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Pollinators of most of the plants cultivated in in the Mediterranean regions of Europe are still unknown. We provide new data and we review previously available information on bees (Apoidea Latreille, 1802) associated with three economically important crops in Spain: melon, watermelon and almond. We found that overall 138 bee species spanning four families visit the studied crop species. The bee assemblages of melon includes 8-35 species, with moderate to high importance of small Lasioglossum Curtis, 1833 (Halictidae Thomson, 1869) and honeybee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758: Apidae Latreille, 1802). Watermelon flowers are visited by 14-20 species of bees, with low to moderate abundance of honeybees and predominance of small Lasioglossum. Bees collected on almond trees spanned 12-37 species, being the honeybee and medium-size to large Andrena Fabricius, 1775 (Andrenidae Latreille, 1802) and Osmia Panzer, 1806 (Megachilidae Latreille, 1802) predominant. The new samples expanded the geographical distributions of nearly one-fourth of the collected species. Diversity estimators slightly varied even within fields of the same crop, and a cluster analysis suggests both a certain overlap between melon and watermelon and a role of geographical distance on similarity among bee assemblages. Below ground-nesting and solitary species were more frequent than above ground-nesting and eusocial species, but for melon and watermelon the highest abundances were recorded for eusocial

BACKGROUND: Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a commercially important tree in the Mediterranean basin, where there is a considerable increase in cultivation, especially in Spain. Because of its recent introduction as a crop in the country (1980s), studies on the pests of pistachio in Spain are still rare. Here, we studied the leaf beetle Labidostomis lusitanica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), which was observed on pistachio and might become a serious pest under the expanding Spanish pistachio fields. Because early detection of pests is extremely important to properly plan control strategies, we (i) updated the information on the distribution of the species through samplings and surveys, and (ii) modelled its potential distribution. RESULTS: Currently, L. lusitanica occurs across the whole Iberian Peninsula, especially in its southern and eastern parts, with adults on flight roughly from late April to early June. Analysis of climatic niches showed that L. lusitanica prefers dry and hot areas, which are conditions found especially in the central-southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Such highly suitable areas for this pest overlap considerably with the suitable areas for pistachio cultivation. Surveys of pistachio growers weakly suggested a higher pest attack probability, but, unexpectedly, a lower perceived impact in very suitable areas for L. lusitanica, suggesting that other factors may shape its pest potential in a complex way. CONCLUSION: In line with what has been observed for other Labidostomis species on pistachio in other Mediterranean countries, L. lusitanica has a good potential to harm pistachio production in Spain, claiming for further investigations and prevention strategies.

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Ants commonly visit flowers seeking for food resources such as nectar. However, only eight species of orchids are known for having an effective pollinaria removal by ants. In this study, the visit of the orchid Neotinea maculata (Desf.) Stearn by ants is described in one of the three known populations from the province of Valladolid (Spain). Through direct observation, six minor worker ants of Temnothorax exilis (Emery, 1869) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) group were found visiting flowers of six plants of N. maculata, and four of them were carrying pollinaria on their heads. Other insects were not observed with pollinaria or visiting the flowers. Overall, we found that 33.3% of all the flowers had no pollinaria (96 flowers without pollinaria in a total of 288 flowers). Nevertheless, despite ants observed in the field only promoted cross-pollination between flowers of the same individual (geitonogamy), there is a possibility that the ant will visit another plant’s inflorescence. Thus, ants could be considered not only as visitors but also as true pollinators of N. maculata.