Vasil Genchev’s scientific contributions

The lamenting grasshopper Eypre po c ne m is plo rans plo rans (Charpentier, 1825) is first reported from Bulgaria with at least four established locations in the Thracian lowland (Plovdiv city; between Katunitsa and Yagodovo village, on the territory of Yagodovo village and north of it), along the valleys of the rivers Maritsa and Chaya. A total of 13 adult specimens were observed and 6 of them were collected between October 2020 and November 2022. Brief discussion of the probable path of colonization was also presented.

Although Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria and on its territory, there are many natural habitats of high conservation importance, there is still almost no data on the species composition of the arachnid fauna. Our study is the first attempt to summarize available published and to provide original data about three orders of arachnids. The following number of the investigated taxa of arachnids was established: spiders: 312 species from 33 families, pseudoscorpions: 4 species from 4 families and one scorpion species (from Euscorpiidae family). New for the region of Plovdiv are 280 species, thirteen spider species are newly recorded for the country and five of them are first records from the Balkans as well. Lathys spasskyi seems to be a first record from Europe and Zelotes harmeron is the first published record from the European mainland. The high total number of species presented here, as well as the many new country records, show that the studies of arachnids in cities have been unjustifiably neglected.