Confirmed occurrence and new records of Sciota rhenella (Zincken, 1818) (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Pyralidae) in Croatia

Three specimens of Sciota rhenella were recorded in July 2021 in Zagreb, northwestern Croatia. Although the species was previously mentioned in the literature for Croatia, its first finding was published without any given information on the locality and date of collection. As far as we know, the only published information on this species is that it is present in the fauna of Croatia. This paper aims at presenting the first data on the localities and dates of collection of S. rhenella in Croatia. By the provision of new, reliable and evidence-based data, the occurrence of S. rhenella in the country is confirmed. Hereby, a contribution to the knowledge of the Croatian pyraloid moth fauna is also given.

Faunal features of caddisflies (Insecta, Trichoptera) in Konavle region (Croatia) with notes on DNA barcoding and conservation biology

Throughout this research, 230 Trichoptera specimens were collected in the area of Konavle area, the southernmost region of Croatia. Altogether 21 species, 15 genera and 11 families were identified. DNA barcoding covered 41 specimens represented with 15 species collected in the Konavle region. The highest number of species was recorded at two localities: the spring of the River Ljuta (13) and a spring in the village Vodovađa (8). The highest number of taxa (4) was recorded within the following two families: Hydroptilidae and Hydropsychidae. From a faunistic point of view, the most interesting species in Konavle region are: Agapetus cf. kampos Oláh (the first record for Croatia), Hydroptila martini Marshall (the first record for the Mediterranean part of Croatia), Oxyethira falcata Morton (the first record for Croatia), Tinodes andrasi Oláh (type locality of the species is River Ljuta), Diplectrona cf. afra McLachlan (the first record from the Mediterranean part of Croatia) and Micropterna wageneri Malicky (the second record for Croatia). The first DNA barcoding data for the species Agapetus cf. kampos Oláh and Tinodes andrasi Oláh were entered into the BOLD database. The area of Konavle represents one of the most interesting regions for the fauna of Trichoptera and can be considered as a ”hotspot” for caddisflies in Croatia. Thus, it is necessary to install high standards for their protection.

Dinaric karst intermittent rivers harbour some rare mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera)

While investigating the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna of four intermittent Dinaric karst rivers in Croatia, we confirmed or recorded new distribution data and ecological features for several mayfly species rare in Croatian freshwater habitats: Nigrobaetis niger (Linnaeus, 1761), Procloeon pennulatum (Eaton, 1870) and Paraleptophlebia werneri Ulmer, 1920. To our knowledge, this is the first record of N. niger in intermittent lotic habitats. We discuss their substrate preferences in the studied habitats as well as their relationships with measured physico-chemical water parameters. The newly obtained results confirm that our knowledge about Croatian mayfly fauna and species ecological requirements in intermittent Mediterranean rivers is still incomplete and is increasing with systematic studies.

Tinodes atlasensis Ibrahimi, Mabrouki & Taybi, sp. nov. (Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae), a new species from Atlas Mountains, Morocco

The caddisfly fauna of North Africa and Morocco is still poorly known, with only a few historical and recent investigations, carried out sporadically. In this paper we describe a new species, Tinodes atlasensis Ibrahimi, Mabrouki & Taybi, sp. nov. from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The new species is closest to Tinodes baenai Gonzales & Otero, 1984, known from the Iberian Peninsula and mainly differs by the shape of segment IX, coxopodites, harpago and the process of basal plate. Tinodes atlasensis Ibrahimi, Mabrouki & Taybi, sp. nov. is the seventh known species of the genus Tinodes Curtis, 1834 from Morocco. Future caddisfly investigations in this North African country will most certainly increase the number of the known species and reveal other new ones.

Unexpected faunistic records of Rhacocleis annulata, Eyprepocnemis plorans, and Xya pfaendleri (Orthoptera) from Croatia and Slovenia

Interesting records of one bush-cricket and two grasshopper species are reported from Croatia and Slovenia. Rhacocleis annulata Fieber, 1853 (Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae) has been reported for the first time from Croatia (Dubrava by Šibenik), as well as for Slovenia (Borovnica SW of Ljubljana); Eyprepocnemis plorans (Charpentier, 1825) (Acrididae: Eyprepocnemidinae) is reported for the first time for Croatia, also from Dubrava; and finally, the Xya pfaendleri Harz, 1970 (Tridactylidae: Tridactylinae) record from Dubrava represents the first record of this species from Dalmatia. Rhacocleis annulata and Eyprepocnemis plorans are known to be spreading through Europe, so these records contribute to the understanding of their dispersal in Southern Europe. Croatian Orthopteran fauna now counts, with two species added, 187 species, while Slovenian Orthopteran fauna now counts, with one species added, 158 species.

A survey of medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya

Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (the Green Mountain) of Cyrenaica, Libya is known to have the highest plant species diversity in the country, particularly in the depressions and the valleys of the mountain. Wadi Al-Kouf is the largest valley in the mountain, with a rich flora of aromatic and medicinal plants. The present investigation was conducted to record and list the medicinal plant species growing in the valley during the flowering season of 2019. Results revealed that Wadi Al-Kouf hosts 107 medicinal plant species belonging to 49 families and 93 genera. Dicotyledons were the most represented group of angiospermae with 38 families, 79 genera and 89 species, whereas Monocotyledons were represented by only 8 families, 10 genera and 13 species. Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae were the families with the highest number of species; 11, 9, 6 and 6 species, respectively. The most dominant life forms found in the valley were Therophytes (25.2%), Phanerophytes (25.2%) and Chamaephytes (24.3%), followed by Hemicryptophytes (15.9%) and Geophytes (9.3%). Nine endemic species were detected and recorded.

Bacterial and plankton communities in mariculture water sources: a case study in Nampu and Sembukan seawaters, Wonogiri, Indonesia

Seawaters in Indonesia, part of the tropical marine ecosystem, have great microbial and plankton diversity. Seawater is used as a water source for marine aquacultures, such as shrimp, milkfish, lobster, and mud crab. Sustainability of environmental resources for supporting aquaculture activities can be assessed by analyzing the actual conditions of the water source environment, including bacterial and plankton communities. However, the characteristics of bacteria and plankton communities in Indonesian seawaters have not been well documented. In this study, we investigated the bacterial and plankton communities in surface seawater from two coastal areas, i.e. Nampu and Sembukan, Wonogiri regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Bacterial diversity was analyzed using the Illumina-based high throughput sequencing with a primer set targeting the V3-V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Meanwhile, the plankton community (phytoplankton and zooplankton) was calculated and identified using a counting chamber method. Sequencing analysis revealed that the five dominant bacterial phyla in the two seawater samples were similar, consisting of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Cyanobacteria. Although the two sites are separated by several kilometres, the distribution of dominant bacterial phyla in both seawater samples is similar. Phytoplankton in Nampu and Sembukan were similarly dominated by Trichodesmium sp., Navicula sp., and Rhabdonema sp. Dominant zooplankton in the two sites were Euterpina, Nauplius, Oithona sp., Oncaea sp., Tigriopus sp., and Gastropoda larvae. The seawater in Nampu and Sembukan is suitable as a water source for aquaculture.

First record of Cyrnus crenaticornis (Kolenati, 1859) (Insecta, Trichoptera, Polycentropodidae) in Croatia: morphological determination and DNA barcoding

The caddisfly species Cyrnus crenaticornis (Kolenati, 1859) was recorded for the first time in Croatia in the Odra River during August 2015. The record refers to a larval stage which was determined according to morphological characteristics and supported by DNA barcoding.

Novelties in the vascular flora of Croatia

We report on and discuss records of five species new to the vascular flora of Croatia. Calamagrostis canescens was found near Đurđevac in remnants of fen vegetation, and we consider it a critically endangered species in the flora of Croatia. Agrimonia procera is native or archaeophyte in central Croatia and its discovery is in accordance with its earlier use as a medicinal plant. Amaranthus emarginatus is an exotic newcomer that was previously found in urban habitats on the north Adriatic coast. Carex vulpinoidea and Oenothera suaveolens were shown to be locally established species, in meadows along the Kupa River, and on the bars of the Drava River, respectively. In addition, we present new distributional and ecological data on two neophytes (Cardamine occulta, Humulus scandens) that were only briefly mentioned in earlier sources from Croatia.

New records of alien plants – Ludwigia peploides (Kunth) P. H. Raven, Reynoutria sachalinensis (F. Schmidt) Nakai and Nicotiana glauca Graham in Croatia

Invasive alien species Ludwigia peploides, Reynoutria sachalinensis and Nicotiana glauca, currently registered in Croatia with small number of records, were found during fieldwork undertaken mostly through the national monitoring of waters from 2018 to 2020. Ludwigia peploides was previously recorded only once in the River Ilova, the existing data for R. sachalinensis indicate only three confirmed findings, in Čabar, Karlovac and Donja Stubica, while the previous data for N. glauca include several localities in Central and Southern Dalmatia. The new records are as follows: two findings of L. peploides refer to the River Česma (Obedišće and Sišćani); three records of R. sachalinensis refer to Gorski Kotar (Gerovo and Čabar), while N. glauca is newly recorded in the Neretva River Valley (Krvavac) and the island of Krk. Despite their potential invasiveness, all three are still locally naturalized and currently their spread is very slow and limited in Croatia.