Alien species Trichopoda (Galactomyia) pictipennis Bigot, 1876 was found in southeasternBosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in June and August 2024. This is the first recordof this species for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the southeastern part of Croatia.Additionally, this report includes the records from Montenegro and Bulgaria obtainedfrom the online data platform iNaturalist representing the first observations of T.pictipennis for Montenegro and the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria.

The genus Temnostoma comprises saproxylic hoverflies whose larvae develop by boring into wet, decaying wood, where they feed on microorganisms. Records of these species in the northwestern Balkans are sparse in the literature and nearly absent from openaccess databases. To enhance knowledge of their distribution in the region, we present new records of four Temnostoma species from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Three species were recorded in all three countries, while T. apiforme was found exclusively in Croatia. This discovery marks not only the first record of this species in the country but also the first for the entire Balkan Peninsula. Furthermore, Temnostomameridionale was documented in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time. Given thatthese hoverflies are large and visually striking, we hope this study will inspire interestamong citizen scientists and encourage future contributions to the documentation ofthis genus in the region.

After being presumed extinct, the blind mole rat was rediscovered in Vučedol, Croatia. Phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA) were conducted to classify the population. The results confirmed a distinct separation between the Lesser mole rats (Nannospalax leucodon clade) and Western mole rats (N. monticola clade). Within the N. monticola complex, six lineages were identified, which likely diverged during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. The Vučedol sample belongs to the montanosyrmiensis cytotype subclade, which was also found in Fruška Gora, Serbia. This subclade may represent a new species, showing K2P genetic distances of 4.3% to 5.7% from the "Pannonian Plain" subclade located on both banks of the Danube River. In two Pannonian localities, secondary contacts between populations of both subclades have been documented. One of them is the Kelebia –Subotička peščara population, where a unique subclade "Kelebia" was identified. Populations with montanoserbicus cytotype cluster within two distinct subclades, montanoserbicus A and montanoserbicus B, with K2P distances ranging from 4.6% to 5.3%, indicating potential species status for montanoserbicus A. In the most parsimonious network, montanoserbicus B exhibits a close relationship with the Pannonian Plain sublineage and a single sample from Bosnia and Herzegovina, showing K2P distances of 1.9% to 3.2%, suggesting that they may belong to the same species, N. monticola. Significant divergence between populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina highlights the need for further exploration of local variability and taxonomic status. Detailed analyses with additional markers from more localities are necessary before final species delimitation and taxonomic revision can occur. For now, Nannospalax monticola (Nehring, 1898) remains the sole valid name in the N. monticola complex.

Calocucullia celsiae (Herrich-Schäffer, [1850]) is an easily recognizable noctuid species, differing from all other similar species in its subfamily. Within this survey, it was recorded at two localities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two specimens were collected near Hutovo village in the southern Herzegovina region in April 2023, and a single specimen was collected near Zoranovići village in the central part of the country in May 2023. These are the first records of this species for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the westernmost known data on the presence of this species on the Balkan Peninsula.

Additions to the moth fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are given. We report on first observations of five species and on reconfirmation of one species after eight decades. In Croatia, we recorded the species Eublemma cochylioides (Guenée, 1852) for the first time, while Eublemma himmighoffeni (Millière, 1867) has been confirmed in the country after 85 years. We report on the first observation of five moth species for Bosnia and Herzegovina: Triodia adriaticus (Osthelder, 1931), Eumera regina Staudinger, 1892, Dryobotodes monochroma (Esper, 1790), Lithophane lapidea (Hübner, [1808]) and Nycteola columbana (Turner, 1925). Even though these records could be expected due to species general distributions, they fill the knowledge of moth diversity of both countries and the wider region.

The paper analysed bees by-catch collected in 259 bark beetle slit traps, from eleven localities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sampling was carried out in spruce and fir forests in 2020 and 2021. As a by-catch from bark beetle slit traps 84 bee individuals from four families and 13 genera were collected. In the bark beetle slit traps sample, out of 29 bee taxa, 22 species were identified at the species level and eight specimens were left at the genus/subgenus level. The most dominant genera were Megachile with 34 specimens and Osmia represented by 20 specimens in the total sample. The research identified 14 bee species new to the fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bee species collected in the bark beetle slit-traps were dominated by nesters in cavities, above the ground-nesting bees.

Abstract In this paper six heterobranch mollusc species are reported for the first time for Bosnia and Herzegovina: Berthellina edwardsi (Vayssiere, 1896), Felimida luteorosea (Rapp, 1827), Thuridilla hopei (Verany, 1853), Dendrodoris grandiflora (Rapp, 1827), Camachoaglaja africana (Pruvot-Fol, 1953) and Felimare villafranca (Risso, 1818). The study was conducted in October 2021 on Klek Peninsula and in Neum Bay (eastern Adriatic Sea, Bosnia and Herzegovina). This paper significantly extends the knowledge of the national marine heterobranch molluscs fauna, almost doubling the number of species known for the country, as only seven heterobranch species were reported for Bosnia and Herzegovina until now.

The biogeography of European forests presents many interesting case studies, as inferred from phylogeography, contemporary population genetics, and distribution modelling of saproxylic species. Here, we pose four main hypotheses: (i) the phylogeographic paradigm known for temperate species in Europe is also applicable for saproxylic taxa; (ii) current expansion is occurring only in some genetic lineages; (iii) genetic diversity decreases from east to west, reflecting differences in forest naturalness and management; and (iv) climatic changes will force a northward range shift.

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of consistent and detailed reporting of introduced species is to complement the existing species inventories and serve as a basis for establishing monitoring strategies and other conservation measures. Some of the reports from this article are the first species records for the Mediterranean Sea, namely the green alga Udotea flabellum from the Aegean Sea (Turkey) and the deepbody boarfish Antigonia capros from the Balearic Sea (Spain). In addition, new records of introduced species are included for different seas, namely the moon crab Matuta victor for the Aegean Sea (Greece), the whale shark Rhincodon typus and the lionfish Pterois miles for the Alboran Sea (Spain), the almaco jack Seriola rivoliana for the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), and the hound needlefish Tylosurus crocodilus for the Adriatic Sea (Italy). Furthermore, reports on first country records are included: the red alga Colaconema codicola from Slovenia, the nudibranch Melibe viridis from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the lionfish Pterois miles from Montenegro, and the goldstripe sardinella Sardinella gibbosa from Syria, which also represents a second record for the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, the occurrence of the scleractinian coral Oculina patagonica was noted in Gulf of Lion (France). Four polychaete species, namely Leodice antennata, Timarete punctata and Branchiomma bairdi, are reported from the vermetid reef habitat and two of them (L. antennata and B. bairdi) are also recorded for the first time in Lebanon. Evidence for established populations of the Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada radiata around the island of Sardinia (Italy) is provided.

In this paper the first record of the alien mantis species Hierodula tenuidentata for Bosnia and Herzegovina is provided. This large mantis has considerably expanded its distribution range in Europe in the last years, particularly in Balkan Peninsula. We found several adult specimens on 22nd and 23rd of August 2021 in urban area of Mostar city in the south of the country. This finding confirms the species’ establishment in the western part of Balkan Peninsula and fills the distribution gap along the eastern Adriatic Sea coast.