Ricerc@Sapienza

Phasiinae (Diptera: Tachinidae) are endoparasitoid flies that attack Heteroptera, including a multitude of agricultural pests. A phylogenetically informed classification of Phasiinae has eluded systematists for over a century, primarily because of the conflicting character states and confusing morphology of certain taxa that indicate potential placement within other subfamilies. The unstable nature of phasiine taxonomy discourages important research into their classification, life history and potential use in biological control.

The Calyptratae, one of the most species‐rich fly clades, only originated and diversified after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene extinction event and yet exhibit high species diversity and a diverse array of life history strategies including predation, phytophagy, saprophagy, haematophagy and parasitism. We present the first phylogenomic analysis of calyptrate relationships. The analysis is based on 40 species representing all calyptrate families and on nucleotide and amino acid data for 1456 single‐copy protein‐coding genes obtained from shotgun sequencing of transcriptomes.

1. The stag beetle, Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera:
Lucanidae), is a flagship species for the conservation of European old-growth
forests. Despite its popularity and many studies conducted, the lack of knowledge
of its habits and ecological requirements leads to difficulties in locating the
species in the field and to provide information for suitable planning conservation
actions suitable for the species.
2. In order to gather information on dispersal ability and space use, a radiotelemetry

Meligethes (Odontogethes) inexpectatus sp. n. is described from China, Sichuan Province. The new species is based on a female specimen previously incorrectly referred to as Meligethes scrobescens Chen, Lin, Huang & Yang, 2015, which was recently described from a series of male specimens collected in the same area. Both species belong to the taxonomically difficult species-group related to M. chinensis Kirejtshuk, 1979, including a dozen closely related species distributed throughout Nepal and SW and Central China.

During recent expeditions in North and Southwest Iran, 10 species of Kateretidae and Nitidulidae (Coleoptera) were
found. One species of Kateretidae, Brachyleptus bicoloratus Reitter, 1896, and three nitidulid species, Afrogethes schilskyi
(Reitter, 1897), Stachygethes khnzoriani (Kirejtshuk, 1979), and S. nigerrimus (Rosenhauer, 1856) are recorded for the
first time for the Iranian fauna (the latter is also a new record for Asia). Thymogethes ahriman (Jelínek, 1981) is herein

To sense, respond and adapt to the constantly changing environmental conditions, plants have developed sophisticated signaling mechanisms. In this study, plant signaling under heterogeneous salt conditions was investigated. A split root system was established in which one half of the root apparatus (HR1) was treated with salt. The impact of the salt on the electrical signals as the initial response of the plant to exterior stimulus was measured in the other half of the root system (HR2) with a Multi Electrode Array (MEA) system.

1. Assessing the conservation status of protected species needs quantitative population data, generally obtained using Capture?Mark?Recapture methods (CMR). The exploitation of natural marking (e.g. individual morphological traits) offers an interesting alternative, based on image analyses, which may result in a less manipulation of protected species compared to the typical artificial marking method.

Aim
We sought to assess different megafaunal species responses to the intense climatic changes that characterized the end of the Quaternary.

Location
Eurasia.

Methods
We used species distribution modelling, niche overlap tests and co?occurrence analysis to model climatic niche evolution and change in six different megafauna species, including three extinct (woolly mammoth, woolly rhino and steppe bison) and three extant (red deer, wolf and reindeer) species.

Dolycoris baccarum (Linnaeus) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is reported for the first time as a host of Euthera fascipennis (Loew) (Diptera: Tachinidae). A single specimen of E. fascipennis was reared from an adult of D. baccarum collected in northern Italy (Crevalcore, Bologna, Emilia Romagna Region). This is the first host record for E. fascipennis in Italy and the first distributional record of this tachinid in northern Italy.

Communities of the canopy of temperate forests are still relatively unexplored. Furthermore, very little is known on how vertical stratification for some insect groups is related to biological strategies. In this study, we investigated the community composition of both canopy and understory of the families Ampulicidae, Crabronidae and Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) of the Natural Reserve of "Bosco della Fontana", a remnant lowland forest in northeastern Italy. Observed patterns in vertical stratification have been related to species foraging habits.