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Issue: Vol. 76 No. 2: 29 Dec. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-12-29
DOI: 10.12976/jib/2025.76.2.1
Page range: 48-55
Abstract views: 69
PDF downloaded: 0

Devils never die. Rediscovering Megachile diabolica Friese, 1898 in Italy after 76 years from the first record (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)

Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence
Fondazione per lo sviluppo sostenibile, via Garigliano 61a, Rome, Italy
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
Alta Murgia National Park, via Firenze 10, Gravina in Puglia, Italy
Fondazione per lo sviluppo sostenibile, via Garigliano 61a, Rome, Italy
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
pollinators bees endangered species distribution insect conservation national parks

Abstract

We report the rediscovery of Megachile diabolica Friese, 1898 in Italy, 76 years after its last and only known record. A single female was collected in May 2024 in the Alta Murgia National Park (Apulia, southern Italy), an area of calcareous grasslands recognized as a hotspot of Mediterranean biodiversity for insects. Morphological identification was supported by DNA barcoding, confirming the specimen’s identity with minimal divergence (0.77%) from a Turkish haplotype. The bee was observed foraging on Asyneuma limonifolium (L.) Janch, a plant species with a limited distribution in southern Italy. This finding not only confirms the occurrence of the species in Italy but also highlights the conservation value of the Alta Murgia National Park, confirming its rich pollinator community and the remarkably low extinction rates. The coexistence of open grasslands and forested patches likely provides a microhabitat mosaic that buffers pollinator populations from increasing climatic extremes.

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