Work

New predatory flies associated with Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) in Bulgaria

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In May 2024, stem cuttings of Pinus sylvestris L. attacked by the first generation of Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) were collected in the Vladimir Village area in Southwestern Bulgaria. The samples were transported to the Laboratory of Entomology at Forest Research Institute in Sofia. The cuttings were placed in photoeclectors and were kept at room temperature (18-22°C). Four predatory dipteran species, Medetera pinicola (Kowarz), M. signaticornes (Loew) (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), Lonchaea collini Hackman (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) and Zabrachia tenella (Jaennicke) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) were reared for the first time from larval galleries of O. erosus. Two species (Medetera signaticornes and Zabrachia tenella) are new for the fauna of Bulgaria. The genus Zabrachia is also new to Bulgarian fauna. In this study, the finding of the species with northern distribution M. signaticornes is the second record on Balkan Peninsula.

Source: Historia naturalis bulgarica

DOI: 10.48027/hnb.48.044

Authors: Sevdalin Belilov, Mihail Kechev, Georgi Georgiev

Institutions: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Forest Research Institute

Language: English

Topic: Diptera species taxonomy and behavior

Subfield: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: European Regional Development Fund

OpenAlex ID: W7147618148