The present paper is based on original and literature data. In Croatia the first studies on the occurrence of ixodid species were made about 80 years ago. The number of tick species recorded in Croatia considerably increased during the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s of the past century. A total of 21 species of hard tick belonging to 5 genera have been recorded in Croatia. Ixodes is the best represented genus, with seven species recorded. Haemaphysalis is represented by six species, followed by Rhipicephalus with four species. Dermacentor and Hyalomma are represented by two species each. The ticks were collected on 47 different host species. Eleven tick species were collected on Bos taurus and Ovis aries, followed by Capra hircus and Equus caballus with 8 species and Canis lupus familiaris with 6 species. On the remaining 42 host species one, two or three tick species were collected. The most widespread tick is Ixodes ricinus which was found on 25 different host species.

The first record of Aedes albopictus in Croatia was made in Zagreb, Croatia, on October 28, 2004. A total of 13 larvae were collected in a discarded ceramic toilet bowl in a forested area in the southwest suburbs. Because the winter temperatures in Zagreb are not favorable for survival, this finding of Ae. albopictus may be temporary. Its survival in northern Croatia remains to be studied.

Several arboviruses have emerged in Croatia in recent years. Tick-borne encephalitis is endemic in continental counties; however, new natural micro-foci have been detected. Two autochthonous dengue cases were reported in 2010. West Nile virus emerged in 2012, followed by emergence of Usutu virus in 2013. Although high seroprevalence rates of Toscana virus have been detected among residents of Croatian littoral, the virus remains neglected, with only a few clinical cases of neuroinvasive infections reported. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is a neglected neuroinvasive rodent-borne virus. So far, there are no reports on human clinical cases; however, the seroprevalence studies indicate the virus presence in the Croatian mainland. Puumala and Dobrava hantaviruses are widely distributing rodent-borne viruses with sporadic and epidemic occurrence. Hepatitis E virus is an emerging food-borne virus in Croatia. After the emergence in 2012, cases were regularly recorded. Seropositivity varies greatly by region and population group. Rotaviruses represent a significant healthcare burden since rotavirus vaccination is not included in the Croatian national immunization program. Additionally, rotaviruses are widely distributed in the Croatian ecosystem. A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in February 2020 and spread rapidly throughout the country. This review focuses on emerging and neglected viruses of zoonotic importance detected in Croatia.

The pattern of horse fly (Diptera: Tabanidae) distribution and correlations among biodiversity, abundance, abiotic factors, and altitude were determined along a two-sided altitudinal transect. The sampling was carried out on five 3-d periods during tabanid seasonal activity. Linen canopy traps with 1-octen-3-ol as an attractant were used at 20 sampling sites along the transect. The results showed that the qualitative composition of tabanid species can be distinguished by altitude and, especially, between southeastern and northwestern mountain slopes. The peaks of horse fly species richness and abundance were indicated at middle elevations of both slopes, where horse fly distributional groups were overlapping and most rare and infrequent species were sampled. All expected species were sampled according to species accumulation curve. The canonical correlation analysis separated species and sampling sites into three clusters; two were positively correlated with the temperature and the wind but differed in sensitivity toward them, and the third cluster was correlated with the humidity. The horse fly distribution was nonhomogenous, and the distributional patterns were only partially determined by altitude and vegetation. The determining environmental variables were different for each slope: temperature and wind for the southern slope (Mediterranean climatic zone) and humidity for the northern slope (continental climatic zone).

No abstract

Myiasis is an infestation caused by larvae of Diptera in humans and other vertebrates. In domestic cats, Felis silvestris catus L. (Carnivora: Felidae), four dipteran families have been reported as agents of obligatory and facultative myiasis: Oestridae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae and Muscidae. Among agents of obligatory myiasis, the most frequent genus is Cuterebra Clark (Oestridae) and the most frequent species is Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Calliphoridae). Among the agents of facultative myiasis, the most frequent species is Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Calliphoridae). A survey of myiasis in cats reported in literature shows that the cases are distributed worldwide and linked to the geographical range of the dipteran species. Factors favouring the occurrence of myiasis in cats are prowling in infested areas, poor hygiene conditions due to diseases and/or neglect, and wounds inflicted during territorial or reproductive competition. The aim of the review is to provide an extended survey of literature on myiasis in cats, as general information and possible development of guidelines for veterinarians, entomologists and other researchers interested in the field.

An updated checklist of Croatian flesh flies is presented based on the literature, on material collected from 2004 to 2017, and on specimens in museum collections. The checklist comprises 22 genera and 148 species (two left unnamed), 105 of which are represented by new Croatian records. Twenty-five species are recorded from Croatia with certainty for the first time:Amobiapelopei(Rondani, 1859),ApodacraseriemaculataMacquart, 1854,Craticulinatabaniformis(Fabricius, 1805),Macronychiastriginervis(Zetterstedt, 1838),Metopiacampestris(Fallén, 1810),MiltogrammabrevipilaVilleneuve, 1911,MiltogrammaibericaVilleneuve, 1912,Miltogrammaoestracea(Fallén, 1820),MiltogrammapunctataMeigen, 1824,Oebalia cylindrica(Fallén, 1810),PhyllotelespictipennisLoew, 1844,Senotainiaconica(Fallén, 1810),Taxigrammahilarella(Zetterstedt, 1844),Taxigrammastictica(Meigen, 1830),Agriamonachae(Kramer, 1908),Nyctialugubris(Macquart, 1843), Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) aurulenta Rohdendorf, 1937, Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) batilligera Séguy, 1941, Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) plumicornis (Zetterstedt, 1859), Sarcophaga (Helicophagella) okaliana (Lehrer, 1975), Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) amita Rondani, 1860, Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) ancilla Rondani, 1865, Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) pseudobenaci (Baranov, 1942), Sarcophaga (Myorhina) lunigera Böttcher, 1914 and Sarcophaga (Stackelbergeola) mehadiensis Böttcher, 1912.Taxigrammahilarella,Nyctialugubris,Agriamonachae, Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) aurulenta and Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) amita are recorded from Southeast Europe with certainty for the first time. The species Sarcophaga (Sarcophaga) hennigi Lehrer, 1978 is omitted from the list, as previous records from Croatia are shown to be based on an erroneous synonymy withSarcophaganovakiBaranov, 1941 (= Sarcophaga (Sarcophaga) croatica Baranov, 1941). Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) rufipes (Macquart, 1839) could not be confirmed from Croatia and is not included in the checklist. Three new synonymies are proposed:GolaniaLehrer, 2000 =ThyrsocnemaEnderlein, 1928,syn. nov., Parasarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) kovatschevitchi Strukan, 1970 = Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) marshalli Parker, 1923,syn. nov., and Sarcophagasubvicinassp.novaki Baranov, 1941 = Sarcophaga (Sarcophaga) croatica Baranov, 1941,syn. nov.As part of an effort to update the European distributions of all Croatian species, the following new national and regional records are also provided:Miltogrammabrevipila,MiltogrammataeniataMeigen, 1824 and Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) pandellei (Rohdendorf, 1937) new to Greece; Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) harpax Pandellé, 1896 and Sarcophaga (Sarcophaga) croatica new to Italy (respectively mainland and mainland and Sicily);Miltogrammaibericanew to Bulgaria and Sardinia;Pterellaconvergens(Pandellé, 1895) new to mainland Italy and Sicily;Nyctialugubrisnew to mainland Italy and Sardinia; Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) litoralis (Villeneuve, 1911) new to Sardinia and thus confirmed for Italy;Apodacraseriemaculata,Macronychiastriginervis,Protomiltogrammafasciata(Meigen, 1824) and Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) ungulata (Pandellé, 1896) new to Sardinia and Sicily;MacronychiadoliniVerves & Khrokalo, 2006,Macronychiapolyodon(Meigen, 1824),Metopiaargyrocephala(Meigen, 1824),Senotainiaalbifrons(Rondani, 1859),Taxigrammamultipunctata(Rondani, 1859),Taxigrammastictica, Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) unicolor (Villeneuve, 1912) and Sarcophaga (Helicophagella) agnata Rondani, 1860 new to Sardinia;Metopodiapilicornis(Pandellé, 1895),Miltogrammaoestracea,MiltogrammarutilansMeigen, 1824,Nyctiahalterata(Panzer, 1798), Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) lapidosa Pape, 1994 and Blaesoxipha (Blaesoxipha) plumicornis new to Sicily.

The efficiency of ten differently colored modified box traps for collecting tabanids was studied in the Monjoroš Forest in eastern Croatia. A total of 5,436 specimens belonging to 16 species of tabanids grouped into six genera were collected. The genus Tabanus was the most represented with 98% of all collected tabanids. Tabanus bromius comprised 90% of tabanids collected, and was the most abundant species collected in all box traps. The majority of tabanids (74%) were collected from black, brown, bordeaux, red, and blue traps (dark group), whereas 26% were collected from green, light violet, white, orange, and yellow traps (light group). The black modified trap was the most successful and collected 20% of all collected tabanids, whereas the yellow trap was the least effective with 1%. The number of collected specimens of species T. bromius differed significantly between the dark and light group of traps. Traps with lower reflectance from green color collected 77% of T. bromius. The most species of tabanids (12) was collected in the brown trap, whereas the least number of species (6) was collected in the yellow trap.