New Aculeata species (Insecta, Hymenoptera) for the Murmansk Oblast (NW Russia)

Despite increasing interest in Arctic research in recent years, the entomofauna of northern Russia remains insufficiently studied. In this context, the Murmansk Oblast is of particular interest. As part of Fennoscandia, it shares similar natural and climatic conditions with the region, as well as a common post-glacial biota formation history. However, its study over the past century has followed a somewhat different trajectory. Comparing the entomofauna of the Kola Peninsula with the well-documented insect diversity of neighboring Finland and Scandinavia is crucial for identifying new regional species and the possibility of extrapolating data to Russian Fennoscandia, where insect inventories remain incomplete. New distribution records for Aculeata species in the Murmansk Oblast were obtained through entomological surveys in the Laplandsky Biosphere Nature Reserve and the Pasvik Nature Reserve. Analysis of these original materials revealed twenty species newly recorded in the region, three species new to the European North of Russia, and one species, Bethylus boops (Thomson, 1862), reported for the first time in Russia. Besides, several species were found to have more extended northern range limits. The study underscores the importance of protected areas for biodiversity research.