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This note reports the first finding of the reduviid bug Nagusta goedelii (Kolenati, 1857) in Sardinia and is first ascertained case of the human-mediated introduction of this species. In fact, Nagusta goedelii is showing an expansion of its geographical range from the east to the west, however the causes are still unknown and further studies are needed. A brief review of the European distribution of this species is given. An update of its regional occurrence in Italy, based on verified records available online, is also provided. The species was observed in co-occurrence with the invasive bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855), which would appear to be one of its possible predators.

Type specimens of Neotropical Chrysopidae are currently held in two Italian natural history museums. Four are in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali (MRSN), Torino, and five are in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria” (MSNG), Genova. Together, these nine specimens also represent all of the known New World types of Chrysopidae housed in Italian museums. All were described by Longinos Navas between 1922 and 1932, and all are now in relatively good condition. Here, we catalog and provide images of each specimen, designate lectotypes, and offer current taxonomic and nomenclatural information on the species represented by each. Two nomenclatural changes are proposed: (1) Chrysopa mainerii Navas, 1929, previously considered incertae sedis, is synonymized with Ceraeochrysa everes (Banks, 1920), n. syn.; (2) Chrysopa barberina Navas, 1932, also previously incertae sedis, is identified as Chrysoperla barberina (Navas, 1932), n. comb.

Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera Cynipidae) was first recorded in Sardinia (Italy) in 2007. Two years later a biological control program started with the introduction of its non-native parasitoid, Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera Torymidae). Over a nine-year period (2009–2017), data on the relative abundance of D. kuriphilus, its native parasitoids and T. sinensis were collected. Native parasitoids reacted quickly to the large availability of hosts. However, a dramatic change in the abundance of each native species was recorded from year to year. In the first few years, the native parasitoid community and pest abundance did not fluctuate much. The turning point was 2014, when, at the same time, the native parasitoid populations increased and the T. sinensis populations also began to increase. In the following year, both the D. kuriphilus and native parasitoid populations decreased considerably, whereas the T. sinensis populations reached over 50% parasitism. The univoltine D. kuriphilus acted as an asynchronous resource for native bivoltine parasitoids. An asynchronous host-parasitoid interaction produces wide fluctuations in their populations. In this case, D. kuriphilus strongly altered the local community, which was subjected to a chaotic change in composition and species abundance. When T. sinensis became established, it monopolized the pest, making this resource unavailable to native parasitoids that returned to attack almost exclusively the native oak cynipids. In fact, the successful control of D. kuriphilus by the introduction of T. sinensis rebalanced the situation that had been altered by the arrival of the invasive pest.

We present a discrete-generation model to study the effect of a seasonally asynchronous alien host on the population dynamics of a native host/parasitoid system. We assume that i) the native host and parasitoid are seasonally synchronous; ii) there is no direct competition for resources between the two host species (one native, one alien); and iii) the introduced alien host population (the alternative host) is in an invasive stage and, consequently, it is not subject to any density-dependent regulation. In our model, variations in the annual number of generations (voltinism) of the alien host greatly alter the dynamics of the native host/parasitoid interaction. When the alien host is synchronous with the native host, the parasitoid is favoured, and the native host population decreases until reaching a new, lower equilibrium or becoming extinct. By contrast, when alien and native hosts are asynchronous with each other, there are population oscillations of the native community members compatible with the pulsating availability of the alien host and, under specific conditions, the parasitoid may rapidly become extinct.

Cyclodextrins have many advantages when used in the agricultural field as complexes with agrochemicals. However, they interact with molecules and biological systems at different levels and an enhancement of agrochemical effectiveness even as a physical mixture cannot be ruled out. This was verified for the first time by a simple experimental system with mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor L.) as the pest, the inhibitor of chitin synthesis diflubenzuron as the insecticide, and beta-cyclodextrin as the adjuvant. Under laboratory conditions, mealworm mortality was recorded under the following three treatments: (i) neat diflubenzuron, (ii) diflubenzuron/beta-cyclodextrin physical mixture, and (iii) commercial formulation Dimilin WP25. The physical mixture with beta-cyclodextrin significantly increased the mortality by enhancing the effectiveness of diflubenzuron. A significant dose effect was also found. Considering the application protocol, this result may be more likely due to the bioavailability enhancement of diflubenzuron by beta-cyclodextrin. On the basis of the current knowledge and available literature, we assume that these results could be explained by the interactions between CDs and biological membranes and the associated increase in their permeability. The use of beta-cyclodextrin in physical mixtures with insecticides could be of interest in the development of more effective agrochemicals through simpler and less costly research processes.

Dear Editor,Although, most spiders in Italy basically have venom that is harmless to humans, one must consider some potentially dangerous species. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790), also k...

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus var. altilis) has gained interest as a novel crop for bioenergy, multipurpose uses, and industrial bio‐based productions, also based on the achene yield. However, achenes can be affected by various insects, which are considered as minor pests in traditional Cynara crops. Nonetheless, very little information is available on these pests. The aim of this research was to identify the frequency of different insect species with particular regard to weevils, and to quantify the achene yields and losses caused by these spermophagous insects on cardoon. Field measurements were performed across three consecutive years in Sardinia (Italy). Mature cardoon heads of different insertion orders (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary heads, respectively) were manually harvested. For each head, the achenes were counted and weighed, and bare receptacles were scored in terms of damaged areas by weevil larvae (i.e., the percentage of total area). The results highlighted a higher frequency of Larinus scolymi (90%) compared to Larinus cynarae. The total number of achenes per head and the 1000‐achene weight were markedly affected by head order. Actual achene yield ranged from 86.8 to 107.9 g per plant. The estimates of achene yield losses per plant due to Larinus weevils ranged from 36.3 in 2014 to 113.0 g per plant in 2015, corresponding to about 0.4 to 1.1 t per hectare, respectively. Our results showed that achene losses were caused mainly by L. scolymi, indicating that cardoon crop profitability could be jeopardised in the absence of insect controls. Based on the experimental data, appropriate strategies aimed at controlling weevil infestations are needed to preserve cardoon achene yields.

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), spotted-wing drosophila, has recently become a common and serious pest of temperate fruit crops (small fruits, cherries and kaki) in many countries [1]. Crop damage is caused when adult females, using a serrated ovipositor, lay eggs in ripe and partially ripe fruit before harvest. Developing larvae cause soft and unmarketable fruit, moreover oviposition wounds provide access to pathogens that may enhance fruit deterioration leading to increased risk of secondary rot infections with an economic loss up to 80%. Push-pull strategies (stimulus deterrent diversionary strategies) attempt to reduce crop injury by modifying pest distribution using adversative stimuli to push the pest organism away from the crop while also using attractive stimuli to pull the pest organism out of the crop [2]. A novel and more sustainable method for repelling D. suzukii was evaluated by spraying edible repellents (alone and in mixture) on fruit surface during ripening period in combination with conventional natural attractive traps.

In order to anaesthetize insects in a laboratory, chilling and application of diethyl ether and carbon dioxide are commonly used. However none of the above methods is problem free. In particular, the use of diethyl ether, despite its simplicity, is now limited due to its poor safety. In our research, we evaluated ethyl acetate as an alternative anaesthetic substance. The effects of ethyl acetate anaesthesia were compared with those produced by carbon dioxide on adult green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). The biological parameters measured were longevity and fecundity. No significant differences appeared between the two treatments and the control. Although further research is necessary, the use of ethyl acetate proves to be very promising and presents a valid alternative to the use of diethyl ether and, in many cases, also to carbon dioxide and chilling.

Tyrosinase plays an important role in cuticle tanning and sclerotization in insects. Use of selective inhibitors active toward this enzyme could offer the opportunity to elaborate new sustainable biological control techniques. These substances might also act as a synergistic increasing target species susceptibility to pathogen agents or insecticides.

In this review, we will do an historical detour focused on the plentiful attempts of giving a systematic classification to Chrysoperla carnea. The systematic puzzle of this genus saw numerous resolution attempts; from the beginning of '900, with the subdivision of the Chrysopidae family in roughly ten well-characterised and easily distinguishable genera; passing through the use of various chromatic and morphological characters which increased the systematic chaos; to this day, with the bioacustic research focused on the "carnea" group, carried out in the last 30 years by Charles S. Henry. Henry's research led his group to theorise the existence of a cryptic species complex, which sexual selection mechanism would strictly follow mating song affinity between partners, thus constituting the only barrier to hybridisation. In addition, genetic identification problems hinder the use of molecular barcoding using mitochondrial genes; thus, the conclusion is that, at the moment, the only way to identify species is through mating song analysis. As a final remark, we underline that a possible solution to this enigma could come from the new frontiers of genomics, as these could lead to a way to explore the deep molecular differences between the "carnea" cryptic species, potentially providing new, more precise identification methods

The males of the ascalaphid genus Haploglenius are equipped with a movable pronotal flap, covering a white thoracic membrane, whose function remains poorly known. Few recent original observations, conducted on undisturbed specimens in their natural environment, suggest that this structure is part of a complex visual communication system based on intermittently showing the bright, reflecting, thoracic white area on a dark background. This behaviour is probably associated with courtship.

The larvae of the European Myrmeleontidae are reviewed with the aim to ease their identification, covering 15 genera and 28 species. Diagnostic characters and illustrations are given for each taxon. Larvae of the genera Nemoleon and Macronemurus are described for the first time while Megistopus, Neuroleon and Myrmeleon are revised. The larvae of Dendroleon pantherinus (Fabricius), Macronemurus appendiculatus (Latreille), Megistopus lucasi (Navas), Nemoleon notatus (Rambur), Neuroleon arenarius (Navas), Neuroleon assimilis (Navas), Neuroleon nemausiensis (Borkhausen), Cueta lineosa( Rambur) and Myrmeleon gerlindae (Holzel) are described or accurately depicted for the first time.

Information on genus Ankylopteryx (Neuroptera Chrysopidae) accompains some photos taken in natural environment.

The results of a mosquito management programme in the North of Sardinia are here reported. Adult mosquito populations were monitored by portable light traps, baited with carbon dioxide. The traps gave an indication of mosquito abundance and species composition. Monitoring sites were located in the main resorts along the cost and checked on a weekly basis from June through October. The plan includes a clear communication system for advising the public of any potential public health threat

The larvae of all the European genera of Ascalaphidae are compared for the first time, highlighting the differential characters for identification purposes. The larva of the genus Ascalaphus is described for the first time while those of Puer, Bubopsis and Deleproctophylla are deeply revised. Actually, the larvae of Ascalaphus festivus (Rambur), Puer maculatus (Olivier), Bubopsis agrionoides (Rambur), Deleproctophylla australis (Rambur), Libelloides latinus (Lefebvre), Libelloides corsicus (Rambur) and Libelloides siculus (Angelini) are described or accurately depicted for the first time. The known larvae of the genus Libelloides are reviewed.

Sweeten our crops. Sustain a high diversity of beneficials through "sweet food" from plants. A sweet tooth overhangs the terrestrial ecosystems, it is nursed by plants constantly producing pollen and nectar and indirectly honeydew and honey. Truly the "green" Earth is "a land flowing with milk and honey" for myriads of species: from lizards to bees, from birds to flies, from man to ants, through marsupials, beetles, bats and so on. This sweet plant-provided food is the powerful basis of pollination and of many other multi-trophic interactions.

The author briefly gives information about the green lacewings as beneficials, with notes on features and behaviour, role as pest predators, common species on crops and orchards, methods of environment management

In this paper we describe an innovative, low-cost, small-scale green lacewing (Neuroptera Chrysopidae) rearing method developed in our laboratories over a decade. Our method proves to be adaptable from a small laboratory to a local farmer's insectary and its innovative aspects could be adopted in (and/or adapted to) mass rearing systems.

Natural History (Re)Prints is a online series of historical monographs on natural history. This volume brings together practically all the technical and scientific articles on the control of locusts in Sardinia published between 1900 and 1949, as well as a few later works closely linked to the earlier papers. In addition to the bibliographical collection, the volume contains an introduction and two unpublished reports. Apart from a single case which is extremely significant, no regulations, laws, bulletins, financial reports or other "official" material published in large quantities by the bureaucracy of the time are included

The Diptera Culicidae are the main vectors of human and animal diseases. This booklet has been written in order to inform people about the methods of prevention against mosquito bites and improve the awareness of the risk people can run through a widespread information programme. In addition, the authors outlines the components of an integrated mosquito control programme with emphasis on incorporating surveillance and larviciding into existing programmes.

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, is surrounded by many small islands (Aeolian Islands, Ustica, Aegadian Islands, Pantelleria, Linosa, Lampedusa, Maltese Islands), some of which forming archipelagoes. The authors, after a historical sketch of the research on Neuropterida in Sicily (sensu lato), analyze the biodiversity of the area, highlighting the species richness and providing an up-to-date check-list. The lack of knowledge on some of the most paradigmatic communities of Neuropterida is discussed in relation to their various habitats. The distributional patterns of Sicilian Neuropterida are interpreted in order to obtain a biogeographical characterization of the area. It is confirmed that the location of Sicily and its surrounding islands forms a bridge between north and south and a door from the W Mediterranean region to the oriental Mediterranean basin.

Achille Costa (1823-1898), entomologist naturalist explorer: biografical sketch. Achille Costa was born within a family of scientific tradition. His father was the great zoologist Oronzio Gabriele, so he was introduced to the scientific world at a very early age and was able to make the best use of his own, extraordinarily favorable, social and family status. However, in 1849, for political reasons, both, the father and the son, were dismissed from all their academic positions and were prohibited from having any contact with foreign scholars. Achille reacted to this by increasing his own scientific activity. This period of isolation lasted for 12 years. After the conquest of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies by the Kingdom of Sardinia and the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, in 1860 Achille Costa was assigned the Chair of Zoology atNaples University, as well as the directorship of the annexed ZoologicalMuseum. Immediately, and over the next decade, he dedicated himself entirely to his academic and museum work. Around 1870 Achille Costa decreased his own academic performances, attending zealously to the scholarly Societies to which he belonged, to applied entomology, and overall to scientific trips and explorations.With an impressive succession he faced the Gran Sasso and the Majella mountains (1872-73, 1875), travelled to Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Turkey (1873-74), and just after his return went to Monti Alburni (1874). He was the very first naturalist to visit the Sila Grande and Piccola mountains (1876), then Paris (1878), again Calabria (1879) and Palermo (1880). From 1881 to 1885 he carried out his great exploration of Sardinia. Returning to Naples in a poor state of health, from 1886 onwards he began the last period of his life living much more in seclusion.

Geologically Sardinia is a raft which, for just under thirty million years, has been crossing the western Mediterranean, swaying like a pendulum from the Iberian to the Italian Peninsula. An island so large and distant from the other lands, except for its "sister" Corsica, has inevitably developed an autochthonous flora and fauna over such a long period of time. Organisms from other Mediterranean regions have added to this original contingent. These new arrivals were not randomly distributed over time but grouped into at least three great waves. The oldest two correspond with the Messinian salinity crisis about 7 million years ago and with the ice age, when, in both periods, Sardinia was linked to or near other lands due to a fall in sea level. The third, still in progress, is linked to human activity. Man has travelled since ancient times and for many centuries introduced allochthonous species to Sardinia which radically modified the native flora and fauna, but always at a very slow and almost unnoticeable rate. The use of sailing or rowing boats, with their low speeds, hindered the transport of living organisms from one place to another. The use of the steam boat, introduced around 1840 but widely diffuse around 1870-1880, opened the doors to more frequent arrivals and also to organisms from the American Continent. This technical innovation had an influence over the whole world economy, with its well-known grain crisis, and coincided in Sardinia with the arrival of Roman dairymen, producers of pecorino cheese and the beginning of the expansion of sheep farming which would continue uninterrupted until the present day. In this period of sudden social and environmental change, an insect was introduced which would turn out to be probably the most economically devastating agricultural pest in Europe: the Grape Phylloxera. The vineyard and wine business collapsed first in France then in Italy. The Phylloxera arrived in Sardinia in 1883 and wine production crashed a very short time later and only resumed after the distribution of American vine rootstock at the beginning of the 20th Century. From then, vine cultivation in Europe was modified with the essential use of this rootstock. Since then methods of transport have increased enormously in number and speed. The number of allochthonous and invasive species has increased proportionally: some of them along with exotic plants which are cultivated on the island, others following man in his activities. Often these new pests attack and destroy ornamental plants which have become part of the Sardinian landscape, causing it to change; just as often their presence requires methods of pest management which are different from the traditional methods on specific crops; finally in at least one case (the Asian tiger mosquito) they pose a threat to our health.

Formicids have been observed to protect honeydew-producing Homoptera from their natural enemies by disturbing or killing parasitoids and predators, thereby reducing natural enemy effectiveness. In field studies carried out over two growing seasons (1998-1999) in an organic citrus orchard in Sardinia, Italy, sticky trunk barriers were used to exclude ants from orange tree canopies in order to enhance the biological control of the mealybug Planococcus citri Risso. The influence of antexclusion on the abundance of four groups of generalist predators (spiders, true bugs, lacewings and ladybirds) was examined. Predators and ants were collected every ten days, on randomly selected fruits, for about five months per year. Four species of ants were found and Lasius niger (L.) was the most common species (> 80%). The total number of generalist predators was significantly higher in the ant-excluded plot relative to the undisturbed one (P < 0.000). The same result, with the only exclusion of Neuroptera (P = 0.1022), was obtained considering each predator group singularly.

Since information on generalist predators in the hazelnut agroecosystem are extremely scarce, specific investigations were carried out in hazelnut orchards of Piedmont and Sardinia (NW Italy) in the frame of the project CO.RI.BIO. Two sampling methods were used in 2005: i) beating of branches to catch foliage arthropods, ii) corrugated cardboard traps to sample arthropods which seek refuge in the bark roughness during daytime. Results of the investigations on four groups of generalist predators (spiders, bugs, lacewings, and ants) are here given. Overall twenty-five and twenty families of spiders were found in Piedmontese and Sardinian hazelnut orchards, respectively. In particular, nineteen of them (Anyphaenidae, Araneidae, Clubionidae, Corinnidae, Dictynidae, Gnaphosidae, Linyphiidae, Liocranidae, Mimetidae, Miturgidae, Oxyopidae, Philodromidae, Pisauridae, Salticidae, Segestriidae, Tetragnathidae, Theridiidae, Thomisidae, and Uloboridae) were sampled in both regions. Bugs belonging to the families Miridae, Nabidae, Anthocoridae, and Pentatomidae were collected, but the family Miridae was the most abundant and represented by nine species in Piedmont and in Sardinia. Among these species Compsidolon salicellum (Herrich-Schäffer), Deraeocoris lutescens (Schilling), Heterotoma meriopterum (Scopoli), Malacocoris chlorizans (Panzer), Phylus coryli (Linnaeus), and Psallus ambiguus Fallén were sampled, in different quantities, in both regions. Lacewings were more abundant in Piedmont than in Sardinia, both as number of species and number of specimens. Five and three species of green lacewings were found in Piedmontese and Sardinian hazelnut orchards, respectively. Some of them, Chrysoperla pallida Henry, Brooks, Duelli & Johnson, Dichochrysa flavifrons (Brauer), and Dichochrysa prasina (Burmeister), were sampled in both regions. A total of twenty-five ant species were collected in the hazelnut orchards of the two regions. In Sardinia the most abundant species were Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier) and Lasius niger (Linnaeus), the latter was common also in Piedmont together with Lasius paralienus Seifert. Actually, besides spiders, bugs, lacewings, and ants, many other groups of predators are present in hazelnut orchards, where they play an important role in preserving the biocenotic balance. Therefore the improvement of the knowledge on these organisms, on their behaviour and their ecologic role has to be a crucial aim of research.