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Introduction
Currently interested in the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates of the Maltese Islands, myrmecophily and bioinvasions.
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Publications
Publications (34)
A new species of Baryscapus Foerster is described. Baryscapus ecballii sp. n. was reared from puparia of Henosepilachna elaterii (Coleoptera Coccinellidae). This ladybird beetle is often a pest of economically important cucurbitaceous plants. Some biological observations on the new species are also provided. © 2018, Department of Agricultural and F...
This study presents a species account of the mantises of the Maltese Islands, including notes on the ecology and distribution of each species. A total of three species are known to exist locally; Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792), Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Riv-etina baetica Rambur, 1839. The presence of Ameles decolor (Charpentier, 1825...
Two platygastrid species are recorded from the Maltese Islands for the first time; Mantibaria seefelderiana (De Stefani) and Gryon hystericum Mineo. These species also represent the first records of the subfamily Scelioninae from Malta. Rearing of Gryon hystericum from reduviid eggs in Malta represents the first contribution to the knowledge of thi...
The gasteruptiid fauna of the Maltese archipelago is reviewed for the first time. Four species of Gasteruption are found to inhabit the Maltese Islands, and Gasteruption tanyakronum n. sp. van Achterberg is described on the basis of material collected from Malta and Sardinia (Italy).
Contrary to what its name suggests, Nemesia arboricola is not strictly arboreal in habit. Here we compare female specimens of N. arboricola collected from arboreal and terrestrial nests. We furthermore describe the male of N. arboricola for the first time as well as two recently discovered species of Nemesia (N. maltensis sp. nov. and N. cominensis...
The arachnid fauna of the Maltese Islands has not yet been adequately investigated. In the present work, from a total of 117 species sampled, 36 taxa represent newly recorded spider species (Araneae) for Malta, with an additional new record of a harvestman (Opiliones). These new records include three new spider families and one new harvestman famil...
Megachile parietina (Geoffroy, 1785), the black mud bee, is recorded from the Maltese Islands for the first time on the basis of two adult nesting females and four nests from Pembroke (north-east of Malta). This addition to the Maltese entomofauna brings the number of bees known from the archipelago to 106. The possibility that this species could b...
Most invasive species, particularly those originating from subtropical
regions, tend to follow a similar distributional pattern: they first establish
themselves in the Mediterranean and/or Macaronesian regions before
gradually expanding northward. Once they take root in a new territory,
these biological invasions pose threats to native biodiversity...
This booklet is dedicated to addressing invasive animal species in the
Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily, shedding light on their
biology, impact, and potential management strategies. Designed
to serve scientists, site managers, environmental authorities,
and the general public, it provides a comprehensive synthesis of
available data concer...
The intranidal myrmecophilous arthropod fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Thirty species from nine orders are found to be obligate myrmecophiles, of which four species are recorded from the Maltese archipelago for the first time: Phrurolithus sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), Pogonolaelaps canestrinii (Berlese, 1904), Gymnolaelaps messor Johar...
The eumenine fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed and 17 species are asserted as occurring in the mentioned territory. Of these, Parodontodynerus ephippium and Stenodynerus fastidiosissimus are recorded for the first time from the Maltese archipelago. An annotated species list and a key to species are provided. Three doubtful records are also d...
First records of the association between larvae of melyrid and rhadalid soft-winged flower
beetles (Coleoptera) and mantid oothecae (Mantodea) are reported: Anthocomus fasciatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Melyridae: Malachiinae) and Dasytes aeratus Stephens, 1830 (Melyridae: Dasytinae) were reared from old oothecae of Hierodula tenuidentata Saussure, 1869 (...
Three chilopod species are recorded as new for the Maltese archipelago, and two species are recorded for the first time from the island of Comino. The local distribution of previously-recorded species is updated with new data. A checklist of the twenty-five species occurring on the islands is also provided.
The Dysderidae fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Dysdera kollari Doblika, 1853, D. lagrecai Alicata, 1964 and Harpactea sicula Alicata, 1966 are recorded for the first time from the Maltese archipelago, and the latter two species are recorded for the first time outside Italian territories. Harpactea corticalis (Simon, 1882) is removed from...
Breeding of Locusta migratoria cinerascens in the wild is reported for the first time in the Maltese Islands. This was established following the discovery of four late-instar nymphs from Aћrax tal-Mellieћa, which were collected and reared. One individual successfully attained maturity in captivity. The presence of this species in the Maltese Island...
Bitoma siccana is here recorded for the first time from Malta and it seems that the species is already well established. This constitutes the fourth record for Europe.
The ensign wasp fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed for the first time. The family Evaniidae is represented by three species, the cosmopolitan Evania appendigaster (Linnaeus), the Mediterranean Zeuxevania splendidula (Costa), and Brachygaster minutus (Olivier), widely distributed in Europe and north-northeast Africa. A key to genera is provide...
The cockroach wasp fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. The family Ampulicidae is represented by solely two congeneric species, Dolichurus corniculus (Spinola) and Dolichurus haemorrhous A. Costa, the latter is here recorded for the first time from the Maltese archipelago.
Eight species of Crabronidae are recorded from the Maltese Islands for the first time: Cerceris flavilabris (Fabricius), Miscophus niger Dahlbom, Oxybelus trispinosus (Fabricius), Passaloecus brevilabris Wolf, Trypoxylon scutatum Chevrier, Prosopigastra creon (Nurse), Mimumesa unicolor (Vander Linden) and Nitela lucens Gayubo & Felton. Of these, Pr...
An updated and annotated list of jewel beetles from the Maltese Islands is provided. One species, Acmaeodera pilosellae pilosellae (Bonelli, 1812), represents a new record for this territory. In order to aid identification, colour photographs of all species are included, and for each species relevant notes are provided.
The genus Coelioxys is recorded from the Maltese Islands for the first time on the basis of a specimen of Coelioxys (Allocoelioxys) afra Lepeltier, 1841. A checklist of the 24 species of Megachilidae occurring in Malta is also provided.
For over 160 years, the cicadas inhabiting the Maltese Islands were assigned to the widespread European species Cicada orni Linnaeus. However, analysis of their calling song reveals with certainty that the taxon known to occur in the archipelago is, in fact, the sibling species Cicada barbara Stål.
Pseudopezomachus bituberculatus (Marshall), is recorded for the first time from the Maltese archipelago, becoming the third apterous braconid known from the islands.
Aspicerinae material collected from Malta was identified as Callaspidia notata (Boyer de Fonscolombe). This is the first record of the figitid subfamily Aspicerinae for the Maltese Islands.
Two chalcidoids are reported from the Maltese Islands for the first time: Megastigmus pistaciae Walker (Megastigmidae) and Chalcis biguttata Spinola (Chalcididae). Notes on their biology are provided, with special reference to M. pistaciae reared from seeds of Pistacia lentiscus in Malta.
Hemipteran material collected from the Maltese Islands has yielded eleven species previously unrecorded, belonging to three different suborders as follows: nine new records of Auchenorrhyncha (Bursinia sicula Emeljanov, Chloriona sicula Matsumura, Eupteryx zelleri (Kirschbaum), Euscelis cf. ohausi Wagner, Opsius cypriacus Lindberg, Paralimnus phrag...
The introduction and establishment of the North American mud-dauber wasp Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1773) is reported for the first time from the Maltese Islands. A checklist of the Maltese Sphecidae is provided.
A popular article about myrmecophily sensu lato, published in Think (the University of Malta's research magazine). Article also available at: https://www.um.edu.mt/think/for-the-love-of-ants/
Ten new records of ichneumon wasps are reported for the first time from Malta. A checklist of all 56 species of Ichneumonidae so far recorded from Malta is also included.
True bugs of the family Pyrrhocoridae, more commonly known as red bugs, cotton stainers or (in the case of Pyrrhocoris apterus) firebugs, are represented by 43 species from 13 genera in the Palaearctic (AukemA & RiegeR, 2001). The Heteroptera of the Maltese Islands have been relatively well-studied, with 141 species recorded (CuestA seguRA et al.,...
The Family Torymidae is represented by 986 described species worldwide. Many species oviposit through plant tissue, usually into plant galls or developing seeds, but some oviposit into pupae. Torymid larvae may be entomophagous or, less commonly, phytophagous; some may even be both, feeding in turn on gall inducer and gall tissue as in some Eurytom...
Beetles of the family Cantharidae, commonly known as soldier beetles, are represented by 2,298 species and subspecies in the Palaearctic Region (Kazantsev & Brancucci, 2007). Švihla & Mifsud (2006) provided a check-list of six species of Cantharidae inhabiting the Maltese Islands, of which one species of Malthodes was not identified to species leve...
Mifsud (2012) provided a check-list of 29 recorded species of Ichneumonidae from the Maltese Islands. A recently collected ichneumonid wasp proved to be a new record for Malta and some information on this species follows.