Two flower fly species (Diptera: Syrphidae) new to India

Based on adult morphology and DNA barcoding, two flower fly species are reported for the first time from India: Helophilus trivittatus (Fabricius, 1805) and Lejogaster tarsata (Megerle in Meigen, 1822). These species were collected from the Kashmir Valley, in the northern fringe of the Western Himalaya of the Indian subcontinent.

Contribution to morphology, biology and distribution of Mecolenus wahlbergi Schoenherr, 1847, a relict African apionine weevil (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Apioninae)

Mecolenus wahlbergi Schoenherr, the sole member of the basal apionine tribe Mecolenini and one of the least known South African weevils, was re-discovered at a new locality at Umtamvuna River separating KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. It was found feeding on leaves of the Broad-leaved Wild-quince Cryptocarya latifolia Sond. (Lauraceae), which is the first record on the biology of this species. The distribution of M. wahlbergi is summarized and mapped, including unpublished records based primarily on the specimens deposited at the Durban Natural Science Museum. Concordance between the distribution of the weevil and its putative host C. latifolia is discussed. The adult morphology of M. wahlbergi is re-described and illustrated.

New species and records of Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 from the southwestern margin of the Guiana Shield (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae)

The Neotropical water scavenger beetle genus Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 is a diverse lineage with 34 described species. Here, three new species from the southwestern margin of the Guiana Shield are described using an integrative approach combining adult morphology and molecular data: Chasmogenus clinatus sp. n. (Brazil: Amazonas, Venezuela: Amazonas), C. gironae sp. n. (Venezuela: Amazonas), and C. inpa sp. n. (Brazil: Amazonas). Examination of the male genitalia is essential for confident identifications and thus unassociated females may prove extremely difficult to identify. New distributional records in Brazil for C. acuminatus Smith & Short, 2020 are provided as well as habitus images of newly described species and an updated key to the species from Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana and northern Brazil.

Phylogenetic systematics of the genera of Thryptocerina Jeannel, 1949 and new species from New Caledonia (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Oodini)

The Oodini precinctive to New Caledonia are reviewed with nine species recognized, of which seven are newly described in two genera. Five species are described in the genus Coptocarpus Chaudoir: C. micropssp. nov., C. erwinisp. nov., C. amieuensissp. nov., C. magnussp. nov., and C. leschenisp. nov. In the genus Adelopomorpha Heller two species, A. tethyssp. nov. and A. tuberculatasp. nov., are described. In order to place cladistically the newly described species in a genus, a phylogenetic analysis of a matrix of 36 characters of adult morphology was conducted including exemplar species of three putative outgroup genera, six putative ingroup thryptocerine oodine genera, and all oodine species from New Caledonia. Results show support for Thryptocerina and monophyly of Adelopomorpha. Hoplolenus LaFerté-Sénectère is not monophyletic and Hoplolenus cyllodinus Fauvel is newly combined as Coptocarpus cyllodinuscomb. nov. New Caledonian species of Coptocarpus form a clade, but the Australian species of the genus included in the analysis are rendered paraphyletic by African and Malagasy genera. Implications of this preliminary study for the classification of Oodini and trends in the evolution of the female reproductive tract are discussed. A key to the New Caledonian species of Oodini is provided.

Resolving Between Novelty and Homology in the Rapidly Evolving Phallus of Drosophila

The genitalia present some of the most rapidly evolving anatomical structures in the animal kingdom, possessing a variety of parts that can distinguish recently diverged species. In the Drosophila melanogaster group, the phallus is adorned with several processes, pointed outgrowths, that are similar in size and shape between species. However, the complex three-dimensional nature of the phallus can obscure the exact connection points of each process. Previous descriptions based upon adult morphology have primarily assigned phallic processes by their approximate positions in the phallus and have remained largely agnostic regarding their homology relationships. In the absence of clearly identified homology, it can be challenging to model when each structure first evolved. Here, we employ a comparative developmental analysis of these processes in eight members of the melanogaster species group to precisely identify the tissue from which each process forms. Our results indicate that adult phallic processes arise from three pupal primordia in all species. We found that in some cases the same primordia generate homologous structures whereas in other cases, different primordia produce phenotypically similar but remarkably non-homologous structures. This suggests that the same gene regulatory network may have been redeployed to different primordia to induce phenotypically similar traits. Our results highlight how traits diversify and can be redeployed, even at short evolutionary scales.

The Heterogonic Life Cycles of Oak Gall Wasps Need to Be Closed: A Lesson From Two Species of Dryophanta (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini)

In heterogonic gall wasps, the gall structure, phenology, and adult morphology differ between the asexual and sexual generations, even within the same species. Dryophanta japonica Ashmead and Dryophanta mitsukurii Ashmead were described in 1904, but their heterogonic life cycles were uncertain. To match their asexual and sexual generations, we compared the type specimens of both species with specimens of gall wasps reared to demonstrate heterogonic life cycles. This revealed that these two species are the respective asexual and sexual generations of a single heterogonic species. Based on the morphological characteristics, we transferred D. japonica to Cerroneuroterus Melika and Pujade-Villar as Cerroneuroterus japonicus (Ashmead, 1904) comb. nov. and treated the sexual generation as a junior synonym: Dryophanta mitsukurii Ashmead, 1904 syn. nov. Moreover, we examined the type specimens of other species previously suggested to be synonymous with D. mitsukurii. This showed that Neuroterus vonkuenburgi Dettmer, 1934 syn. nov. (and N. vonkuenburgi wakayamensis Monzen, 1954 syn. nov.) is the asexual generation of C. japonicus and that Neuroterus bonihenrici Dettmer, 1934 syn. nov. is the sexual generation. Judging from the original descriptions, Andricus asakawae Shinji, 1943 syn. nov., Andricus kanagawae Shinji, 1943 syn. nov., Andricus asakawae Shinji, 1944 syn. nov., Andricus kanagawae Shinji, 1944 syn. nov., and Neoneuroterus kashiyamai Monzen, 1954 syn. nov. were also regarded as the sexual generation of C. japonicus. Finally, we discussed how matching asexual and sexual generations in heterogonic gall wasps not only avoids taxonomic confusion but also contributes to progress in gall wasp biology.