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Pompiliodon gen. nov. and its type species Pompiliodon katina sp. nov. are described and illustrated. The relationships to related genera (Priochilus Banks, 1944 and Balboana Banks, 1925) are discussed.

Phylogenetic studies addressing relationships among chrysidid wasps have been limited. There are no hypotheses proposed for the Neotropical lineages of Chrysidini other than the classic cladogram published in the 1990s by Kimsey and Bohart. Herein we present a cladistic analysis based on 64 morphological characters coded for 54 species of Chrysidini, 32 of them being Ipsiura and 22 representing Caenochrysis, Chrysis, Exochrysis, Gaullea, Neochrysis, and Pleurochrysis. The species of Ipsiura were recovered as monophyletic and as the sister clade of Neochrysis in all most parsimonious trees. We discuss the high plasticity of some morphological characters as evidenced by their high homoplasy in the phylogenetic results, and we clarify the main morphological changes inferred on the phylogenetic tree for this genus. The effects of the inferred homoplasy were evaluated under an implied weighting cladistic analysis, and from a probabilistic perspective with Bayesian inference. Those alternative strategies did not alter the general conclusions about the monophyly of Ipsiura or the generic relationships in Chrysidini (changes were noticed in the species-level relationships within certain parts of Ipsiura, where low branch support was common across all approaches). Among the species groups proposed by Linsenmaier (1985), only the marginalis group was recovered as monophyletic. We also evaluated the convoluted biogeographic history of the group. The resulting historical reconstructions indicate a complicated scenario of diversification of these wasps in the Neotropics, and a close association with forested biomes is discussed.

The south Asian genus Cladobethylus Kieffer, 1922, is reviewed, with a key to the species. Five new species are described, one from the island of Borneo (Cl. darlingi), two from Thailand (Cl. densepunctatus and Cl. thailandicus), one from Korea (Cl. koreensis), and one from Sumatra (acehensis).

The pompilid genus Balboana Banks, 1944 is preoccupied by Uvarov, 1939. A new replacement name, Braunilla Wasbauer and Kimsey is proposed and a species checklist included.

A heleomyzid fly Tephrochlamys rufiventris (Meigen, 1830), was reared from a form of blue cheese aging in a refrigerated, dark, aging room of a small northern California creamery. The third-instar larva is redescribed and the puparium is described for the first time.

The small chrysidid genus Rhadinoscelidia Kimsey, 1988, is reviewed and the new species Rh. chaesonensis sp. n. is described. Peculiar deformations of the head are documented in a large series of one species, Rh. malaysiae Kimsey, 1988, from Thailand.

The species Hedychridium buffingtoni Kimsey & Copeland, sp. n. is described from two male specimens collected in Kasaala, Kenya. They are distinguished from other species of Hedychridium by the strongly transversely carinate metasomal terga II and III, edentate apical rim of tergum III, strongly lobed propodeal tooth, ecarinate frons and darkly pigmented cuspis. Copyright Lynn S. Kimsey, Robert S. Copeland.

Over a nine year period beginning in 2007 we surveyed the insects of the Algodones Dunes, Imperial Count, California, as part of a study undertaken for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In a series of 22 collecting trips ranging in duration from 2 to 8 days we thus far have accumulated records of 1,840 species, 21 orders and 244 families from the dunes. Hymenoptera constituted the most diverse order, comprising about 45% of all the species recovered. Insect diversity and abundance peaked during the hottest part of the year between the months of May and September. Life history traits of the insects sampled included herbivores (29.6%), parasitoids (28.7%), predators (18.1%), pollen/nectar feeders (10.9%), detritivores (6.2%) and scavengers (2.4%). Seventy-nine or 4% of the insect species collected in the dunes have been solely recorded from there, and 3% of the species almost certainly derive from adjacent aquatic habitats or agricultural ecosystems, as their life histories could not be completed in Algodones Dunes habitat. The insect fauna of the Algodones Dunes is unexpectedly rich and diverse.

The species of the chrysidid genus Ipsiura are reviewed with emphasis on the taxa occurring in Brazil. In the present study 34 Ipsiura species are recognized, diagnosed, and illustrated. Two new species are described here: Ipsiura bohartiana Lucena sp. nov. and I. duckeana Lucena sp. nov., and two others are transferred from Neochrysis to Ipsiura: I. assecia (Linsenmaier, 1997), comb. nov. and I. guayanensis (Linsenmaier, 1997), comb. nov., increasing to 41 the total of valid species in the genus. New diagnoses and redescriptions are provided for 34 species based on study of their types. For the first time, a comparative and illustrated study of male genitalia is presented for the majority of Ipsiura species. Notes on types and depository collections, a revised key for identification of species along with illustrations of diagnostic features, as well as geographical distribution maps are also given.

Three new species of Mahinda are described, bo from Vietnam, borneensis from Malaysian Borneo and sulawesiensis from northern Sulawesi. A key to the three known species is provided including the previously described species, saltator Krombein, 1983.

This biography of the Hungarian/Romanian/Israeli hymenopterist Qabir Argaman (= Carol Nagy) provides a list of his publications (except for newspaper articles) and the new taxa and new replacement names he proposed. Dr. Argaman began his career in Hungary, publishing under the name Carol Nagy. He later moved to Romania and finally moved to Israel, where he assumed the name Qabir Argaman. In total, he published 84 articles on the order Hymenoptera and described 348 new taxa (2 families, 11 subfamilies, 58 tribes, 153 genera or subgenera, and 125 species or subspecies) in 15 families, as well as 1 new species of Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera).

The sparse descriptions of the stick insect (Phasmatodea) digestive system as reported/provided in the literature are highly contradictory. This paper describes the digestive systems of several families of Phasmatodea (Timematidae, Heteropterygidae, Diapheromeridae, Pseudophasmatidae, and Phasmatidae) plus the gut microbiome of these and one other (Phylliidae) to both verify past findings and provide a general description of the Phasmatodea alimentary canal. The constrictions imposed by this anatomy on phasmid gut microbiology, its connections to recently released Phasmatodea transcriptomes, and how it differs from the anatomy of related orders in the Polyneoptera are discussed. All Phasmatodea have ridged proventriculi lined or covered with small spines. Anterior projections of the midgut, sometimes described as gastric caeca, are only found in Euphasmatodea and often obscure the proventriculus. We define the cardia as the complex of foregut and midgut tissue where the type II peritrophic matrix is produced. Appendices of the midgut are an autapomorphy for Phasmatodea, but Timema have fewer and larger appendices relative to body size. We suggest caeca-like projections and the loss of large, proventricular teeth are apomorphies of Euphasmatodea. We identify a possible facultative symbiosis in Eucalyptus-feeding species that requires further study.

The species of the brachycistidine genus Acanthetropis are reviewed. A key to the species is provided along with distribution maps. One species, A. normalis Malloch, 1926, is relegated to synonymy under A. ae-qualis (Fox, 1899). Copyright Lynn S. Kimsey, Marius S. Wasbauer.

BackgroundStick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) are an exclusively leaf-feeding order of insects with no record of omnivory, unlike other "herbivorous" Polyneoptera. They represent an ideal system for investigating the adaptations necessary for obligate folivory, including plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs). However, their physiology and internal anatomy is poorly understood, with limited genomic resources available.ResultsWe de novo assembled transcriptomes for the anterior and posterior midguts of six diverse Phasmatodea species, with RNA-Seq on one exemplar species, Peruphasma schultei. The latter's assembly yielded >100,000 transcripts, with over 4000 transcripts uniquely or more highly expressed in specific midgut sections. Two to three dozen PCWDE encoding gene families, including cellulases and pectinases, were differentially expressed in the anterior midgut. These genes were also found in genomic DNA from phasmid brain tissue, suggesting endogenous production. Sequence alignments revealed catalytic sites on most PCWDE transcripts. While most phasmid PCWDE genes showed homology with those of other insects, the pectinases were homologous to bacterial genes.ConclusionsWe identified a large and diverse PCWDE repertoire endogenous to the phasmids. If these expressed genes are translated into active enzymes, then phasmids can theoretically break plant cell walls into their monomer components independently of microbial symbionts. The differential gene expression between the two midgut sections provides the first molecular hints as to their function in living phasmids. Our work expands the resources available for industrial applications of animal-derived PCWDEs, and facilitates evolutionary analysis of lower Polyneopteran digestive enzymes, including the pectinases whose origin in Phasmatodea may have been a horizontal transfer event from bacteria.

The stick insects or phasmids (Phamsatodea) have a series of pyriform ampulles with long, thin filaments on the posterior end of their midgut referred to as the "appendices of the midgut." Found only in phasmids, their function had never been determined until now. Their similarity to the Malpighian tubules, which are ubiquitous insect organs of excretion, suggested a similar function. To differentiate between the appendices and the Malpighian tubules and compare functional differences between the two tissue types, vital staining (the injection of histological stains into living organisms) was done in conjunction with light and scanning electron microscopy in multiple phasmid species. The results showed that the appendices originated in the basal phasmids (Timematidae) and grew more numerous in derived species. The appendices stain selectively, notably failing to pick up the indicators of the two known systems of invertebrate excretory function, indigo carmine and ammonium carmine. Appendices sequester stains in the ampule portion before eliminating the compounds into the midgut. We conclude by confirming that the appendices do have an excretory function, but one unlike any other known in invertebrates. Their function is likely cation excretion, playing a role in calcium regulation and/or organic alkaloid sequestration. The appendices must thus be considered distinct organs from the Malpighian tubules.

The south Asian amisegine genus Atoposega Krombein, 1957, is reevaluated. Three new species, A. rufithorax, A. striata and A. thailandica are described from Thailand and the previously described species, A. lineata (Krombein, 1957) from Borneo, A. rieki (Krombein, 1957) from Myanmar and A. simulans Kimsey, 1986 from Malaysia are redescribed. The species, A. decorata Kimsey, 1995, was found to lack the generic characters diagnostic for Atoposega. Atoposega is only known from females.

Generic placement of the amisegine species Atoposega decorata Kimsey, 1995, is reexamined and is moved to the new genus, Noumeasega. In addition, three new species, N. bicolorata, N. kaoriensis and N. neocaledonica, also from New Caledonia are described and placed in Noumeasega. Traits that distinguish Noumeasega from Atoposega Krombein, 1957 and Mahinda Krombein, 1983, are described, and a key to the species is provided along with distribution map and images. In addition, unlike Atoposega, males are associated with females in Noumeasega.Copyright Helmuth Aguirre et al.

Abstract Background Little is known about the Phasmatodea gut microbial community, including whether phasmids have symbiotic bacteria aiding in their digestion. While symbionts are near ubiquitous in herbivorous insects, the Phasmatodea’s distinctively thin body shape precludes the gut enlargements needed for microbial fermentation. High-throughput sequencing was used to characterize the entire microbiota of the fat bodies, salivary glands, and anterior and posterior midguts of two species of walking stick. Results Most bacterial sequences belonged to a strain of Spiroplasma (Tenericutes) found primarily in the posterior midgut of the parthenogenetic species Ramulus artemis (Phasmatidae). Beyond this, no significant differences were found between the R. artemis midgut sections or between that species and Peruphasma schultei (Pseudophasmatidae). Histological analysis further indicated a lack of bacteriocytes. Conclusions Phasmids are unlikely to depend on bacteria for digestion, suggesting they produce enzymes endogenously that most other herbivorous insects obtain from symbionts. This conclusion matches predictions based on phasmid anatomy. The role of Spiroplasma in insects warrants further study.

Twelve species of the brachycistidine genus Colocistis Krombein, 1942 are reviewed and two new species, Colocistis chemsaki and C. oaxacana, are described from Baja California and Oaxaca, Mexico respectively. A key to the species and species distribution maps are provided. Copyright Lynn S. Kimsey, Marius S. Wasbauer.

A new genus and species, Megalara garuda is described from Sulawesi (Indonesia). The new species is one the largest known members of the crabronid subfamily Larrinae. It has a unique suite of putatively apomorphic morphological characters and is most closely related to the genus Paraliris. We found indications of a significant allometric variation in body size and mandibular length and shape in male Megalara, and the presence of acarinaria at least in females of the new genus. Allometric variation and acarinaria have previously been shown to occur in Paraliris, which is another indication for a close relationship of Megalara and Paraliris.

The chrysidid genus Loboscelidia is reviewed and 11 new species are described, including Loboscelidia cinnamonea (Borneo), Loboscelidia fulgens (Viet Nam), Loboscelidia fulva (Thailand), Loboscelidia incompleta (India), Loboscelidia kafae (Borneo), Loboscelidia laminata (Viet Nam), Loboscelidia meifungae (Borneo), Loboscelidia nasiformis (Thailand), Loboscelidia nitidula (Thailand), Loboscelidia pecki (Viet Nam), and Loboscelidia sisik (Borneo). A key to males of the species of Loboscelidia is given.