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Francesco Lamanna

  • Biodiversity Journal, 7 (1): 003-006

    Francesco Lamanna
    Nesting of the Black Stork Ciconia nigra Linnaeus, 1758 (Aves Ciconiidae) in the Fiumara Vitravo Valley (Calabria, Italy)

    ABSTRACT
    The Fiumara Vitravo Valley in the province of Crotone in Italy, is a Site of National Interest for its rich biodiversity and peculiar habitat, and also a strategic area for the nesting of Black Stork, Ciconia nigra Linnaeus, 1758 (Aves Ciconiidae). The river morphology, the harshness of this wild territory, the luxuriant vegetation, the presence of a hydrographic network rich of trophic resources and the crucial position along the migratory routes, are fundamental for the reproductive biology and the evolution of this species. This work will expose the results of the monitoring activities that were carried out in 2015 by which it was possible to document the Black Stork nesting on rocky areas in the valley of Fiumara Vitravo. The ecological importance of the area is strongly in need of greater scientific attention and a suitable site preservation in order to favor the population increment of the Black Stork also in Calabria, where the active reproductive population was present only until 2001. The results are in evident countertrend with respect to older statistical data, which provide negative and sparse data for black stork presence in the “Alto Crotonese” region.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 15 (2): 387-390 - MONOGRAPH

    Francesco Lamanna & Caterina Dima
    A new particular finding of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) (Hemiptera Heteroptera Belostomatidae) on the Calabria Ionian coast
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2024.15.2.387.390

    ABSTRACT
    The first observation of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) (Hemiptera Heteroptera Belostomatidae) on the Ionian coast of Crotone, in eastern Calabria (Italy), is documented. During some local naturalistic research on the Strongoli Marina beach a live adult specimen of this large Belostomatidae was collected and identified. The diffusion in Calabria and in general in Italy of this species, typical of Balkans, has not yet been completely ascertained thus the finding, albeit sporadic, represents an important event for the knowledge and control of the species. Only two other records of Lethocerus patruelis in Calabria are reported in the literature. One to the north in the city of Villapiana in the province of Cosenza and the other to the south in the small hamlet of Prunella in the municipality of Melito di Porto Salvo in the province of Reggio Calabria. This may indicate an increase of the presence of Lethocerus patruelis on the Calabrian Ionian coast.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 12 (4): 0977-0992

    Alfredo Petralia, Pietro Fiandaca, Ettore Petralia, Giorgio Sabella, Gaetano Torrisi, Corrado Bianca, Francesco Lamanna & Caterina Dima
    On the presence and localization of Brachytrupes megacephalus (Lefebvre, 1827) (Orthoptera Gryllidae) in the “Oriented Natural Reserve Simeto Oasis” (Sicily, Italy)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2021.12.4.977.992

    ABSTRACT
    The authors present the results of an investigation aimed to ascertaining the presence of the Gryllidae Brachytrupes megacephalus Lefebvre, 1827, Orthopter of UE interest, in the “Oriented Natural Reserve of Simeto Oasis”, located near Catania along the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy). The species is noticeably widespread in the reserve despite of the alterations and disturbance of anthropogenic origin that have affected the entire coastal dune belt of the Catania Gulf. Management measures aimed to the protection the species are also suggested, as well as protocols for its monitoring in the medium-long term in order to keep under control the consolidation and further diffusion of the species in the territory of the reserve.