Although CO₂-baited BG-Sentinel traps are widely used for mosquito surveillance, their non-target bycatch can yield valuable faunistic information. We present the first assessment of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) collected inci-dentally using CO₂ traps across Slovakia in 2025. Of 290 weekly trap samples obtained at 16 localities, 45 (16%) contained dolichopodid specimens, representing a total of 400 specimens belonging to 13 species in five genera. Two species (Sybistroma impar (Rondani, 1843) and Systenus bipartitus (Loew, 1850)) are reported here for the first time in Slovakia. The most frequently recorded species were Systenus leucurus Loew, 1859, Medetera truncorum Meigen, 1824, and Sciapus platypterus (Fabricius, 1805), although their occurrence varied considerably among sites. The assemblage was dominated by species associated with arboreal and humid microhabitats, suggesting that CO₂-baited traps selectively capture only a subset of the local dolichopodid fauna. In addition, only male specimens were identified to species level, and therefore the reported species composition should be interpreted with caution. Our findings demonstrate that mosquito surveillance networks can provide valuable complementary faunistic infor-mation on non-target Diptera, including rarely recorded species. However, CO₂-baited traps do not yield a represen-tative sample of the dolichopodid fauna and should be considered as supplementary to targeted sampling methods. Integrating the analysis of bycatch into vector surveillance programs represents a low-effort approach to enhancing faunistic knowledge on Diptera in human-modified environments. Key words: biodiversity monitoring, bycatch, CO₂ trap, Diptera, Dolichopodidae, new records, Slovakia

The biodiversity of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Poland is presented. A total of 100 species have been recorded, 78 of which have been observed recently, 21 recorded historically and not confirmed by recent sampling, and one species recorded through citizen science. A total of 33 species are new to Poland and 38 species are considered important for nature conservation. Detailed information is missing for Paramormia (Paramormia) fratercula (Eaton, 1893), Seoda morula (Eaton, 1893), Seoda similis (Tonnoir, 1922), Berdeniella unispinosa (Tonnoir, 1919), Pericoma (Pericoma) diversa Tonnoir, 1919, Saraiella carpatica Vaillant, 1981, and Pneumia vittata (Tonnoir, 1919). Some records probably originate from larval identification. The status of Pneumia rivularis (Berdén, 1954) is briefly discussed. The record of Ulomyia ophicornis Vaillant, 1983 needs verification.

The bird louse fly Ornithoctona laticornis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), previously known only from Africa, has recently been recorded in Europe (Hungary) for the first time, raising questions about its potential range expansion. In this study, we document the first record of O. laticornis from the Syrian Woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus) in 2022 and another from the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) in 2023, both in Romania. Morphological description and molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene confirmed the species identity. The main morphological criteria for the identification of O. laticornis were used in the updated key for the European genera of Hippoboscidae. The recurring presence of O. laticornis in resident European birds suggests either overwintering survival or multiple introductions via migratory hosts. Given the ability of hippoboscid flies to act as vectors of pathogens, this discovery underscores the importance of continued surveillance of avian ectoparasites in Europe. Further studies are needed to assess the distribution of the species, its genetic diversity, host range, and its potential role as a vector.

This study presents records of ectoparasitic flies from the family Hippoboscidae collected in Romania between 2022 and 2024. A total of seven species were recorded, with Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart in Webb and Berthelot, 1839) representing a new record for the fauna of Romania. To the best of the authors' knowledge, many of the parasite-host associations are new and are previously unpublished. In addition, a graphical network illustrating these associations is provided. This network highlights the frequency and diversity of host-parasite interactions across the study sites. The recorded phoresis of Guimaraesiella (Mallophaga) on Ornithomya avicularia (Linnaeus, 1758) and the hyperparasites Hemimyialges macdonaldi (Evans et al., 1963) and Myialges anchora Sergent and Trouessart, 1907 (both Acariformes: Epidermoptidae) on Ornithoica turdi (Olivier in Latreille, 1811) are newly documented in Romania.

The common teasel ( Dipsacus fullonum L.) represents a unique and almost unknown aquatic ecosystem referred to as phytotelma, identified almost a century ago by Varga in 1928. The present study investigates the ecology of dipterans inhabiting the phytotelmata of the teasel in eastern Slovakia. The research, conducted from May to August (11.5.2016 – 16.8.2016), focused on the temporal and spatial distribution of organisms, mainly Dasyhelea spp. (Ceratopogonidae) and Metriocnemus eurynotus (Holmgren, 1883) (Chironomidae), in the phytotelmata. A total of 1429 dipteran individuals from six families were identified, with Dasyhelea spp. and M. eurynotus dominating the samples. The temporal and spatial dynamics of the larval and pupal stages were observed. M. eurynotus occurred mainly in the lower levels early in the season and Dasyhelea entered the higher levels during the M . eurynotus abundance decline. Unexpectedly, Dasyhelea pupae were observed actively moving out of the water on the plant stems between phytotelmata levels. The study highlights the simplicity and extremity of the teasel aquatic environment and provides insights into ecological processes, such as distribution, colonisation and species interactions within the teasel ecosystem. The results contribute to the broader understanding of phytotelma ecology and highlight the importance of the common teasel as a unique habitat for dipteran communities.

An understudied ecosystem such as a rural area can hold many surprises. In this paper we report the results of a collection at a rural site in eastern Slovakia using a single Malaise trap over a five-month period. From May to September 2023, 70 species of the Diptera family Phoridae were found there, 19 of which represent new species for the Slovak fauna (one sp. of the genus Aenigmatias and 18 spp. of the genus Megaselia). The species richness of the Phoridae fauna in Slovakia has thus increased by almost 9% to 229 species. It is very likely that more intensive research will yield many more interesting records and greatly increase our knowledge of Slovakia’s biodiversity.

The hippoboscids play important roles in ecosystem functioning and can serve as indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem health. These bloodsucking ectoparasites are important from a public health perspective, as they can serve as vectors of various endoparasitic pathogens in animals and humans, although our understanding is still limited in this case. The current study provides information on the host species and distribution, which can contribute to the understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of these important arthropods with a potential impact on both animal and human health. We present an ecological parasite-host interaction network of louse flies and deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) collected from various sites in Slovakia from this time. A total of 123 new samples of eight hippoboscid fly species were captured on 17 species, including 15 birds and two mammals. New host-parasite interactions were recorded for the first time.

Abstract We present records of 103 fly species from six families of Bibionomorpha (namely: Anisopodidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Diadocidiidae, Keroplatidae, and Mycetophilidae) collected by a single Malaise trap in an Eastern Slovakia locality during the vegetation period in 2023. Data on five species, viz., Mycomya (Neomycomya) fimbriata (Meigen, 1818), Synapha fasciata Meigen, 1818, Cordyla pusilla Edwards, 1925, Mycetophila freyi Lundstrom, 1909, and Sceptonia tenuis Edwards, 1925 (all Mycetophilidae) represent the first records for the fauna of Slovakia, and habitus photographs of these species have been provided. A very rare Central European species – Neoclastobasis draskovitsae Matile, 1978 – has also been recorded and photographed.

An uncommon host-parasite relationship is presented: Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch, 1818 (Diptera: Carnidae) parasiting fledgling of Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758. This host association has hitherto not been recorded from the territory of Romania.

Urbanisation is widely considered as having a large impact on most native species. However, the species response to urbanisation varies among taxonomic groups, and its generalisation might lead to contradictory or incorrect management decisions in urban planning. Land snails, as an understudied group in this sense, are good subjects to study the impact of urbanisation due to their low dispersal capabilities and mobility. The study aimed to determine how land snail diversity patterns and community structure are influenced by urbanisation through an urban-to-rural gradient. A total of 59 terrestrial gastropod species and more than 4600 individuals were recorded at 24 alluvial sites distributed along an urban-to-rural gradient in three Slovak cities (Bratislava, Zvolen and Prešov). Most species belonged to euryecious, hygrophilous and forest specialist ecological groups; seven species were non-native to Slovakia. The results clearly highlight the negative effect of densely built areas on land snail community structure, since the proportion of indigenous and specialist species decreased progressively towards urban sites. The highest mean number of species was found in suburban zones and the lowest in urban zones, suggesting that most species favour intermediate levels of urbanisation. Some species (e.g. Arion vulgaris ) were evenly distributed along the urbanisation gradient, supporting the importance of river floodplains as bio-corridors for the dispersal of gastropods.

Teasels (Dipsacus spp.) are among the few European plant species that can create small aquatic ecosystems, known as phytotelmata, in their leaf axils. However, these unique environments have received little research attention. We performed the first detailed study of phytotelmata in teasels, aiming to describe the physical habitat and macroinvertebrate communities across different leaf axil levels. We explored 64 phytotelmata on 20 teasel plants in Slovakia (Central Europe). These small aquatic ecosystems contained less than 100 ml of water, exhibited a pH ranging from slightly acidic to neutral, had very low oxygen content, and showed highly variable conductivity. We collected more than 1000 larvae of Diptera, representing at least ten aquatic invertebrate taxa. The dominant species found in these communities were the chironomid Metriocnemus eurynotus (Holmgren, 1883), followed by ceratopogonids of the genus Dasyhelea. The oldest, bottom-situated phytotelmata showed the highest invertebrate density and species richness, suggesting an important role of ecosystem age and the probability of colonization in the community assembly process. These highly replicated ecosystems with simple communities may serve as useful models for studying various ecological phenomena such as metacommunity dynamics, succession, community assembly, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning or mutualistic interactions.

Abstract This contribution fills the Diptera biodiversity knowledge gap of two National Nature Reserves in the east of Slovakia. In total, 53 flies species from 24 families were confirmed in NNR Dreveník and NNR Sivá Brada. Among them tree new records of Dolichopodidae for the fauna of Slovakia: Campsicnemus magius (Loew, 1845), Chrysotus palustris Verrall, 1876, Ephydridae: Notiphila (Agrolimna) uliginosa Haliday, 1839) as well as four valuable species known only from few records from Slovakia Tachytrechus ocior Loew, Dixella obscura (Loew, 1849), Psilopa stackelbergi Nartshuk, 1970, Cnodacophora stylifera (Loew, 1870). As an additional new record Sybistroma discipes (Germar, 1817) (Dolichopodidae) is added from Levoča town, near Röhrgrund pond. The knowledge of the biodiversity of protected areas is crucial for the appropriate management and protection of fauna in these rare areas.

The checklist of louse flies or keds from the family Hippoboscidae in Romania with 14 species is given. Among them, six species have been newly recorded from Romania, from Natura 2000 site “Dunele Marine de la Agigea” Natural Reserve; namely: Icosta minor (Bigot in Thomson, 1858), Ornithoica turdi (Olivier in Latreille, 1812), Ornithomya chloropus Bergroth, 1901, Ornithomya fringillina Curtis, 1836, Ornithophila gestroi (Rondani, 1878), and Ornithophila metallica (Schiner, 1864). Out of the total, seven species are autochthonous, while the other seven are probably non-native species, either spreading invasively or only occasionally being imported to Romania or migrating to the country along with their hosts. Three new host-parasite associations have been reported for the first time. Specifically, the eastern olivaceous warbler Iduna pallida (Hemprich et Ehrenberg, 1833) represents new host species for I. minor and O. turdi, while the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus, 1758) represents a new host species for O. gestroi.

New records of Protonemura species are enumerated on the basis of specimens collected between 2015 and 2019 in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. Three new species are proposed on the basis of males, females and nymphs: P. apetor sp. n. from Georgia, P. boris sp. n. from Azerbaijan and Georgia, and P. soad sp. n. from Armenia and Georgia. Comments are given on the variability of the adults of P. spinulata Martynov, 1928 and P. viridis Balinsky, 1950 on the basis of Azerbaijani and Georgian specimens. The hitherto unknown nymph of P. aculeata Theischinger, 1976, P. bacurianica bacurianica Zhiltzova, 1957, P. oreas Martynov, 1928, P. spinulata and P. viridis are described on the basis of association by pharate adults. Protonemura spinulata is new for Armenia, P. triangulata Martynov, 1928 is new for the Lesser Caucasus, and Nemoura dromokeryx Theischinger, 1976 is new for Georgia and the Caucasus. A checklist of the Protonemura species known from Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Alborz and the Levant is presented.

This paper attempts to fill the knowledge gaps in biodiversity of non-biting moth flies in the Caucasus (especially in Abkhazia) and create a suitable basis for subsequent (not only) ecological studies. In total, records of 65 Psychodidae (Sycoracinae - one sp., Psychodinae 64 spp., altogether 33 genera) species/subspecies are presented based on specimens collected mainly in Abkhazia, with some additional data from Armenia, Georgia, and Russia (12 new records). The Psychodidae fauna of Abkhazia now comprises 57 species, 31 of which are newly listed here. The Caucasus region (including the territory of Abkhazia presented here) should be considered the most biologically rich and most endangered region in the world, with an exceptional richness of endemic and endangered species also from the point of view of psychodids biodiversity. Sixteen extremely rare species in this family (probably Caucasus or highland endemics) which need to be given increased attention, whether from the point of view of island ecology or biodiversity protection, have been herein confirmed.

This paper attempts to fill the gaps in knowledge about the biodiversity of some winter-active fly families from snowfields and caves in Vârghiș, Romania. A total of 15 fly species were recorded from caves and 9 species from snowfields. Exechiopsis (Exechiopsis) pseudindecisa Lastovka et Matile, 1974 and Rymosia placida Winnertz, 1863 from caves and Mycetophila mitis (Johannsen, 1912) (all Mycetophilidae) from snow represent the first records for Romania. Habitus photographs of these three species are provided.

Ptychopteraxanthopleura Dvořák, Oboňa & Manko, sp. nov. from Azerbaijan and Georgia, and Ptychopterastaryi Dvořák, Oboňa & Manko, sp. nov. from Bulgaria are described. P.xanthopleurasp. nov. differs from the other member of the lacustris group mainly by having almost completely yellow pleurae, and by the shape of the epandrium and gonocoxites. The diagnostics of P.staryisp. nov. and P.incognita Török, Kolcsár & Keresztes, 2015 based on male genitalia are provided.

All important published records for 23 moth fly species known so far from Albania are reviewed (Phlebotominae 10 species, Psychodinae 13 species). Records of 5 Psychodidae (Phlebotominae 1, Psychodinae 4) species/subspecies are presented in this paper based on specimens collected by sweep-netting and UV light in Albania in 2022. Four species are recorded for the first time in Albania (namely: Jovamormia caliginosa (Eaton, 1893), Psychodocha cinerea Banks, 1894, Tinearia alternata (Say, 1824), Pericoma (Pericoma) motasi motasi Vaillant, 1978). The first checklist of Psychodidae of Albania is also listed. Key Words: Biodiversity, faunistics, moth flies, Phlebotominae, Psychodinae, Mormiini, Paramormiini, Psychodini, Pericomaini, Mediterranean Area, Europe, Palaearctic Region

The identity and distribution of a neglected fungus gnat species, Rymosia tolleti Burghele-Balacesco, 1965, in Europe is reviewed based on examination of newly collected specimens as well as available museum mate-rials. Rymosia tolleti is widespread but rather rare in Central Europe, with confirmed records from Romania, Slo-vakia, Germany, and France. All the specimens with known collection details originate from cave environments. Detailed photographs of the male terminalia are provided for the first time, along with two unique DNA barcodes for the species.

Current taxonomical keys are essential for better biodiversity knowledge. Moreover, accurate identification of groups of organisms known to act as disease vectors is vital in today’s world of change and the spread of zoonotic disease threats. This is especially relevant to bats and their parasites, given the events of recent years. The available keys of European Nycteribiidae (Diptera) are outdated and do not cover all the species currently known from Europe. Therefore, a summary key of 16 European species is provided in this paper. Based on published data from Europe, a total of 173 host–parasite interactions were observed between 16 European bat fly species and 31 host species (bats). The highest number of associations with different host species and the lowest specialization was observed in Penicillidia (P.) dufourii dufourii, followed by Nycteribia (N.) kolenatii, N. (N.) schmidlii and Phthiridium biarticulatum; most of the other species also had low specialization. Most species are oligoxenous, parasitizing on several families, and three species are stenoxenosus. Only one nycteribiid species, Basilia daganiae, was linked with only one host (Pipistrellus kuhlii). Myotis myotis has 12 associations with different bat fly species, followed by Plecotus auritus and Myotis daubentonii with 12 associations. A relatively high number of bat species were associated with only one bat fly species. In addition, we performed a bipartite analysis complemented by network indices and host specificity at the species and whole network levels, yielding new information in terms of ecology and the host–parasite relationships related to these groups of potential vectors (Nycteribiidae) and sources of zoonoses (bats). The parasite–host network composed of 16 nycteribiid species and 31 bat host species was characterized by a low network level specialization, low modularity, and low nestedness. Our findings also suggest a high probability of associated Nycteribiidae in bat taxa with a similar roosting ecology and phylogenetic relationship.