Redescription of Apseudopsis arguinensis (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from the Coast of Mauritania

In addition to those described by Guţu (2002), the female with eggs of the species Apseudopsis arguinensis is redescribed in detail. Also, some remarks on male morphology are presented.  

Large ants are not easy – the taxonomy of Dinoponera Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

The taxonomy of the giant ants of the genus Dinoponera is revised based on female and male morphology. Eight species are recognized. Dinoponera nicinha sp. nov., from Amazonas and Rondônia, Brazil, is described and D. grandis (Guérin-Méneville, 1838) is revived. The species D. australis Emery, 1901 and D. snellingi Lenhart, Dash & Mackay, 2013, plus the subspecies D. australis bucki Borgmeier, 1937 and D. australis nigricolor Borgmeier, 1937 are synonymized under D. grandis sp. rev. An unnamed and unidentified male is reported. In general, male morphology has greater and more discrete variation than in females, but they are scarce in museum collections. Species distributions are updated and illustrated, the genus ranging from southern Colombia to northern Argentina, with no reliable records from the Guiana Shield and all nominal species occurring in Brazil. Intraspecific variation and natural history are discussed. New illustrated identification keys are provided for both sexes. Future studies should address the collection of fresh specimens for molecular work and to assess the conservation status of several species and populations.

New and little-known Eugryllacris from Yunnan, China (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae: Gryllacridinae)

Eugryllacris species from Yunnan, China were investigated from 2018~2021. A new species, Eugryllacris tiga sp. nov. is described from China. The male morphology and ecology of E. cf. vaginalis Pictet & Saussure, 1893 and E. guomashan Ingrisch, 2018 are illustrated for the first time. The type species are deposited in Museum of Biology, East China Normal University (ECNU).

A new velvet ant genus Arkaditilla (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae, Trogaspidiini) from the Oriental Region, with review of species

A new Old World genus in the tribe Trogaspidiini Bischoff, 1920, Arkaditillagen. nov., is described based on male morphology. Six species are recognized in this genus: A. bagrada (Cameron, 1902), comb. nov. (Indonesia, Malaysia), A. depressicornis (Mickel, 1935), comb. nov. (Malaysia), A. frimsp. nov. (Malaysia), A. gibbasp. nov. (Indonesia), A. lelejisp. nov. (Indonesia), and A. nallinia (Zavattari, 1914), comb. nov. (Indonesia). The species of this new genus were formerly placed in the genus Krombeinidia Lelej, 1996, but they are differentiated from it and other genera by having a unique set of morphological character states, such as the mandible inner margin expanded, forming subbasal tooth; the paramere antero-ventrally serrate; and the digitus dorsal margin lamellate. A key to species of Arkaditilla is provided.

Morph-specific investment in testes mass in a trimorphic beetle, Proagoderus watanabei

When competition between males for mates is intense it is common to find that some males will adopt alternative tactics for acquiring fertilisations, often involving the use of sneak tactics whereby males avoid contests. These alternative tactics are sometimes associated with discrete differences in male morphology, with sneak males investing less in weaponry but more in traits such as testes which will give an advantage in sperm competition. In some cases it appears that males develop into more than two morphs, with a number of examples of tri- and even tetramorphic arthropod species being described. Here we analyse the scaling relations of the dung beetle species Proagoderus watanabei, which expresses two distinct weapon traits: paired head horns and a pronotal horn. We find that males of this species are trimorphic, with alpha males expressing long head horns and a pronotal horn, beta males with long head horns but no pronotal horn, and gamma males with short head horns only. We also find that alpha males invest less in testes than do beta or gamma males, indicating that beta and gamma males in this species probably experience higher risks of sperm competition than do alphas.

Grappling with homoplasy: taxonomic refinements and reassignments in the ant genera Camponotus and Colobopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Camponotus and Colobopsis are widely distributed and species-rich genera in the ant tribe Camponotini. Molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrate that they are not sister taxa, but several lineages within each genus have converged to a remarkable degree, confounding the taxonomy of these ants. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including worker and male morphology, we demonstrate that: (1) three species of “Camponotus” belonging to the subgenus Myrmotemnus, including its type species, are in fact members of the genus Colobopsis; (2) four species previously assigned to Colobopsis belong to the subgenus Myrmamblys of Camponotus; and (3) three Nearctic taxa recently placed in Colobopsis are members of the genus Camponotus and closely related to Camponotus clarithorax. These taxonomic findings yield the following new or revived combinations: Colobopsis moeschi (comb. nov.), Colobopsis moeschi lygaea (comb. nov.), Colobopsis nutans (comb. nov.), Colobopsis nutans cleliae (comb. nov.), and Colobopsis reichenspergeri (comb. nov.); Camponotus apostemata (comb. nov.), Camponotus aurelianus (comb. rev.), Camponotus cavibregma (comb. nov.), Camponotus horrens (comb. rev.), Camponotus politae (comb. rev.), Camponotus trajanus (comb. rev.), and Camponotus yogi (comb. rev.). A further consequence is the following generic synonymy (senior synonym listed first): Colobopsis = Myrmotemnussyn. nov., and Camponotus = Dolophrasyn. rev. At the species level, we argue that Camponotus apostemata and Camponotus cavibregma are junior synonyms (syn. nov.) of Camponotus yogi, and Camponotus quercicola is a junior synonym (syn. nov.) of Ca. laevigatus. Taxonomic comments are also provided on some members of the Camponotus reticulatus group, with Camponotus adustus (stat. nov.) and Ca. leucodiscus (stat. rev.) being recognized as distinct species rather than subspecies of Ca. bellus. A male-based diagnosis of the Camponotini is provided, and differences between the males of Colobopsis and Camponotus are documented and illustrated for the first time. This study reveals new character systems of potential value to the systematics of these ants, including features of the male genitalia, and emphasizes the value of reciprocal illumination between phylogenomics and critical morphological analysis.

Walaphyllium subgen. nov., the dancing leaf insects from Australia and Papua New Guinea with description of a new species (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae)

A new subgenus, Walaphylliumsubgen. nov., is described within Phyllium Illiger, 1798 to accommodate three leaf insect species. One of the species included is newly described herein as Phyllium (Walaphyllium) lelantossp. nov. from Papua New Guinea. This new subgenus of Phyllium can be diagnosed by a following combination of features. This new species is compared to the two additional new subgenus members, Phyllium zomproi Größer, 2001 and Phyllium monteithi Brock & Hasenpusch, 2003. Also for the first time the male morphology of Phyllium zomproi is described and illustrated. To conclude, a brief biogeographical view of the leaf insects on either side of the Torres Strait is presented, as well as a key to species and a distribution map to the known species of Phyllium (Walaphyllium)subgen. nov.

A review of neococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) based on the morphology of the adult males

The importance of adult male morphology in elucidating the phylogeny of scale insects (Coccomorpha) was first suggested by Balachowsky and Ferris in the late 1930s. However, the first extensive comparisons of adult male morphology were made by Jancke (1955) and Theron (1958), both of whom looked at the morphology of various groups of Coccomorpha. Theron’s study, under the guidance of K.L. Boratyński, set a new standard for detail and accuracy (although he did not describe the setae). These studies were closely followed by Beardsley (1962), who described the adult males of 30 mealybug species from Hawaii, and then by three more of Boratyński’s students who produced highly significant monographs on particular families, namely Ghauri (1962) who described 26 species of Diaspididae, Giliomee (1967a) who described 22 species of Coccidae and Afifi (1968) who described 17 species of Pseudococcidae and 7 species of Eriococcidae. Since then, the adult males of more than 300 neococcoid species have been described in considerable detail (Appendix A). Adult males of a further 48 species are described or redescribed and illustrated in this monograph (Acanthococcus adenostomae (Ehrhorn), Eriochiton armatus Brittin; Apiomorpha munita tereticornuta Gullan; A. ovicola (Froggatt); A. pharetrata (Schrader); A. rosaeformis (Froggatt); A. spinifer Froggatt; Dactylopius coccus (Costa); Callococcus leptospermi (Maskell); Lachnodius ?eucalypti (Maskell); Tanyscelis verrucula (Froggatt); Beesonia dipterocarpi Green; Parastictococcus brachystegiae (Hall); P. hargreavesi (Vayssière); P. multispinosus (Newstead); Stictococcus intermedius Newstead; S. vayssierei Richard; Conchaspis angraeci Cockerell; C. capensis Linnaeus; C. socialis Green; C. vayssierei Mamet; Leucaspis gigas (Maskell); Labidaspis myersi (Green); Allokermes galliformis (Riley); Kermes shastensis Ehrhorn; Kermes sp.; Tachardina aurantiaca (Cockerell); Tachardiella sp.; Cerococcus artemisiae (Cockerell); Antecerococcus indicus (Maskell); A. ornatus (Green); Bambusaspis delicata (Green); B. longa (Green); Asterolecanium petrophilae (Fuller); Hsuia cheni Borchsenius; Aclerda arundinariae McConnell; A. distorta Green; A. tillandsiae Howell; A. tokionis Cockerell; Aclerda sp. A; Aclerda sp. B; Luzulaspis caricis (Ehrhorn); Akermes scrobiculatus (Maskell); A. pingue (Maskell); Cardiococcus major (Maskell); Ctenochiton serratus Green; C. eucalypti Maskell, and ?Pulvinaria dodonaeae Maskell). This paper summarises the data from all of these descriptions, and provides diagnoses for the adult male morphology for all of the neococcoid families and other taxa discussed here. Because our concept of the “Eriococcidae” remains uncertain, extra attention has been payed to the taxa considered to be most closely involved. At least 1 illustration is included of an adult male of each of the taxa (mainly families) discussed here. Identification keys are provided for most of the males described to-date.

A new species of Philetus Melander (Diptera: Empididae) from the Yukon Territory, Canada

The Nearctic genus Philetus Melander, 1928 is a rarely collected group of empidid flies that contains two western species, namely P. memorandus Melander and P. schizophorus Melander. The genus was fully diagnosed by Cumming et al. (2016) with both known species redescribed and their distributions mapped. Here we describe a third species of Philetus from a single male collected recently in the Richardson Mountains of the Yukon Territory in Canada and provide a key to species based on male morphology. Terms used for adult structures follow those of Cumming & Wood (2017) and methods follow those outlined in Cumming et al. (2016).