A new species of the genus Carlogonus (Spirostreptida: Harpagophoridae) from West Bengal, India.

A new species of Carlogonus, Carlogonus bengalensis is described from West Bengal, India. The adult is blackish brown in colour with a yellowish curved tail, round body with 60 segments, 55 mm in length, 5th segment of male bears a hump, telopodite of the gonopod long, flat and band like with a single curved antetorsal process, mesal process with a red spine, proplical lobe with a curved orange spine, inner surface of metaplical fold with sigilla, palette spatula like and a few blepharochatae at the apical margin. Male bears white pad on femur and tibia. Comparison was made with the ″exaratus group″ of the genus Carlogonus.

Nectar Uptake of a Long-Proboscid Prosoeca Fly (Nemestrinidae)—Proboscis Morphology and Flower Shape

Several Prosoeca (Nemestinidae) species use a greatly elongated proboscis to drink nectar from long-tubed flowers. We studied morphological adaptations for nectar uptake of Prosoecamarinusi that were endemic to the Northern Cape of South Africa. Our study site was a small isolated area of semi-natural habitat, where the long-tubed flowers of Babiana vanzijliae (Iridaceae) were the only nectar source of P. marinusi, and these flies were the only insects with matching proboscis. On average, the proboscis measured 32.63 ± 2.93 mm in length and less than 0.5 mm in diameter. The short labella at the tip are equipped with pseudotracheae that open at the apical margin, indicating that nectar is extracted out of the floral tube with closed labella. To quantify the available nectar resources, measurements of the nectar volume were taken before the flies were active and after observed flower visits. On average, an individual fly took up approximately 1 µl of nectar per flower visit. The measured nectar quantities and the flower geometry allowed estimations of the nectar heights and predictions of necessary proboscis lengths to access nectar in a range of flower tube lengths.

New species of Hambletonia Compere (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in Dominican amber

The present paper describes a new species of encyrtid wasp, Hambletonia dominicana sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from Dominican amber. Diagnostic characters include long antennae that are almost twice the length of the head, the absence of long, coarse, flattened setae on the dorsal apical margin of the pedicel, and an elliptical club subequal in length to that of the funicle. This first described fossil species of Hambletonia provides views of new and possible unique morphological features of encyrtid wasps that existed in the Neotropics during the mid-Tertiary.

The ‘twins’ and the ‘bachelor’, new potential synapomorphies inside the Cholevinae (Coleoptera: Leiodidae)

The fine morphology of the tarsus has recently been shown to provide phylogenetic signal at several supraspecific levels in leiodid beetles, as well as in other insects. We here include another system, namely, the spines at the apical margin of the tarsomeres and associated structures. The tribe Ptomaphagini, with a Holarctic-Neotropical-Oriental distribution, has been characterized by having a comb of equal, flat spines around the apex of the tibiae of all legs, with a row of spines extending along the outer edge of the protibia in some genera (which has also been reported in the Eucatopini). We here recognize (as a new synapomorphy for the tribe) that special, strong spines, forming a loose comb, also appear at the apex of the first three or four tarsomeres of the Ptomaphagini. Special features appear on the apical margin of the mesotarsomeres: a long and thin seta, here called the ‘bachelor’, appears between two spines at the external-lateral-ventral face of the first tarsomeres, whereas a group of two (three in some cases) special spines (with the apex bent, facing opposite to each other), here called the ‘twins’, appears on the opposite, internal-lateral-ventral face of the first three (or sometimes two) tarsomeres. We found the ‘twins’ were also present in the Anemadini: Eunemadina and Nemadina, and the Eucatopini; the ‘bachelor seta’ seems to also occur in the Anemadini: Nemadina.

Two new species of the genus Bloszykiella (Acari: Uropodidae) from the Afrotropical region

Two new Bloszykiella species are discovered and described from the Afrotropical realm. Bloszykiella rammsteini sp. nov. (from Zimbabwe) differs from its congeners in the sculptural pattern of the dorsal shield, the strongly sclerotized U-shaped grooves on the dorsal shield and pilose dorsal setae. Bloszykiella lindemanni sp. nov. (from Rwanda) differs from the other species in the shape of the sternal setae, setae on the apical margin of the pygidial shield and the sculptural pattern of the female genital shield.

A new species and southernmost record of Cestrus Townes (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae)

Cestrus itatiensis sp. nov., from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, is described and illustrated. This is the southernmost record for the genus and the first record in Brazil. The new species is characterized by having the body reddish brown; a narrow yellow stripe along eye margin on supra-clypeal area, reaching briefly the supra-antennal area; transverse carina of propodeum complete and stout; postpetiole and T2–8 progressively dark brown towards apical margin in a somewhat triangular pattern; and apex of dorsal valve of ovipositor with nine distinct teeth. Extensive sampling suggest this is a rare species.

Description of the male of Misetus strumiai Di Giovanni, Scaramozzino & Diller, 2018 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, Phaeogenini) from Italy

The genus Misetus Wesmael, 1845 is a small taxon of the subfamily Ichneumoninae, tribe Phaeogenini. The genus can be distinguished from other genera of the tribe by having mandible with two teeth, clypeus with more or less developed median apical tooth, genae short and sublinearly narrowed behind eyes in dorsal view; males are characterized by thyridia large and placed far off the base of metasomal tergite II; females are easily recognized by metasoma elongate and compressed apically, apical margin of last metasomal tergite more or less concave and ovipositor short and bent upwards (Selfa & Diller 1994, 1995, Di Giovanni et al. 2018). Misetus includes seven known species, six of which occur in Europe (Wesmael 1845, Kusigemati 1974, Kolarov 1985, Selfa & Diller 1995, Di Giovanni et al. 2018) and one in Japan and South Korea (Kwon et al. 2011; Yu et al. 2012). Misetus strumiai Di Giovanni, Scaramozzino & Diller, 2018 was described recently from females known only from the island of Montecristo (Italy, Tuscany) (Di Giovanni et al. 2018, Di Giovanni & Scaramozzino 2019). Here we described the male of this species and provide a comparative diagnosis with other known males of European members of the genus.

Description of the male of fossil <i>Calomicrus eocenicus</i> Bukejs et Bezděk (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microtomography

A male representative of the extinct species Calomicrus eocenicus Bukejs et Bezděk, 2014 (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) is found and described for the first time from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microtomography. The aedeagus is well preserved within the body cavity of the specimen, and it is illustrated in detail. This fossil species exhibits distinct sexual dimorphism: the male has a smaller total body size, as well as a copula-adapted modification in abdominal ventrite 5 (apical margin deeply trilobed, with round medial fovea present); meanwhile the female is larger in body size and has a simple abdominal ventrite 5 (without fovea, non-incised and widely rounded apically). Similar sexually dimorphic characters are typical for extant members of the tribe Luperini, and this report is the first time that they are described in an Eocene species. The known sexually dimorphic characters present in Coleoptera within Eocene Baltic amber are briefly discussed.

A second species of Araucariocladus Silveira & Mermudes, with notes on the variation in antennomere numbers in this genus (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Here, we describe Araucariocladus amfractus sp. nov., and compare it to the previously monotypic type-species, A. hiems. The new species can be distinguished from A. hiems by the following combination: colour pattern overall dark-brown; pedicel three times shorter than antennomere III and slightly wider than long; distance between antennal sockets as wide as 3/5 clypeal width; labial palpomere III with sides divergent towards apex, apical margin longer than dorsal and shorter than ventral margin; pronotum 1.5x wider than long, anterior margin somewhat sinuose, with a shallow angle anteriad, posterior margin almost straight. A. amfractus sp. nov. is, prima facie, endemic to the Itatiaia Massif, part of the Mantiqueira Mountain Range, Southeastern Brazil. We provide illustrations of the diagnostic features, and an occurrence map for the Araucariocladus species. Finally, we report a previously unrecognized intra-specific variation in the antennomere numbers of A. hiems, a feature also present in Araucariocladus amfractus sp. nov., and adjust the generic diagnosis to include species with 17 or 18 antennomeres. [Zoobank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C335B064-FBD4-4256-983D-B17DF06BAA0D]