From July 19^th to July 28^th, 2008, the 5^th international meeting of the CURCULIO-Institute took place in northwestern Romania, organized by Lucian Alexandru Teodor ("Babes-Bolyai"-University of Cluj-Napoca), and supported by Stanislaw Knutelski (Krakow) and Peter Sprick (Hannover). 19 weevil specialists from eight countries [Fig. W41_01] met in a beautiful natural landscape in the Transylvanian Apuseni Mountains, the large mountain range in the arch of the Carpathians, to exchange their knowledge, discuss current projects and undertake common field trips. For young scientific fellows interested in weevils, it is the best opportunity to come into contact with the European weevil specialist community! As for example Holger Danner from Würzburg, who had just finished his biology studies with a diploma thesis about broad-nosed weevils [Danner 2008] [Fig. W41_02].

After the meetings in Cotignac 2006 [Munteanu & Teodor 2006] and in the Polish Tatra 2004 [Knutelski & Sprick 2007], the eastern part of Europe was visited again. From the meeting point, the Botanical Garden in Cluj, a bus transfer was organized to bring us at first to Rimetea in the southwestern part of the mountains. In Rimetea our domicile was the comfortable "Gyopar" guesthouse, kindly managed by a Hungarian lady and offering best prospects for exploring the environs and for working subsequently to the daily field trips [Fig. W41_03]. It may be of interest that Rimetea (= Torockó) is a village mainly populated by Hungarians, like an ‘enclave’, due to the historical relations between the neighbouring countries.

To arrive at the second place, Padis, situated at higher altitudes of the central Apuseni Mountains (about 1300 m), the cars of our Polish and Romanian colleagues Piotr Tykarski and Stanislaw Knutelski, Lucian Teodor and Marius Cupa were ready for the transport. But as this capacity was not sufficient, we were supported by the leaf beetle specialist Alexandru Crisan from Cluj University with his well-suited Dacia for special high mountain roads. Moreover the Apuseni Nature Park provided a little bus from the center at Sudrigiu to facilitate the transfer into the mountains. As the name for the whole area is Apuseni Mountains (= Sunset Mts), it should be mentioned here that Rimetea is situated in the Muntii Trascau (Trascau Mts) and Padis in the Muntii Bihor (or Bihar) (Bihor Mts). An overview of the main locations of the journey is presented in [Fig. W41_04].

The visited regions in the Apuseni Mountains in northwestern Romania offered all participants great insights in the peculiar Carpathian fauna and flora. All participants of the meeting were deeply impressed by this species-rich cultural landscapes in Romania, where traditional land-use systems guarantee excellent biotopes for a unique flora and a species-rich fauna. One main objective of the ongoing expansion of the EU towards the East of Europe should be to conserve this state, as in Central Europe these landscapes are close to extinction!

2. Participants, program and places

The participants of the 5^th international meeting of the CURCULIO-Institute in Romania were [Fig. W41_01]: Gabriel Alziar (France), Helène Alziar (France), Lutz Behne (Germany), Carlo Braunert (Luxembourg), Alexandru Crisan (Romania), Marius Cupa (Romania), Holger Danner (Germany), Raoul Gerend (Luxembourg), Christoph Germann (Switzerland), Stanislaw Knutelski (Poland), Iren Kocs (Romania), Michael G. Morris (Great Britain), Jirislav Skuhrovec (Czech Republic), Peter Sprick (Germany), Robert Stejskal (Czech Republic), Lucian Alexandru Teodor (Romania), Piotr Tykarski (Poland), Sylvia Tykarski (Poland) and Iuliana Antonie Vlad (Romania).

Rimetea
The environs of Rimetea, situated at 375 m a.s.l., proved to be very interesting [Fig. W41_05]: Hay meadows with bushes and species from calcareous swards, beech and hornbeam forests, creek valleys, sun-exposed limestone cliffs, where steppe and mountain elements are growing side by side. It was remarkable, that all open land habitats were species-rich. Congregations of butterflies with different species [Fig. W41_06] on wet open soils are also typical for this situation. The low land-use intensity obviously guarantees a high species richness as distinct from Central Europe where a similar situation has passed in large areas for years.

In the surrounding gardens of the accommodation the first interesting weevils were found: The occurrence of a flightless Donus species, D. intermedius, that is typical for low-disturbed habitats in a garden area, is only possible if there are source habitats in the surrounding area. Nearly unthinkable for large parts of Central Europe where intensive land-use practices have become familiar and even common plant species have begun to disappear outside of protected areas. Near the creek, a lot of other weevils as for example Limobius borealis (on Geranium pratense) were found, a species with main distribution in lowland habitats [Skuhrovec 2003], but also a grasshopper, in Germany mainly occurring above 1000 m a.s.l. and rarely down to 340 m [Maas et al. 2002]: Miramella alpina. Hence, here mountain meet lowland elements [Fig. W41_07]!

On our way to a night catch, the nice hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) was detected, moving between bushes and tall herbs [Fig. W41_08]. It was some luck to be able to observe this small night-active mammal, as it was our second effort on the way to collect night-active weevils. Although we couldn't find any night active Otiorhynchus species, interesting Hyperini were found instead, namely the mountain meadow-preferring Hypera fornicata and other rare species occurring in natural hay meadows that had never been ploughed or nitrified before.

Near Rimetea we visited a prominent limestone mountain named Coltii Trascӑului [Fig. W41_09] on 20^th and 21^st July from the western side. The base, about 550 m a.s.l., was covered by xerothermous biotopes, stony meadows, dry swards and also small fields.
Here the fauna was dominated by species preferring warmth and aridity, whereas at altitudes above 700 m, where habitats were composed by steep slopes, fields of rocks and also by disappearing water rills. This area was rich in plants [Fig. W41_10], including endemic ones [Fig. W41_11]. Helpful for the identification was a species list of Austrian, Romanian and German scientists and friends of nature who visited this mountain in 2002 [Höck 2002] and the Romanian flora of Ciocarlan, that Lucian Teodor had taken along [Ciocarlan 2000] [Fig. W41_12].
After climbing through a steep gorge [Fig. W41_13] and 500 m in mainly vertical direction, a part of the group successfully reached the top of the mountain (1091 m). The biotopes in the area from the gorge up to the top were highly interesting, in respect of both, flora and fauna [Rákosy et al. 2005]. Here many interesting butterflies and some burnet moths [Fig. W41_14] were observed.
The other side of the hill is covered by a beech forest [Fig. W41_15]. On an old beech tree that was broken down by lightning, a typical and beautiful inhabitant of these forests, Rosalia alpina (Cerambycidae), was observed in three individuals [Fig. W41_16]. Sieving the leaf litter resulted in different Cryptorhynchinae, e.g. Echinodera valida.
On July 21^st, there was no common aim, the participants explored the region according to their special interests. In the evening the annual meeting was carried out [Fig. W41_17]. Main items were changes in the structure of the edition of the SNUDEBILLER, next excursion, future tasks, current projects and a review on the work and publications.
On July 22^nd, Vidolm, a small village 10 km west of Rimetea, was visited. Apart from some waste problems, landscape, especially rural areas, were also here large-scale in a state close to nature! Pastures were rich in plant species, and grazing animals were rare and if present seen without fencing. The pastures contained species as Centaurium erythraea, Helianthemum nummularium, Nepeta cataria, Nepeta nuda, Prunella grandiflora, Trifolium fragiferum and many others. So the excursions were full of surprises. As it can still be found widespread in Romania, even very close to villages, very diverse rural habitats await the interested weevil specialist [Fig. W41_18].
The village itself provides beautiful insights in the rural life [Fig. W41_19]. An interesting finding was the presence of Smicronyx reichii only at a small place where its host-plant grew on open soil [Fig. W41_20]. One of the most interesting insect species of the excursion was also found here, but on a slope meadow with some Juniperus and other shrubs: The very rare Mantidae-eating bush cricket Saga pedo [Fig. W41_21]. Until this moment, the weather had been very good, but then the rain came and fell continuously with more or less short interruptions until the end of the excursion. But this could not becloud the atmosphere of the meeting. Although there was less opportunity to collect insects, the results remained extraordinary.

On July 23^rd, we moved on to Padis area. At Sudrigiu [Fig. W41_22], on the western side of the mountains, the heavy luggage was put into a transporter of the Nature Park administration because of difficult mountain roads up to Padis, where we were friendly welcome. We were joined there by Milca Petrovici, chief biologist of the Park, Ruth Gaj-McKeever from Ireland, whose stay was supported by a German conservation organization, and Romana Istodor who made a practicum and took over different tasks for reasons of support and to learn many things, e.g. how to manage a nature park [Fig. W41_23]. See also: www.parcapuseni.ro.
As we finally arrived there, the accommodation was simple and very useful for our group's purposes [Fig. W41_24]. At the riverside near to the accommodation we already got first impressions of the weevil fauna. The flightless polyphagous Otiorhynchini that are typical for high mountain areas were represented by at least four species, among them O. remotegranulatus [Fig. W41_25], an endemic species of the Carpathian basin [Endrödi 1961]. Also many amphibians and reptilians were seen around the accommodation [Fig. W41_26].
Due to the less favourable weather conditions [Fig. W41_27], the range of our excursions included exclusively the surroundings of the Padis area. As all local and temporal restrictions and obstacles were overcome or smoothed out [Fig. W41_28], the participants had the opportunity to make interesting findings. The area of Padis is dominated by a spruce forest and a karstic landscape. Thus, limestone rocks, caves and dolines were not rare. Because of the higher elevation (up to 1800 m), the area is mainly covered by Picea abies with a few Fagus sylvatica trees only. On the ground of the forest low vegetation of grasses, sedges and mosses was prevailing, and often there were rivulets with a broad moss cover (e.g. of Sphagnum) [Fig. W41_29] at the borders or even marshy sites and spring habitats of different, but predominantly middle or high alkalinity with species such as Carex flava s.str., Parnassia palustris or the endemic Pedicularis limnogena.
The whole area is part of the Apuseni Nature Park (Parcul Natural Apuseni) and we are thankful for the invitation and permission to collect there. In the area of Somesul Cald-gorges or Mount Balileasa (Poiana Balaleasa), respectively, the most interesting findings were made. These gorges are deepened into the surface of the karstic landscape and contain a unique fauna and flora [Fig. W41_30]. Comparable with islands, the gorges lie within a relatively monotonous spruce-tree dominated area and contain a great biodiversity. At least four Otiorhynchus and three Donus species were found, but the species lists of most colleagues are still not at our disposal. From one species, D. velutinus, even larvae and pupae were found by Jirislav Skuhrovec and Robert Stejskal.
In the evening the binoculars allowed first determination of the collected specimens [Fig. W41_31] and finally the staff of the Apuseni Natural Park gave two speeches about the Park itself and about future plans. Milca Petrovici presented the latest facts about the park and gave us insights into various projects in collaboration with the EU, mainly concerning mammals and birds. Alin Moş, the park’s director, invited us into a tour d' horizon of the park, from the highlights to the actual reorganization of its administration because of interest conflicts [Fig. W41_32].
During the meeting there was the birthday of Lucian and of Gabriel: The participants clunk their glasses for the 44^nd birthday of Lucian and for the 60^th of Gabriel, and we had the pleasure to celebrate with French champagne and Romanian cakes [Fig. W41_33]. We had also a lot of fun during the almost long evenings, starting with sorting the weevils and identifying their host-plants, but this was more and more replaced by interesting conversation and drinking some juice, beer or vine.
But we did not only learn a lot about the famous nature of Transylvania, of course it did not remain clandestine to us that Dracula is not a mystery [Fig. W41_34].

We thank Dr. Lucian Teodor ("Babes Bolyai"-University/Cluj-Napoca) for his perfect organisation before and during the meeting. We also thank the team of the Apuseni Nature Park, and especially Dr. Milca Petrovici for her professional help during the second part of the excursion in the Apuseni Park and her introduction in the importance of the area for biological (e.g. the habitats of the EU Directive), speleological and geological investigations. Further we thank Alin Moş, head of the park, for his explanations about future perspectives including an interesting example of biocompatible commercialisation of Arnica montana. We also thank Prof. Dr. Laszlo Rákosy (Department of Taxonomy and Ecology of the “Babes Bolyai"-University) for the identification of Pedicularis limnogena and Seseli rigidum and Gabriel Alziar for the determination of some Lepidoptera. Many thanks also to Marius Cupa and Dr. Alexandru Crisan for their support to enable the transfer in the mountains and back to Cluj. Finally thanks go to the owners of the photos we could use in this report, namely Carlo Braunert, Holger Danner and Iuliana Antonie Vlad.

There are several publications of different parts of Romania, that are useful for the identification of the weevils collected during the excursion:

• [Teodor et al. 2007], providing a check list of the Romanian Curculionoidea
• [Endrödi 1961], providing a key to the Otiorhynchus species of the Carpathian Basin
• [Kocs & Podlussány 1999], providing a species list of the environs of Rimetea

Apuseni Nature Park: www.parcapuseni.ro

Ciocarlan V. (2000):
Flora ilustrata a Romaniei. Pteridophyta et Spermatophyta. - Bucuresti, 1140 pp. [In Romanian].
Danner H. (2008):
Phylogeny of Central European short-nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae). Diploma thesis. - Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg. 89 pp. and Appendix.
Endrödi S. (1961):
Bestimmungstabelle der Otiorhynchus-Arten des Karpathen-Beckens. - Krajske Nakladatelstvi v Ostrave, 123 pp.
Höck J. (2002):
Naturkundliche Exkursion Rumänien. Ungarische Tiefebene, Süd-Siebenbürgen,
Donaugebiet südlich von Herkulesbad, Banat, 13.7. bis 27.7.2002. - Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein für Kärnten. Klagenfurt, 90 S.
Knutelski S. & Sprick P. (2007):
Report on weevil species collected in several regions of the Polish Western Carpathians in August 2004. - Snudebiller 8, 245-258.
Kocs I. & Podlussány A. (1999):
Adatok Torockó és környékének ormányosalkatú bogárfaunájához (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). - Acta Hargitensia 6 (Aluta 23). Sfântu Gheorghe (= Sepsiszentgyörgy), 83-88.
Maas S., Detzel P. & Staudt A. (2002):
Gefährdungsanalyse der Heuschrecken Deutschlands. Verbreitungsatlas, Gefährdungseinstufung und Schutzkonzepte. - Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, 401 pp.
Munteanu C.L. & Teodor L.A. (2006):
CURCULIO-Institute on mission in Provence! Report on the 4^th International Meeting of the CURCULIO-Institute in Cotignac, South France, from 16^th to 23^rd April 2006. -Weevil News 34, 4 pp. http://www.curci.de/WeevNews/beitrag34/beitrag34.html
Rákosy L., Ujvarosi L. & Markó B. 2005:
Rimetea – Natură şi cultură, Torockó – Természet és kultúra, Eisenburg – Natur und Kultur. - Societatea Lepidopterologică Română, Cluj-Napoca, 41 pp.
Skuhrovec J. (2003):
Distribution of weevils of the genus Hypera (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Czech Republic. - Klapalekiana 39, 69-125.
Teodor L. A. & Antonie Vlad I. (2007):
Lista Faunistică a Romăniei (specii terestre şi de apă dulce): Suprafamilia Curculionoidea. - In: Moldovan, O. T., Cîmpean, M., Borda, D., Lepure, S. & Ilie, V. (eds): Institutul de Speologie "Emil Racoviţă". Casa Cărţii de Ştiinţă, Cluj-Napoca, 148-168.

Adresses of the authors
Christoph Germann
Mittlere Strasse 14
CH-3600 Thun, Switzerland
eMail: germann.christoph@gmail.com

Dr. Peter Sprick
Weckenstraße 15
D-30451 Hannover, Germany
eMail: psprickcol@t-online.de