Arno Thomaes

Research Institute for Nature and Forest | INBO

Fort Steendorp (east of Temse, East Flanders, Belgium) is a large former military brick fortification, which is nowadays one of the most important bat hibernation sites in Flanders. The fortification is part of two, 19th and early 20th century defensive 'belts' of fortifications around the city and port of Antwerp. Standardized winter census counts...

In this article, we report on the widespread Palearctic species, Pytho depressus (Linnaeus, 1767), in Belgium. We present the current distribution data of P. depressus in Belgium and unravel and interpret its distribution and habitat. Based on the limited observations, Pytho depressus seems to be rare and sporadic.

Conservation of the threatened and protected European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) mainly focuses on the availability of dead wood as larval habitat. However, as the larval ecology of this species remains poorly studied, less attention has been given to other habitat requirements such as ambient temperatures for the development of the larvae. To de...

Introduction To evaluate the loss of biodiversity, monitoring of priority species has been proposed. As these species need to include different taxonomical and functional groups, there is a need for cost-efficient and accurate monitoring protocols for saproxylic indicator species. Elater ferrugineus is known as an indicator of hollow trees and the...

In dit rapport geven we voor negen taxonomische groepen (vaatplanten, amfibieën en reptielen, vissen, broedvogels, overwinterende watervogels, zoogdieren, dagvlinders, libellen en sprinkhanen en krekels) een geactualiseerde lijst van soorten die belangrijk zijn voor het provinciale natuurbehoud, -beheer en/of -beleid in Antwerpen. De gegevensbronne...

In dit rapport geven we voor negen taxonomische groepen (vaatplanten, amfibieën en reptielen, vissen, broedvogels, overwinterende watervogels, zoogdieren, dagvlinders, libellen en sprinkhanen en krekels) een geactualiseerde lijst van soorten die belangrijk zijn voor het provinciale natuurbehoud, -beheer en/of -beleid in Vlaams-Brabant. De gegevensb...

In dit rapport, dat samen met de vijf provinciale rapporten één geheel vormt, beschrijven we de procedure voor de afbakening van provinciaal prioritaire soorten, maar ook van andere soorten die voor het provinciale natuurbehoud en/of -beleid van belang kunnen zijn. Naast provinciaal prioritaire soorten sensu Bauwens et al. (2001), waarbij de soorte...

In dit rapport geven we voor negen taxonomische groepen (vaatplanten, amfibieën en reptielen, vissen, broedvogels, overwinterende watervogels, zoogdieren, dagvlinders, libellen en sprinkhanen en krekels) een geactualiseerde lijst van soorten die belangrijk zijn voor het provinciale natuurbehoud, -beheer en/of -beleid in West-Vlaanderen. De gegevens...

In dit rapport geven we voor negen taxonomische groepen (vaatplanten, amfibieën en reptielen, vissen, broedvogels, overwinterende watervogels, zoogdieren, dagvlinders, libellen en sprinkhanen en krekels) een geactualiseerde lijst van soorten die belangrijk zijn voor het provinciale natuurbehoud, -beheer en/of -beleid in Limburg. De gegevensbronnen...

In dit rapport geven we voor negen taxonomische groepen (vaatplanten, amfibieën en reptielen, vissen, broedvogels, overwinterende watervogels, zoogdieren, dagvlinders, libellen en sprinkhanen en krekels) een geactualiseerde lijst van soorten die belangrijk zijn voor het provinciale natuurbehoud, -beheer en/of -beleid in Oost-Vlaanderen. De gegevens...

The taxonomic composition of the Bidessini of Belize is reviewed based on literature and material collected by the authors during a field survey in 2015. During the field survey a total 683 specimens of Bidessini were collected belonging to nine species of which six species are reported for the first time from Belize: Anodocheilus francescae Young,...

We report the first records of Mimela junii (Duftschmid, 1805) in Belgium. As the records go back to 2012, we interpret that the species has established at least at one location and possibly already about a decade ago. In Sint-Niklaas a population has established in a residential area and adjacent park while other records from 2021 are located in d...

Global change increases the risk of extreme climatic events. The impact of extreme temperature may depend on the tree species and also on the provenance. Ten provenances of Fagus sylvatica L. were grown in a common garden environment in Belgium and subjected to different temperature treatments. Half of the one year old seedlings were submitted to a...

To address the decline in biodiversity, international cooperation in monitoring of threatened species is needed. Citizen science can play a crucial role in achieving this challenging goal, but most citizen science projects have been established at national or regional scales. Here we report on the establishment and initial findings of the European...

Questions Managed forests often show a more homogeneous age structure compared to unmanaged forests, but also a higher share and frequency of canopy and soil disturbances due to harvest operations. Here, we investigate what happens when non-intervention is introduced in formerly managed forests. • - Was there a significant decrease in vascular pla...

Till ten years ago, Cucujus cinnaberinus (Scopoli, 1763) was largely restricted to Eastern Europe and Scandinavia and likely extinct in entire Western Europe. In 2014, the first observation was done in Belgium. Since 2017, large populations have been found spreading quickly throughout Flanders. Currently, the species has spread over large areas in...

Reliable information for the conservation of many insects is lacking due to a poor knowledge of their ecology. Here, we review the biological knowledge about the European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), in which recent advances are improving the basis for successful conservation. A review of the biological and ecological literature about this species...

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanization can negatively affect metap-opulation persistence when gene flow among populations is reduced and population sizes decrease. Inference of patterns and processes of population connectivity derived from spatial genetic analysis has proven invaluable for conservation and management. However, a more co...

The dataset presented in this data paper supports "Breaking down insect stoichiometry into chitin-based and internal elemental traits: Patterns and correlates of continent-wide intraspecific variation in the largest European saproxylic beetle" (Orłowski et al. 2020) [1]. Here we present the supplementary data and description of methods on the follo...

This paper deals with the taxonomic composition, distribution and ecology of the genus Thermonectus Dejean, 1833 in Belize. During a field survey in 2015 three species were found: Thermonectus basillaris (Harris, 1829), T. circumscriptus (Latreille, 1809) and T. margineguttatus (Aubé, 1838). These are the first records of this genus in Belize.

In this paper we give an overview of the legislation that regulates the collecting activities of entomologists in Belgium. The rules are in general quite similar between the three regions but there are some minor differences. We clarify that protected species are not impossible to study in contrast to what is often believed. But the research needs...

Seasonal variation in insect biomass forces bats in Belguim to spend their winter in hibernation. While some of our species hibernate in trees, many use man-made cave-like structures. In the winter of 1973-‘74 volunteers of the Vleermuizenwerkgroep counted hibernating bats in an icehouse for the first time. Since then volunteers have counted 55 892...

Bossen in Vlaanderen zijn vaak klein, sterk gefragmenteerd en relatief jong. Hoewel Vlaanderen netto nog steeds aan bosareaal verliest, worden er toch regelmatig nieuwe bossen aangeplant. Maar een bos is meer dan een verzameling bomen. Een echt bosecosysteem herbergt ook typische soorten planten, dieren en zwammen. Het is al langer geweten dat heel...

Each Member State needs to report every 6 years (2013-2019, 2025…) to the European Commission (EC) about the conservation status of habitats and species present in each biogeographical region. This document presents the applied method and results for the period 2013-2018 of the species present in Flanders (northern Belgium). Flanders is nearly comp...

Each Member State needs to report every 6 years (2013-2019, 2025…) to the European Commission (EC) about the conservation status of habitats and species present in each biogeographical region. This document presents the reporting files for the different insect sepcies (beetles, dragonflies, butterflies) and molluscs for the period 2013-2018 of the...

Lucanus cervus (L.), the stag beetle, is a saproxylic beetle species distributed widely across Europe. Throughout its distribution the species has exhibited pronounced declines and is widely considered threatened. Conservation efforts may be hindered by the lack of population genetic data and understanding of the spatial scale of population connect...

Spatial clustering results based on microsatellite genotypes of Lucanus cervus. (A) The BAPS results showing four clusters, (B-D) STRUCTURE results with (B) K = 2 main clusters involving all samples, and with (C) K = 2 subclusters and (D) K = 4 subclusters after excluding Greek samples assigned to one cluster in (B; indicated in pink). The estimate...

ΔK calculated for each K from 1 to 20 using the Evanno method in STRUCTURE HARVESTER. This is based on STRUCTURE results (A) using all samples and (B) after excluding the Greek samples. (TIF)

Microsatellite multiplex and simplex primer concentrations, fluorescent labels and annealing temperatures for Lucanus cervus. (PDF)

Lucanus cervus microsatellite data used in the analyses. (XLSX)

Maximum-likelihood phylogeny tree, calculated with RAxML for Lucanus cervus COI data, using L. ibericus as an outgroup species. Only bootstrap values greater than 70% are shown (100 replicates). The scale bar corresponds to the mean number of amino acid substitutions per site on the respective branch. Lineages I and II are indicated with blue and p...

Population pairwise FST values for microsatellite genotypes of Lucanus cervus. Significant values (p < 0.05) are indicated in bold. (PDF)

The final set of occurrence data of Lucanus cervus after thinning indicated with red x’s. The insert shows part of Southern England where grey crosses are occurrence sites before the final thinning step using the nearest neighbour distance of 5 km. (TIF)

Sample information of the collected stag beetles including localities, coordinates, year of collection and accession numbers of the studied COI sequences. (PDF)

Population pairwise FST values for mtDNA dataset of Lucanus cervus. Significant values (p < 0.05) are indicated in bold. (PDF)

Red Lists estimate the extinction risk of species at global or regional levels and areimportant instruments in conservation policies. Global Red List assessments are readilyavailable via the IUCN website (https://www.iucnredlist.org) and are regularly updated by(taxonomic) experts. Regional Red Lists, however, are not always easy to find and oftenu...

Results of the 2013-2018 Art. 17 reporting under the Habitats Directive for the Annex I habitat types in the Flemish Region (Belgium)

This article gives an overview of the current knowledge of Cucujus cinnaberinus in Flanders. This includes the life cycle of the species and its habitat. We describe the strong recent range expansion in northwestern Europe and try to explain this by large scale habitat restoration actions. Finally we describe the current distribution in Flanders an...

Successful colonization of empty habitat patches depends both on the capacity of a species to reach the patch and its ability to establish and persist. Getting better insights into the various factors that affect colonization success is especially relevant in the context of restoration projects that aim at restoring biodiversity in newly created ha...

• Global habitat destruction is bringing species to the edge. Consequently, understanding species dispersal behaviour is becoming essential in order to safeguard vital meta‐populations. Nevertheless, dispersal is too often seen as unconditional rather than triggered by habitat cues. • We applied radio telemetry on female European stag beetles [Luc...

The taxonomic composition of the subfamily Laccophilinae Gistel, 1848 in Belize is reviewed based on material collected by the authors during a field survey in 2015 and literature. In total eight species were collected belonging to two genera. Four species are recorded from Belize for the first time: Laccophilus duplex Sharp, 1882; L. fasciatus fas...

This annual report provides a summary of the status of the indicators concerning the European Biodiversity Strategy targets. For Target 1, the conclusions at the Flemish level are in line with the EU Mid Term Review. For example, a small number of habitats and species of the Habitat Directive are improving slightly, but the majority are still in...

Morimus funereus Mulsant, 1862, a longhorn beetle listed in the Habitats directive, is reported for the first time in Belgium. A specimen was intercepted in Nijlen (near Antwerp) which is very likely explained by transport although the exact origin and route is unclear.

In this article, we report the first observations of Thanasimus femoralis (Zetterstedt, 1828) in Belgium. This species seems to be widespread in the Campine ecoregion but has also been observed at five locations outside this region. We present distribution maps, the phenology as well as identification characteristics of this species and the morphol...

In this article we review the Burrowing Water Beetles (Coleoptera: Noteridae) from Belize based on recently collected material and literature records. In total nine species belonging to four genera are recorded from Belize. Six species, i.e. Hydrocanthus debilis Sharp, 1882, H. marmoratus Sharp, 1882, Mesonoterus leavicollis Sharp, 1882, Suphisellu...

Monitoring global biodiversity is essential for understanding and countering its current loss. However, monitoring of many species is hindered by their difficult detection due to crepuscular activity, hidden phases of the life cycle, short activity period and low population density. Few statistical power analyses of declining trends have been publi...

Motivatie In Vlaanderen zijn oude bomen en oude bossen een zeldzaam verschijnsel, en de kennis van hun historiek en ecologie is nog steeds beperkt. Wél is geweten dat oude en aftakelende bomen een heel hoge ecologische waarde hebben, die vaak nog hoger is dan die van zwaar dood hout. Vandaar dat hieraan steeds meer aandacht wordt besteed : ook in d...

Nature policy and management often uses threatened and regionally important species as tools or goals. Knowledge about their ecology and distribution is, therefore, crucial to scientifically underpin conservation measures. Apart from known observations, sites where the focal species is not (yet) observed or sites where potentially suitable ecologic...

Dit document geeft weer hoe de inhaalslag voor het Vliegend hert (Lucanus cervus) en de Roestbruine kniptor (Elater ferrugineus) moet verlopen om het steekproefkader voor de monitoring van deze soorten vast te leggen. Voor beide soorten kijken we eerst op de schaal van de ecodistricten of er al voldoende kennis is over de verspreiding van de soorte...

We present the Belgian entomological index (www.srbe-kbve.be/speciesIndex), an online database to look up what has been published about a genus or species in the Belgian entomological literature. So far Atalanta, Belgian Journal of Entomology, Bulletin S.R.B.E./K.B.V.E., Entomo-Info and Phegea have been included. The current version contains 64119...

Kurzfassung: Cucujus cinnaberinus (SCOPOLI, 1763) wird in den Anhängen II und IV der Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Richtlinie (92/43/EWG) aufgeführt und ist somit euro-paweit geschützt. Bis vor kurzem beschränkte sich das Vorkommen der Art haupt-sächlich auf Mitteleuropa, jedoch erweiterte sie ihr Verbreitungsgebiet zuletzt deut-lich. Dieser glänzend zinnobe...

Gnorimus nobilis (Linnaeus, 1758) was considered a common species all over Belgium in the beginning of the previous century. However, between 1970 and 2015 in northern Belgium, it was restricted to a single known population, in and near the Sonian forest, near Brussels. In this article we report three new localities for this species discovered in 2...

The European Red List of Habitats provides an overview of the risk of collapse (degree of endangerment) of marine, terrestrial and freshwater habitats in the European Union (EU28) and adjacent regions (EU28+), based on a consistent set of criteria and categories and detailed data and expertise from involved countries (http://ec.europa.eu/environmen...

Developing protocols for threatened invertebrates is often challenging, because they are not only rare but also elusive. This is the case with the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), a protected and flagship species for the saproxylic beetle fauna in Europe. We applied a standard transect walk at a European scale (8 countries, 29 transects) to test its p...

The European stag beetle Lucanus cervus, widely distributed across Europe and in some Near East countries, is one of the best known coleopteran species listed in the European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and it is considered a flagship species for conservation of saproxylic fauna. Lucanus tetraodon is a closely related species whose geographical di...

The size variation and male dimorphism of stag beetles (Lucanidae) have often been subject of studies but an ecological explanation for this male dimorphism has rarely been given or proven. As the major male clearly invests in weaponry which helps with competing with other males, we especially wonder what is the advantage of the minor morph. We hyp...

For many centuries, coppice-with-standards management was applied in the mixed oak stands of Meerdaal forest (Belgium). Over the last century, these stands were gradually converted to high forest. On an area of 20 ha, the coppice-with-standards management is being restored, with specific adaptations for biodiversity (conservation of dead wood and v...

For centuries, coppice and coppice-with-standards were the main forest management systems in the northern and central parts of present Belgium. A high population density and a low forest cover in the whole region resulted in a high demand for wood, therefore strict regulations and management regimes were necessary to prevent overexploitation. We il...