We argue that the term 'glacial relict' is often misused in Central European biogeography and conservation ecology to refer to tyrphobiotic insect species which occur in peat bogs. There is no evidence to argue that these insect populations represent remnants dating back to the Pleistocene glacial stages. Instead, these insect species are mainly associated with colder local climate, special edaphic conditions, and the specific plant composition of the bogs. Therefore bogs are isolated habitats for cold-adapted, tyrphobiotic species, in which they have persisted since the early or middle Holocene, and the conservation of the bogs is critically important for the future survival of the boreo-alpine insect species in Central Europe.

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