Bulgarian Species Research Articles

Further records of social parasitic ants in Europe and review of the Bulgarian species.

Social parasitic ants exploit the colonies of other ant species, either permanently or temporarily. The permanent parasites are amongst the rarest species of ants, although their hosts may be very common. Due to their rarity and often restricted distribution range, most of them are listed as vulnerable. Filling in the gaps in geographical and host ranges will advance our understanding of the social parasitic lifestyle's origin and evolution. This study reports the first records of the slave-makers Myrmoxenusalgerianus (Cagniant, 1968) for Europe (Italy, Sicily) and M.ravouxi (André 1896) for Albania and the inquiline Anergatesatratulus (Schenck, 1852) for Malta (Gozo). We also report new localities of Camponotusuniversitatis Forel, 1890 for Albania and Myrmoxenusgordiagini Ruzsky, 1902, M.kraussei (Emery, 1915) and Anergatesatratulus for Bulgaria. Diversity, type of parasite-host relationships, host range, distribution and conservation of social parasitic ant species in Bulgaria are discussed. Although social parasitic ants are still understudied in Bulgaria, they represent 21% of the regional ant fauna.

A Study of the Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Potential, and Acute Toxicity of Bulgarian Tanacetum vulgare L. Essential Oil.

Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) is a plant with medicinal properties that has traditionally been used in folk medicine for its anthelmintic, antispasmodic, and choleretic effects, for the treatment of diarrhea and digestive problems, and externally, as an insecticide in veterinary practices. In the current study, we investigated, for the first time, the chemical profile and antioxidant activity of essential oil from a wild population of T. vulgare L. growing in Bulgaria. Common tansy essential oil (EO), which is rich in bicyclic monoterpenes, was obtained using hydrodistillation and characterized by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thirty-seven compounds were identified in Bulgarian tansy EO. Among the major constituents were oxygenated monoterpenes, including compounds such as camphor (25.24%), trans-chrysantenyl acetate (18.35%), cis-verbenol (10.58%), thujone (6.06%), eucaliptol (5.99%), and α-campholenal (5.98%). The analysis results identified the essential oil from T. vulgare L. grown in the western Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria as the camphor chemotype. Furthermore, its antioxidant activity was analyzed using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) method and was found to be 605.4 ± 49.3 µmol TE/mL. The essential oil was also tested for single-dose acute toxicity on Wistar rats and was found to be non-toxic by oral administration. The mean lethal dose by intraperitoneal administration was LD50 i.p. = 14.9 g/kg body weight. The results of the conducted study can serve as a basis for the evaluation and subsequent exploration of other pharmacotherapeutic effects of the essential oil obtained from the inflorescences of the Bulgarian species T. vulgare L.

A hotspot of endemism: Oreophytic Taraxacum species (Compositae, Crepidinae) in the mountains of Bulgaria

The genus Taraxacum (Compositae, Crepidinae) is rather underexplored in the Balkan Peninsula, in spite of high sectional and species diversities and a considerable proportion of endemism to be expected. We focussed our research on mountain areas of Bulgaria. If occasional occurrence of otherwise lowland groups is disregarded, the following Taraxacum sections were recorded: T. sect. Erythrocarpa (treated in a separate paper), T. sect. Rhodocarpa (= T. sect. Alpestria; fourteen species, twelve newly described), T. sect. Crocea (previously referred to as T. sect. Fontana, with six species, five newly described), T. sect. Obliqua (four species, three newly described), and a new section, T. sect. Bulgarica (18 species, seventeen newly described). A single supramontane to subalpine species with an unknown sectional position, T. erzincanense, is also included. The new section, T. sect. Bulgarica, is characterized by a dwarf growth, very short leaves tightly appressed to the ground, enormously broadly winged petioles, appressed, dark, usually narrowly bordered outer phyllaries, and variously coloured achenes, most often with a conical to subcylindrical cone. The diversity of T. sect. Crocea, T. sect. Obliqua and T. sect. Bulgarica involves a high proportion of local endemism, and, in each section, it is concentrated around local sexual species, T. (Obliqua) pyrenaicum subsp. balcanicum, T. (Crocea) paludosiforme and T. (Bulgarica) bulgaricum. The other representatives of mountain sections are agamospermous and polyploid (triploid to hexaploid). The Taraxacum records published by Doll (1978) are revised; the names T. paludosiforme Doll and T. pseudovernelense Doll are lectotypified. Contrary to the published records, species described from the Alps are absent from Bulgaria; there is a single species of T. sect. Rhodocarpa with its geographical range extending from the Romanian Southern Carpathians to Bulgaria. The high proportion of local endemism is accounted for by the young age of the Bulgarian species.

Comparing protein content of pollen and his impact on the lenght of life of honeybees

The objective of the research work was to compare the protein content of pollen from some plants visited frequently by honey bees in Bulgarian and Australian flora, and study the length of life of worker honey bees fed by pollen with different protein content. In this study the number of the same floral species, were described nine. Most number of favorite plants for honey bees are from Asteraceae – 5. The percentage of the total protein content in the compared bee-collected pollen grains ranged from: 11.5% for Chondrilla juncea to 25.1% for that of Brassica napus, and the average value was 18.5% for Bulgarian species, and 13.8% for Helianthus annuus to 25.9% for that of Trifolium repens, and the average value was 19.3% for Australian species. It is made a systematic comparison between Bulgarian and Australian protein content in pollen, but significant differences of the two groups were not found. Proteins are one of the the main components of honey bee-collected pollen, and can vary among different pollen plant species source. The very similar results in Bulgarian study compared to the published ones note the conservatism of pollen, despite the very long distance between Bulgaria and Australia, but having in mind if the Australian results come from inside country. It could be said that the honey bees in Bulgaria and Australia consume pollen with the same amount protein content from the same floral species. The length of live of worker bees ranged from 25 days when they consumed pollen from Brassica napus (25.1% protein content) to 14.3 days when they consumed pollen from Zea mays (17%). The present study was performed to make also a systematic comparison between length of life worker bees fed by pollen with different protein content and significant differences were found. The worker honey bees lived longer when they consumed pollen with higher protein content.

Bulgarian species of genus Astragalus as potential sources of mauritianin

Mauritianin is a relatively rare flavonoid, but several studies revealed its pharmacological potential. In this study overground parts of ten Astragalus species were investigated for mauritianin content to find a reliable source of the compound. The quantity of the flavonoid in each extract was determined by a novel high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry method. For the first time mauritianin is reported in A. cicer, A. onobrychis, A. glycyphyllos, A. glycyphylloides, A. corniculatus and A. ponticus. Only in A. depressus the compound was not found. Significant differences in mauritianin content (from 4 to 1642 ng/mg dry weight) of the samples were observed. Noteworthy, A. onobrychis var. chlorocarpus and A. cicer could be considered as a potential source of the compound, substituting the rare A. monspessulanus subsp. monspessulanus.

Qualitative GC-MS analysis and antimicrobial activity of volatiles from Carthamus lanatus (L.) growing in Egypt

The volatiles of both fresh aerial parts and flowers of Carthamus lanatus L. plant growing in Egypt were isolated by hydro-distillation method. The obtained volatiles were subsequently subjected to qualitative analysis by Gas chromatography accompanied by mass specctrometic analysis (GC-MS) , which in turn revealed the presence of forty four compounds. The interpretation of the isolated compounds was carried out depending on comparison of their mass spectra with those saved in instrument library, alongside the data reported in literature. On the other hand, a comparative investigation between the Egyptian and Bulgarian species was carried out, which in turn revealed great differences. Antimicrobial screening (using agar diffusion method) of the screened volatiles of Egyptian plant was also carried out, that labored into promising results of potent activity exhibited against different bacteria and fungi compared with gentamycin and ketoconazole antimicrobial standards. it is worth mentioned that our study is the first study of the Egyptian Carthamus lanatus Plant.

Revision of the Cousya species of the West Palaearctic Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)

Species of the genus Cousya Mulsant & Rey, 1875 and five previously unrevised species of Ocyusa Kraatz, 1856 of the West Palaearctic region including Middle Asia are revised. In total, 19 species of Cousya are recognized, with one additional species of which no material was available of doubtful identity and generic affiliations. Three or four additional species remain unnamed for want of males. Only two species, O. maura (Erichson, 1837) and O. picina (Aube, 1850), remain in Ocyusa. Four species are newly described: Cousya acrisn. sp. (South Greece, South Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon); C. struyvein. sp. (South Spain); C. paulin. sp. (Southwest Turkey); C. sufflatan. sp. (Greece: South Peloponnisos). Redescriptions are provided for Cousya and ten of its species. All the Cousya species and most of the species moved to other genera are illustrated. Eleven synonymies are proposed: Cousya bicolor (Bernhauer, 1900) = C. mirabilis Assing, 2011, n. syn.; C. defecta (Mulsant & Rey, 1875) = C. humicolaFagel, 1965, n. syn.; C. longitarsis (Thomson, 1867) = C. rugipennis (J. Sahlberg, 1890) n. syn. (previously a synonym of Oxypoda funebris Kraatz, 1856), = C. peeziScheerpeltz, 1957, n. syn.; C. nigrata (Fairmaire & Laboulbene, 1856) = C. cephallenica (Scheerpeltz, 1931), n. syn., = C. nitidiventrisFagel, 1958, n. syn., = C. lakloukensisFagel, 1965, n. syn.;C. schuelkeiAssing, 2007 = C. planicollis Assing, 2011, n. syn.; C. bimaculata (Fauvel, 1899) = C. vaulogeri (Bernhauer, 1936), n. syn.; Oxypoda flavicornis Kraatz, 1856 = Ocyusa beieriScheerpeltz, 1931, n. syn.; Ocyusa pellax Peyerimhoff, 1919 = Oxypoda argusNormand, 1935, n. syn. Six new binomina are established: Cousya dissoluta (Eppelsheim, 1888), n. comb. (ex Ocyusa); C. praecox (Eppelsheim, 1888), n. comb. (ex Ocyusa); Oxypoda pictaMulsant & Rey, 1875, n. comb. (ex Cousya);Oxypoda pellax (Peyerimhoff, 1919), n. comb. (ex Ocyusa);Oxypoda heydeni (Eppelsheim, 1879), n. comb. (ex Ocyusa);Tectusa uhligi (Pace, 1987), n. comb. (ex Cousya). The material labelled as types of Cousya uhligi is composed of three species, all of them belonging to Tectusa Bernhauer, 1899. One of them is Tectusa pirinican. sp. (Bulgaria: Pirin Planina). Four Bulgarian species of Tectusa, including T. pirinica, are illustrated. “Ocyusa” apicalisNormand, 1935 is not congeneric with the type species of Ocyusa and treated as Oxypodina incertae sedis. A neotype is designated for Ocyusa defectaMulsant & Rey, 1875. Lectotypes are designated for Cousya peeziScheerpeltz, 1957, Ocyusa eppelsheimiBernhauer, 1902, O. araxisBernhauer, 1902, O. bicolorBernhauer, 1900, Homalota dissolutaEppelsheim, 1888, H. praecoxEppelsheim, 1888, and Ocyusa ferdinandicoburgiRambousek, 1909. A catalogue and a key to the Cousya species of the West Palaearctic region are provided. The species of Cousya are assigned to two species groups, the C. nigrata group (eleven species) and the C. crocea group (eight species). While the species of the C. nigrata group are fully winged and widespread, those of the C. crocea group are partly incapable of flight and have restricted distributions; six of them have been recorded only from their respective type localities. The distributions of all the Cousya species are mapped. Available evidence suggests that at least the species of the C. nigrata group reproduce in autumn (most species in a subterranean habitat), have their preimaginal development in winter and early spring, emerge from the pupa and disperse in spring, and spend the warmer seasons either in estivation or in a subterranean habitat. A biased sex ratio (males rarer than females) was observed in two species. It is particularly pronounced in C. nigrata: only 15 % of the sexed specimens are males. Not a single male was found in the north of its range, suggesting that the species is parthenogenetic in this region.

Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Bulgarian Endemic Species Achillea thracica from its Natural Habitat, and in vitro Propagated and ex vitro Established Plants

The present study reports the chemical composition of headspace volatiles (HS) and acetone extracts of the endemic Bulgarian species Achillea thracica Velen. from its natural habitat (N), in vitro propagated (IN) and ex vitro established (EX) plants. Additionally, acetone extracts were tested by a disk diffusion method for antibacterial activity. Irregular monoterpenes were the most abundant HS volatile constituents, while 0,0-dimethyl quercetin was the most abundant flavonoid in the acetone extracts. The secondary metabolites of A. thracica grown in its natural habitat (N), propagated in vitro (IN) and ex vitro established (EX) showed that the qualitative composition is mutually similar, but there are differences in the quantitative composition. Considering antibacterial activity, IN and EX samples showed moderate activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.

An annotated checklist and key to the Bulgarian cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattodea)

An annotated checklist of the Bulgarian species of cockroaches is prepared based on a full published scientific record and own unpublished data. According to the current state of knowledge the Bulgarian cockroach fauna includes 17 species and subspecies. One synonymization is established-Phyllodromica marginata erythronota Br. v. W., syn. n. = Ph. marginata. Two species (Capraiellus tamaninii and Supella longipalpa) are recorded for the first time for this country and other three (Ectobius punctatissimus, Phyllodromica subaptera and Phyllodromica pallida) are eliminated from the list of the Bulgarian fauna. The list is complemented with maps and full locality data and a dichotomic identification key for the studied taxa is presented.

THE 46 YEARS OVERLOOKED SPECIES MONACHA OSHANOVAE PINTÉR & PINTÉR, 1970

The species Monacha (Monacha) oshanovae Pintér & Pintér, 1970 (Mollusca: Gastropoda) was re-collected during the period 2007-2016 from various localities of Bulgaria, including and its type locality. New information on this very poorly known species concerning its morphology, anatomy, distribution, biology and ecology was provided. Short notes on the Bulgarian species of the genus Monacha were made.

Does the genetic structure of spring snail Bythinella (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) in Bulgaria reflect geological history?

Bythinella is a minute dioecious caenogastropod that inhabits springs in central and southern Europe. In the Balkans, previous studies have addressed its morphological and genetic differentiation within Greece and Romania while the Bulgarian species have remained poorly known. The aim of the present paper has been to expand the knowledge on the subject in Bulgaria. Shell morphology and anatomy of the reproductive organs were examined, and a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and the nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS-1) were sequenced from 15 populations. Additional sequences from eight previously studied populations were included in our analyses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed five main mitochondrial DNA clades, which were partly confirmed by analyses of the ITS-1 sequences. The genetic differentiation between the clades was found to be in the range p=2.4-11.8%. Most of the populations belonged to clade I, representing Bythinella hansboetersi, and were distributed in SW Bulgaria. Clades II and III inhabit areas adjacent to clade I and were most closely related with the latter clade. Much more distinct were clade V, found at one locality in NW Bulgaria, and clade IV, found at one locality in SE Bulgaria, close to the sea. Four populations were found in caves, but only one of these represented a distinct clade. Considering the observed pattern of interpopulation differentiation of Bythinella in Bulgaria, we can suppose that isolation between clades I, II and III may have been caused by glaciations during the Pleistocene. The time of isolation between the above three clades and clade IV coincides with the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and the time of isolation between the clade V and the other four most probably reflects the isolation of the Rhodopes from western Balkan Mts by the seawater of the Dacic Basin.

Contribution to the knowledge of the Bulgarian species of the genus Vitrea (Gastropoda, Pristilomatidae) with the description of a new species

A new species of genus Vitrea is described: Vitrea ulrichi sp. n. is the eleventh species within the genus found in Bulgaria, and the largest representative of the Bulgarian Vitrea. Some critical notes on the taxonomy of the species V. bulgarica and V. sturanyi are presented. A key is provided for the determination of the species of Vitrea found in the country.

Additional data to the Hoverfly fauna of South West Bulgaria (Diptera: Syrphidae)

The current paper publishes the faunistic data of the hoverflies collected in South West Bulgaria, mainly in the area of Pirin, Rila, Rodope and Vitosa by Hungarian entomologist. The vast majority of the data was collected by the author. The paper reports the occurrence of 269 species on the 24 points of the examined area. The search for the checklist of the Bulgarian species was unsuccessful. The author is in the knowledge of only one paper that works with the Bulgarian fauna, which contains information on the occurrence of 117 species of Hoverflies in South West Bulgaria (Bánkowska 1967). These species are marked with a star in the listing. Out of these, all have occurred during the collection by the Hungarian entomologist. The “Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera” series, 8th volume (Peck 1988) can be considered as the most strongpoint on the fauna of the Bulgarian hoverflies. Based on this, 24 species can be considered new to the Bulgarian fauna: Brachyopa testacea (Fallén, 1817), Brachypalpus chrysites Egger, 1859, Cheilosia crassiseta Loew, 1859, Cheilosia hypena (Becker, 1894), Cheilosia insignis Loew, 1857, Cheilosia laticornis Rondani, 1857, Cheilosia pictipennis Egger, 1860, Cheilosia ranunculi Doczkal, 2000, Eumerus pulchellus Loew, 1848, Eumerus sogdianus Stackelberg, 1952, Merodon avidus (Rossi, 1790), Merodon nigritarsis Rondani, 1845, Merodon spinitarsis (Paramonov, 1929), Myolepta nigritarsis Coe, 1957, Neoascia unifasciata (Strobl, 1898), Paragus finitimus Goeldlin de Tiefenau, 1971, Paragus majoranae Rondani, 1857, Pipizella divicoi (Goeldlin de Tiefenau, 1974), Sphaerophoria taeniata (Meigen, 1822), Syrphocheilosia claviventris (Strobl, 1909), Syrphus nitidifrons Becker, 1921, Syrphus sexmaculatus (Zetterstedt, 1838), Temnostoma bombylans (Fabricius, 1805), Xylota meigeniana Stackelberg, 1964.

POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF CROCUS L.(IRIDACEAE) IN BULGARIA

The pollen of the wild species from the genus Crocus L., spread in Bulgaria has been analyzed. The investigations, made by light microscope show that the pollen of these species is spherical in shape and round in outlines, comparatively big. These morphological characteristics of the pollen of the wild Bulgarian Crocuses define it as a primitive one [6]. The Scanning Electron Microscope investigations, made by Beug [1], established two types of pollen morphology. The results of our investigation led to the conclusion that the same types are also presented in Bulgarian species: – C.biflorus –type, or syncolpate and C.vernus – type, or inaperturate. Eight of the species belong to the first type and only C. pallasii belongs to the second. The pollen of C. reticulatus is with quite unclear aperture – maybe transition to the inaperturate type.

Genetic Diversity and Molecular Taxonomy Study of Three Genera from Iridaceae Family in the Bulgarian Flora Based on ISSR Markers

ABSTRACTIridaceae is a family of perennial plants with almost worldwide distribution. The taxonomy of the family is based mainly on the morphology, anatomy, embryology and chromosome numbers. The systematics and phylogeny within the family is still subject of debates. This is mainly because most of the classification schemes and determination keys are based on morphological descriptions. These features are often unreliable for exact determination of the species with convergent morphology but inhabiting different ecological localities. In Bulgaria the family is represented by four genera. The genetic diversity and the relations between seven Bulgarian species from the Iridaceae family were examined by ISSR markers. The ISSR-PCR reactions were carried out with seven different ISSR primers and genomic DNA isolated from 13 samples. The distribution of polymorphic PCR products was analyzed by PAST software. The combined results of genetic variants were used to construct a consequent unrooted diagram.The obtained results clearly defined the two subfamilies in Iridaceae family—Iridoideae and Crocoideae Burnett. The observed grouping of studied species did not coincide with the classification schemes based on morphology features, but was in agreement with the phylogenic studies. Our data confirmed the hypothesis for the polyphyletic origin of species from subgenus Limniris (Tausch) Spach—ser. Laevigatae (Diels) Lawrence and showed their genetic similarity to subgenus Iris ser. Iris. This work, to our best knowledge, is the first attempt to reassess by means of molecular markers the entire taxonomical scheme of the recent members of Iridaceae in Bulgaria.

Exudate flavonoids from Bulgarian species of Salvia

1. Subject and sourceThegenus Salvia L.(Lamiaceae, subfamilyNepetoideae) comprises ca. 900species (Mabberley,1997), only36ofwhich occur in Europe (Hedge, 1972). Seven species growing in Bulgaria were studied for their exudate flavonoids:Salvia nemorosa L. and Salvia glutinosa L., which arewidely distributed in Southern and Central Europe; Salvia sca-biosifoliaLam.,SalviaringensSibth.etSm.andSalviatomentosaMill.,restrictedinoccurrencetoSouth-easternpartsofEurope;SalviaargenteaL.occurringinSouthernEuropefromSpaintoBulgaria;andSalviaofficinalisL.,nativeinSpain,SouthernFranceandtheWesternpartoftheBalkanPeninsula,whichiscultivatedasapopularpotherbinmanycountries. Some of the plant accessions studied were collected from their natural habitats in Bulgaria (S. tomentosaCo1042, S. scabiosifolia Co1043, S. glutinosa Co1044, S. nemorosa Co1046 and S. argentea Co1048), whereas theothersamplesweregatheredfromcultivatedplantsintheexperimentalfieldoftheInstituteofBotany,BAS,nearSofia(S. tomentosa Co1041, S. ringens var. macedonica Briq. Co1045, S. scabiosifolia Co1047, S. officinalis Co1049 andS. nemorosa Co1050). Voucher specimens of the studied plants have been deposited at the Herbarium, Institute ofBotany, Sofia (SOM).2. Previous workSpeciesofSalviaproduceawidevarietyofmono-,sesqui-,di-andtriterpenoids(Hegnauer,1966,1989).Phenolicssuchasrosmarinicacidandrelatedcaffeicacidderivatives,andflavonoidglycosides,especiallythoseofflavones,seemtobealsoalmostuniversallypresentinthegenus(Hegnauer,1966,1989).Inaddition,manyspeciesproducelipophilicexudateflavonoids,especiallytheflavonesapigeninandluteolin,their6-hydroxyderivativesandmethylethersofthesecompounds,whereasflavonolsarelesscommon(Wollenweber,1974;Toma´s-Barbera´nandWollenweber,1990;Bisioetal.,1999;LuandFoo,2002;Valant-Vetscheraetal.,2003).Threeofthespecies investigatedinthepresent study,S.argentea,S.ringens andS.scabiosifolia,donotyetseem tohavebeenstudiedpreviouslyfortheirexudateflavonoids,

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Bulgarian species of the genus Senecio

Nine Bulgarian species from the genus Senecio were studied phytochemically and/or by GC-MS analysis. Senecivernine-N-oxide was isolated and identified by spectral data for the first time. Different types of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were tested for cytotoxicity on murine lymphocytes. At a concentration of 100 ?g/ml, the alkaloid retroisosenine showed immunosuppressive effect. .

Alkaloid profile of Bulgarian species from genus Senecio L.

Twenty-seven pyrrolizidine alkaloids were identified by a detailed phytochemical study and GC/MS analysis on twelve Bulgarian species from genus Senecio. Twenty of them are new for the corresponding species. Other six structures remain tentatively identified.

TheOrthetrum coerulescenscomplex in Bulgaria (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Abstract Although there are many records of Orthetrum coerulescens in Bulgaria, the presence of the nominotypical subspecies is doubtful. A critical analysis of all specimens available revealed that they belong either to O. c. anceps or to intermediate forms, but not to O. c. coerulescens. The latter taxon is therefore omitted from the Bulgarian species list, bringing the number of recorded species to 66.

Argentophilic structures of miracidia and cercariae of Philophthalmus lucipetus (Philophthalmidae: Trematoda) from Israel.

Argentophilic structures of Philophthalmus lucipetus miracidia and cercariae from Israel are described. Eighty-four of 87 miracidia examined displayed an epidermal plate arrangement of 6:8:4:2 = 20, similar to other Philophthalmus species. Twenty papilla-like structures are arranged on the terebratorium in 3 groups, along 1 axis. Sixteen body papillae are located at the bases of epidermal plates of row 1. Eyespots are mediodorsal, between rows 1 and 2. Excretory pores are lateral, between rows 2 and 3. Features common to Israeli and Bulgarian isolates, differentiating them from other species, include the presence of 16 body papillae as opposed to 10 in other species, and a maximum of 20 papillae on the terebratorium as opposed to 19 in the others. About 3% of the miracidia displayed different plate arrangements. Among the argentophilic structures of P. lucipetus cercariae, the Israeli and Bulgarian P. lucipetus show a common pattern of 2-4 excretory pores in the tail, but arrangement of cephalic CI3 and CI5 papillae in the 2 isolates is insufficiently unequivocal for species determination. The data presented show that miracidial characteristics, rather than those of cercariae, aid in determining the species of philophthalmids. They also support former evidence attesting to the identity of the Bulgarian and Israeli species.