Introduction: Aposematism is a defense system against predators consisting of the toxicity warning using conspicuous coloration. If the toxin production and aposematic coloration is costly, only individuals in good physical condition could simultaneously produce abundant poison and striking coloration. In such cases, the aposematic coloration not only indicates that the animal is toxic, but also the toxicity level of individuals. The costs associated with the production of aposematic coloration would ensure that individuals honestly indicate their toxicity levels. In the present study, we examine the hypothesis that a positive correlation exists between the brightness of warning coloration and toxicity level using as a model the paper wasp (Polistes dominula).Results: We collected wasps from 30 different nests and photographed them to measure the brightness of warning coloration in the abdomen. We also measured the volume of the poison gland, as well as the length, and the width of the abdomen. The results show a positive relationship between brightness and poison-gland size, which remained positive even after controlling for the body size and abdomen width.Conclusion: The results suggest that the coloration pattern of these wasps is a true sign of toxicity level: wasps with brighter colors are more poisonous (they have larger poison glands).

Until now, two species of Borgatomelissa Patiny, 2000 have been described, both from loci typici located in the Near East and eastern Africa. Borgatomelissa brevipennis (Walker, 1871), the most widespread taxon, has also been found in the southern Sahelo-Sudanian belt of the Sahara. A third species from eastern Morocco is described in the present study: Borgatomelissa flavimaura n. sp. In addition to taxonomic insights, the new species sheds a new light on the biogeography of the genus.

Entomophilous and obligate out-crossing non-native plants need to become well integrated in the resident plant–pollinator network to set seeds and become established. However, it is largely unknown how pollination patterns differ between native ranges and those where plants have been introduced.\ud \ud We compared the identity, abundance and visitation rates of pollinators, insect pollen loads, pollen deposition on stigmas, and fruit and seed sets of Hedysarum coronarium, an entomophilous short lived N-fixing perennial, in populations from native and introduced ranges in Spain (South of mainland Spain and Menorca Island, respectively).\ud \ud In both areas, Hedysarum was visited by a similar number of species, mainly hymenopterans; seven species were common between native and introduced areas. However, pollinator richness, abundance, and visits per flower were greater in the native than in the introduced range, as were fruit and seed sets. Hedysarum pollen loads on stigmas and on Apis mellifera, the most common pollinator, did not differ between areas. Lower abundance of pollinators might be causing lower visitation rates, and to some extent reducing Hedysarum fruit and seed sets in the introduced area.\ud \ud Our biogeographical approach shows that integration of a non-native plant in a resident pollinator network does not prevent pollen limitation in the introduced area. Therefore, despite being necessary, pollination mutualistic relationships might not be the key for non-native plant establishment success in the introduced area.Peer reviewe

(1) Intensive agriculture has a high impact on pollinating insects, and conservation strategies targeting agricultural landscapes may greatly contribute to their maintenance. The aim of this work was to quantify the effect that the vegetation of crop margins, with either herbaceous or shrubby plants, had on the abundance and diversity of bees in comparison to non-restored margins. (2) The work was carried out in an area of intensive agriculture in southern Spain. Bees were monitored visually and using pan traps, and floral resources were quantified in crop margins for two years. (3) An increase in the abundance and diversity of wild bees in restored margins was registered, compared to non-restored margins. Significant differences in the structure of bee communities were found between shrubby and herbaceous margins. Apis mellifera and mining bees were found to be more polylectic than wild Apidae and Megachilidae. The abundance of A. mellifera and mining bees was correlated to the total floral resources, in particular, to those offered by the Boraginaceae and Brassicaceae; wild Apidae and Megachilidae were associated with the Lamiaceae. (4) This work emphasises the importance of floral diversity and shrubby plants for the maintenance of rich bee communities in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes.

We introduce the initial modification to the most recently issued inventory of European wild bees published by Ghisbain & Rosa et al. in 2023. We report new changes and taxonomic acts including: the description of a new species, Panurginus cypricus Hopfenmüller, 2025 sp. nov.; the lectotype designation of Hylaeus subtilis Förster, 1871; the upgrade or resurrection of five subspecies to species rank: Lasioglossum aeneidorsum (Alfken, 1921) stat. rev., Osmia bulgarica Friese, 1923 stat. rev., Seladonia alpina (Alfken, 1907) stat. rev., Seladonia glacialis (Ebmer, 1979) stat. nov., and Seladonia perkinsi (Blüthgen, 1926) stat. rev.; the resurrection of two species from previous synonymy: Hylaeus subtilis Förster, 1871 spec. resurr. and Protosmia mirabilis (Friese, 1899) spec. resurr.; and Hoplitis taurica (Radoszkowski, 1874) is here considered to be a nomen dubium. Finally, the following six new synonymies are proposed: Anthophora larvata Giraud, 1863 syn. nov. of Anthophora fulvipes Eversmann, 1846; Protosmia monstrosa (Pérez, 1895) syn. nov. of Protosmia tiflensis (Morawitz, 1875); the following taxa are all synonyms of Hylaeus subtilis Förster, 1871: Hylaeus nigrifacies Bramson, 1879 syn. nov., Prosopis gracilicornis var. luteifrons Strand, 1909 syn. nov., Prosopis moricella Bischoff, 1954 syn. nov., and Prosopis moricella f. atricallosa Bischoff, 1954 syn. nov. We also report 4 new species for Europe: Andrena immaculata Warncke, 1975, Anthophora bifasciata Fedchenko, 1875, Nomada felici Schwarz, 1977, and Systropha anatolica Warncke, 1977. Ancyla nitida Friese, 1902 replaces the use of the name Ancyla nigricornis Friese, 1902 in Europe. Nomada chrysopyga Morawitz, 1871 replaces the use of the name N. mauritanica Lepeletier, 1841 in Europe. The presence and identity of species belonging to the genus Schmiedeknechtia in Europe is discussed. Seven species were overlooked and are now added to the European list: Andrena pinguis Ariana, Scheuchl, Tadauchi & Gusenleitner, 2009, Clavipanurgus anatolicus (Warncke, 1972), Eucera cressa (Tkalců, 1984), Eucera mavromoustakisi (Tkalců, 1984), Icteranthidium floripetum (Eversmann, 1852), Seladonia pici (Pérez, 1895) and Megachile sanguinipes Morawitz, 1875. Conversely, seven species are excluded from the European list: Halictus constantinensis Strand, 1910, Halictus rufipes (Fabricius, 1793), Hoplitis turcestanica (Dalla Torre, 1896), Hoplitis caucasicola Müller, 2012, Lasioglossum andromeda Ebmer, 1978, Lasioglossum edessae Ebmer, 1974, and Seladonia confusa Smith, 1853. Heriades labiata Pérez, 1895 is confirmed as being described from Europe (Barcelona), and not Algeria as previously thought. We also report taxonomic changes recorded after the publication of the latest European checklist (Ghisbain & Rosa et al. 2023), including: the revaluation of two genera, Acanthonomada Schwarz, 1966 and Eupavlovskia Popov, 1955; the synonymy of the subgenus Royanthidium with the genus Pseudoanthidium, which is the senior synonym; the report of the neotype designation of Tetralonia malvae (Rossi, 1790); 32 new species recently described as new to science; 12 species recently synonymized and ten subspecies upgraded to species rank; seven species recently resurrected from previous synonymy; eight species recently recorded as new for Europe; one species noticed as overlooked in the previous European checklists; six species recently removed from the European list; and other various changes such as transfer of species from one genus or subgenus to another. We provide corrections to 136 names of authors and specific epithets, years of publication, and gender agreements demonstrated to be incorrect for various reasons. Overall, the present work revises the total number of species for Europe sensu IUCN to 2,187.

Impact of pollination on the agri-food sector is of paramount importance. Pollinators contribute to the maintenance of ecosystems, the reproduction and survival of many plants, and their presence usually leads to increased yield and quality of agricultural products. Breeding and selecting for plant traits for enhancing pollinator visits could therefore lead to more resilient farming systems. In stating the advantages of enhancing pollinators in agricultural systems, this study was designed aiming to assess six cowpea accessions for their flower traits and their effect on insect-pollinators. Pollinators species abundance and foraging activity was recorded and their impact on yield was investigated. Twenty-five of the twenty-seven flower traits studied differed statistically significantly among cowpea accessions. The main pollinators recorded belonged to the genus Xylocopa (Latreille, 1802). Seed and fresh pod yield was not affected by pollinators. The floral traits related to pollinators abundance and foraging activity were flower color, inflorescence position and the hours that the flowers per plant remained open during the day. However, they were not related linearly to pollinators abundance and foraging activity; therefore, they did not constitute safe traits for selection aiming to increase pollinators visitation. The findings suggested that other traits, such as pollen and nectar reward, probably perform a more important role in attracting pollinators compared to flower traits.