Parthenogenetic reptiles provide unique models for studying the ecological consequences of hybrid origin between related sexual species in zones of secondary overlap. Such clonal lineages inherit genetic material from both parental species, but little is known about how the combination of two distinct genomes affects ecological preferences in parthenogenetic species. In this study, we provide the first quantitative comparison of the realized climatic niche of the triploid parthenogenetic butterfly lizard Leiolepis guentherpetersi Darevsky et Kupriyanova, 1993 with the niches of its inferred sexual parental species, Leiolepis guttata Cuvier, 1829 and Leiolepis reevesii (Gray, 1831). These species are associated with coastal sandy habitats in Vietnam and occur in sympatry or in zones of secondary contact in the central part of the country. Species occurrence records were compiled from the literature, museum collections, open-access databases, and our own field surveys. Climatic niches were analyzed using bioclimatic variables, PCA-env ordination, niche-overlap and niche-dynamics metrics, Mahalanobis-based estimates of niche position and dispersion, and covariance-based niche-volume estimates. We found that L. guentherpetersi occupied the narrowest and most homogeneous realized climatic niche among the three species. Its niche was predominantly nested within the parental climatic space, with little to no expansion beyond it and substantial unfilling of the parental niche space. The parthenogenetic species showed greater climatic similarity to L. guttata than to L. reevesii, consistent with its asymmetric hybrid origin and a larger genomic contribution from L. guttata. Niche differentiation was expressed primarily along hydroclimatic gradients, and L. guentherpetersi was associated with higher precipitation in the wettest month, greater precipitation seasonality, higher precipitation during the coldest quarter, and lower precipitation during the warmest quarter. Within the framework of geographic parthenogenesis, this pattern is most consistent with the frozen niche variation hypothesis, suggesting that L. guentherpetersi occupies a narrow and hydroclimatically distinct part of the parental climatic space. Together, these findings identify L. guentherpetersi as a specialized hybrid parthenogenetic lineage and highlight Leiolepis as an informative system for studying how asymmetric ancestry, sympatry with sexual parental species, and climatic specialization contribute to ecological differentiation in unisexual vertebrates.
The new subgenus Graeserotodes subgen. n. of the Himalayan genus Plantea Hacker & Ronkay, 1996 is erected to solely include the Central Asian Dryobota contermina Graeser, 1892. The nominate subspecies of Plantea (Graeserotodes) contermina (Graeser, 1892), comb. n. is distributed in the West and North Tien Shan Mountains (within Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), while the population from the Inner Tien Shan Mountains (Kyrgyzstan) is described as the new subspecies Plantea (Graeserotodes) contermina argillacea ssp. n. The adults, genitalia of both sexes and habitats of the considered taxa are illustrated.
New data on the distribution and sexual activity of males of Stygioides colchica (Herrich-Schäffer, 1851) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) in response to a synthetic sex attractant on the Crimean Peninsula are presented. Males were attracted to the lure with the sex attractant in a slightly different manner than shown in our previous study. This is likely due to the fact that we conducted the experiments at the very end of the adult flight period. This species is recorded for the city of Simferopol’ for the first time.
The gut content of adults of 16 species of Apteroperla, 5 species of Eocapnia and of Takagripopteryx nigra were studied from Honshu and Hokkaido of Japan. A total of 171 individuals were used for the gut content study, of which 113 had some gut content. Overall, they behave as generalists, consuming different resources, likely reflecting the availability of these resources in their oligotrophic habitat. Many of the consumed items (e.g., pollen, detritus, fungi) are frequently found in the gut of the adults of most studied stoneflies but particularly outstanding is the relatively high proportion of animal matter in the gut of several species. Their mouthparts were also studied and compared but no specialization was detectable. Apteroperla shigensis (Kawai, 1967) comb. n. is removed from the genus Eocapnia.
The first representative of the long-jointed beetle genus Sora Walker, 1859 (Lagriinae: Lagriini Latreille, 1825) from Eocene is described and illustrated. The taxon represents the first Tenebrionidae Latreille, 1802 known from Danish amber.
This paper presents new taxonomic and distributional data for the genus Dodia Dyar, 1901 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) in the southern part of the Russian Far East. The study is based on material collected during three expeditions to the high-altitude areas of the Khingan-Bureya Highlands (Khabarovsk Krai) in 2024–2026 following a recent review of the genus (Koshkin 2024). A new species, Dodia shaidurovi sp. nov., is described from the Dusse-Alin’ Range. It is externally indistinguishable from other uniformly grey congeners but differs markedly from all known species in the morphology of the male genitalia (especially the valva and vesica) and in the COI barcode, with a minimum K2P distance of 4.7% from its closest relatives. A new subspecies, Dodia zhenya novomodnii ssp. nov., is described from the Myaochan Range (eastern part of the highlands). Adults differ from those of the nominotypical subspecies (occurring in the western part of the highlands) by their larger size, more obscure wing pattern, a distinct COI barcode (showing 5 fixed nucleotide substitutions, corresponding to 0.8–1.3% K2P distance), and a nocturnal activity, in contrast to the diurnal activity of the nominotypical subspecies. Two new populations of the nominotypical subspecies, D. zhenya zhenya Koshkin, 2024, are recorded from the Dusse-Alin’ Range, confirming its occurrence in that area. These findings significantly expand our knowledge of the diversity, distribution, and ecological differentiation within the genus Dodia in the Russian Far East. The species Dodia kononenkoi Tshistjakov & Lafontaine, 1984 is excluded from the fauna of Khabarovsk Krai, as no actual material confirms its presence there.
A new species, Afromelittia arabica O. Gorbunov et A. Ivanov, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Jazan Province in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The new species is closely related to A. haematopis (Fawcett, 1916), but differs by the absence of blood-red scales on the wings and abdomen, as well as by the shape of the uncus and valva in the male genitalia. Based on an analysis of the taxonomic composition of the tribe Melittiini, it is proposed to restore it to its original rank of subfamily, Melittiinae Le Cerf, 1917, stat. res. A list of species of the genus Afromelittia O. Gorbunov et Arita, 1997, is provided with information on their type localities. The erroneous indication of the presence of the holotype for Melittia haematopis Fawcett, 1916, is corrected and the lectotype is designated herein.
This study builds upon the work of Kolosova and Bolotov (2020), who reported the arrival and establishment of the Lime Swallowtail, Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), on Mahé, Seychelles. Using an expanded dataset of 67 verified observations collected between 2016 and 2026, we reconstruct its expansion from Mahé to La Digue and Praslin, beginning in 2021. Furthermore, we analyse intra-island distribution and phenological patterns, identifying correlations with habitat availability in disturbed coastal landscapes and monthly rainfall, respectively. Although the Seychelles population was initially identified morphologically as P. demoleus malayanus Wallace, 1865, new COI sequences reveal that it indeed belongs to the nominate subspecies, P. demoleus demoleus Linnaeus, 1758. The identification of an identical COI haplotype within the native range in northern Pakistan suggests that the Seychelles population originated in South Asia, likely from Pakistan or neighbouring regions of India. Our findings underscore the necessity of DNA sequencing for the accurate delineation of invasive P. demoleus subspecies in biosecurity management, especially on tropical oceanic islands.
Throughout its range from Greece to Iran, the populations of Grüner’s Orange Tip (Anthocharis gruneri Herrich-Schäffer, 1851) show variation that often defies their subspecies designation. We tested the boundaries of these designations using new data from DNA barcodes alongside a re-examination of the available evidence from morphology and ecology in various populations across the range. We found that the taxon originally described as A. gruneri fereiduni Carbonell & Back, 2009 should be recognized as a separate species, Anthocharis fereiduni stat. nov., with taxon zamanii Naderi & Back, 2019 as its subspecies, A. fereiduni zamanii comb. nov. The range of A. fereiduni is confined to the Eastern Zagros and Kerman Mountains in Central Iran. Its early stages and larval host remain unknown, however it can be distinguished from A. gruneri by differences in wing pattern especially on the undersides of the wings, as well as a notable gap in DNA barcodes. Within A. gruneri (s. str.), our COI haplotype network suggests the presence of only two haplogroups: One from southern Europe pertaining to subspecies macedonica Buresch, 1921 and parnassia Bernardi, 1970, and another from Turkey, the Levant, Caucasus and western Iran corresponding to subspecies gruneri Herrich-Schäffer, 1851 and armeniaca Christoph, 1893. Despite a lack of genetic differentiation, we maintain the subspecies status of all these taxa as they show diagnosable morphological differences.
Based on the study of the female holotype, the systematic position of Chrysartona refulgens Hampson, 1893, is discussed. It is shown that this species belongs to the tribe Cleleini Efetov & Tarmann, 2024, and is a representative of the subgenus Chrystarmanna Efetov, 2006.
A survey of ground spiders of the genus Synaphosus Platnick & Shadab, 1980 (Gnaphosidae) from Azerbaijan, including five species, is presented. Among them, S. nakhchivanicus sp. nov. is described based on a male specimen collected in the Julfa District. In addition, S. syntheticus (Chamberlin, 1924) is reported from the Caucasus for the first time.
A new species, Pseudometa barbarae sp. n., is described from the Central Congolian lowland forests ecoregion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion in Uganda. It appears somewhat similar to Pseudometa choba (Druce, 1899) (= Glocia tenebra Bethune-Baker, 1911), which is known only from southern Nigeria. Adults of both sexes, genitalia, additional morphological features, preimaginal stages of the new species, and a distribution map are illustrated.
This study presents new distributional data for the oriental hornet Vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1761 in the Ulytau, Mangystau and Aktobe oblasts, in Central and West Kazakhstan. Specific locality records of this social wasp are provided. Now for Central Kazakhstan two species of the genus Vespa Linnaeus, 1758 have been documented – the common hornet Vespa crabro Linnaeus, 1758 and the oriental hornet. The list of arthropods found in oriental hornet nests is provided. As a result of the study, 79 species of invertebrates belonging to 70 genera, 31 families, 11 orders and 4 classes were noted in the nests of the oriental hornet. A case of illness and death of V. orientalis larvae from infection with the fungus Aspergillus flavus Link and the death of a wintering female infected by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. has been reported. Additionally, traces of a bacterial infection of unknown etiology were detected in some larvae; these samples are currently undergoing further investigation.
New data on the Pterophoridae fauna of Jordan are presented. Previously, 14 species were known from the country, not 17, as erroneously reported by Ustjuzhanin et al. (2015). To this total, five species are now added: Agdistis arabica, A. heydeni, Capperia washbourni, Wheeleria ivae, Merrifieldia malacodactyla; and one species new to science is described: Agdistis xavieri Ustjuzhanin & Matuszewski sp. nov. The total Pterophoridae fauna of Jordan now comprises 20 species.
The paper provides a list of 13 species of the genus Catocala Schrank, 1802 found in the northern part of the valley of the Ural River within West Kazakhstan. Catocala hymenaea ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) is reported from Kazakhstan for the first time. Catocala helena Eversmann, 1856, previously known from Northeast and Central Kazakhstan, is reported from West Kazakhstan for the first time. Adults and the habitat are illustrated.
A new species of Gibbauropoda (G. vietnamica sp. nov.) is discovered and described based on four females and one male from Vietnam. The new species differs from its congeners in having a triangular prolongation of the lateral depression on the dorsal shield, as well as in the setation and sculptural pattern of the dorsal and ventral idiosoma. An updated diagnosis of the genus, accompanied by a new list of known species, is given.
This paper describes one new species and two newly recorded species for the fauna of Türkiye of the genus Feltria Koenike, 1882, i.e. Feltria (Feltria) turcica n. sp., F. (Azugofeltria) motasi (Schwoerbel, 1961) and F. (Feltria) longispina Motaş & Angelier, 1928.
A new species of the marine water mite family Pontarachnidae Koenike, 1910, is described from Brunei Darussalam. Litarachna poliacarus sp. nov. represents the fourth species of the family in the country to date.
