Good alpha taxonomy is central to biology. On the basis of a survey of arthropod studies that used multiple disciplines for species delimitation, we evaluated the performance of single disciplines. All included disciplines had a considerable failure rate. Rigor in species delimitation can thus be increased when several disciplines chosen for complementarity are used. We present a flexible procedure and stopping rule for integrative taxonomy that uses the information from different disciplines separately. Disagreement among disciplines over the number and demarcation of species is resolved by elucidating and invoking evolutionary explanations for disagreement. With the identification of further promising study organisms and of new questions for in-depth analysis, evolutionary biology should profit from integrative taxonomy. An important rationale is clarity in researcher bias in the decision-making process. The success of integrative taxonomy will further increase through methodological progress, taxonomic training of evolutionary biologists, and balanced resource allocation.

Biological control is the purposeful introduction of parasites, predators, and pathogens to reduce or suppress pest populations.Wolbachiaare inherited bacteria of arthropods that have recently attracted attention for their potential as new biocontrol agents.Wolbachiamanipulate host reproduction by using several strategies, one of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) [Stouthamer, R., Breeuwer, J. A. J. & Hurst, G. D. D. (1999)Annu. Rev. Microbiol.53, 71–102]. We establishedWolbachia-infected lines of the medflyCeratitis capitatausing the infected cherry fruit flyRhagoletis cerasias donor.Wolbachiainduced complete CI in the novel host. Laboratory cage populations were completely suppressed by single releases of infected males, suggesting thatWolbachia-induced CI could be used as a novel environmentally friendly tool for the control of medfly populations. The results also encourage the introduction ofWolbachiainto pest and vector species of economic and hygenic relevance to suppress or modify natural populations.

Drosophila suzukii, a vinegar fly originated from Southeast Asia, has recently invaded western countries, and it has been recognized as an important threat of a wide variety of several commercial soft fruits. This review summarizes the current information about the biology and dispersal of D. suzukii and discusses the current status and prospects of control methods for the management of this pest. We highlight current knowledge and ongoing research on innovative environmental-friendly control methods with emphasis on the sterile insect technique (SIT) and the incompatible insect technique (IIT). SIT has been successfully used for the containment, suppression or even eradication of populations of insect pests. IIT has been proposed as a stand-alone tool or in conjunction with SIT for insect pest control. The principles of SIT and IIT are reviewed, and the potential value of each approach in the management of D. suzukii is analyzed. We thoroughly address the challenges of SIT and IIT, and we propose the use of SIT as a component of an area-wide integrated pest management approach to suppress D. suzukii populations. As a contingency plan, we suggest a promising alternative avenue through the combination of these two techniques, SIT/IIT, which has been developed and is currently being tested in open-field trials against Aedes mosquito populations. All the potential limiting factors that may render these methods ineffective, as well as the requirements that need to be fulfilled before their application, are discussed.

It is commonly held that Central Europe harbours but a single harvester ant species, namely Messor structor. Recently discovered bionomic differences between two Central European populations, which may reflect interspecific variation, cast doubt on this assumption. In the present study we test alternative hypotheses - one versus two harvester ant species in Central Europe and adjacent regions - by investigating the genetic diversity of ants determined as M. structor or close to it ("M. cf. structor"). Sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene revealed two major lineages of different but partially overlapping geographic distributions, both occurring in Central Europe. The existence of a cryptic species within M. cf. structor is the most plausible interpretation, since the sequence divergence between the two major lineages equals those between M. capitatus, M. concolor and M. bouvieri. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a distinct substructuring for both of the detected major lineages and the possible existence of additional cryptic species.

Wolbachiais a maternally inherited and ubiquitous endosymbiont of insects. It can hijack host reproduction by manipulations such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) to enhance vertical transmission. Horizontal transmission ofWolbachiacan also result in the colonization of new mitochondrial lineages. In this study, we present a 15‐year‐long survey ofWolbachiain the cherry fruit flyRhagoletis cerasiacross Europe and the spatiotemporal distribution of two prevalent strains,wCer1 andwCer2, and associated mitochondrial haplotypes in Germany. Across most of Europe, populations consisted of either 100% singly (wCer1) infected individuals with haplotypeHT1, or 100% doubly (wCer1&2) infected individuals with haplotypeHT2, differentiated only by a single nucleotide polymorphism. In central Germany, singly infected populations were surrounded by transitional populations, consisting of both singly and doubly infected individuals, sandwiched between populations fixed forwCer1&2. Populations with fixed infection status showed perfect association of infection and mitochondria, suggesting a recentCI‐driven selective sweep ofwCer2 linked withHT2. Spatial analysis revealed a range expansion forwCer2 and a large transition zone in whichwCer2 splashes appeared to coalesce into doubly infected populations. Unexpectedly, the transition zone contained a large proportion (22%) ofwCer1&2 individuals withHT1, suggesting frequent intraspecific horizontal transmission. However, this horizontal transmission did not break the strict association between infection types and haplotypes in populations outside the transition zone, suggesting that this horizontally acquiredWolbachiainfection may be transient. Our study provides new insights into the rarely studiedWolbachiainvasion dynamics in field populations.

Diapause, a strategy to endure unfavourable conditions (e.g. cold winters) is commonly found in ectothermic organisms and is characterized by an arrest of development and reproduction, a reduction of metabolic rate, and an increased resistance to adversity. Diapause, in addition to adaptations for surviving low winter temperatures, significantly influences phenology, voltinism and ultimately population growth. We review the literature on diapause and overwintering behaviour of two bark beetle species that affect spruce‐dominated forests in the northern hemisphere, and describe and compare how these strategies can influence population dynamics. The E uropean spruce bark beetle Ips typographus ( L .) ( C oleoptera, C urculionidae) is the most important forest pest of N orway spruce in E urope. It enters an adult reproductive diapause that might be either facultative or obligate. Obligate diapausing beetles are considered strictly univoltine, entering this dormancy type regardless of environmental cues. Facultative diapausing individuals enter diapause induced by photoperiod, modified by temperature, thus being potentially multivoltine. The spruce beetle Dendroctonus rufipennis ( K irby) ( C oleoptera: C urculionidae) infests all spruce species in its natural range in N orth A merica. A facultative prepupal diapause is averted by relatively warm temperatures, resulting in a univoltine life cycle, whereas cool temperatures induce prepupal diapause leading to a semivoltine cycle. An adult obligate diapause in D. rufipennis could limit bi‐ or multivoltinism. We discuss and compare the influence of diapause and overwinter survival on voltinism and population dynamics of these two species in a changing climate and provide an outlook on future research.