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Simple Summary A new fungus gnat species has been described from a single specimen collected from Georgia (Sakartvelo). The new species, named after its occurrence in Caucasia as Docosia caucasica sp. n., is distinguished from congeners by the characters in male terminalia and a unique COI sequence. As a substantial proportion of species in ecological communities tend to be rare, about 20–30% of new insect taxa have been described from a singleton so far. Therefore, following high-quality standards when describing new species, particularly when dealing with minimalistic material, is crucial. As much as possible, using multiple sets of characters, like morphology and DNA sequencing, is encouraged. Abstract A new species—Docosia caucasica sp. n.—has been described from material collected from the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in Georgia (Sakartvelo). The new species belongs to a group of Palaearctic species characterized by distinct posterolateral processes of gonocoxites and apically modified setae at the posteroventral margin of the gonocoxites medially. Within the group, D. caucasica sp. n. is most similar to D. landrocki Laštovka and Ševčík, 2006 in having a similar outline of the medial process of posteroventral margin of the gonocoxites and the gonostylus. There is also a marked difference within the partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) sequence of D. caucasica sp. n. and other Docosia spp. available in public databases. As the new species is described from a single male specimen only, the adequacy and code compliance of that are discussed.

The Ochlerotatus (Oc.) communis complex consist of three Northern American species as well as a common Holarctic mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Oc. communis (De Geer, 1776). These sister species exhibit important ecological differences and are capable of transmitting various pathogens, but cannot always be differentiated by morphological traits. To investigate the Oc. communis complex in Europe, we compared three molecular markers (COI, ND5 and ITS2) from 54 Estonian mosquitoes as well as two COI marker sequences from Sweden. These sequences were subjected to phylogenetic analysis and screened for Wolbachia Hertig and Wolbach symbionts. Within and between groups, distances were calculated for each marker to better understand the relationships among individuals. Results demonstrate that a group of samples, extracted from adult female mosquitoes matching the morphology of Oc. communis, show a marked difference from the main species when comparing the mitochondrial markers COI and ND5. However, there is no variance between the same specimens when considering the nuclear ITS2. We conclude that Oc. communis encompasses two distinct mitochondrial DNA lineages in the Nordic-Baltic region. Further research is needed to investigate the origin and extent of these genetic differences.

Simple Summary Many female mosquitoes require vertebrate blood for egg production. Cities are becoming increasingly important points of contact between mosquitoes and their prey, as large-scale urbanization continues. Human settlements represent unique but fragmented habitats that are permanently warmer than rural areas. Because of this, there is a growing demand to better understand urban mosquito populations and the factors affecting them in various circumstances. The aim of this study was to investigate the weather conditions influencing mosquito species and abundance in a Northern European town. Thus, a three-year-long mosquito collection effort was undertaken in Estonia. Results indicated that the number of active mosquitoes decreased with wind and higher temperatures. Interestingly, there was a significant negative correlation between temperature and humidity. Furthermore, while mosquitoes belonging to the Culex pipiens/Culex torrentium group were consistently abundant during the end of the warm season, other dominant species varied considerably between the months and the three study years. Overall, springtime hydrological conditions seemed to greatly influence the mosquito season. Urbanization could generate both higher temperatures and drier environments, resulting in fewer mosquitoes in some areas. This study also revealed the mosquito species most likely to contribute to disease transmission in Estonian towns. Abstract Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are universally recognized as troublesome pests and vectors of various pathogens and parasites. Understandably, the species makeup and diversity of individual populations depends on local and broad scale environmental trends, especially on temperature and hydrological variations. Anthropogenic landscapes make for unique habitats, but their effect on insects likely varies across climatic regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity and seasonal patterns of urban mosquitoes in the boreal region. Specimens were collected with an insect net from May to September during three years and determined to species or species group level. Weather information was added to each data point and results analyzed using multivariate regression models. Fieldwork yielded 1890 mosquitoes from four genera. Both abundance and the effective number of species (ENS) significantly decreased during the study period. The number of collected mosquitoes had a negative correlation with wind speed and temperature, latter of which exhibited a negative association with humidity. Species succession followed predictable patterns, but with some variation between years. Still, Culex pipiens/Culex torrentium were the most abundant throughout the study. Importantly, all dominant species were known disease vectors. Our work showed that higher temperatures could result in fewer mosquitoes in boreal towns.

In light of the African swine fever outbreaks in Estonian pig farms during the past few years, the question of the vector potential of Diptera in the pig farm environment has risen. However, the arthropod fauna of the pig farm environment is currently not well established. Hence, the aim of this study was to clarify the species diversity in pig farms. In total, 22 Diptera species or species groups were found in Estonian pig farms. There were altogether 186,701 individual arthropods collected, from which 96.6% (180,444) belonged to the order of true flies (Insecta: Diptera). The remaining 3.4% were from other insect orders, arachnids, or just damaged and unidentifiable specimens. The activity density and diversity of dipterans differed significantly between 12 sampled farms but not throughout the sampling period. The present study is amongst the few to provide a large-scale overview of pig-farm-associated Diptera in the temperate climate zone.