Morphological variations in Nigerian Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 populations in Guinea savannah agro-ecological zone

Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most economically valuable insects which plays significant role in human medicine, nutrition and crop pollination. The morphometric variations of honeybee from different locations of the southern guinea and northern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria were studied. Fifteen morphological traits were measured for variation on six hundred (600) worker honeybee samples purposively collected from ten different locations within the ecological zone. Data collected were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), SNK test (α=0.05) and Pearson correlation between morphometric characters were determined. At the same time a dendrogram of morphological proximity based on the fifteen morphological features was constructed. Results showed that morphometry variation (p<0.05) existed within the honeybee population in the guinea savannah agro-ecological zone of Nigeria, high morphological similarities were observed in the tibia length of the hind leg and the thorax length. The honeybee samples were classified into two distinct morphoclusters (A and B). Honeybee samples within morphocluster A were closely related in terms of the examined morphometric features and geographic distance (CV=1.65). In contrast, within cluster B, honeybee samples were closely related despite the vast geographical distance (CV=3.30, p<0.05). The body length was significantly positively correlated with the leg size, while hind wing length was positively associated with the proboscis, abdominal, thoracic, body length and hooks. Morphometric variations found in A. mellifera of guinea agro-ecological zone could significantly impact conservation and future bee breeding programmes of Nigeria.

First record of the Sulia glaesaria Simutnik, 2015 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Encyrtidae) from Rovno amber

Sulia glaesaria Simutnik, 2015 (Chalcidoidea, Encyrtidae), originally described from late Eocene Danish amber, is reported in coeval Rovno amber. A revised diagnosis of this genus is provided based on the new specimen and high-resolution photomicrographs of the holotype. Some character states, such as a short radicle, clypeus with long lateral margins, the presence of a strigil and basitarsal comb, spur vein of the hind wing, costal cell of hind wing along entire marginal vein with single line of long setae, and almost vertical syntergum with abruptly reflexed extension apically are reported in this species for the first time.

A new species of flat-headed mayfly Afronurus meenmutti (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae: Ecdyonurinae) from Kerala, India

A new species of mayfly (Heptageniidae: Ecdyonurinae) Afronurus meenmutti sp. nov. is described based on larvae and imagoes from the state of Kerala, southern India. The main characteristics that distinguish the new species from all other species are in having glossae oblong with two stout spines medially; lingua of hypopharynx deeply cleft; absence of postero-lateral spines on terga and gill I slightly lobate in the nymph. Hind wing with the acute costal process; stout spine dispersed on basal and surface of forceps in the adults.

Reassessment on the monophyly of the fruit-piercing moth, Eudocima bilberg, 1820 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) using molecular data

Eudocima Billberg, 1820 is a group of moths known for their fruit-piercing behaviour. Members of this group are easily distinguished for their bright colour, hind wing patterns, and the robustness of their body. However, the monophyly of this genus is still in dispute. Based on morphological characters, a current study on 48 species of this genus showed that Eudocima is not a monophyletic group. We conducted a preliminary analysis of 25 species of Eudocima based on 632-bp sequences of cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) to reassess the monophyly of this genus. Using Maximum Parsimony (MP) method, we ran a number of data sets to reconstruct the most appropriate phylogenetic tree. The result showed that Eudocima is a monophyletic group based on a nucleotide weighting of transversion: transitions = 2:1, despite the very low Jackknife support. This result should not be taken as a final conclusion because only about 60% of Eudocima species were included in our analysis. An upcoming study involving all members of this genus is necessary in order to reassess the putative monophyly of this genus.

Morphological and molecular identification of arrhenotokous strain of Diglyphus wani (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) found in China as a control agent against agromyzid leafminers

Diglyphus species are ecologically and economically important on agromyzid leafminers. In 2018, a thelytokous species, Diglyphus wani Liu, Zhu &amp; Yefremova, was firstly reported and described. Subsequently, the arrhenotokous D. wani were discovered in Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces of China. We compared the morphological characteristics of thelytokous and arrhenotokous strains. However, the females of two strains had a strongly similar morphology and showed subtle differences in fore- and hind-wings. The difference was that forewing of arrhenotokous female was with denser setae overall, showing that costal cell with 2 ~ 4 rows of setae on dorsal surface and the setae of basal cell with 15 ~ 21 hairs and forewing of thelytokous female was with two rows of setae on dorsal surface and basal cell with 10 ~ 15 hairs generally. The setation beneath the marginal vein of the hind-wing of arrhenotokous female is denser than the same area of thelytokous female. To explore the genetic divergence between thelytokous and arrhenotokous strains of D. wani, the mitochondrial and nuclear gene were applied and sequenced. The polygenic analyses revealed that two strains can be distinguished by COI, ITS1 and ITS2. The mean sequence divergence between the two strains was 0.052, 0.010 and 0.007, respectively. Nevertheless, the 28S gene was unfeasible due to its containing a sharing haplotype between different strains. The two strains of D. wani are dominant parasitoids against agromyzid leafminers and such effective discernible foundation provides future in-depth studies on biological characteristics, along with insight into field application of two strains of D. wani.

An unusual elateroid lineage from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Though superficially similar to some soft-bodied archostematans, Anoeuma could be firmly placed in the polyphagan superfamily Elateroidea based on the hind wing venation. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elateroids and the Cretaceous fossils suggest that the unique character combination does not fit with confidence into any existing soft-bodied elateroid group, although some characters indicate possible relationships between Anoeuma and Omalisinae. Our discovery of this new lineage further demonstrates the past diversity and morphological disparity of soft-bodied elateroids.

A new genus of anaxyelid wood wasps from the mid-Cretaceous and the phylogeny of Anaxyelidae (Hymenoptera)

Two new species of wood wasps (Anaxyelidae), Orthosyntexis elegansgen. et sp. nov. and Orthosyntexis thantisp. nov., are described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Orthosyntexisgen. nov. exhibits characters and character combinations unique to the family, such as the combination of two mesotibial spurs, a length ratio of forewing 1Rs to 1M&lt;1, a length to width ratio of forewing cell 1mcu ≥ 2, and the presence of 2M+Cu in the hind wing. The new species and morphological characters allow for an exploration of anaxyelid phylogeny. The phylogenetic results indicate that Anaxyelidae are monophyletic and it is suggested to classify the genera in two subfamilies, Syntexinae and Anaxyelinae, the latter including Kempendajinae and Dolichostigmatinae.

First Case of Gynandromorphism in the Orchid-Bee Eulaema meriana (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The discovery of the first case of gynandromorphism in Eulaema meriana (Olivier) is described and illustrated. A specimen from Los Ríos, western Ecuador, discovered in the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (MECN) collection, exhibits mostly male features on the left and female features on the right, except for the jugal comb of the hind wing and terminalia. This finding is compared to other reported cases in orchid bees.