Saproxylic beetles (dead wood-dependent) are among the organisms that can benefit from the conditions after hurricane disturbances. These positive effects can propagate throughout the food chain, leading to an increase in populations of organisms at higher trophic levels. After the large-scale windthrow caused by Category 5 Hurricane Patricia (October 2015) in a tropical dry forest of Jalisco, Mexico, we started an experimental two-year (January 2016 and 2017) study assessing the temporal response of saproxylic beetles and their natural enemies (predatory beetles, and parasitoids) to this catastrophic disturbance. Insects were sampled from 148 freshly cut branches of Spondias purpurea (Anacardiaceae) (72 in 2016 and 76 in 2017), left in field for 45 days and then placed in emergence traps. Although the species number and individuals were higher in 2016 (133 species; 22,797 individuals) than in 2017 (82; 11,165), response timing to post-hurricane conditions varied greatly among the most abundant saproxylic beetle families/subfamilies and natural enemy groups. Saproxylic beetles with short developmental times (e.g., Scolytinae, and small Bostrichidae) and parasitoids were more abundant in the sampling soon after the hurricane, while those with longer developmental times (e.g., Cerambycidae, large Bostrichidae, and Lyctinae) and predatory beetles (e.g., Histeridae) were more abundant in the following year. Competition and predation could have been the factors that regulated the populations of small saproxylic beetles and their associated parasitoids in the second sampling year. We conclude that life history traits and density-dependent factors are important forces that mediate the temporal responses of saproxylic beetles to hurricane disturbances.
Carabid beetles (Coleoptera) are a group of living organisms with characteristics that make them suitable as model organisms for ecological studies, because they are good bioindicators and one of the most widespread beetle families in the world. Although numerous scientific works are available on the different aspects of carabid biology, there is a lack of open and standardised data. This work focuses on carabids present in various Italian habitats, from forests to pastures. Their presence was recorded across mountain areas of Italy, specifically in the Apennines (Tuscan-Emilian, Abruzzese, Lucanian, Calabrian and Sicilian Apennines) and in the Alpine area of the Lessini mountains, in natural and semi-natural environments, located at altitudes ranging from 150 to 1840 m a.s.l. The aim of this work is to develop a dataset from a selected pool of studies, standardise it according to the Darwin Core standard and make it freely accessible to the scientific community. This approach facilitates data integration, sharing and reuse, promoting transparency and collaboration in ecological research. This study provides a unified and standardised dataset combining previously dispersed sources, some of which were in Italian and not easily accessible. This new dataset adheres to the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and contributes to feed the information on carabid beetles already stored in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The dataset incorporates new elements not included in the original publications: activity densities were calculated for species represented by a single individual in the research of De Felici and collaborators (1995) and missing site information from the research of Brandmayr and Pizzolotto (1990) was completed with four additional sites. By harmonising these records according to Darwin Core standards, the dataset enhances data integration and reuse, demonstrating the value of standardisation and "FAIRification" for biodiversity research and enabling the scientific community to access a comprehensive, high-quality resource on Italian carabid beetles communities.
Dung beetles serve as cultivators of their natural habitats, improving soil health and functions in both natural and anthropogenic environments. Despite their ecological importance, whole genome sequences for Scarabaeinae are limited. Here, we present the draft annotated genome assemblies for 2 temperate species of North American dung beetles collected from eastern Tennessee: Canthon chalcites and Phanaeus vindex. Both genome assemblies were generated from PacBio long reads and have high completeness, with BUSCO scores of 98.1% and 98.6% for C. chalcites and P. vindex, respectively. For C. chalcites, the BRAKER3 pipeline predicted 12,799 genes, and the gene set was 93.7% complete. For P. vindex, the BRAKER3 predicted 12,252 genes, and the gene set was 94.9% complete. From the annotated gene sets, orthologous protein sequence analyses among C. chalcites, P. vindex, the dung beetle species Onthophagus taurus, and the more evolutionarily distant beetle Tribolium castaneum indicated that there are 260 unique protein clusters for C. chalcites and 210 unique protein clusters for P. vindex. These 2 draft genomes provide valuable data for comparative genomics, evolution, and phylogenic studies for dung beetle species.
The nemoral biome encompasses some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in Europe, yet it has been extensively transformed by human activity. The capacity of secondary forests that have developed on sites of clear-cut broadleaved forests to sustain ground beetle diversity remains insufficiently studied. Ground beetles were sampled using pitfall traps during May-July in 21 post-logging forest stands across six administrative regions of Central Russia. A total of 90 ground beetle species were recorded. The superdominant species in most habitats were Carabus cancellatus Ill. and Pterostichus melanarius Ill. The median species richness per sampling plot was 17, and the median activity density was 33.6 individuals per 100 trap-days. The similarity of ground beetle assemblages, in terms of both species composition and community structure, is determined primarily by habitat characteristics rather than by the spatial proximity of sampling sites. The most robust predictor of both species composition and community structure was the percentage cover of Corylus avellana. A large proportion of exposed soil within forest stands is associated with a higher activity density of mixophytophagous stratohortobionts, predominantly Harpalus rufipes L. As the distance from large forest tracts increased, the activity density of large walking epigeobiont zoophages declined. Overall, the species structure of ground beetle assemblages was only weakly predictable.
Disjunct distributions have long fascinated biologists, particularly those found in the Southern Hemisphere. Gondwanan vicariance has been invoked to explain these patterns, with relatively limited studies having phylogenetically tested this hypothesis. Another intriguing pattern of disjunction involving South America is the American amphitropical distribution, where Western Hemisphere taxa have close relatives either north or south of the tropics. While better known in plants, this pattern is rarely proposed for animals and only phylogenetically tested in a handful of studies on hymenopteran insects. The Manticorini is a tribe of large-bodied, flightless tiger beetles whose members possess a complex distribution pattern attributable to both Gondwanan vicariance and American amphitropical disjunction. Using genomic-scale data we perform phylogenetic analyses to produce a time-calibrated evolutionary history of the Manticorini. With the resultant time tree we perform ancestral range reconstruction in order to recover the historical biogeography of this group. Our results show deep divergence between most manticorine genera, contrasted with young crown ages indicative of recent diversification. Our analyses support Gondwanan vicariance and amphitropical disjunction resulting from recent dispersal as part of the historical biogeography of the tribe. These findings highlight the role of both vicariance and dispersal in shaping diversification and complex modern distributions.
The edible insect industry, driven by the nutritional and environmental benefits of mealworms, faces increasing challenges from pathogens affecting Tenebrio molitor farming systems. Hemocyte-based health assessments could provide valuable diagnostic insights, yet standardized hemolymph processing protocols and hematological reference intervals (RIs) are currently lacking for this species. This study aimed to develop practical protocols for hemolymph sampling, refine hemocyte classification, and establish hematological RIs for both larval and adult stages of T. molitor. An optimized tearing method, involving capillary collection of hemolymph from a proleg transected at the femoral-tibial joint, was used to sample healthy individuals. Total and differential hemocyte counts were determined using a hemocytometer and Wright-Giemsa-stained smears, respectively, and from distinct insect populations (n = 41-43 samples per group). Hemolymph was analyzed in pools due to the small size of T. molitor. Transmission electron microscopy was conducted on a multinucleated giant hemocyte (MGH) isolated from a histologic slide. RIs were calculated following American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) guidelines, and life-stage differences were statistically assessed. Granular cells and plasmatocytes predominated, whereas prohemocytes and oenocytoids were rare. MGHs, newly identified in T. molitor, were characterized as a fifth hemocyte population. Significant life-stage differences were observed, warranting separate RIs for larvae and adults. The established RIs were relatively wide, reflecting natural fluctuations in invertebrate hemolymph volume and the unsexed, age-diverse reference population. This report of hematological RIs for T. molitor lays the groundwork for implementing hemocyte-based health surveillance in yellow mealworm beetle farming.
Cucumber, Cucumis sativus Fabricius, is an economically valuable annual crop that is frequently a victim of herbivory by the striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma vittatum Fabricius, which transmits bacterial wilt. While striped cucumber beetles frequently visit cucumber flowers, their potential role as an incidental pollinator is unknown. To quantify incidental pollen transfer by striped cucumber beetles, we collected beetles visiting male and female cucumber flowers on two farms in Wisconsin (USA), then evaluated the amount and type of pollen carried by the beetles. Pollen grains were removed from the beetle specimens using fuchsin jelly and then counted. Striped cucumber beetles carried little to no cucumber pollen grains (mean and median pollen grains carried, respectively: male flower: 1.01, 0; female flower: 0.26, 0) or non-cucumber pollen grains (mean and median pollen grains carried, respectively: male flower: 1.8, 1, female flower: 1.96, 1). Despite frequent cucumber flower visitation, striped cucumber beetles are unlikely to provide significant incidental pollination to cucumbers. Our results clarify that striped cucumber beetles are not pollinators in this agroecosystem, and their control during flowering does not risk a reduction in pollination with fewer striped cucumber beetles.
When addressing high-dimensional complex optimization problems, the vanilla Dung Beetle Optimizer (DBO) suffers from slow convergence, frequent stagnation in local optima, and progressive degradation of population diversity. To overcome the above inherent defects, this paper proposes a multi-strategy hybrid improved DBO variant named the SWDBO, which incorporates three targeted enhancement modules. First, an adaptive population proportion strategy is developed to dynamically adjust the population sizes of rolling beetles, brood beetles, small beetles and thief beetles throughout iterations. More individuals are allocated for extensive global exploration at the early evolutionary stage, while more search agents are reserved for delicate local exploitation in later iterations, which maintains stable population diversity over the entire optimization process. Second, the bubble-net encircling and spiral predation mechanisms of the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) are embedded into the position update formula of rolling beetles. This integration strengthens fine local search performance and accelerates the overall convergence rate. Third, a modified seagull optimization operator combined with Lévy random perturbation is introduced into the position updating rule of thief beetles. This improved jump mechanism optimizes individual movement trajectories and enables the algorithm to effectively escape local optimal traps. Numerical experiments are implemented on the 100-dimensional benchmark functions of CEC2017 and CEC2020. Moreover, the proposed SWDBO is validated on three classical constrained engineering optimization tasks, including three-bar truss design, ten-bar truss design and cantilever beam sizing optimization. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests statistically verify significant performance disparities between the SWDBO and competing optimizers. For the three structural engineering cases, the design solutions obtained by the SWDBO produce lighter structural mass while satisfying all constraint requirements. Overall experimental evidence proves that the proposed multi-strategy improvement framework can efficiently tackle high-dimensional numerical optimization and constrained engineering design problems, and the SWDBO exhibits prominent performance in balancing global exploration and local exploitation.
Slugs are a difficult pest to manage in conservation agriculture, where reduced soil disturbance and increased ground cover create ideal conditions for slug population growth, but also likely promote natural suppression by ground-dwelling arthropods. However, it remains unclear which predatory arthropod species are associated with reduced slug abundance and how environmental factors shape this predatory community composition. Here, we examined relationships among ground-dwelling arthropods (carabid beetles, spiders, harvestmen), weather, and land cover and their effects on slug activity density, which was measured over 2 years across 37 commercial corn and soybean fields in the US Mid-Atlantic. We found 21 carabid species, and a positive relationship between slug and carabid beetle activity density, suggesting that this carabid beetle community may be preying upon slugs opportunistically. Slug activity density was reduced with tillage, higher temperatures, and a high proportion of corn in the landscape, while carabid activity density in crop fields decreased where there was greater surrounding land cover diversity. Neither neonicotinoid seed treatment nor foliar insecticides significantly affected slugs or carabid beetles. Carabid community composition was shaped by temperature, rainfall, and tillage, while carabid species richness was unrelated to within-field cover or landscape composition. Although we did not assess predation rates, our findings suggest great potential to promote natural suppression of slugs within conservation agriculture systems where diverse carabid assemblages persist. Our study further underscores the need and opportunity for targeted management of ground cover in and around crop fields to maintain robust carabid beetle communities and encourage slug predation amidst landscapes dominated by corn and soybean.
Fungal infections are an escalating global health challenge, exacerbated by increasing antifungal resistance and limited treatment options. Insects have emerged as a promising reservoir, possessing robust immune defences that enable them to thrive in microbe-rich environments. Their ability to fend off fungal pathogens through the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), enzymes, and secondary metabolites provides a new avenue for antifungal drug development. Insect-derived antifungal compounds exhibit diverse mechanisms of action. AMPs such as defensins (from beetles and flies), cecropins (from moths, flies, and bees), and diptericin (from Drosophila melanogaster) disrupt fungal cell membranes, inhibit cell wall synthesis, and interfere with metabolic pathways. Honeybees, for instance, defend their colonies against fungal threats through immune responses and the production of propolis a resinous substance with potent antifungal properties. Additionally, compounds like thanatin (from soldier bugs), coprisin (from dung beetles), and metchnikowin (from fruit flies) have demonstrated strong antifungal activity, even against drug-resistant fungi. However, challenges remain, including large-scale production, regulatory hurdles, and ecological concerns. Addressing these limitations through interdisciplinary research could lead to innovative solutions for managing fungal infections, reinforcing the importance of insects as a largely untapped resource in the fight against antifungal resistance.
Taiwanocantharis Wittmer, 1984 is a genus of soldier beetles that are remarkable for their metallic green or blue elytra, medium-sized body, subrounded pronotum and usually appendiculate outer tarsal claws in both sexes. Currently, the genus comprises 19 species distributed across the Indochina Peninsula and the Himalayan Region. Two new species of Taiwanocantharis have been discovered and described under the names of T. flavipes sp. nov. and T. liangi sp. nov. (China, Yunnan). Both species are illustrated with habitus of both sexes, aedeagus, as well as abdominal sternite VIII and reproductive systems of the female. An updated key to the genus is provided.
Revitalization measures currently represent an important tool in ecological practice for the recovery of disturbed habitats, and their effectiveness is increasingly assessed using bioindicator groups, including ground beetles (Carabidae). Between 2020 and 2023, we conducted research in the European habitat of the Danube Floodplains, where we evaluated the impact of revitalization measures on ground beetle assemblages. The study was carried out at 15 study sites representing eight habitat types. At each site, five pitfall traps were installed in a linear arrangement. In total, 5,292 individuals belonging to 47 species were analyzed, with a mean ellipsoid biovolume of 192 mm3 per individual. PCA analysis revealed a division of species into two main clusters according to their preference for forest and open habitats, with reference sites without management characterized by a higher proportion of apterous and brachypterous species. In contrast, habitats subjected to restoration measures showed dominance of macropterous species typical of disturbed and dynamic ecosystems. Significant differences in ellipsoid biovolume and all morphometric traits were confirmed among habitats and study years. Habitats with restoration measures exhibited a gradual increase in ellipsoid biovolume and morphometric traits of individuals, indicating improved food availability and more favorable living conditions. Prediction of ellipsoid biovolume development using LSTM models (neural networks) indicated stabilization of Carabidae assemblages in forest habitats after the completion of restoration measures, whereas pronounced fluctuations persisted in open habitats, suggesting the need for a longer time period or more intensive interventions to achieve community stability. The results provide a practical basis for planning and evaluating the effectiveness of restoration and management measures in European habitats of conservation importance, as well as for biodiversity conservation and adaptive landscape management, particularly in optimizing interventions in forest and open ecosystems to achieve long-term stability of Carabidae assemblages.
Gamma irradiation is one of the techniques widely authorized for the decontamination of dried herbs and spices. Its effect on the functional properties of essential oils, however, remains incompletely characterized. In this study, we examined the impact of gamma irradiation (at 5, 15, and 25 kGy) on the phytochemical composition, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity, and insect-repellent activity of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the citral-dominant chemotype remained stable across all irradiation doses, with geranial and neral constituting approximately 62-63% of the volatile profile. The antibacterial assays were done on five bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae). Inhibition zones showed no statistically significant differences across irradiation doses (p ≥ 0.05), while MIC (75-100 µg/mL) and MBC (125-150 µg/mL) values remained constant across all doses. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP antioxidant assays revealed no dose-dependent changes (DPPH IC50: 688-703 µg/mL; ABTS IC50: 18-22 µg/mL; FRAP: 505-517 µg/mL ascorbic-acid equivalents). The essential oil exhibited pronounced repellent activity (87-99%) against adult Tribolium confusum beetles at 0.125 µL/cm2, persisting for 24 h and unaffected by irradiation. Molecular docking of the major constituents (geranial, neral, geraniol, and β-myrcene) against key target proteins (3N7H, 3NVY, 4URM, and 8BN6) provided predictive support consistent with the observed activities, indicating plausible molecular interactions rather than confirmed target engagement. In silico ADME and toxicity profiling indicated favorable predicted pharmacokinetic properties and no major in silico toxicity alerts for the four modeled constituents. Taken together, these findings indicate that, under the conditions tested, gamma irradiation at food-decontamination doses produced no major shifts in composition and no statistically detectable changes in the measured bioactivities of C. citratus essential oil.
Among myrmecophilous insects, beetles represent the most specialised and diverse group. Myrmecophily is a complex evolutionary strategy encompassing a wide spectrum of interactions with ants, ranging from occasional to obligate relationships, and from mutualistic associations (e.g., trophobionts) to fully parasitic symbioses (social parasites). One of the most remarkable examples of an obligate ant parasite is Paussus favieri Fairmaire,1851 (Carabidae, Paussinae, Paussini), a West-Mediterranean ant-nest beetle. This species spends most of its life inside the nests of Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), where it exploits the colony's most valuable resources (ant larvae, pupae, and tenerals) through a suite of sophisticated chemical and structural adaptations that allow it to evade detection and integrate seamlessly into the host colony. For these reasons, P. favieri has recently emerged as a key model organism for studying host-parasite interactions in eusocial systems. In this study, we investigated possible correlations between the nervous system of P. favieri and its remarkable morphological and behavioural adaptations, shedding light on how an extreme environment such as the ant nest may have shaped the beetle's brain. Our results, although requiring more in-depth analysis, reveal an exceptional development of the central body and the antennal lobes, which rank among the largest recorded across all insect species studied to date. We also report two previously undescribed morphological asymmetries affecting the optic lobes and mushroom bodies. Together, these findings provide new insights into the neuroanatomy of carabid beetles and, more broadly, into the biology of a unique model of ant parasitism, advancing our understanding of the evolutionary adaptations that characterise the highly specialised Paussinae subfamily, laying down the basis for further analysis.
Ants engage in both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions with honeydew-producing Sternorrhynchan insects, depending on the species involved and the ecological context. Ant foraging can also influence the abundance of insect herbivores and their associated natural enemies. A 2-yr field experiment (2023-2024) was conducted to evaluate the effects of ant exclusion on pecan aphids (yellow pecan aphid complex and black pecan aphid) and their associated natural enemies (lady beetles, lacewings, and long-legged flies) at 3 canopy heights (upper, middle, and lower). Seasonal trends in aphid abundance were generally similar between treatments across both years, and on most sampling dates; no treatment effects were detected for aphids or aphidophagous predators. However, on specific sampling dates, aphid abundance was lower in ant-excluded trees, and peak ant activity coincided with the aphid activity, suggesting that the strength of ant-aphid interactions varies with aphid population density. In contrast, parasitized aphid mummies were significantly more abundant on control trees in 2023. It was found that lady beetle and lacewing activity was higher and coincided with the peak activity during July and August. Additionally, long-legged flies were more abundant in ant-excluded trees during 2023 and were influenced by canopy height in both years. Collectively, these results indicate that ant exclusion can influence aphid-natural enemy interactions in pecan orchards, but these effects are episodic, natural enemy-specific, and variable by growing season.
The decomposition process of a body can be influenced by various intrinsic and extrinsic variables. While many intrinsic and extrinsic variables are known to affect decomposition, their specific effects under different climate conditions remain unclear. Gaining a better fundamental understanding of how these variables affect the decomposition rate contributes to better interpreting the taphonomic context, being able to more accurately estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI) in the future, and help prevent over- or underestimation of the PMI. Here we investigated the influence of weight (ranging from 800 to 2700 g and 4230 to 10,500 g), accumulated degree-days (ADD), sunlight hours, precipitation, humidity, and entomological activity (consisting of maggots, beetle larvae, and beetles) on the decomposition rate of small pig cadavers in a temperate maritime climate. The results of this research show that ADD was the largest influencing factor on the decomposition rate, followed by (in order of strength of influence) humidity, the presence of entomological activity, and weight class. Additionally, statistically significant interactions between variables were found, as well as seasonal differences and variations across decomposition phases. This confirms that decomposition is not influenced by a single factor, but rather by the combined effects of multiple variables and seasonal differences. These findings underscore the need for PMI models that incorporate these key factors rather than relying solely on TBS.
Successful augmentative biological control depends on releasing predators before prey populations enter their period of fastest increase, yet release schedules rarely integrate predator feeding capacity with prey demography. We combined an age-stage, two-sex life table of the corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), with age-specific predation trajectories of two generalist predators, Chrysoperla nipponensis (Okamoto) and Propylea japonica (Thunberg), measured under excess-prey laboratory conditions. To compare the release forms evaluated here, we derived an operational suppression ratio linking predator lifetime consumption to prey net reproduction and used this framework to align predator consumption with aphid effective fecundity on a common time axis. The analyses showed clear differences in both suppression potential and timing basis between the two predators. Lacewing larvae expressed their strongest contribution over a relatively narrow interval associated with late larval stages, whereas adult P. japonica provided a broader feeding window beginning soon after adult emergence. This coupling framework identified practical release windows for lacewing eggs, late-instar lacewing larvae, and adult ladybird beetles relative to the expected aphid fecundity peak. Our results provide a laboratory-based decision framework for improving release timing in augmentative biological control programs targeting aphids in corn and offer a basis for future translation of these schedules into degree-day-based pest management guidance.
The climate crisis is moving the high ambient temperatures common in lower elevation tropical forests upslope into areas where they would not have occurred historically. Tropical invertebrates may be particularly vulnerable to such changes. Here, our goal was to understand whether the distribution of heat and cold tolerances along an elevational gradient in northwestern Costa Rica predicted by theory were present for a leaf-litter inhabiting insect community of rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Coleoptera). We found that heat tolerance decreased, and cold tolerance increased with elevation, supporting the predictions. High elevation communities may not be capable of tolerating the rising temperatures that come with climate change, while low elevation communities are already experiencing environmental temperatures that may meet or exceed their thermal limits. While the forests in the low elevation more frequently exhibit temperatures that meet or exceed the heat tolerances for the beetle community, the soil will offer a buffered refuge for some time. The decline in thermal tolerance that we show here is predicted by theory yet is inconsistent with the values for insect species in the thermal tolerance literature. This reinforces the need for a better understanding of the thermal tolerances of diverse assemblages of tropical species that are likely to experience complicated and negative impacts of climate change.
Sulfuryl fluoride (SF) has been widely applied for the disinfestation of stored commodities for over 2 decades; however, information on baseline susceptibility in field insect populations is not well established. In the current study, detailed dose mortality response curves were established for 18 Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and 12 Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae) populations that were collected from various grain storage facilities across Australia. Laboratory reference strains of both species were also used for comparison. Adult beetles (2 wks posteclosion) were exposed to a series of SF concentrations (0.05 to 2.5 mg l-1) over 48 h (2.4 to 120 g hm-3). Mortality responses for each population/strain of R. dominica and C. ferrugineus were recorded and analyzed. Key lethal estimates such as LC50, LC95 and LC99 were calculated for each population/strain and compared to assess inherent variation in susceptibility to SF. Comparison of lethal estimates along with other analyzed outputs identified 2 discriminating doses (DDs): 0.9 mg L-1 (43 g hm-3) for R. dominica and 2.0 mg L-1 (96 g hm-3) for C. ferrugineus over 48 h, which can be effectively used to discriminate SF-resistant individuals from their susceptible counterparts. Comparison of these results with the previously established DD for Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) (1.75 mg L-1 or 84 g hm-3) confirms that toxicity responses to SF are species-specific, highlighting the need for continued monitoring of resistance to SF in the field. This information has significant implications for the grain industry that is currently using SF as a phosphine-resistance breaker.
The ground beetle genus Broscosoma Rosenhauer, 1846 comprises 62 described species, distributed in Western Europe, East Asia, and its adjacent regions. China exhibits particularly high species diversity within this genus, with 45 recorded species and subspecies. In this study, we describe seven new Broscosoma species from China: B. chaoshan sp. nov. from Guangdong Province, B. epanggong sp. nov. from Sichuan Province, B. jiangyuxini sp. nov. from Guizhou Province, B. luojingxiangi sp. nov. from Zhejiang Province, B. surongxiangi sp. nov. from Fujian Province, B. xumaozhoui sp. nov. from Hubei Province and Chongqing City, and B. zhouhanpingi sp. nov. from Chongqing City. Habitus and diagnostic features of the new species are illustrated, along with a checklist of all known Chinese Broscosoma species and a distribution map of Chinese Broscosoma species outside the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Hengduan Mountains region. The comparative diagnoses discuss characters of the new and known species. The results indicate that the existing species diversity requires more detailed research focusing on larger areas of South China in the future.