Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

4466 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Article Reference First inventory of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with detection of potentially invasive species in National Park of Ehotilés islands, Côte d’Ivoire
Estuarine and wetland ecosystems are becoming increasingly altered by the concentration of human population near the coastline. A major threat to biodiversity related to this is the introduction of invasive alien species. This is particularly the case for isolated ecosystems like islands where the invasion of non-native species is often harmful. The National Park of Ehotilés Islands is an archipelago of 6 islands and a RAMSAR site subjected to disturbances, namely agriculture, illegal fisheries, and tourism. These factors often act as an accelerator for the introduction of invasive species. However, there is a lack of research on insects, specifically ants, on these islands. This study aimed to inventory the present ant fauna and estimate the vulnerability to tramp and potential invasive ant species. Ants were collected using Winkler, pitfall, and funnel traps on five islands. In total, 76 ant species were recorded. These species are distributed into 20 genera and five subfamilies: Dolichoderinae (5 species), Formicinae (11 species), Myrmicinae (49 species), Ponerinae (11 species) and Proceratiinae (1 species). We also detected two tramp and potentially invasive species: the ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum and the big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala. Ant communities are dominated by six species, namely Odontomachus troglodytes, Oecophylla longinoda, Nylanderia lepida, Pheidole sp.2, Monomorium invidium, and the invasive ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum. This work is the first to inventory ants on the Islands of Ehotilés National Park and may serve as a basis for conservation decisions as it demonstrates that this park is not spared from the introduction of invasive ant species.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Soil‑litter arthropod communities under pasture land use in southern Rwanda
Land use change caused by human activities is the main driver of biodiversity loss and changes in ecosystem functioning. However, less is known about how the conversion of a natural to pasture land favour the biological diversity of soil-litter arthropods to advance efective conservation plans and management systems. To fll the gap, this study focussed on soil-litter arthropod communities under a pasture land use in southern Rwanda. Data have been collected using pitfall traps and hand collection between April and June 2021. Sampled specimens of soil-litter arthropods have been identifed to order and family levels by using dichotomous keys. Further, the species name was given when the identifcation key was available, while the morphological description was provided in absence of the identifcation keys. Results indicated a total of 3013 individuals of soil-litter arthropods grouped into 3 classes, 13 orders, 46 families and 87 morpho-species. Coleoptera showed a high number of families, while higher abundance and the number of morpho-species were found for ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Higher abundance of sampled soil-litter arthropods is a sign that the studied area ofers suitable habitat for soil-litter arthropods. However, less abundance found for some groups of soil-litter arthropods might be infuenced by the used sampling techniques which were not appropriate for them. We recommend surveys using multiple sampling techniques to maximize chances of capturing a wide range of soil-litter arthropods
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Recent and old records of the rare myrmecophilous beetle Haeterius ferrugineus (Olivier 1789) in Belgium, Luxembourg and North-East of France
Haeterius ferrugineus (Olivier 1789) is a rarely observed histerid beetle which lives permanently in ant nests. We provide the first records of this species in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, and give an overview of the scattered records for this species in Belgium, Grand-Duché of Luxembourg and the border region in the North of France gathered over the past 150 years.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Confirmation of Nicrophorus sepultor Charpentier, 1825 as a Belgian species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Silphinae)
In this note the status of the burying beetle Nicrophorus sepultor Charpentier, 1825 as a Belgian species is confirmed based on eight specimens found in the collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The records are presented, mapped and the diagnostic features of this species are given.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference First records for Belgium of the ant species Myrmica vandeli Bondroit, 1920 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
We report the first observations of Myrmica vandeli Bondroit, 1920 for Belgium. The species was found in an oligotrophic, undisturbed wet grassland in Richtenberg, Burg-Reuland in 2011 and 2021. This Myrmica species is rare in Europe and restricted to open wet meadows, swamps, fens and peatlands. Myrmica vandeli is added to the ant fauna of Belgium which now numbers 12 Myrmica species. It is possible that M. vandeli specimens were previously confused with specimens of its sister species Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander, 1846. Hence we suggest to revise all M. scabrinodis samples from the south-eastern part of Belgium (from Hautes Fagnes south to Luxembourg) as it is possible that M. vandeli was left unnoticed before and identified as M. scabrinodis.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Note on Asilidae (Diptera) collected near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
We present a list of five species of Asilidae collected in February-March 2018 near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Three species are new for science and are described here: Pegesimallus uhuruensis sp. nov., Ommatius uhuruensis sp. nov. and Oligopogon kilimanjaroensis sp. nov. Moreover, the species Machimus ugandiensis Ricardo, 1919 was recorded for the first time in Tanzania.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference First observations in Belgium of the introduced ‘minute hooded beetle’ Arthrolips fasciata (Erichson, 1842) (Coleoptera: Corylophidae)
In September 2020 a specimen of the Corylophidae Arthrolips fasciata (Erichson, 1842) was discovered in mushrooms on decaying beech in a garden in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. In October 2020 a second specimen of this species was discovered in Beisbroek Sint-Andries Bruges also on decaying beech. These are the first records of the species in Belgium. Hence, we expect more Belgian records of this species in the near future. A species list of the Corylophidae known to occur in Belgium is given.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Silpha tyrolensis Laicharting, 1781 (Coleoptera: Silphidae), an unexpected addition to the Belgian fauna
In the course of the Belgian Silphidae Project, four specimens of Silpha tyrolensis Laicharting, 1781 were encountered when studying the unidentified Silphidae in the entomological collection of the Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut-Condorcet in Ath. These are the first records of this species for Belgium and are from the period 1990–2010. Subsequent recent trapping in the region where the specimens were found revealed no additional specimens. In this paper the records are presented and the distribution of the species in Belgium and Europe is mapped and discussed.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Is Lasius bicornis (Förster, 1850) a very rare ant species? (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Since its description based on a single alate gyne by the German entomologist Arnold Förster, Lasius bicornis (Förster, 1850), previously known as Formicina bicornis, has been sporadically observed in the Eurasian region and consequently been characterized as very rare. Here, we present the Belgian situation and we consider some explanations for the status of this species.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Camponotus fallax (Nylander, 1856), an expected species finally discovered in Belgium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
In this paper we announce the first observation of the ant Camponotus fallax (Nylander, 1856) in Belgium and add it to the Belgian checklist. Specimens were collected in Sint-Martens-Voeren with an eclector trap mounted on a dead fruit tree.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018