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Introduction
I'm interested in ecology and evolution of pollinators, mainly hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae).
Publications
Publications (66)
Motivation
Pollinators play a crucial role in maintaining Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. However, rapid human‐induced environmental changes are compromising the long‐term persistence of plant‐pollinator interactions. Unfortunately, we lack robust, generalisable data capturing how plant‐pollinator communities are structured across space and time....
The evolution of wasp mimicry and biogeography in the genus Temnostoma
(Diptera: Syrphidae)
The hover fly Mesembrius peregrinus (Loew, 1846) is the only European member of the genus Mesembrius Rondani, 1857. This species seems to be rather thermophilic in the Czech Republic and it mainly inhabits reed beds and margins of lakes and ponds with well-developed littoral vegetation. In the Czech Republic, there are only very few historical reco...
In order to compare the early life experiences of different population subgroups from the Early Medieval center of Mikulčice, carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in dentine serial sections from the first permanent molar of 78 individuals. Age at death, sex (estimated in subadults with the help of proteomics), and socio-economic status...
Currently, plant invasions affect native ecosystems across the Earth. Although much attention has already been paid to their effect on local communities, we still lack basic information on the associations between alien and local species. Here, we present the results of our survey of pollinators of the invasive plant Heracleum mantegazzianum (Apiac...
Premise:
Animal-pollinated plants face a high risk of pollen loss during its transfer. To limit the negative effect of pollen losses by pollen consumption and heterospecific transfer, plant species may adjust and stratify their pollen availability during the day (i.e., "schedule" their pollen presentation) and attract pollinators in specific time...
The genus Riponnensia Maibach, Goedlin de Tiefenau & Speight, 1994 currently consists of four European species. Riponnensia insignis (Loew, 1843) is a rare species of hover fly that was previously only known from Turkey. There are some published records of this species from Europe, but these are not verified or erroneous. Here we report the first c...
The gregarious parasitoid strategy allows multiple larvae to complete development in a single host due to their tolerance and/or lower mobility, and thus flexibly adjust their reproductive potential. Reproductive potential is traditionally measured as the number of each mother’s offspring. In our previous study we showed the benefits of an intergen...
Psarus abdominalis (Fabricius, 1794) is a rare and declining species of hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) endemic to Europe. In the Czech Republic, the species is classified as critically endangered. Based on specimens deposited in museum collections, I provide information on the historical distribution of the species in the country. Psarus abdominalis...
Background
The migration of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) is a well-known phenomenon, with growing interest due to the ecosystem services provided by migrants. However, we still lack fundamental data on species composition, timing of migration, or sex ratio of migrants. To address this gap, we focused on the southward autumnal migration of hoverf...
This European Red List of Hoverflies is an output of the Hoverfly Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, funded by the European Commission Service Contract ‘Status assessment of European Hoverflies (Syrphidae) – European Red List of Hoverflies (EU and pan-Europe)’ (No. 07.0202/2018/792937/SER/ENV.D.2).
Mimicry is usually understood to be an adaptive resemblance between phylogenetically distant groups of species. In this study, we focus on Batesian and Müllerian mimicry, which are often viewed as a continuum rather than distinct phenomena, forming so-called Batesian-Müllerian mimicry rings. Despite potent defence and wide environmental niche of ho...
It is increasingly recognised that intraspecific variation in traits, such as morphology, behaviour, or diet is both ubiquitous and ecologically important. While many species of predators and herbivores are known to display high levels of between-individual diet variation, there is a lack of studies on pollinators. It is important to fill in this g...
In order to compare the early life experiences of different population subgroups from the Early Medieval centre of Mikulčice, carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in dentine serial sections from the first permanent molar of 78 individuals. Age-at-death, sex (estimated in subadults with the help of proteomics) and socio-economic status...
Parasitoids, as important natural enemies, occur in high numbers and help maintain balance in natural ecosystems. Their fitness is traditionally studied as fertility based on the number of offspring in the F1 generation. Here, using gregarious parasitoids as models, we show that this traditional approach omits one important parameter: the clutch si...
• Drastic reductions of insect diversity and abundance have been observed in highly fragmented agricultural landscapes of central Europe. Declines of pollinators may have detrimental effects on the reproduction of wild insect-pollinated plants as well as the yield of crops. In order to mitigate such impacts, sown flower strips on arable land within...
The ongoing biodiversity decline across taxonomic groups, including insects, is tightly related to land-use changes and habitat degradation. To assess habitat quality, proper bioindicators that allow efficient monitoring of temporal changes in habitat properties and help to understand the role of anthropogenic activities in shaping habitat characte...
Analyses of osteological non-metric traits and frontal sinuses in the noble Sporck and Swéerts-Sporck families have already shown that the degree of similarity between individuals reflects their documented family relationships. The aim of this study was to verify whether these are also reflected by cranial dimensions, the variability of which, acco...
Herbivorous insects can escape the strong pressure of parasitoids by switching to feeding on new host plants. Parasitoids can adapt to this change but at the cost of changing their preferences and performance. For gregarious parasitoids, fitness changes are not always observable in the F1 generation but only in the F2 generation. Here, with the mod...
Some species of two tribes (Anthidiini and Osmiini) of the bee family Megachilidae utilize empty gastropod shells as nesting cavities. While snail-nesting Osmiini have been more frequently studied and the nesting biology of several species is well-known, much less is known about the habits of snail-nesting Anthidiini. We collected nests of four spe...
It is increasingly recognised that intraspecific variation in traits, such as morphology, behaviour, or diet is both ubiquitous and ecologically important. While many species of predators and herbivores are known to display high levels of between-individual diet variation, there is a lack of studies on pollinators. It is important to fill in this g...
Objectives
This study aimed to refine our understanding of the extent to which chronic diseases with and without skeletal manifestation affect the isotopic values in bone collagen.
Materials and methods
Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in the ribs and femurs of 65 individuals from a documented skeletal collection (19th-21st centur...
Drastic reductions of insect diversity and abundance are observed in the highly fragmented agricultural landscapes of central Europe. Declines of pollinators may have detrimental effects on the reproduction of wild insect-pollinated plants as well as the yield of crops. In order to mitigate such impacts, sown flower strips on arable land within Agr...
The gregarious parasitoid strategy allows multiple larvae to complete development in a single host due to their tolerance and/or lower mobility and thus flexibly adjust their reproductive potential amidst changing environmental conditions. Reproductive success is generally measured as the number of each mothers offspring. We propose that with scarc...
The population density of animals is generally measured as the number of individuals. Here, by using gregarious parasitoids as models, we show that this traditional approach omits one important parameter: the clutch size - body size - fertility correlation. Using this correlation, female gregarious parasitoids deliberately adjust the number of offs...
Both theoretical and empirical work suggests that offspring sex ratio has important consequences on fitness. Within insects, gregarious parasitoids with haplodiploid sex determination represent an ideal model for studying the decision-making process behind the assignment of offspring sex. To gain insight into the offspring sex ratio of gregarious p...
The European fauna of the genera Brachyopa Meigen, 1822 and Hammerschmidtia Schummel, 1834 is reviewed.
The distribution and phenology based on extensive literature and database research are provided. The biology of
adults as well as larval habitats are treated. An illustrated key is presented for easy identification of the adults, including
three...
A total of 47 species (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Údolí Únětického potoka Natural Reserve are summarized and firstly reported. The following species are included in the Red list of threatened species in the Czech Republic as vulnerable: Callicera aenea (Fabricius, 1781), Parhelophilus versicolor (Fabricius, 1794), Temnostoma bombylans (Fabricius, 180...
The parasitic wasp Anaphes flavipes (Förster, 1841) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is an important egg parasitoid of cereal leaf beetles. Some species of cereal leaf beetle co-occur in the same localities, but the host specificity of the wasp to these crop pests has not yet been examined in detail. A lack of knowledge of host specificity can have a negat...
A new species of fossil hoverfly (Syrphidae: Eristalinae), i.e., Blera miocenica sp. nov. is described from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) of Bílina mine in the Most Basin, Czech Republic. The species description is based on a well preserved compressed fossil and it represents the first known fossil record of the genus Blera Billberg, 1820 so far....
The parasitoid Anaphes flavipes (Foerster) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is a gregarious egg parasitoid which is widely used in biological control against important crop pest beetles of the genus Oulema (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Here, we present the first experimental examination of the influence of adult feeding and timing of host exposure on the lo...
Callicera rufa Schummel, 1842 (Diptera: Syrphidae) was found on sand dune near Vlkov (Třeboňsko Protected Landscape Area, South Bohemia). This is the first record of C. rufa from the Czech Republic. An adult female was found sitting on the cut trunk of an old pine tree (Pinus sylvestris) with broken branches. Some previously published information o...
The generally known “adult size‐fitness hypothesis” (ASFH) is applied to the gregarious parasitic wasp Anaphes flavipes (Foerster, 1841) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). ASFH is dependent on the reproductive strategy of the mother, which means the larger females have more offspring compared to smaller females. Two main factors, the mother's body size and...
The number of parasitoids developed per host is one of the major factors that influences future adult body size and reproductive success. Here, we examined four external factors (host species, heritability, host population density, and presence of predators) that can affect the number of the gregarious parasitoid Anaphes flavipes (Förster, 1841) (H...
Significance
Biparental care is a rare strategy of offspring protection in insects. We discovered a case of biparental care in bees, in Ceratina nigrolabiata . Benefits of biparental care were identified for both males and females; yet, we found that an extraordinarily high proportion of offspring were unrelated to guard males. This is because fema...
The human bed bug Cimex lectularius is one of the most prevalent human ectoparasites in temperate climate zones. The cytogenetic features of this resilient pest include holokinetic chromosomes, special chromosome behavior in meiosis, and numerical variation of chromosomes, where the diploid number ranges from 26 + X1X2Y to 26 + X1–20Y. It is desira...
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are among the most important pollinators, although they attract less attention than bees. They are usually thought to be rather opportunistic flower visitors, although previous studied demonstrated that they show colour preferences and their nectar feeding is affected by morphological constraints related to flower mo...
This poster was exhibited at 9th International Congress of Dipterology in Namibia.
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are among the most important pollinators, although they attract less attention than bees. They are usually thought to be rather opportunistic flower visitors, although previous studied demonstrated that they show colour preferences and their nectar feeding is affected by morphological constraints related to flower mo...
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are among the most important pollinators, although they attract less attention than bees. They are usually thought to be rather opportunistic flower visitors, although previous studied demonstrated that they show colour preferences and their nectar feeding is affected by morphological constraints related to flower mo...
Local changes in land use and climatic conditions provoke transformations of habitats and therefore, distribution changes of species in the landscape. Different insect groups are repeatedly used as indicators of local ecological conditions in biodiversity research. Here we suggest that only highly philopatric groups can be relevant indicators point...
During spring and summer 2016, several interesting species of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and other Diptera were recorded in the Podyjí National Park (South Moravia, Czech Republic). Callomyia speciosa Meigen, 1824 (Diptera: Platypezidae) and Asilus crabroniformis Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Asilidae) were recorded for the first time in the Podyjí...
The Oligocene Oligopipiza quadriguttata Nidergas, Hadrava, and Nel gen et sp. nov. is the first fossil Pipizinae found in the lacustrine outcrop of Céreste (South-East of France). It differs from the other Pipizinae in the male genitalia, with a surstylus without tooth and shorter than epandrium, and a long epandrium with a very deep and narrow med...
Visitation of plants by different pollinators depends on individual plant traits, spatial context, and other factors. A neglected aspect of small-scale variation of plant–pollinator interactions is the role of vertical position of flowers. We conducted a series of experiments to study vertical stratification of plant–pollinator interactions in a dr...
Table S1. Complete inflorescence visitation data from the experiment on the role of inflorescence height and the height of the surrounding vegetation in Centaurea scabiosa and Inula salicina
The number of inflorescence visits on individual plants in experimental transects surrounded by short or tall vegetation is shown for each flower visitor speci...
Table S3. Records of individual visits of inflorescences of Salvia verticillata
Identity of a flower visitor and the number of flowers probed is provided for each inflorescence visit on individual plants. Three ramets per plant were observed and can be distinguished by different inflorescence height.
Table S2. Total visitation of inflorescences of Salvia verticillata depending on inflorescence height.
Total number of visitors arriving in each inflorescence during one recording period of approximately 30 minutes is provided for three ramets per plant differing in inflorescence height. Total number of flower visits during the recording period is...
Table S4. Seed set in individual ramets of Salvia verticillata in relation to inflorescence height.
The number of flowers and the number of developed seeds was counted in individual whorls in inflorescences of each Salvia verticillata plant. Three ramets differing in inflorescence height were used in each plant. Inflorescences were composed of the...
Seventeen species of Epeolus Latreille, 1802 and one species of Triepeolus Robertson, 1901 have been recorded from Europe. Members of these genera are cuckoo bees, cleptoparasites that appropriate provisions of other bee genera (Colletes Latreille [hosts of Epeolus] and Tetraloniella Ashmead [hosts of Palaearctic Triepeolus]) for their own offsprin...
Interactions between plants and their pollinators vary in time and space at different scales. A neglected aspect of small-scale variation of plant-pollinator interactions is the role of vertical position of flowers. We conducted a series of experiments to study vertical stratification of plant-pollinator interactions in a dry grassland. We observed...
Visitation of plants by different pollinators depends on individual plant traits, spatial context, and other factors. A neglected aspect of small-scale variation of plant-pollinator interactions is the role of vertical position of flowers. We conducted a series of experiments to study vertical stratification of plant-pollinator interactions in a dr...
Bird (A) and mammal (B) names used in internet search
Bird–mammal association data for PGLS regressions
This includes mean number of birds and mean mass of birds per mammal individual (g), total number of bird species per mammal species, mammal body mass (kg), mammal herd size, habitat openness and number of photos analysed per species (N).
Data for quantitative bird–mammal association web reconstruction
All birds (rows) and their host mammals (columns) identified to species level are included. Associations hihlighted by red are reported by Dean & MacDonald (1981), while associations highlighted by blue are not reported by them.
Birds sitting or feeding on live large African herbivorous mammals are a visible, yet quite neglected, type of commensalistic–mutualistic association. Here, we investigate general patterns in such relationships at large spatial and taxonomic scales. To obtain large-scale data, an extensive internet-based search for photos was carried out on Google...
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are among the most important pollinators, although they attract less attention than bees. They are usually thought to be rather opportunistic flower visitors, although previous studied demonstrated that they show colour preferences and their nectar feeding is affected by morphological constraints related to flower mo...
Interactions between plants and their pollinators vary in time and space at different scales. A neglected aspect of small-scale variation of plant-pollinator interactions is the role of vertical position of flowers. We conducted a series of experiments to study vertical stratification of plant-pollinator interactions in a dry grassland. We observed...
Flowers of dicotyledonous plants host communities of arthropod species. We studied the community associated with dandelion (Taraxacum section Ruderalia), a complex of apomictic micro-species abundant in central Europe. Identification of microspecies in the field was impracticable. These plants produce an abundance of flowers that host arthropod com...
Flowers of dicotyledoneous plants usually host a rich community of insects consisting of herbivores, nectar and pollen feeders, carnivores seeking prey and occasional visitors. Taxonomic affiliation of the plants is an important factor determining the composition of this community but its effect is confounded by seasonality and geographic variation...
Generalist pollinators are important in many habitats, but little research has been done on small-scale spatial variation in interactions between them and the plants that they visit. Here, using a spatially explicit approach, we examined whether multiple species of flowering plants occurring within a single meadow showed spatial structure in their...