Expertise in biodiversity research (taxonomy, faunistics, conservation with taxonomic background) appears to decline worldwide. While the “taxonomic impediment” is discussed extensively in the literature, much fewer papers focus on the identification crisis, i.e., the decreasing number of experts who can identify species, and the decline of species-based biodiversity research. As a test case to explore the gravity of the identification crisis, we chose Hungary, a Central European country with a strong history of comprehensive taxonomic expertise and research output. We set out to answer two main questions. (1) What proportion of the Hungarian fauna could currently be identified by Hungarian experts, and what factors determine which groups are covered; and (2) what are the trends of biodiversity research in Hungary, and what are the underlying reasons for these trends? We show that Hungary lacks active biodiversity experts for almost half of the nearly 36,000 animal species recorded in the country, and more than a quarter of the fauna have only one or two active experts available. We also show that faunistic research experienced a golden era between ca. 1990 and 2010. Since then, however, there has been a strong decline, with the number of active experts and published papers decreased to a level like that of the 1970s. Multiple factors are identified causing this trend, such as increased pressure to publish in high impact journals and increasing administrative duties of professional scientists. The next generation of biodiversity experts needs to be fluent in modern techniques and publication strategies but also maintain robust morphology-based knowledge to be equipped for identification tasks of difficult taxa. Despite being disadvantaged by exclusive application of citation-based evaluation, we do need more positions and focused grants for biodiversity researchers to maintain the country’s knowledge base and to avoid being increasingly dependent on—equally declining—foreign expertise.

The addition of synthetic 4-methoxy-2-phenethyl alcohol to the known attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized attraction of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis, the blend invariably catching 3 to 5 times more than phenylacetaldehyde on its own. Highest catches were recorded by the 1:1 blend. Both females and males were attracted, supposedly in the natural sex ratio of the local population. This improved bisex O. nubilalis attractant could be more efficient and more suitable for detection and monitoring purposes than previously know lures, making possible to draw more reliable plant protection decisions.

Green lacewings (Chrysopidae) are important predators of many soft-bodied pest insects, for instance aphids. Previous studies reported attraction of Chrysoperla carnea species-complex to a ternary floral bait. The larvae of these lacewings are important generalist predators in agroecosystems, however adults are non-predatory, they feed on pollen, nectar or honeydew. Squalene, a plant originated compound was previously reported to be attractive to the nearctic Chrysopa nigricornis. In the current study squalene was tested alone and in combination with the ternary bait in field experiments in Hungary. In our experiments, traps baited with squalene attracted predatory males of Chrysopa formosa. Traps baited with squalene and the ternary floral bait attracted adults of both C. formosa and C. carnea complex lacewings. To our knowledge this is the first report of a bait combination attractive to both Chrysoperla and Chrysopa species. This finding is of special interest considering the remarkably different feeding habits of the adults of these lacewings. Potential perspectives in biological control are discussed.