New Records of the Craneflies (Diptera: Limoniidae, Tipulidae) from the Western Balkans

Abstract

We collected adult cranefly specimens during 2016 and 2017 with entomological nets from some localities in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. A number of 7 species belonging to 5 genera and 2 families were collected. Four species found during this investigation are first records for Republic of Kosovo: Geranomyia fuscior Stary, 2012, Limonia macrostigma (Schummel, 1829), Rhypholophus bifurcatus Goetghebuer, 1920, Tipula (Savtshenkia) benesignata Mannheims, 1954 and three other species are first records for Republic of North Macedonia: Erioptera (Erioptera) fusculenta Edwards, 1938, Tipula (Savtshenkia) gimmerthali gimmerthali Lackschewitz, 1925 and Tipula (Schummelia) variicornis variicornis Schummel, 1833. The most interesting finding are Geranomyia fuscior, which was previously known only from Albania, Portugal and Libya, and Tipula (Savtshenkia) gimmerthali gimmerthali which is reported for the first time from the Western Balkans, due to the fact that less is known about their distribution in the area. This study represents an important contribution to the knowledge of species composition and distribution of crane flies in Western Balkans.