobata and Coccinella undecimpunctata) and one of the Chilocorini (Priscibrumus uropygialis). Proportion of the latter (atypical) host that were parasitized was 0.09 and intermediate between that recorded for C. undecimpunctata (0.06) and O. conglobata (0.14). A series of laboratory experiments revealed that while a member of Coccinellini (O. conglobata) was more often attacked by D. coccinellae than a member of Chilocorini (P. uropygialis), the proportions of each species from which parasitoids emerged did not differ significantly. There were no significant differences between D. coccinellae females bred from O. conglobata and P. uropygialis, with respect to selection of the two host species and their suitability for the development of the parasitoid. However, members of the Chilocorini other than P. uropygialis (Chilocorus infernalis and Simmondsius pakistanensis) were rarely attacked by D. coccinellae and parasitoid larvae did not emerge from any of those attacked. The results of our experiments indicate that in Kashmir Himalayas D. coccinellae is adapted to parasitize hosts belonging to both Coccinellini and Chilocorini.

Research on the fauna of beetles (Coleoptera) of the Canary Islands has a long tradition, which enables tracking changes in their species composition and arrival of new species. In this paper, we provide new faunistic data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) recorded on Gran Canaria, one of the central islands of the archipelago, and then analyze available information on the Gran Canarian ladybird fauna from geographical and historical points of view. The field survey resulted in recording 1402 ladybird individuals belonging to 30 species. Ten of these species were new to Gran Canaria and three of them, Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus), Nephus bisignatus (Boheman), and Nephus ulbrichi Fürsch, had not previously been reported to be on any of the islands of the Canarian archipelago. Tetrabrachys tinerfensis (Hodgson) is synonymized with T. deserticola (Wollaston). Our survey and literature reports allowed us to recognize 42 species of Coccinellidae so far recorded on Gran Canaria. Seventeen of them (40%) belonged to the Canarian endemic and subendemic species, and 21 (50%) were newcomers and presumed newcomers. Colonization of Gran Canaria and other islands of the archipelago by ladybird species of various origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon that may pose a threat to the unique communities of the native Canarian species.

Each year huge numbers of adults of Coccinella septempunctata occupy aestivo-hibernation sites on Uludaz Hill, Çimen Mountain in the Kahramanmaraş Province of Turkey. In 2008 and 2009 we investigated the phenology, population dynamics, mortality and natural enemies of C. septempunctata arriving on Uludaz Hill. Samples were collected once a month during the snow-free season (April-November) from the top of the hill (2273 m a.s.l.) and at two lower altitudes (1900 m a.s.l. and 2050 m a.s.l.) on the slopes of the hill. In both years C. septempunctata was clearly more abundant at the top of the hill than at the two lower altitudes, which is in accordance with the hypothesis that beetles migrating to dormancy sites are strongly attracted to sites at the highest altitudes. Numbers of C. septempunctata on the hill were low in April and May. The large increase in abundance recorded in June may be attributed to the arrival of a new generation from lowland breeding sites. Emergence of previous year colonizers from their winter shelters is less probable due to the high fat content of the beetles collected in June. Spring dispersal from the hill to lowland areas was not observed. We suppose that this dispersal was either prevented by low temperature or considerably delayed and not synchronized with the period of ladybird breeding activity in the surrounding lowlands. In addition, the C. septempunctata aestivo-hibernating on Uludaz Hill suffered very high mortality, mainly caused by entomopathogenic fungi of the genus Beauveria. The results of our study are discussed in terms of the ecological trap concept.

Hesperomyces virescens is an ectoparasite of some Coccinellidae, which until the mid-1990s was relatively rarely only reported from warm regions in various parts of the world. Analysis of the host and distribution data of H. virescens recorded in the Western Palaearctic and North America reveals several trends in the occurrence and abundance of H. virescens: (1) it has recently been much more frequently recorded, (2) most of the recent records are for more northerly (colder) localities than the early records and (3) the recent records are mostly of a novel host, the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). While in North America H. virescens is almost exclusively found on H. axyridis, all European records of this association are very recent and still less numerous than records of Adalia bipunctata as a host. However, based on a relatively few published cases of the H. axyridis-H. virescens association in Europe and the case described in this paper, it is clear that the harlequin ladybird is currently the main host of this parasite. These changes in the abundance and geographical distribution of H. virescens are probably linked to some features of H. axyridis, such as its abundance, multivoltinism with overlapping generations, high level of promiscuity and overwintering in mass aggregations. The occurrence of these features in one species may make it especially suitable for H. virescens and other parasites that require close contact of host individuals for efficient transmission. Indeed, some of the data indicate that parasites other than H. virescens, like the podapolipid mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae and allantonematid nematodes of the genus Parasitylenchus may also heavily parasitize H. axyridis. We hypothesize that the acquisition of H. axyridis as a host by H. virescens, C. hippodamiae and Parasitylenchus spp. may have further consequences for the abundance and distribution of these parasites, including the expansion of their ranges to other continents colonized by invasive populations of this ladybird and areas in Asia where H. axyridis is native.

In March and April of 2014 and 2015, overwintering and post-overwintering assemblages of ladybird beetles were investigated in deciduous (Tilio-Carpinetum) and mixed forest (Querco roboris-Pinetum) patches in a forest complex on the north-western periphery of Warsaw. March samples were collected by sifting forest litter with an entomological sieve, while in April, ladybirds were collected from the vegetation using sweeping net and beating sheet. In both years, mean densities of ladybirds found in March in the two forest types were low, not exceeding 2 individuals/m2. Seven ladybird species were found overwintering in the litter of the deciduous forest and four in that of the mixed forest. Propylea quatuordecimpunctata was the most abundant in both habitats in 2014, while in 2015 in the litter of the deciduous forest Vibidia duodecimguttata predominated. In April, 15 species were recorded in the deciduous forest and 7 in the mixed forest. Scymnus ferrugatus predominated in the former plant community and P. quatuordecimpunctata and Coccinella septempunctata in the latter. Several of the recorded species, such as Clitostethus arcuatus, Scymnus femoralis and S. abietis, have rarely been reported from Poland.

In the years 1998-2000, parasitization of the pupae of various ladybird species by scuttle flies of the genus Phalacrotophora was studied in central Poland. Altogether, 12 ladybird species were found to be parasitized by these flies, and one of them, Anatis ocellata (L.), proved to be a host of P. beuki Disney, a species whose biology had not previously been described. Our studies showed that P. beuki can limit the numbers of A. ocellata. In its typical habitat, i.e. Scots pine forests, 35-40% of this ladybird were parasitized by P. beuki. In other habitats, however, where A. ocellata occurred sporadically, P. beuki was not recorded from A. ocellata or other ladybird pupae. P. beuki was described from a single female collected in Holland. The present paper describes the hitherto unknown male, which is very similar to the males of P. berolinensis Schmitz and P. delageae Disney. The feature that reliably separates the males of these three species (a detail of the hypopygium) is described. This feature enabled the recognition in the collection of the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology of a male of P. beuki from Germany, previously assigned to P. berolinensis.

Samples of the invasive alien ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, were collected between 27 July and 8 August 2013 at four localities on the Pelješac Peninsula in southern Croatia. Altogether, 209 individuals were collected, of which 114 (54.5%) were males and 95 (45.5%) females. Three color forms were present in the samples: the non-melanic form succinea and the melanic forms spectabilis and conspicua. The form succinea clearly predominated (90.5% of collected individuals) followed by spectabilis (8.1%) and conspicua (1.4%). The ectoparasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens, not previously reported from Croatia, was found on the elytron of one H. axyridis individual. The localities in Pelješac Peninsula mentioned in this paper are the southernmost of all Croatian localities so far reported to be colonized by H. axyridis.

Although there are few studies of the sexual life of coccinellids these phenomena have attracted the interest of isolated groups of coccinellidologists. Probably the most important finding is that at least some coccinellid species (Adalia bipunctata and Harmonia axyridis) do not mate at random with the females prefering certain males. This phenomenon was first observed in Adalia bipunctata by Lusis and then studied in detail by Majerus, O'Donald, de Jong and others. In Japan, Harmonia axyridis was similarly studied by Osawa and Ueno. While the former author found that in this species (as in A. bipunctata) the colour of the elytra is most important in mate choice by females, the latter stresses that size and activity are important. Sperm competition is another interesting phenomenon, most often the sperm of the last male fertilizes the eggs (Ueno, Katakura). Obata and Hidaka have contributed in an important way to elucidating the function of the spermatophore in mating. The studies by Hodek and Ceryngier recorded the maturation and regression of testicular follicles and the relation of mating activity to diapause in four coccinellid species. In contrast to females, where induction of diapause prevents maturation of ovaries, in diapausing males the tissue of testicular follicles remains active until the temperatures decrease in late autumn. Dissection of spermathecae revealed principal difference in autumn mating activity between Coccinella septempunctata, in which 40-60% of the beetles mated before hibernation and Ceratomegilla (syn. Semiadalia) undecimnotata, which does not mate in autumn.

The body length variation, sex ratio, ovarian development and natural enemies (parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi) of Coccinella septempunctata were studied during two dormancy seasons in three hibernation sites in the Karkonosze mountains: the top of Mt. Śnieżka (1,600 m a.s.l.), the top of Mt. Szrenica (1,360 m a.s.l.) and Karpacz, the village at the foot of Mt. Śnieżka (800 m a.s.l.). The proportion of females and mean body length increased with the altitude of the hibernaculum. Post-diapause maturation of ovaries occurred earlier in spring in females from Karpacz than from the mountain tops. The rate of parasitization of C. septempunctata by its most common parasitoid, the braconid Dinocampus coccinellae, in both seasons exceeded 70% at Karpacz and was 14-28% in the mountain top hibernacula. In contrast, the incidence of fungal infection (mainly by Paecilomyces farinosus and Beauveria bassiana) was higher in beetles overwintering on the two mountain tops.

The article presents a study on the relationship between agricultural intensification and biological control. It mentions that the authors examined aphid pest populations in cereal and open fields and stressed the importance of parasitoids and vegetation-dwelling predators in various European region. The authors concluded that region-specific landscape management is needed for aphid control.

The article focuses on the effects of agricultural intensification (AI) on biodiversity in Europe. It investigates the diversity of vascular plants, carabid beetles, and birds in agricultural landscapes in cereal crop field at the field, farm, and European-region scale. The study suggests that a more detailed understanding of AI effects on diversity patterns of various plants and animals in multiple spatial scales would contribute to more efficient agri-environmental schemes in agroecosystems.

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This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) from two islands in the Canary archipelago: Tenerife, the largest island, and La Gomera, the second smallest. As they clearly differ in size but are similar in location and geological age, they are a suitable model for testing the species-area relationship. Our study shows that, in line with this main assumption of the theory of island biogeography, clearly more species occur on a large island (Tenerife) than on a small one (La Gomera). The field surveys documented the occurrence of 35 ladybird species on Tenerife (including 5 not previously reported from this island) and of 20 species on La Gomera (2 species new to the island). Coelopterus sp. collected on Tenerife (a single female that could not be identified to species) is the first record of this genus for the whole Canary Islands. Taking our data and previously published records into account, 47 species of Coccinellidae are known to occur on Tenerife and 26 species on La Gomera. Tenerife has by far the richest ladybird fauna of all the Canary Islands (the next in line, Gran Canaria, has 41 recorded species), but it also has the highest number of non-native ladybird species. All of the ten non-native species recorded in the Canary Islands are found on Tenerife, and for most of them, Tenerife was the island of their first appearance in the archipelago. This island, much more distant from the mainland than the other relatively large islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote), appears to be the main recipient of ladybirds immigrating to the Canary Islands. Tenerife can play this role probably because of its great habitat diversity and altitude variation, as well as intensive tourism and trade-related transport.

This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) of La Palma, one of the western islands of the Canarian archipelago. The field survey of 54 study sites resulted in recording 2494 ladybird individuals belonging to 26 species. Seven of the species recorded were new to La Palma, including two, Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan) and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), which were not registered so far on any of the Canary Islands. Novius conicollis (Korschefsky) is synonymized with N. cruentatus (Mulsant). Taking our survey and literature reports into account, a total of at least 35 species of Coccinellidae have so far been recorded on La Palma. This richness in species is lower compared to that of the central islands of the Canarian archipelago, Gran Canaria (42 species) and Tenerife (41 species), but higher than that of the remaining four islands (between 22 and 27 species). The detection of two alien species new to La Palma, Nephaspis bicolor Gordon and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), confirms earlier observations that colonization of the Canary Islands by ladybird species of exotic origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon.