The Italian geographic region is characterized by complex and diversified biogeographic patterns and is represented by a high number of endemic species. Endemic species characterized by a limited distribution range should be a primary concern in conservation. This article aimed to investigate the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of 2 Italian endemic species of the wingless blister beetle genus Meloe Linnaeus, 1758: Meloe (Eurymeloe) apenninicus and Meloe (E.) baudii. Our inferences, based on morphological characters, 2 mitochondrial (16S and COI) and 2 nuclear (CAD and 28S) markers and the use of 3 species delimitation analyses approaches, pointed out the presence of a new Italian endemic species (M. (E.) digiuliorumsp. n.), here described, and 3 different patterns of phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities. M. digiuliorum is close to the Spanish endemic M. orobatescomb. n., revealing a possible fragmentation of the ancestor range in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.84 Mya) followed by isolation in Italy and Spain. M. apenninicus is the sister species of the European-Anatolian M. rugous and M. cfr. rugosus, and this pattern originated around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (ca. 2.83 Mya) likely influenced by the climatic fluctuations and the presence of the Alpine barrier. Finally, 2 subspecies were referred to M. baudii: the nominal one, endemic to Italy, and the Turanian-E European M. b. glazunovistat. n., disclosing a third more recent (ca. 0.64 Mya) pattern of biogeographic disjunction.

Wild bees are essential pollinators of both native and cultivated plants, but their populations are declining worldwide. Conservation efforts are hindered by insufficient data, especially in the Mediterranean basin, which hosts some of the most diverse pollinator communities in the world. Particularly in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, information on the bee fauna is still limited. The aim of this work was to provide the first checklist of ApoideaAnthophila from an unexplored peninsula in north-eastern Sardinia (Italy), by combining traditional (morphologically-based) taxonomy and DNA barcoding. In addition, records of flower visits are provided and shown in a visitor network to enrich the scarce data on the associations between wild bees and plants in the Mediterranean Region. Bees were sampled from April to October 2022–2023 with two Malaise traps and nets. DNA was extracted to amplify sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cyotochrome oxydase I, which were then compared with those in BOLD using the identification tool and by constructing neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees. Seventy-six different species belonging to 29 genera and six families were collected and identified. A total of 212 COI sequences were obtained for 61 different species, many of which had not yet been sequenced from Italian populations. Five of the collected taxa are Sardo-Corsican endemics, whereas six species are newly recorded from Sardinia. Finally, we highlight potential taxonomic issues and new flower visit records, emphasizing the need for further research to better understand the taxonomy and ecology of this diverse group of insects toward their conservation.

The false blister beetle tribe Stenostomatini includes only the genus Stenostoma, with four species showing an intriguing distribution: Stenostoma lowei (Madeira), Stenostoma cossyrense (Pantelleria), Stenostoma melitense (Malta and southern Sicily) and Stenostoma rostratum, widely distributed along the Mediterranean and North Atlantic coasts. The evolutionary history leading to this distribution has not been investigated. Here, we explore the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the tribe, adopting an integrative approach that combines morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial COI and nuclear CAD and 28S). Moreover, we propose a new key for species identification and update the knowledge on adult and larval ecology. Finally, we propose the following explanation for the current distribution of the species. The genus originated in the Miocene, with S. lowei belonging to the oldest lineage. The remaining species share a common ancestor, dating to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Stenostoma melitense and S. cossyrense are well differentiated according to morphology, but not according to molecular analysis. The wide distribution of S. rostratum might be related to its strategy of laying eggs within beached driftwood, where larvae develop, easily transported by the currents. Given that neither morphological nor molecular differentiation was detected between the two subspecies of S. rostratum, we propose the new synonymy Stenostoma rostratum septentrionale Švihla, 2005 = Stenostoma rostratum ( Fabricius, 1787) syn. nov.

Blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are currently subdivided into three subfamilies: Eleticinae (a basal group), Nemognathinae, and Meloinae. These are all characterized by the endogenous production of the defensive terpene cantharidin (CA), whereas the two most derived subfamilies show a hypermetamorphic larval development. Here, we provide novel draft genome assemblies of five species sampled across the three blister beetle subfamilies (Iselma pallidipennis, Stenodera caucasica, Zonitis immaculata, Lydus trimaculatus, and Mylabris variabilis) and performed a comparative analysis with other available Meloidae genomes and the closely‐related canthariphilous species (Pyrochroa serraticornis) to disclose adaptations at a molecular level. Our results highlighted the expansion and selection of genes potentially responsible for CA production and metabolism, as well as its mobilization and vesicular compartmentalization. Furthermore, we observed adaptive selection patterns and gain of genes devoted to epigenetic regulation, development, and morphogenesis, possibly related to hypermetamorphosis. We hypothesize that most genetic adaptations occurred to support both CA biosynthesis and hypermetamorphosis, two crucial aspects of Meloidae biology that likely contributed to their evolutionary success.