Alexandru-Mihai Pintilioaie

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• PhD student in entomology
• Research Assistant at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University

Summary. Four allochthonous seed beetles, associated with Gleditsia triacanthos L., Albizia julibrissin Durraz. and Cercis siliquastrum L., are reported from Romania for the first time. They are Megabruchidius dorsalis (Fåhraeus, 1839), M. tonkineus (Pic, 1914), Bruchidius terrenus (Sharp, 1886) and B. siliquastri Delobel, 2007 respectively. Their...

Humans have traded and transported alien species for millennia, both with and without intention to spread them to new areas. Consistent knowledge of their ecology will allow decision makers to take suitable conservation actions, with the aim of avoiding threatening native species. Praying mantids (Mantodea) are predatory insects with a high impact...

This report details the discovery of five new non-native Coleoptera species for the Romanian fauna: Cis chinensis Lawrence, 1991 (Ciidae), Latheticus oryzae C.O. Waterhouse, 1880, Palorus subdepressus (Wollaston, 1864), Tribolium destructor Uyttenboogaart, 1933 (Tenebrionidae), and Litargus balteatus LeConte, 1856 (Mycetophagidae). Furthermore, add...

Hierodula tenuidentata is reported for the first time in Romania, from several places, with strong evidence on the existence of stable populations in this country. Preliminary data regarding the ecology of the species and its relations with indigenous fauna are presented, as well as differences between this species and its closest congeners from Ro...

After more than 30 years from the first and only record of Amblycerus robiniae in Europe (Kecskemét, Hungary), two new established populations are reported. The new records came from Romania, 210-250 km away from the initial record, suggesting the possibility that the species was already established in Hungary and that it spread slowly to the south...

Dilophus clavicornus Skartveit & Kaplan, 1996 (Diptera: Bibionidae: Bibioninae) is reported for the first time from Romania, Montenegro and France. Photos of male habitus, fore tibia and male terminalia are provided

Colobomas are inherited defects affecting the membranes of the eye, leading to irregularities in the shape of the iris and pupil. While the causes and occurrence of colobomas have been studied extensively in humans and captive or domesticated animals, their prevalence in wild birds (which may represent interesting model organisms) remains largely u...

The soft-winged flower beetle Protapalochrus (s.str.) flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853) (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Malachiinae) is recorded for the first time from Austria, Bulgaria, and Israel. Furthermore, more or less recent records from Greece, Lebanon, Romania, and Turkey are reported as rediscoveries confirming records from the 19th century. S...

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.

This report details the discovery of five new non-native coleoptera species from the Romanian fauna: Cis chinensis Lawrence, 1991; Latheticus oryzae C.O. Waterhouse, 1880; Palorus subdepressus (Wollaston, 1864); Tribolium destructor Uyttenboogaart, 1933; and Litargus balteatus LeConte, 1856.

This report details the discovery of five new non-native coleoptera species from the Romanian fauna: Cis chinensis Lawrence, 1991; Latheticus oryzae C.O. Waterhouse, 1880; Palorus subdepressus (Wollaston, 1864); Tribolium destructor Uyttenboogaart, 1933; and Litargus balteatus LeConte, 1856. Furthermore, the distribution of a further 19 species wit...

The relationships between insect species and plant morphological characters are complex but vital in their ecosystem structure and functioning. These relationships are especially important for the distribution and abundance of insects since they influence ecological processes that have to do with the growth and development of host plants. Our study...

In the present work, three new spider (Aranea) records are presented as new faunistic elements for Romania: Maimuna vestita (C. L. Koch, 1841), Leptodrassus albidus Simon, 1914, and Saitis tauricus Kulczyński, 1904, from three families: Agelenidae, Gnaphosidae, Salticidae. This is also the first time when these three new genera are recorded in our...

The palaeotropical-subtropical moth Ophiusa tirhaca (Cramer, 1777) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) has been known in Romania based on a single (undated) specimen collected in Iași (north-eastern Romania), at least 55–60 years ago. As a consequence, this species has either been excluded or regarded as data deficient in various checklists of Romanian Lepidop...

The first documented occurrences of Otiorhynchus aurifer, O. pseudonothus, and Pachyrhinus lethierryi in Romania are given. The hotspot analysis (occurrence density, Getis-Ord Gi* statistic, and Kernel density estimation) indicates global bilateral clustering of Otiorhynchus aurifer in Western Europe + Great Britain Island and the Black Sea region...

This survey presents the first precise records of Leucomigus candidatus candidatus (Pallas, 1781) in Romania, confirming thus the presence of this species almost a century after its first and single record. Furthermore, ecology, habitat preference and distribution are discussed. We illustrate this taxon with high quality macro photographs, includin...

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...

Aplocnemus jejunus Kiesenwetter, 1863 is recorded in Romania for the first time. An up-to-date distribution map and a summary of its currently known biology is presented, together with pictures of a male specimen collected in the 'Marine dunes from Agigea' .

Cybocephalus nipponicus Endrödy-Younga, 1971 is recorded for the first time in Romania. An up-to-date map of its distribution in Europe is presented, together with pictures of the male collected at 'Dunele Marine de la Agigea' nature reserve.

While some species naturally expand their range by finding suitable climatic and trophic niches in new areas, others have been transported intentionally or unintentionally by humans since their journey from Africa to other continents. This phenomenon has occurred throughout history, being more prevalent at the end of the Middle Ages and at the star...

The rare European species Atrichobrunettia (Mirousiella) graeca Ježek et Goutner, 1993 and the invasive species Clogmia albipunctata (Williston, 1893) (both Diptera: Psychodidae) are newly recorded from "Dunele Marine de la Agigea" Nature Reserve from Romania. The updated checklist of non-Phlebotomine species of the family Psychodidae for Romania w...

Procas picipes steveni Krynicki, 1832 is recorded for the first time in Romania. Data on ecology and its distribution in Europe are discussed.

The superfamily Trigonalyoidea, along with the species Pseudogonalos hahnii (Spinola, 1840), is recorded for the first time in Romania. An up-to-date distribution in Europe and a brief description of its biology is presented, together with a picture of the specimen collected in Romania.

We summarized the known data on the distribution of Penthetria funebris Meigen, 1804 in Romania, based on old and two new records. We illustrate the male habitus, brachypterous wing, head and terminalia.

This work reports the presence of Neoscona byzanthina (Pavesi, 1876) in Romania, partly based on records provided by citizen scientists. The species was found at five different locations. Further, morphological differences to the other species of the genus are summarized and some data on the ecology of this species together with an up-to-date distr...

The presence of the orb-weaver spider Aculepeira armida (Audouin, 1826) is confirmed in the fauna of Romania, in Deta (Timiș County), after more than 100 years from its first observation in the country. Some data on the ecology and the diagnosis of the species are presented.

The Order Coleoptera is, within the animal kingdom, one of the species-richest group, with approximate 400,000 species on the Earth, more exactly 386,755 described species (Bouchard et al., 2017) - in comparison with all described species of birds (8,600 species), or of all described species of mammals (5,000 species). The beetle fauna is not...

The extraordinary fossil sites of Vlădiceni (Iaşi, Romania) recently discovered, with lithostratigraphy of Middle Miocene age, have uncovered a rich fauna especially of fishes, molluscs, amphipods and insects.nThis includes also the first fossil specimen of family Cantharidae from both this geological formation and from Romania: Malthodes (Malthode...

Cynaeus angustus , a North American tenebrionid, is recorded for the first time in Romania. Its distribution in Europe and some data regarding its ecology are presented and discussed.

Neoclytus acuminatus is an alien longhorn beetle native to North America and currently established in Europe where it has a relatively wide distribution. Herein, its distribution in Romania is summarized based on new data accumulated since its first record fifteen years ago. Some aspects on its biology and morphology are discussed.

GPS point for locations

Colobopsis truncata is a common Mediterranean species distributed mostly in southern and central Europe. In Romania, the species is expected to be widely distributed, but data are scarce. Both minor workers and soldiers of the species were collected in different sites during field observations in the spring of 2020. Herein we report the first recor...

In the Blănarului Hill (Vlădiceni, Iași), the Middle Miocene sedimentary succession consists of two formations (Brânzilă, 1999; Ionesi et al., 2005), namely: the formation with Cryptomactra (in the lower part) and the Bârnova-Muntele Formation. The former contains a mollusc assemblage with Cryptomactra pesanseris, Mactra cf. fabreana, Gibbula, and...

The Ponera genus includes hypogaeic species that usually forage cryptically in leaf litter on the ground. In Romania, the genus is represented by at least two species: P. testacea and P. coarctata. Scarce data is available on the distribution and biology of both species. However, P. coarctata is well known from Transylvania, lacking from other regi...

The peacock fly Callopistromyia annulipes (Macquart, 1855) is recorded for the first time in Romania, from several locations. Its current distribution in Europe and some data regarding the ecology of the species are presented.

The Romanian Trichoceridae fauna is poorly known. Trichocera ( Saltrichocera ) annulata Meigen, 1818 and Trichocera ( Saltrichocera ) maculipennis Meigen, 1818 are amongst the most widespread species in Europe, but the former species was not recorded from Romania so far and the later has only 120 years old records. Herein we report T. ( S. ) annula...

This study presents the genera Iphitrachelus Haliday, 1836 and Baryconus Förster, 1856 with the species B. graeffei (Kieffer, 1908), I. lar Haliday, 1836 and I. gracilis Masner, 1957 as new records for the Romanian fauna.

The Romanian fauna of mantispids (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) is represented by two species, at least. Data on the distribution of both species is relatively scarce. Mantispa styriaca (Poda, 1761) is considered an expansive holomediterranean element. Herein, we report a new record of the species after a half of century. Insights regarding the species...

This paper documents what we consider to be expanding distributions in three genera of Platygastroidea: Platyscelio Kieffer (Scelionidae), Aphanomerus Perkins (Platygastridae) and Tetrabaeus Kieffer (Platygastridae). Platyscelio africanus Risbec is the first record of Platyscelio in the Western Hemisphere (French Guiana). Aphanomerus is a new recor...

This paper reports on the second record of

The Romanian ant fauna is poorly known. It seems that many cryptic and parasitic species are missing from the checklist, including species with their ranges primarily outside of the Mediterranean. Herein