Halyomorpha halys fixed as the type species of the genus Halyomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

The genus Halyomorpha Mayr, 1864 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Cappaeini) was established based on a single species, Halys timorensis Westwood, 1837 (currently a junior subjective synonym of Halyomorpha picus (Fabricius, 1794)). The examination of the voucher specimens identifi ed as Halyomorpha timorensis by Mayr, a syntype of Halys timorensis, and syntypes of Pentatoma halys Stål, 1855 revealed that: i) Halyomorpha timorensis (Westwood), stat. restit., must be reinstated as a valid species, and not considered as a junior subjective synonym of H. picus; ii) Mayr’s specimens belong to two different species, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) and H. picus. The problem of double misidentification of the type species of Halyomorpha is resolved by action of the first revising author(s) according to the Article 70.3 of the ICZN (1999): we fi x here Pentatoma halys Stål, 1855 (= Halys timorensis sensu Mayr, nec Westwood) as the type species of Halyomorpha Mayr, 1864. A list of 36 valid species currently placed in Halyomorpha and their synonyms is compiled. We also issue a warning concerning the use of the citizen science approach for monitoring H. halys in Southeast Asia (which may also apply to other taxa): It is necessary to keep in mind that H. halys belongs to a group of habitually similar species (distributed from Pakistan and southern China to Indonesia and the Philippines) which cannot be identified with certainty without examination of their male genitalia; records merely based on observations or habitus photographs cannot be accepted as reliable.

Redefinition of Liroetis, with descriptions of two new species and an annotated list of species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae)

The genus Liroetis Weise, 1889 is redefi ned. The following new synonymies are established: Liroetis Weise, 1889 = Siemssenius Weise, 1922, syn. nov. = Pseudoliroetis Laboissière, 1929, syn. nov. = Zangia Chen, 1976, syn. nov. Consequently, the following new combinations are proposed: Liroetis coeruleus (Jiang, 1990) comb. nov.; Liroetis latispinus (Chen, 1976) comb. nov.; Liroetis nigricollis (Jiang, 1990) comb. nov.; Liroetis pallidulus (Jiang, 1990) comb. nov. (all from Zangia); Liroetis nigropictus (Fairmaire, 1889) comb. nov. (from Leptarthra); Liroetis cheni (Lee, 2016) comb. nov.; Liroetis elongatus (Kimoto, 1977) comb. nov.; Liroetis jeanvoinei (Laboissière, 1929) comb. nov.; Liroetis jungchani (Lee, 2016) comb. nov.; Liroetis liui (Lee, 2016) comb. nov.; Liroetis metallipennis (Chûjô, 1962) comb. nov.; Liroetis modestus (Weise, 1922) comb. nov.; Liroetis nigriceps (Laboissière, 1929) comb. nov.; Liroetis rufi pennis (Chûjô, 1962) comb. nov.; Liroetis sulcipennis (Zhang & Yang, 2008) comb. nov.; Liroetis tsoui (Lee, 2016) comb. nov.; and Liroetis yuae (Lee, 2016) comb. nov. (all from Siemssenius). Two new species, Liroetis aurantiacus sp. nov., from continental South East Asia, and L. baolocanus sp. nov., from Vietnam, are described. A new substitute name, Liroetis medvedevi nom. nov., is proposed for L. nigricollis Medvedev, 2009 preoccupied by L. nigricollis (Jiang, 1990). The following new synonyms are established: Liroetis aeneipennis Weise, 1889 = L. tiemushannis Jiang, 1988, syn. nov.; Liroetis ephippiatus Laboissière, 1930 = Zangia signata Jiang, 1990, syn. nov. = L. postmaculatus Lopatin, 2004, syn. nov.; Liroetis leechi Jacoby, 1890 = L. verticalis Jiang, 1988, syn. nov.; Liroetis nigricollis (Jiang, 1990) = L. unicolor Zhang, Li & Yang, 2008, syn. nov.; Liroetis reitteri (Pic, 1934) = Pseudoliroetis trifasciata Jiang, 1992, syn. nov. The spelling of Liroetis tiemushannis Jiang, 1988 is fixed using the First Reviewer Principle. Species of Liroetis are divided into five species-groups based on the combination of the following characters: presence/absence of border on anterior pronotal margin, width/length ratio of pronotum, structure of aedeagus, presence/absence of metatibial spur. The established groups are: the aeneipennis group, the aurantiacus group, the flavipennis group, the fulvipennis group, and the grandis group. The gender of Liroetis is masculine.

The taxonomy of some unusual Microveliinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) from India

Two new genera and three new species of Microveliinae are described from India: Thirumalaia ocularis gen. nov. & sp. nov. from Tamil Nadu, Eyarinella robusta gen. nov. & sp. nov. from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Geovelia fikaceki sp. nov. from Arunachal Pradesh. A male-based key to the genera of Microveliinae of India and a checklist of Indian species are provided. Neoalardus typicus (Distant, 1903) is recorded for the first time from Rajasthan.

The Nitidula carnaria complex, with description of a new species from Central Asia, and a key to world species of the genus (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

The Nitidula carnaria complex is defined to comprise three Palaearctic species: the widely distributed Nitidula carnaria (Schaller, 1783), N. maculosa Fairmaire, 1866 occurring in the eremial of North Africa and the Middle East, and a newly described N. obenbergeri sp. nov. from northern China, Mongolia and neighbouring territories of Kazakhstan and Russia. First records are given for Nitidula carnaria from Georgia, Pakistan and Tajikistan; N. flavomaculata Rossi, 1790 from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; and for N. rufipes (Linnaeus, 1767) from Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, China (Shaanxi) and Russian Eastern Siberia. A lectotype of Nitidula latiplaga Solsky, 1876 is designated to fix its synonymy with N. flavomaculata Rossi, 1790 established by Jelínek & Audisio (2007). Habitus photographs of all species and an identification key are provided to facilitate identification of world Nitidula species. Finally, comments on the classification of four Neotropical taxa previously classified in the genus Nitidula are offered and the following changes are proposed: Mystrops bourgeoisi (Grouvelle, 1914), comb. nov., = M. gigas Kirejtshuk & Couturier, 2009, syn. nov.; and Catonura complanata (Germain, 1855), comb. nov., = Catonura ruficollis (Reitter, 1873), syn. nov., = Catonura rufithorax Reitter, 1883, syn. nov.

Scaphisomatini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae) from two biosphere reserves in eastern China, with descriptions of two new species

Members of the scaphidiine tribe Scaphisomatini collected recently in Tianmushan Biosphere Reserve (Zhejiang) and Wuyishan National Nature Reserve (part of Wuyishan Biosphere Reserve, Fujian), China, are studied. Two species, Scaphisoma krali Löbl, sp. nov. and Scaphisoma sekerkai Löbl, sp. nov., are described from Wuyishan. Baeocera franzi (Löbl, 1973) and Scaphisoma mutator Löbl, 2000 are recorded for the first time from Zhejiang province, and Scaphisoma binhanum (Pic, 1922) and Scaphoxium intermedium Löbl, 1984 are recorded for the first time from Fujian province.

Lemonia batavorum sp. nov. from the Netherlands, an overlooked sibling of L. dumi (Lepidoptera: Brahmaeidae)

Barcoding of Dutch specimens of Lemonia dumi (Linnaeus, 1761) (Lepidoptera: Brahmaeidae) and a study of a large collection material of this species resulted in discovery of a new, hitherto undescribed species Lemonia batavorum sp. nov. Based on comparison with L. dumi, species level of L. batavorum sp. nov. is supported by the differences in its external appearance, diff erences in genitalia of both sexes and by 1.92% p-distance to L. dumi as the nearest neighbour. Photographs of specimens and genitalia of both sexes are given.

The Phanaeus tridens species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea): a dung beetle group with genital morphological stasis but a changing ecological niche

The Phanaeus tridens species group is revised and found to consist of twelve species: P. tridens Castelnau, 1840, P. moroni Arnaud, 2001 stat. rev., P. balthasari Arnaud, 2001 stat. rev., P. daphnis Harold, 1863, P. coeruleus Bates, 1887 stat. rev., P. herbeus Bates, 1887 stat. rev., P. substriolatus Balthasar, 1939 stat. rev., P. furiosus Bates, 1887, P. pseudofurcosus Balthasar, 1939 stat. rev., P. nimrod Harold, 1863, P. victoriae Moctezuma sp. nov., and P. eximius Bates, 1887. The majority of the name-bearing types of the group were revised. The neotype for P. tridens is suggested herein. The following junior subjective synonymies are recognized: P. frankenbergeri Balthasar, 1939 = P. tridens Castelnau, 1840, P. tricornis Olsoufieff, 1924 = P. herbeus Bates, 1887, and P. babori Balthasar, 1939 = P. nimrod Harold, 1863; while P. furcosus Felsche, 1901 = P. furiosus Bates, 1887 is recognized as a junior objective synonymy. The species within the P. tridens species group are diagnosed by the morphology of the pronotum and elytra, while the genital morphology of males is found to be homogeneous and uninformative for species delimitation. Most species within the group show a wide diversity of colouration (showing green, red, and blue chromatic phases). This probably led to taxonomical confusion by previous authors. Here, we present a new identification key, species distribution models. Habitus photographs and character illustrations for all the species within the group are provided. The climatic niches overlap widely in P. herbeus and P. daphnis, but the other species within the group show a reduced overlap in their climatic niches. Consequently, the P. tridens species group is proposed as a case of morphological stasis that might be explained by a trade-off between the evolution of pronotal structures and genitalia, while differences in the ecological niche might promote speciation.

New species of bristletails of the family Machilidae (Archaeognatha) from Kazakhstan

The fauna of bristletails of the family Machilidae in Kazakhstan currently includes one species of the genus Silvestrichiloides Mendes, 1990 and 13 species of the genus Allopsontus Silvestri, 1911. The present study describes one new species of the genus Silvestrichiloides (S. berkarensis Kaplin, sp. nov. from South Kazakhstan) and two new species of the genus Allopsontus (A. (Kaplinilis) nigrostriatus Kaplin, sp. nov. and A. (Machilanus) perfectus Kaplin, sp. nov. from Southeastern Kazakhstan). Silvestrichiloides berkarensis sp. nov. differs from the other species of this genus in the structure of antennal flagellum, apical palpomere of labial palp and ovipositor. Among species of the subgenus Kaplinilis Mendes, 1990, A. nigrostriatus sp. nov. belongs to a group of species characterized by numerous short chaetae on the ventral surface of the 5–7th palpomeres of the male maxillary palp and by the absence on the labial palp. This group includes two species: A. volgensis Kaplin, 1999 from Samara Region and A. smelyanskii Kaplin, 1999 from Orenbourg Region (both Russia). The new species differs from A. volgensis and A. smelyanskii in the length of the body and antenna, color of scales on the upper surface of the body, shape of the compound eye and paired ocellus, structure of the flagellum and apical palpomere of the male labial palp. The subgenus Machilanus Silvestri, 1934 is represented only by A. bitschi Wygodzinsky, 1962 from Afghanistan and A. perfectus sp. nov., which are characterized by numerous short chaetae on the ventral surface of the 2nd–7th palpomeres of the male maxillary palp. Allopsontus perfectus sp. nov. differs from A. bitschi in the shape of compound eyes, paired ocellus, structure of male labial palp and genitalia.

The larval structures and bionomics of Idgia iriomoteana (Coleoptera: Prionoceridae)

The life cycle, bionomics and mature larval structures of the Japanese prionocerid species, Idgia iriomoteana Nakane, 1980 were investigated in captivity. The results showed that I. iriomoteana has the following characteristics: (1) the larval morph is less advanced in terms of miniaturization, and larvae pass seven larval molts before they pupate; (2) the life cycle is univoltine with summer, not winter, dormancy; (3) the first instar larvae are larger than the size of the egg, but foetomorphic larval instar (which is observed in the Melyridae: Malachiinae) is not shown. Based on comparison with melyrid species, the degree of miniaturization, dormancy behaviour, adaptation to the tropical and subtropical climates and the adaptive significance of a large first instar larva are all discussed. This study is the first to report the complete life cycle of a member of the family Prionoceridae.