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Introduced or established? Convergent evidence indicates imported pine wood nematode vectors occupy gaps in native distribution
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Monitoring regulated quarantine plant pathogens and, when relevant, their vectors is compulsory in the European Union. Local Monochamus species (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) vector the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a non-native pest already established in most of Portugal. Only 29 M. galloprovincialis individuals were trapped in Belgium in ten years (2013–2022), despite a dense coverage of pheromone-baited traps, suggesting absence or a very rare local occurrence in the country. In the northern neighbouring countries, only one single established population is known in The Netherlands and one in Denmark. A species distribution model based on pheromone-trap catches (negative and positive) of M. galloprovincialis from 4,914 traps in 29 European countries between 2008 and 2019 was developed, using the overall climate conditions and the distribution of seven pine tree species as explanatory variables. The effect of spatial scale was tested with a multi-scale approach. With a 225*225 km spatial grain, the major explanatory variables were the mean diurnal temperature range and, to a lesser extent, the presence of Pinus spp. The model predicted a low probability of presence in Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain and north-western Germany compared to southern Europe. Genotyping allowed to conclude that at least some of the beetles caught in Belgium originated from foreign locations. All catches were located close to entry points, suggesting introduction with imported material. The small size of most of the Belgian pine stands may also explain the absence or apparently transient status, or rareness of Monochamus spp. This study thus suggests that surveys in Belgium should privilege entry points rather than local forest stands.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
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Introducing Difference: from Euclidean Space to Geological Limits
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The Lithotectonic Framework (LTF) provides a systematic approach to describing regional geology in terms of geological history. While LTF has been applied to vocabulary development and regional geological description, its theoretical foundations have remained undocumented. This paper introduces the Spatio-Temporal Framework (STF), which extends Euclidean geometry by adding 'difference' as a primitive notion alongside space and time. This enables defining 'event' without circularity, from which lithotectonic limits and units can be formally derived. The five LTF axioms then establish operational relationships between these concepts. STF thus provides LTF with a formal foundation analogous to how Euclidean definitions underpin geometric reasoning.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2026
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Introduction history and genetic diversity of the invasive ant Solenopsis geminata in the Gala´pagos Islands
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The Gala´pagos Islands constitute one of the most pristine tropical systems on Earth. However, the complex and fragile equilibrium of native species is threatened by invasive species, among which is one of the most successful ants in the world, the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata. We characterized the genetic structure and diversity of populations of S. geminata in the Galapagos Islands and unravelled the archipelago colonization by combining Bayesian clustering methods and coalescent-based scenario testing. Using 12 microsatellite markers and one mitochondrial DNA fragment (COI), we analysed individuals collected in all main invaded islands of the archipelago and from the native areas in Costa Rica and mainland Ecuador. We also used mitochondrial DNA to infer evolutionary relationships of samples collected in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Costa Rica and other Latin American countries. Our results showed that genetic diversity was significantly lower in Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador populations when compared to Costa Rican populations, and that samples from Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador (Guayaquil) clustered in a single group and all share a single mtDNA haplotype. Approximate Bayesian Computation favoured a scenario assuming that populations from Galapagos Islands diverged from mainland Ecuador. The city of Guyaquil, an obligatory hub for tourism and trade, could act as a bridgehead.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Invasive American razor clam Ensis directus in Belgian waters: a true opportunity for shell-fisheries?
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Invasive process and repeated cross-sectional surveys of the mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus establishment in Belgium
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When accidentally introduced in a new location, a species does not necessarily readily become invasive, but it usually needs several years to adapt to its new environment. In 2009, a national mosquito survey (MODIRISK) reported the introduction and possible establishment of an invasive mosquito species, Aedes j. japonicus, in Belgium. First collected in 2002 in the village of Natoye from a second-hand tire company, then sampled in 2003 and 2004, the presence of adults and larvae was confirmed in 2007 and 2008. A repeated cross-sectional survey of Ae. j. japonicus was then conducted in 2009 in Natoye to study the phenology of the species on two different sites using three kinds of traps: Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus traps, BG sentinel traps and CDC Gravid traps. An analysis of the blood meals was done on females to assess the epidemiological risks. Five species of mosquitos were caught using the different kind of traps: Culex pipiens, Cx. torrentium, Anopheles claviger, Aedes geniculatus and Ae. j. japonicus, Cx. pipiens being the most abundant. The CDC gravid traps gave the best results. Surprisingly Ae. j. japonicus was only found on one site although both sites seem similar and are only distant of 2.5 km. Its population peak was reached in July. Most of the engorged mosquitoes tested acquired blood meals from humans (60\%). No avian blood meals were unambiguously identified. Larvae were also collected, mostly from tires but also from buckets and from one tree hole. Only one larva was found in a puddle at 100 m of the tire storage. A first local treatment of Ae. j. japonicus larvae population was done in May 2012 using Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) and was followed by preventive actions and public information. A monitoring is also presently implemented.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Inventaire entomologique aux Marais de Jette et de Ganshoren
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Inventaire entomologique aux Marais de Jette et de Ganshoren (2023-2025)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Inventarisatie insecten na vijverherstel van De Watering te Retie met bijzondere aandacht voor de broekbosfauna: rapport van het project ANB/BL-FF/V25-00108
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Invertebrate and avian predators as drivers of chemical defensive strategies in tenthredinid sawflies
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BACKGROUND: Many insects are chemically defended against predatory vertebrates and invertebrates. Nevertheless, our understanding of the evolution and diversity of insect defenses remains limited, since most studies have focused on visual signaling of defenses against birds, thereby implicitly underestimating the impact of insectivorous insects. In the larvae of sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae (Hymenoptera), which feed on various plants and show diverse lifestyles, two distinct defensive strategies are found: easy bleeding of deterrent hemolymph, and emission of volatiles by ventral glands. Here, we used phylogenetic information to identify phylogenetic correlations among various ecological and defensive traits in order to estimate the relative importance of avian versus invertebrate predation. RESULTS: The mapping of 12 ecological and defensive traits on phylogenetic trees inferred from DNA sequences reveals the discrete distribution of easy bleeding that occurs, among others, in the genus Athalia and the tribe Phymatocerini. By contrast, occurrence of ventral glands is restricted to the monophyletic subfamily Nematinae, which are never easy bleeders. Both strategies are especially effective towards insectivorous insects such as ants, while only Nematinae species are frequently brightly colored and truly gregarious. Among ten tests of phylogenetic correlation between traits, only a few are significant. None of these involves morphological traits enhancing visual signals, but easy bleeding is associated with the absence of defensive body movements and with toxins occurring in the host plant. Easy bleeding functions through a combination of attributes, which is corroborated by an independent contrasts test indicating a statistically significant negative correlation between species-level integument mechanical resistance and hemolymph feeding deterrence against ants. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses evidence a repeated occurrence of easy bleeding, and no phylogenetic correlation including specific visual signals is significant. We conclude that the evolution of chemically-based defenses in tenthredinids may have been driven by invertebrate as much as by avian predation. The clear-cut visual signaling often encountered in the Nematinae would be linked to differential trends of habitat use by prey and predators. Further studies on (prey) insect groups should include visual signals and other traits, as well as several groups of natural enemies, to better interpret their relative significance and to refine our understanding of insect chemical defenses.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Investigating critical metals Ge and Ga in complex sulphide mineral assemblages using LIBS mapping.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
