Records of Choerades mouchai Hradský, 1985, are reported from Switzerland. These are the first records of the species published since its description and extend its known range to include the Alps. Previously, it was known only from parts of the Carpathian Mountain chain in Slovakia and Romania. A redescription of the male is provided, accompanied by photographs of diagnostic features, including the terminalia, and images of the entire insect. A table listing morphological differences between the males of Ch. mouchai, Ch. femorata and Ch. marginata is presented. The Choerades fauna of Switzerland is discussed, as is the information available about the ecology of Ch. mouchai.

A new osmiine bee species, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) onosmaevaesp. nov. (Megachilidae), is described. So far, this species is exclusively known from the Mercantour National Park in the southwestern French Alps and from mountainous ranges in Turkey and northern Iraq, two areas separated by at least 2000 km. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes revealed that H. onosmaevae is closely related to H. adunca (Panzer, 1798), H. benoisti (Alfken, 1935) and H. manicata (Morice, 1901). Hoplitis onosmaevae is presumably narrowly oligolectic and harvests pollen only on flowers of Onosma L. (Boraginaceae). It has a particularly long proboscis, which is probably an adaptation to collect nectar from the long-tubed flowers of this plant genus. The females collect pollen by buzzing the Onosma flowers, a rare behavior in megachilid bees. The species nests in insect burrows in dead wood, similar to H. adunca and H. manicata but unlike other closely related representatives of the subgenus Hoplitis, suggesting a single origin of nesting in dead wood and hollow stems in this lineage. In France, H. onosmaevae inhabits alpine steppe-like habitats close to forests and appears to be extremely local, since only two populations are currently known. The conservation status of this extremely rare bee species in Europe is discussed.

Ambrosia beetles are highly successful as invaders because they are often transported internationally with wood packaging and other wood products and because their inbreeding mating systems facilitates establishment of invading populations. In 2022, two independent insect surveys in canton Ticino (southern Switzerland) revealed the widespread occurrence of the invasive ambrosia beetle Anisandrus maiche (Kurentzov, 1941) from southern to central-upper Ticino. This species is native to east Asia and has previously been found as a non-native invasive species in the United States, Canada, western Russia, Ukraine and, in 2021, in northern Italy. Here, we present the results of several trapping studies using different trap types (bottle traps, funnel traps and Polytrap intercept traps) and attractants and a map of the distribution of the species. In total, 715 specimens of A. maiche, all female, were trapped, and the identity of selected individuals was confirmed by morphological and molecular identification based on three mitochondrial and nuclear markers (COI, 28S and CAD). Trap samples from early April to early September 2022 in intervals of two to four weeks showed that flights of A. maiche occurred mainly from June to mid-August. Isolation of fungal associates of A. maiche from beetles trapped alive revealed the presence of four fungal species, including the ambrosia fungus Ambrosiella cleistominuta, the known mutualist of A. maiche. The identity of A. cleistominuta was confirmed by comparing DNA sequences of its nuclear, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene with reference sequences in NCBI and BOLDSYSTEMS. This represents the first record of A. cleistominuta in Europe. Of the other fungal associates isolated from A. maiche in Ticino, Fusarium lateritium is of note as there is a possibility that A. maiche could act as a vector of this plant pathogen. We highlight several research needs that should be addressed to gain insight into the potential impact of these non-native species and to overcome problems with heteroplasmy in COI sequences in studies of invasion and population genetics of ambrosia beetles.

‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi’ (Ca. P. ulmi) belongs to the ribosomal subgroup 16SrV-A and is associated with dieback, shoot proliferation and yellows disease on various Ulmus spp. Other plant species, such as Carpinus betulus and Prunus spp. have also been reported infected by the same pathogen. In 2021, in the frame of research activities focused on grapevine’s Flavescence dorée (FD), one specimen of Orientus ishidae - an East Palearctic leafhopper that was identified as an alternative vector of FD phytoplasmas - was found harboring Ca. P. ulmi in southern Switzerland. No phytoplasmas were detected in plant samples taken in the same location. Orientus ishidae has already been reported to be able to acquire diverse phytoplasmas associated with other plant diseases, such as Peach X-disease. This is the first report of Ca. P. ulmi in Switzerland, as well as in O. ishidae. Ca. P. ulmi may potentially be present in the wild compartment of the Swiss Pre-alpine and Alpine range, but no dedicated survey has so far been conducted. In the case of O. ishidae, this finding highlights the broad affinity of such a species for the acquisition of several phytoplasmas. This calls for a further investigation regarding its potential role as a vector on various pathosystems of agronomic importance.

Kamchatka is a remote volcanic peninsula in the sub-arctic Far East of Russia. Its myrmecofauna has been scientifically addressed several times. However, previous species lists are contradictory in part and a modern study seems to be lacking. Based on literature review, I conclude that 12 species and 4 genera (Camponotus, Formica, Leptothorax and Myrmica) of ants may be native to Kamchatka. Of those, 9 were found in the field, 3 having a Holarctic, 3 a trans-Palearctic and 3 an East Palearctic distribution. Most species diversity was found at mid-elevations, in pine shrubs and mixed forests, while deciduous forests and open habitats at lower altitudes were surprisingly species poor. DNA-barcoding was performed for 57 specimens/9 species. Genetic diversity (COI) was low for 8/9 species, with the exception of Leptothorax acervorum, for which all samples were of a different haplotype and 2 haplogroups were identified. For the encountered Holarctic and trans-Palearctic species, closely related haplotypes (<0.7% raw distance) occur in Europe and/or North America. Some Formica ants were morphologically atypical, with workers partially resembling those of F. fusca, while gynes identified as F. lemani. Morphometric analysis and DNA-barcoding suggested that all these specimens belong to a single species, F. lemani. Standard images for all specimens and an illustrated key to the worker caste are provided.

Five species of Psyllinae are recognised from Gunung Kinabalu, all previously unknown, and are formally described and named: Cacopsylla graciliforcepssp. nov., C. kinabaluensissp. nov., C. myrsinessp. nov., C. photiniaesp. nov. and Psylla cirritasp. nov. Another species similar to P. cirrita remains undescribed due to lack of sufficient material. Two Philippine species closely related to C. kinabaluensis are transferred to Cacopsylla as Cacopsylla aranetae (Miyatake, 1972), comb. nov. and Cacopsylla bakeri (Crawford, 1919), comb. nov. (both from Psylla). Three of the Cacopsylla species probably represent Palaearctic faunal elements (Cacopsylla graciliforceps, C. myrsines and C. photiniae). Host information is available only for Cacopsylla myrsines and C. photiniae, viz. Myrsine dasyphylla (Primulaceae) and Photinia davidiana (Rosaceae), respectively. Myrsine has not been previously reported as host genus of Psylloidea. The five new species bring the number of known Psylloidea species from Gunung Kinabalu to 22. The biogeographic relationships found in the flora, i.e. Oriental elements predominate at lower altitudes, and Himalayan and Australian elements are dominant at altitudes above 2500 m, are reflected in the psyllid fauna (Oriental 4 spp.; Australian 13 spp., Himalayan 3 spp.; unknown 2 spp.). Of the 22 species known from Gunung Kinabalu, 18 are only known from there. This high number is probably only partly due to endemism and is partly due to insufficient knowledge of the psyllid fauna of Borneo and of the tropics in general.

The first Orchesiini of South Africa, Parvapila lyncispinnaegen. nov. and sp. nov., is described. Specimens were collected at the foot of the Langeberg Range and of the Kogelberg, mountains of Western Cape. Individuals were collected by sifting soil litter in Afromontane forests, an endemic vegetation community of Afrotropical mountainous areas.

We present a checklist of the Swiss bees and provide information on the distribution of every bee species in all 26 Swiss cantons. 632 species are reported, including the European honeybee Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 and the exotic species Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853. Species richness in each canton was correlated with the canton area, with the four largest cantons hosting the highest number of species. Bee diversity hotspots were located in some Alpine inner valleys characterized by a dry and warm climate due to the rain shadow effects of surrounding mountains. These hotspots are mostly located in the steppe-like habitats of the Valais and Graubünden cantons. They host diverse wild bee communities which include a unique assemblage of submediterranean faunal elements and subalpine species. In addition, these habitats host rare species with strongly disjunct distributions in Europe, further stressing the conservation priority of these habitats for wild bee conservation. Intensive faunistic surveys performed in the last 20 years have revealed that about 20 bee species, either previously unknown for Switzerland or which had disappeared from the country for several decades, have colonised areas close to the borders of France and Italy. Most of these new or reappeared species were observed in the warmest area of the country and presumably colonized or recolonized the country from neighbouring regions following global warming. Lastly, DNA barcodes are presented for 394 specimens, including for many species so far not represented in the BOLD database. The taxonomic status of numerous unclear taxa is briefly discussed based on combined genetic and morphological analyses.

The larva of Isoperla orobica Ravizza, 1975, an endemic Alpine species, is described with information about the distribution and ecology in Switzerland. New barcodes were generated to support the association between life stages. The species is associated with springs and spring brooklets. In Switzerland, the species occurs almost exclusively on the southern slopes of the Alps in the cantons Valais, Ticino and Grisons.

Most biological survey programs rely on multi-species inventories (e.g. birds, amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies). These programs usually rely on multiple visits during pre-defined time windows. The implicit goal of this popular approach is to maximize the observed species richness. Here, we present a novel method to optimize the timing of survey windows using a framework maximizing the detectable species pool. We present a proof of concept using 20 years of entomological records in Switzerland using butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. The general framework presented can potentially be applied to a wide range of biological survey schemes. It offers a new practical tool for adaptive entomological monitoring under climate change.