Quantifying the use of natural history collections.

Measuring the use of natural history collections is essential to understand their past and present impact on science, to underpin decisions about their management and to assist with deploying them optimally to address societal challenges. Using the vast natural history collections of Naturalis Biodiversity Center as an example, this paper assesses the significance and relevance of quantifying collection use. Four aspects are discussed: 1.

Three new species of the genus Brèthes (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Opiinae) from South Korea.

Three new species of Brèthes, 1913 ( , and ) are described and illustrated. (Fischer, 1959) is a new combination and a new synonym of (Fischer, 1963), An identification key to the species of known from South Korea is provided.

Ecological, genetic and geographical divergence explain differences in colouration among sunbird species (Nectariniidae).

How extravagant ornamental traits evolve is a key question in evolutionary biology. Bird plumages are among the most elaborate ornaments, displaying almost all colours of the rainbow. Why and how birds evolved to be so colourful remains an open question with multiple and sometimes competing hypotheses.

The genera and revisited with the description of a new species (Araneae, Salticidae) using digital specimen DOIs and nanopublications.

Background: Two Southeast Asian spider collections: that of Frances and John Murphy, now in the Manchester University Museum and the Deeleman collection, now at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden constituted the basis of this analysis of Thorell, 1887 and related genera. The latter collection also includes many thousands of spiders obtained by canopy fogging for an ecological project in Borneo by A. Floren.

Parasites and the ecology of fear: Nonconsumptive effects of ectoparasites on larvae reduce growth in simulated populations.

Predators negatively affect prey outside of direct attack, and these nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) may cause over half the impacts of predators on prey populations. This "ecology of fear" framework has been extended to host-parasite interactions. The NCEs of parasites are thought to be small relative to those of predators.

Revision of the Oriental species of the hoverfly genus Brunetti, 1923 (Diptera, Syrphidae, Microdontinae).

The species of the hoverfly genus Brunetti, 1923 from the Oriental Region are revised. The resulting number of valid species is 15, of which the following four are described as new: Reemer, , Reemer, , Sankararaman & Reemer, , and Reemer, Three new synonymies are established: de Meijere, 1917, is a junior synonym of de Meijere, 1908; Keiser, 1964, is a junior synonym of Doleschall, 1857; Thompson, 2020, is a junior synonym of Brunetti, 1923. Reemer, is introduced as a replacement name for Huo & Zhao, 2022, which is a primary homonym of Ssymank & Reemer, 2016.

Four genera of the subfamily Opiinae Blanchard (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) new for Japan, with the description of two new species.

Four genera are reported for the first time from Japan ( van Achterberg & Li, 2013, Fischer, 1966, Gahan, 1917 and Fischer, 1965), and keys are provided for the species of these genera. Two new species are described and illustrated: and

Multiple graphical views for automatically generating SQL for the MycoDiversity DB; making fungal biodiversity studies accessible.

Fungi is a highly diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that live under an extremely wide range of environmental conditions. Nowadays, there is a fundamental focus on observing how biodiversity varies on different spatial scales, in addition to understanding the environmental factors which drive fungal biodiversity. Metabarcoding is a high-throughput DNA sequencing technology that has positively contributed to observing fungal communities in environments.

A new, unusually large, Scherer, 1974 flea beetle from Borneo, described and sequenced in the field by citizen scientists (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae).

Background: The genus Scherer 1974 consists of very small, soil-dwelling flea beetles in South, Southeast and East Asia. Due to their diminutive size and morphological similarities, very little is known about their ecology and taxonomical diversity. It is likely that further studies will reveal this genus to be much more speciose than the 30 species currently recognised.

A new North American species of (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), feeding on and species (Ericaceae).

van Nieukerken, Epstein & Davis, is the second native American species of Beirne, 1945, and the second known species feeding on Ericaceae. The species is known from light-collected adults in the USA (California, Arizona) and Canada (Ontario). These were linked via DNA barcodes to larvae that make short leafmines on and species, then continue feeding in stems and branches, causing damage in nurseries and planted trees in Sonoma and Marin Counties, California.

The InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: DNA barcodes of Iberian Bees.

Background: Bees are important actors in terrestrial ecosystems and are recognised for their prominent role as pollinators. In the Iberian Peninsula, approximately 1,100 bee species are known, with nearly 100 of these species being endemic to the Peninsula. A reference collection of DNA barcodes, based on morphologically identified bee specimens, representing 514 Iberian species, was constructed.

A new semi-slug of the genus from Brunei, discovered, described and DNA-barcoded on citizen-science 'taxon expeditions' (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Ariophantidae).

Background: During citizen-science expeditions to the Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei, several individuals were collected of a semi-slug species of the genus that, based on morphology and in-the-field DNA-barcoding, was found to be an undescribed species.

New Information: In this paper, we describe Wu, Ezzwan & Hamdani, n. sp.

A new species of the genus Becker, 1923 and the first records of this genus for Europe (Diptera, Asilidae).

A new species of Becker, 1923, Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, , is described from Spain, representing the first record of this genus for Europe. It is illustrated in high-resolution photographs and the first ecological information is provided, as well as a key to all species tentatively placed in this genus.

A new genus of soft coral (Octocorallia, Malacalcyonacea, Cladiellidae) and three new species from Indo-Pacific coral reefs.

Molecular systematic studies of the anthozoan class Octocorallia have revealed widespread incongruence between phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic classification at all levels of the Linnean hierarchy. Among the soft coral taxa in order Malacalcyonacea, the family Alcyoniidae and its type genus have both been recognised to be highly polyphyletic. A recent family-level revision of Octocorallia established a number of new families for genera formerly considered to belong to Alcyoniidae, but revision of is not yet complete.

Ecomorphological convergence in the walking leg dactyli of two clades of ascidian- and mollusc-associated shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae).

Symbiotic species, living within or on the surface of host organisms, may evolve a wide range of adaptations as a result of various selection pressures, host specificity of the symbiont and the nature of the symbiosis. In tropical marine coral reef ecosystems, palaemonid shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) live in association with at least five different invertebrate phyla. Host switches between (distantly) related host groups, and the thereby associated selection pressures were found to play a major role in the diversification of these shrimp lineages, giving rise to various host-specific adaptations.

Envisaging a global infrastructure to exploit the potential of digitised collections.

Tens of millions of images from biological collections have become available online over the last two decades. In parallel, there has been a dramatic increase in the capabilities of image analysis technologies, especially those involving machine learning and computer vision. While image analysis has become mainstream in consumer applications, it is still used only on an artisanal basis in the biological collections community, largely because the image corpora are dispersed.

Type specimens of non-passerines in Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Animalia, Aves).

The non-passerine type specimens in Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden are listed as an update to Van den Hoek Ostende et al. (1997) 'Type-specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, Part 1. Non-Passerines' and Roselaar and Prins (2000) 'List of type specimens of birds in the Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam (ZMA), including taxa described by ZMA staff but without types in the ZMA'.

New records of moth flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) for the Dutch Fauna.

Background: Prior to this study, the moth flies in The Netherlands were represented by 61 species. Our findings derive from a citizen-science expedition in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, one of the oldest public parks and best known parks in The Netherlands. The combination of citizen science and the exploration of a well-known urban park has allowed us to contribute to the knowledge of moth fly species present in The Netherlands.

Field sampling of fig pollinator wasps across host species and host developmental phase: Implications for host recognition and specificity.

Previous genetic studies of pollinator wasps associated with a community of strangler figs ( subgenus , section ) in Central Panama suggest that the wasp species exhibit a range in host specificity across their host figs. To better understand factors that might contribute to this observed range of specificity, we used sticky traps to capture fig-pollinating wasp individuals at 13 species, sampling at different phases of the reproductive cycle of the host figs (e.g.

Hybrid zone analysis confirms cryptic species of banded newt and does not support competitive displacement since secondary contact.

When two putatively cryptic species meet in nature, hybrid zone analysis can be used to estimate the extent of gene flow between them. Two recently recognized cryptic species of banded newt (genus ) are suspected to meet in parapatry in Anatolia, but a formal hybrid zone analysis has never been conducted. We sample populations throughout the range, with a focus on the supposed contact zone, and genotype them for 31 nuclear DNA SNP markers and mtDNA.

Illustrated key to the European genera of Opiinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with the description of two new Palaearctic genera and two new species.

An illustrated key to the European genera of the subfamily Opiinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) is presented and two new genera are described and illustrated: (type species: Opius (Agnopius) daghoides Zaykov & Fischer, 1983) from West and East Palaearctic regions and (type species: Fischer & Beyarslan, 2005) from West Palaearctic region. Two new species are described and illustrated: from Greece and from S. Korea.

 sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae): description of a new aphid parasitoid species with an identification key for species of the genus.

The braconid genus Hincks is a small member of the subfamily Aphidiinae, distributed in Europe and Central Asia. All its species are highly specialized parasitoids of aphids of the genera Koch and, probably, van der Hoeven which are mostly associated with maple and sycamore trees (genus ). Upon examination of specimens from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, we unexpectedly noted unusual variability in morphological characters compared to other known species.

Are threatened species special? An assessment of Dutch bees in relation to land use and climate.

Red Lists are widely used as an indicator of the status and trends of biodiversity and are often used in directing conservation efforts. However, it is unclear whether species with a Least Concern status share a common relationship to environmental correlates compared to species that are on the Red List. To assess this, we focus here on the contribution and correlates of land use, climate, and soil to the occurrence of wild bees in the Netherlands.

An updated classification of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae).

Based on recent achievements in phylogenetic studies of the Brassicaceae, a novel infrafamilial classification is proposed that includes major improvements at the subfamilial and supertribal levels. Herein, the family is subdivided into two subfamilies, Aethionemoideae (subfam. nov.