An exploratory survey of common and unexpected insect associates of Arnica montana L. capitula in the French Pyrenees
- 1Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-CMCNB)
- 2División Paleobotánica, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, CONICET
- 3Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Catalanes
Abstract
Although arthropods inhabiting Arnica montana capitula may affect both plant reproductive success and the quantity and quality of flower heads harvested for medicinal use, little is known about the composition of this assemblage. We used morphological sorting and COI DNA barcoding to identify arthropods collected from 115 capitula in a natural population managed under sustainable harvesting, with insects being the only group found. A total of 473 larvae, exuviae and adults were recovered, revealing a community largely dominated by the florivorous tephritid Tephritis arnicae, together with a smaller number of additional dipteran, hymenopteran, and hemipteran taxa. Molecular identification confirmed several previously reported associations and documented new capitulum-associated taxa, including Lasiomma sp. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and Melanostoma sp. (Diptera: Syrphidae). Preliminary results also suggested a reduced T. arnicae infestation in late-flowering capitula and in those from plants growing in open areas.
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BibTeX
@article{perezlorenzo2026exploratory,
title = {{An exploratory survey of common and unexpected insect associates of Arnica montana L. capitula in the French Pyrenees}},
author = {Iván Pérez-Lorenzo and Leonardo Platania and Anabela Cardoso and Luis Palazzesi and Ingrid Forey and Jaume Pellicer and Oriane Hidalgo},
journal = {Alpine Entomology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3897/alpento.10.209066},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.10.209066},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An exploratory survey of common and unexpected insect associates of Arnica montana L. capitula in the French Pyrenees
AU - Iván Pérez-Lorenzo
AU - Leonardo Platania
AU - Anabela Cardoso
AU - Luis Palazzesi
AU - Ingrid Forey
AU - Jaume Pellicer
AU - Oriane Hidalgo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Alpine Entomology
DO - 10.3897/alpento.10.209066
UR - https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.10.209066
AB - Although arthropods inhabiting Arnica montana capitula may affect both plant reproductive success and the quantity and quality of flower heads harvested for medicinal use, little is known about the composition of this assemblage. We used morphological sorting and COI DNA barcoding to identify arthropods collected from 115 capitula in a natural population managed under sustainable harvesting, with insects being the only group found. A total of 473 larvae, exuviae and adults were recovered, revealing a community largely dominated by the florivorous tephritid Tephritis arnicae, together with a smaller number of additional dipteran, hymenopteran, and hemipteran taxa. Molecular identification confirmed several previously reported associations and documented new capitulum-associated taxa, including Lasiomma sp. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and Melanostoma sp. (Diptera: Syrphidae). Preliminary results also suggested a reduced T. arnicae infestation in late-flowering capitula and in those from plants growing in open areas.
SN - 2535-0889
ER -