Towards new, uncolonized areas

Bombus haematurus in Zlin, CZ

Organisms have the amazing ability of quickly colonize new areas, if they constitute the appropriate environment. A typical example is represented by the invasive species, imported voluntarily or involuntarily into new (but suitable) parts of the world by human activities and globalization, e.g. the agricultural pests. These are usually well studied cases because of the great negative impact on the ecosystems health and the economy.

Totally different story is for those species that are naturally spreading into new areas. These would be species that adapt to a new environment or that spread because the environment changes (from previously inhospitable to suitable), without humans carring them around. These cases are documented, but why these spreads occur is a topic somehow less frequently studied, I don't really know why! In this study, some colleagues and I have looked at a bumblebee that is protagnist of an astonishingly quick spread from the Balkan into Central Europe. Did you know that its spread started in the 80s? and do you know why the 80s is a very meaningful time for range spread? Did you know that this bumblebee is a forest-lover but that actually it also loves cities? See here for the study

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.15.950931v1 and the published version is here https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1744-7917.12800

The figure above is a queen of this beautiful bumblebee pictured in Zlin (Czech Republic!) by me in May 2017, the northernmost known locality in Europe (at the moment), only 70 KM from the Moravian Gate (and Poland!)

On a misterious click beetle

It might seem unlikely, but in spite of centuries of science and of expanding our knowledge of the Earth, there are so many species we still know nothing about their lifestyle, ecological requirements and threats. This is typically the case of species occurring in remote areas or prohibitive habitats, but it also applies well to many organisms inhabiting the Old World, perhaps they even inhabit your backyard or the grasslands you walk in during your weekend hike. One of such species is the beautiful Campilomphus homalisinus, a small and inconspicuous Mediterranean click beetle, which I have enjoyed writing about a few years ago. If you wonder where this beetle lives, see here: https://bdj.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=1075

Did you know that females are extremely difficult to find, while males are more common? Where are they all the time?

Did you know that his current distribution has been affected by the glaciations of the ice-ages?

The beginning

Here we are, with the first post of this blog. The focus of this website is to present my research and teaching activities, and get readers interested in my contributions to science. However, it was a bit difficult to conceive how to make a website and to decide what aspects of myself should be shown. Eventually, I decided to give a few pills of my background, the people I have worked with and the professional societies and working groups I joined (see “about me”). A page is dedicated to my teaching, and I expect to increase my involvement with forming students and share what I have learnt and will study (see "teaching"). Actually, some parts of this website are still under construction, so, be patient. And, there is this blog, which I hope to keep alive and use as a window to the social media and the people. Let’s see how it goes, and keep in touch.

#pbiella