A new species of bamboo-feeding leafhopper genus Myittana from India (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

A new bamboo leafhopper species, Myittana (Myittana) bidentata sp. nov. is described and illustrated from India (Pantnagar, Uttarakhand). The new species is similar to Myittana (Myittana) distincta but can be distinguished by its large size (7.8 mm long) and the male genital structure. An annotated species checklist of the genus and key to species of the subgenus Myittana (Myittana) are also provided.

Taxonomic revision of Australasian diving beetles in the genus Leiodytes Guignot, 1936 (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Bidessini)

Bidessus migrator Sharp, 1882, so far assigned to Clypeodytes Régimbart, 1894, and widely distributed in Australia and New Guinea, is re-described. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, it is here transferred to Leiodytes Guignot, 1936. Bidessus loriae Régimbart, 1892 is found to be a junior subjective synonym of L. migrator. We describe the following new species: Leiodytes surianiae sp. nov. (eastern New Guinea, northeast coast of Queensland), and Leiodytes wattsi sp. nov. (southern New Guinea and Darwin area to northern Queensland). We delineate the species using characters such as male genital structure and beetle size, shape and color pattern. Mitochondrial Cox1 data for 27 individuals, representing all three Australasian species, were generated and revealed clusters congruent with the morphological evidence. In Australia Leiodytes only occurs in the tropical and subtropical northern part of the continent. None of the species is endemic to Australia. The species are mainly lentic, occurring in seasonal swamps, flooded meadows and pools of intermittent rivers and temporary creeks.

Studies on Neotropical crickets: New species and notes on the classification of Field Crickets genera Anurogryllus and Gryllus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae)

In this contribution to the American Field and Short-tail crickets, two new species from the continental and insular area of Colombia are described. Anurogryllus (Urogryllus) edithsantosum n. sp. from the Meta department, is more related to some Caribbean species, and its genital structure fits the morphological current definition of the subgenus Urogryllus, although it has pseudepiphallic median lophi covered with hairs, as it happens in the species of the subgenus Pilosogryllus. The same way, Gryllus (Gryllus) providiensis n. sp. from Providencia Island, San Andres Archipelago is described, this new species has thick hairs on the pronotum as Gryllus (Gryllus) assimilis (widely distributed in America), as well as the color pattern of the cephalic capsule; but the new species is smaller in size, and has a particular organization in the harp veins of the tegmina, which only resembles Gryllus (Gryllus) marchena from the Galapagos Archipelago (Ecuador), from which it differs markedly in its morphology. Finally, the status of the Gryllus species, distributed in Latin America and the Caribbean, is reviewed, and it is recorded which species have acoustic records, and from here we start with the review of this peculiar genus in Latin America.

The “minute diving beetles” of southern Australia – taxonomic revision of Gibbidessus Watts, 1978, with description of six new species (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Bidessini)

Morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequence data are used to reassess the taxonomy of Australian diving beetles previously assigned to the genera Uvarus Guignot, 1939 and Gibbidessus Watts, 1978. Gibbidessus was described as a monotypic genus for Gibbidessus chipi Watts, 1978. The genus is significantly extended here. Based on molecular systematic evidence, Uvarus pictipes (Lea, 1899) is transferred to Gibbidessus. Gibbidessus chipi and Gibbidessus pictipescomb. nov. are redescribed, and six new species are described: Gibbiddessus atomussp. nov. (SW Australia, Northcliffe area) [the smallest epigean diving beetle in Australia], G. davidisp. nov. (SW Australia), G. drikdrikensissp. nov. (Victoria), G. kangarooensissp. nov. (SA Kangaroo Island), G. pederzaniisp. nov. (SW Australia, Nannup area), and G. rottnestensissp. nov. (SW Australia). Species are delineated using characters such as male genital structure and beetle size, shape and colour pattern. Mitochondrial Cox1 data for 27 individuals, representing five species, were generated, and revealed clusters congruent with the morphological evidence. Gibbidessus occur in southern Australia, with the centre of diversification in the isolated peat- and wetlands of SW Australia. All species occur in very shallow water of seasonal, exposed or half-shaded wetlands and flooded meadows.

Differential oxidative costs of locomotory and genital damage in an orb-weaving spider

ABSTRACTIn animals that regularly experience tissue loss, physiological responses may have evolved to overcome the related costs. Changes in oxidative status may reflect such self-maintenance mechanisms. Here, we investigated how markers of oxidative status vary in female orb-weaving spiders (Larinia jeskovi) by mimicking two distinct types of tissue loss they may naturally encounter: damage to their locomotory system and damage to their external genital structure (scapus), as inflicted by males during copulation (external female genital mutilation). Damage to the locomotory system resulted in a significant shift in oxidative status, reflecting investment in self-maintenance. In contrast, the loss of the scapus did not result in quantitative changes of oxidative markers. This lack of a physiological response suggests negligible physiological costs of genital mutilation for female spiders. However, not being able to remate with other males might be costly for females.

Two new genera of Desmiphorini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) with description of a species with non-retractile parameres

In this study, two new genera of Desmiphorini (Lamiinae) are proposed: Cleidaria gen. nov., to include Cleidaria cleidae sp. nov. from the state of Chiapas in Mexico, and Obscenoides gen. nov. for Desmiphora (D.) compta Martins & Galileo, 2005. The shape of tarsal claws of Cleidaria cleidae sp. nov. (abruptly narrowed from basal half) is so far, not found in any current genera of the tribe. With respect to Obscenoides compta (Martins & Galileo, 2005) comb. nov., the genitalia of males have an unusual shape with non-retractile parameres. The character combination related to this genital structure is unknown to us in other species in the family, and hypotheses about its function are suggested.

A morphological trait involved in reproductive isolation between Drosophila sister species is sensitive to temperature

Male genitalia are usually extremely divergent between closely related species, but relatively constant within one species. Here we examine the effect of temperature on the shape of the ventral branches, a male genital structure involved in reproductive isolation, in the sister species Drosophila santomea and D. yakuba. We designed a semi-automatic measurement pipeline that can reliably identify curvatures and landmarks based on manually digitized contours of the ventral branches. With this method, we observed that temperature does not affect ventral branches in D. yakuba but that in D. santomea ventral branches tend to morph into a D. yakuba-like shape at lower temperature. Our results suggest that speciation of D. santomea and D. yakuba was associated with a change in genitalia plasticity.

Differential oxidative costs of locomotory and genital damage in an orb-weaving spider

In animals that regularly experience tissue loss, physiological responses may have evolved to overcome the related costs. Changes in oxidative status may reflect such self-maintenance mechanisms. Here, we investigated how markers of oxidative status varied in female orb-weaving spiders (Larinia jeskovi) by mimicking two distinct types of tissue loss they may naturally encounter: damage to their locomotory system and damage to their external genital structure, as inflicted by males to females during copulation (external female genital mutilation). Damage to the locomotory system resulted in a significant shift in the oxidative status reflecting investment into self-maintenance. In contrast, the loss of the genital structure did not result in quantitative changes of oxidative markers. The lack of response to genital mutilation suggests that genital mutilation is physiologically not costly for female spiders. The cost incurred to females rather arises from genital mutilation preventing the females from remating with another male.

A description of a new genus and new species of sotol-feeding Eccritotarsini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae) from Durango, Mexico

The new genus and species Sotolensis keltoni is described in the Eccritotarsini (Miridae: Bryocorinae) from material collected on expeditions to Durango, Mexico, by Leonard A. Kelton from the Canadian National Collection. All specimens collected were found on sotol, or Dasylirion sp. (Asparagaceae: Nolinoidae). Habitus images and images of the female and male genitalia are included, and a discussion of genital structure evolution is discussed.

A new species of the genus Mecistoscelis Reuter from Vietnam (Hemiptera: Miridae: Mecistoscelini), with key to Mecistoscelis species

A new species, Mecistoscelis lansburyi Kim et Jung sp. nov. is described from Vietnam. Diagnosis, description including genitalia, and biological notes are presented with illustrations and photographs. The photographic image of female genital structure of this tribe is first presented based on M. lansburyi sp. nov. and key to the Mecistoscelis species is provided.