Drosophila suzukii ovoposits and feeds on healthy fruits, unlike most other Drosophila species. It has been traditionally reported from Asia, but in the last 2 years it has been recorded from North America, where it is causing a lot of agricultural damage. Herein we report the first records of, D. suzukii in Europe. It has been found in different localities expanding an altitudinal range from 27 to 1550 m above sea level (ab.s.l). Furthermore by comparing collections of drosophilids from different European populations distributed along a latitudinal cline we were able to determine its high dispersal ability since it spread approximately 1400 km in 1 year either actively or passively through infested fruits. The similarities of the introduction dates in North America and Europe and the COI haplotypes suggest that the two invasions could be related. No considerable damage on crops has been reported yet in Europe. However, if this species gets established in more temperate localities it could become a serious pest. Therefore tracking the invasion of this species is recommended. An early detection of this potential pest is decisive for good management of the fields.

Three out of the 80 plates of fine line drawings of male terminalia in the book entitled The Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark, published by Brill, Leiden, were misprinted. Here, these three plates have been reprinted, in the manner that they should have been published originally, and provide an accurate representation of the complex male terminalia of Amiota subtusradiata, Leucophenga quinquemaculata, and Phortica variegata.

1. Elevational gradients influence the distribution and abundance of species drastically and can lead to variation in community composition. Although coprophagous flies are of ecological and economic importance, their biodiversity and distribution are largely neglected. We studied the impact of steep elevational gradients and geography on the distribution of sepsid flies in the Swiss Alps.2. Sepsidae are a family of acalyptrate flies strongly associated with decaying organic matter and vertebrate dung, and characterised by a high extent of sympatry in their breeding substrates. Historical, haphazardly sampled specimens from 116 locations covering an elevational range from 200 to 2000 m were available in ethanol collections of various Swiss museums.3. Nineteen species encompassing all native genera (Meroplius, Nemopoda, Saltella, Sepsis and Themira) were recorded. Local species richness increased linearly with elevation, while area-corrected regional species richness of elevational belts increased asymptotically. Species occurring at higher altitudes had lower wing loadings and greater elevational ranges than lowland species, supporting Rapoport's elevational rule.4. Despite compositional similarities, the sepsid communities of the northern lowlands differed significantly from the alpine sepsid fauna. The southern lowlands were particularly differentiated in community composition due to a number of presumably thermophilic species that predominantly occur south of the Alps.5. Relative abundances of several species were thus strongly affected by elevation and climatic variables. We illustrate the impact of elevational gradients and geography on a community of closely related, often sympatric species, and discuss potential mechanisms of niche partitioning via temporal succession, thermal adaptation and differential resource use.

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