Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763) is a saproxylic scarab beetle protected by the Habitats Directive in the European Union. The present paper is part of a special issue on monitoring of saproxylic beetles protected in Europe and starts with a revision of the current knowledge on systematics, ecology, ethology and conservation of O. eremita and its allied species, followed by experimental tests of different methods for monitoring its populations. Two methods were compared in several localities of central Italy: (1) the widely used pitfall traps into tree cavities and (2) black cross windows traps baited with a specific pheromone produced by male beetles. The first method, often used in northern and central Europe, did not give acceptable results in Italy probably because of the scarcity of veteran trees with large hollows. It could only be used successfully in areas where: 1) tree hollows were abundant, large enough and with sufficient amounts of wood mould for planting pitfall traps and 2) the team is composed of several operators in order to ensure the checking of at least 150 traps every two days during the whole period of mating activities (15 July-25 August). The second method, consisting of hanging 30 black cross window traps during the mating period and checking them every two days, turned out to be better for capturing a significant number of individuals but cannot be used every year because of the possible disturbance on mating activities of the species. CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalEmanuela Maurizi et al. / Nature Conservation 20: 79-128 (2017) 80
One aim of the MIPP Project (http://www.lifemipp.eu) was to develop non-invasive monitoring methods for selected saproxylic beetles. In this paper, a method is proposed for monitoring the larvae of Osmoderma eremita in their natural habitat (i.e. hollow trees), using a conservation detection dog (CDD). Wood mould sampling (WMS), the standard method to detect hermit beetles and other saproxylic insects inside tree hollows, is time-consuming and exposes the target species and the whole saproxylic communities to some risks. In contrast, CDDs pose no risk to the species living inside trees while, at the same time, offer a powerful tool for surveying the insects. In this paper, the methods applied to train the dog are presented, together with the results for accuracy (the overall proportion of correct indications), sensitivity (the proportion of correct positive indications) and specificity (the proportion of correct negative indications) obtained once the CDD had been fully trained. Results are presented for nitrocellulose filters with the odour of the target species, for larvae living inside hollow trees, for frass and for the remains of adults. A comparison of the efficiency between CDD and WMS showed that employing the dog was much less time-consuming than WMS.The literature on training CDDs for nature conservation tasks, with particular reference to cases involving Coleoptera, was also reviewed. CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalFabio Mosconi et al. / Nature Conservation 20: 237-264 (2017) 238
Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) is a large longhorn beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) which is protected by the Habitats Directive and which typically inhabits beech forests characterised by the presence of mature, dead (or moribund) and sun-exposed trees. A revision of the current knowledge on systematics, ecology and conservation of R. alpina is reported. The research was carried out as part of the LIFE MIPP project which aims to find a standard monitoring method for saproxylic beetles protected in Europe. For monitoring this species, different methods were tested and compared in two areas of the Apennines, utilising wild trees, logs and tripods (artificially built with beech woods), all potentially suitable for the reproduction of the species. Even if all methods succeeded in the survey of the target species, these results showed that the use of wild trees outperformed other methods. Indeed, the use of wild trees allowed more adults to be observed and required less intensive labour. However, monitoring the rosalia longicorn on wild trees has the main disadvantage that they can hardly be considered "standard sampling units", as CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalAlessandro Campanaro et al. / Nature Conservation 20: 165-203 (2017) 166 each tree may be differently attractive to adults. Our results demonstrated that the most important factors influencing the attraction of single trunks were wood volume, sun-exposure and decay stage. Based on the results obtained during the project LIFE MIPP, as well as on a literature review, a standard monitoring method for R. alpina was developed.
Citizen science, the engagement of people in a research project, has grown rapidly in recent years, also for mapping of species of conservation interest. The Life Project "Monitoring Insects with Public Participation" (MIPP) actively promoted collaboration amongst scientists, public administrations and citizens in the collection of occurrence data of nine insect species listed in the Habitats Directive: Lucanus cervus, Osmoderma eremita, Cerambyx cerdo, Rosalia alpina, Morimus asper/funereus, Lopinga achine, Parnassius apollo, Zerynthia cassandra/polyxena and Saga pedo. These species were selected because they share two main characteristics: (i) they are listed in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive and (ii) they are large and relatively easy to identify. From 2014 to 2016, many different strategies were applied to contact and engage the public and approximately 14,000 citizens were reached directly. Additionally, printed and CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalAlessandro Campanaro et al. / Nature Conservation 20: 265-297 (2017) 266 online material informed the public about this project. Citizens could transmit data on the target species, accompanied by a photograph, via the web-site of the project or through a dedicated application (app) for smartphones and tablets. All records were validated by experts based on the photographs sent by citizens. A total number of 2,308 records were transmitted and 1,691 (73.2%) of these were confirmed. Most of the reports were submitted via the website, although the submission via the app increased over time. The species most commonly recorded was L. cervus, followed by M. asper/funereus and R. alpina. Data collected by citizen scientists allowed a detailed analysis to be made on altitudinal distribution and phenology of the species and the results obtained were compared with literature data on altitudinal distribution and phenology. For example, for L. cervus, 67% of the records collected were from the altitudinal range 0-400 m a.s.l. Interestingly, the data showed that the phenology of this species changed with altitude.
The LIFE project "MIPP" -Monitoring of Insects with Public Participation (11 NAT/IT/000252) is focused on selected insect species (five Coleoptera, three Lepidoptera, one Orthoptera), all included in the annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive (HD) 92/43/EEC. One important aim is a citizen science initiative where every person may become a citizen scientist and collect faunistic data on the above species throughout Italy. Another objective of the project MIPP is the development of standard methods for monitoring the conservation status of the five target beetle species. One innovative method employed is a sniffer-dog ("Osmodog"), trained to find the rare and endangered hermit beetle, Osmoderma eremita, which lives in veteran, hollow trees. The dog detects the strong smell of mature peach produced by adult males and an odor produced by the larvae. Another objective of the project MIPP is the dissemination of topics such as HD, Natura 2000, importance of dead-wood, Life projects, insect monitoring and conservation.
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