Descriptions are given of three new species of Merodon Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the nigritarsis species group from the Middle East: Merodon angustus Vujić et Radenković n. sp., Merodon hakkariensis Vujić et Radenković n. sp. and Merodon quadraticus Vujić et Radenković n. sp. In addition, diagnostic characters are given for the nigritarsis group and distribution maps are presented for the new species and closely related taxa.

Hoverflies are a valuable group of species in need of conservation and monitoring, due to their large contribution to pollination, biological control, and role as indicators of ecosystem change. Though hoverflies are a well-known group of insects, there has been little documentation of their current conservation status. Using long-term hoverfly monitoring data, this study reports on their prevalence in Serbia and presents priority areas for their conservation. An expert-generated, criteria-driven approach was used to identify core areas for conservation of hoverflies, named Prime Hoverfly Areas (PHA); 34% of the identified area lies outside of a national protection area (NPA) network. A systematic conservation approach (gap and irreplaceability analysis) was then applied to evaluate: 1) sufficiency of the NPA for hoverfly conservation, and 2) degree of improvement in hoverfly conservation conferred by the expert-generated PHA network. The networks were evaluated for the achievement of predefined representation targets for each of the 155 hoverfly species identified as important for conservation. We found that the NPA network is insufficient, as it does not cover the ranges of 18% of considered species. The area of the proposed PHA outside of the NPA is small (1.36% of the national territory), but its protection would greatly improve hoverfly conservation by increasing the inclusion of hoverfly habitats for previously unprotected species and by including hoverfly biodiversity hot spots. The suggested PHA network was then compared to a similarly designed habitat network aimed to conserve butterflies. There was partial overlap between the two networks, highlighting the importance of considering multiple groups in planning comprehensive conservation strategies for pollinators.

A new hoverfly species, Cheilosia barbafacies Vujić & Radenković sp. n. (Diptera, Syrphidae), is described and distinguished from the closely related species Cheilosia pascuorum Becker, 1894, based on material collected from the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. Diagnostic characteristics and an identification key for the members of the proxima group of Cheilosia s. str., including the new taxon, are provided.

Climate change is now considered a significant threat to terrestrial biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) are among the modern tools currently used to assess the potential impacts of climate change on species. Pipiza Fallén, 1810 is a well known aphidophagous hoverfly genus (Diptera, Syrphidae) at the European level, for which sampling has been conducted across the region, and long-term databases and geo-referenced datasets have been established. Therefore, in this work, we investigated the potential current distributions of the European species of this genus and their response to future climate change scenarios, as well as evaluated stability in their ranges and potential changes in species-richness patterns. We applied three climate models (BCC_CSM1.1, CCSM4, HadGEM2-ES) to four representative concentration pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, RCP 8.5) for two time frames (2050 and 2070). Our results show that the distribution of most Pipiza species may slightly differ under different climate models. Most Pipiza species were predicted not to be greatly affected by climate change, maintaining their current extent. Percentages of stable areas will remain high (above 50%) for the majority of studied species. According to the predicted turnover of species, northern Europe, could become the richest in terms of species diversity, thus replacing Central Europe as the current hot spot.