Two new Mexican species of Paranura from Quintana Roo State are described and illustrated. These Mexican species are easy to distinguish among species with three eyes per side because they have only two ocular setae. Paranura magdalenae sp. nov. is the smaller species (450 μm) with relatively long setae. Paranura rooensis sp. nov. is larger (950 μm), with relatively short setae. A comparative morphological table for species with three eyes per side is given, and a key for identification of the 34 species in this genus is included.

The biology and morphology of all stages of a new species of Psychidae from Panama, Perisceptis carnivora Davis (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), are described. The larvae of this bagworm are unusual in being obligatory predators, feeding on a broad range of living arthropods, including Arachnida, Coleoptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera. Probably because of their relative abundance, ants seem to be the most frequent prey. The eggs of this species are protected in a manner that may be unique for insects. Soon after an egg exits the female ovipore, it is wrapped inside a small cocoon-like case constructed of specialized setae from the seventh abdominal segment. Hypotheses as to how these eggs are wrapped and how the cases may protect the eggs are proposed.

Adult specimens of the Mexican Mantispidae were recorded from the Colección Nacional de Insectos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and from Colección Entomológica del Centro de Estudios en Zoología, Universidad de Guadalajara, as well as from the literature. Specimens examined (n = 270) represented three subfamilies, 11 species from nine genera, and five morphospecies. Our studies reveal 23 species from Mexico. Distribution records are presented by country and province, as well as by locality. Six species are recorded as new state records. An illustrated key to the genera of Mexican Mantispidae is provided, as well as a list of pertinent taxonomic literature for species identification. Species richness of Mexican Mantispidae is generally discussed.

The bee-killing flies, genus Melaloncha, are parasitoids of bees of the family Apidae, including stingless bees, bumble bees, and the western honey bee, Apis mellifera L. With >160 described species, Melaloncha is among the largest genera in the family Phoridae. Most species are known only from females as the males typically show too few differences to be useful in characterizing species. The monophyly of Melaloncha and its two subgenera (Udamochiras and Melaloncha s.s.) is strongly supported by morphological characters, but the phylogenetic relationships among the various species and species groups are not well understood. Here, we report on a preliminary molecular phylogenetic study of 30 exemplar Melaloncha species representing both subgenera and seven species groups by using a combination of nuclear (28S and CAD) and mitochondrial (12S, 16S, ND1, and CO1) genes for a total of 3,306 bp. Maximum parsimony analysis suggested the following relationships: 1) Melaloncha is monophyletic, 2) the subgenus M. (Udamochiras) is monophyletic and is a sister-group to M. (Melaloncha), and 3) each of the species groups for which we had multiple species were monophyletic with the M. furcata-group being the sister-group to all other Group II taxa. These results support hypotheses of relationships based on morphological characters. The utility of the molecular data for associating morphologically dissimilar males and females is discussed.

The vigorsii species group of Helota MacLeay is revised. Ten species and one subspecies are recognized, including a new species H. brancuccii described. from Laos and Thailand. The following new synonyms are proposed: H. vandepolli Ritsema, 1891 (=Helota fruhstorferi Ritsema, 1905; H. lugubris Ritsema, 1914); H. servillei Hope, 1840 (=Helota oberthueri Ritsema, 1889); H. scintillans Olliff, 1884 (=Helota pasteuri Ritsema, 1893); Helota vigorsii vigorsii MacLeay, 1825 (=Helota vigorsii sumatrensis Ritsema, 1909). Lectotypes are designated for Helota oberthueri Ritsema, H. feai Ritsema, H. vigorsii vigorsii MacLeay, H. vigorsii sumatrensis Ritsema, H. vigorsii borneensis Ritsema, H. fairmairei Ritsema, and H. longipes Ritsema. A key and diagnosis for the Helota vigorsii MacLeay species group are provided. Figures of protibia, penis, parameres, internal sac, eighth abdominal tergite are given for all species.

The egg, first and last instars, and adult of Copitarsia corruda, n. sp. from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are described and illustrated. Larval host plant genera include Asparagus (Liliaceae) (Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador), Iris (Iridaceae) (Ecuador), Ammi (Apiaceae) (Ecuador), Lysimachia (Primulaceae) (Colombia), Callistephus (Asteraceae) (Colombia), and Aster (Asteraceae) (Colombia). The larva of Copitarsia decolora (Guenée) is described and illustrated. In addition to genitalic and larval characters, mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) was analyzed to differentiate C. corruda from Copitarsia decolora (Guenée), and to examine geographic and host plant differences between the two species.

Large numbers of a cockroach that resembled the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), were observed during winter 2005–2006 in home turf settings in Weslaco, TX, 11 km from the U.S. border with northeastern Mexico. In June and July 2006, this cockroach was observed at night on the foliage of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., in numbers often exceeding 50 per m row. Because of its similarity to B. germanica, but with the characteristic of flying frequently, we suspected that our observations might be of the Asian cockroach, Blattella asahinai Mizukubo. Using a combination of morphological characters, cuticular hydrocarbons, and sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene, we definitively identified this cockroach as B. asahinai. B. asahinai was frequently observed feeding on sentinel eggs of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). This cockroach was the dominant egg predator in soybean during 2006, making up 36.4% of all predators observed feeding on eggs. B. asahinai was only observed occupying the soybean canopy nocturnally, and it made up 53.7% of predators observed feeding at night. We speculate that B. asahinai may serve as an important beneficial insect in soybean and other crops.

Frankliniella spp. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) thrips damage a variety of crops, feed on a broad range of hosts, and often migrate into cropping systems from adjacent vegetation. To determine potential sources of Frankliniella spp. thrips on crops, annual cycles of abundance of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan), and Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) were evaluated on seven common, uncultivated reproductive hosts. These hosts included Raphanus raphanistrum L., Rubus trivialis Michx., Rubus cuneifolius Pursh., Vicia sativa L., Trifolium repens L., Solidago canadensis L. and Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Thrips were collected from R. cuneifolius, and T. repens in the spring, R. raphanistrum in the summer, and C. ambrosioides and S. canadensis in the fall. The most common Frankliniella species on every plant species was F. tritici, and a fifth species, Pseudothrips inequalis (Beach), was collected in the fall on C. ambrosioides and S. canadensis. All thrips species were highly aggregated in the flowers or flower racemes, rather than leaves or fruit, and they were generally only collected from flowering plants. R. raphanistrum supported large populations, and they may be an important link for thrips between spring and fall. In addition, it may be an essentially enemy free host, as only one O. insidiosus, an important thrips predator, was collected from this host. S. canadensis also supported large thrips populations in the fall, and it may be a source of thrips migrating into crops the following spring. Controlling thrips on these hosts in their respective seasons may limit the number migrating into cropping systems.

Protortonia navesi Fonseca (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) is a scale insect recently reported as a new cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) crop pest in central Brazil. The biology P. navesi was studied under controlled and field conditions, and some aspects of its field behavior were recorded. The laboratory experiments were carried out from August to December 2004 under controlled conditions (25 ± 2°C, 70 ± 23% RH, and a photoperiod of 12:12 [L:D] h), and the field experiment from September 2003 to August 2004, at Planaltina, Federal District, Brazil. In the laboratory, P. navesi showed a 69.2-day cycle from oviposition to adult eclosion, going through three nymphal stages in 44.5 d, on average. The females reproduced by thelytokous parthenogenesis, with an average oviposition capacity of 239.6 eggs per female. No males were observed in this species. In the field, P. navesi had a permanent underground population. However, from September to December 2004, the aerial parts of plants were colonized by part of this population, which was controlled by the predator Exoplectra sp. (Coccinellidae). Individuals of P. navesi were observed to be active on cassava roots in the field throughout the year, suggesting that this scale insect may have at least five generations per year in central Brazil.

RESUMO A cochonilha Protortonia navesi Fonseca (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) foi relatada recentemente como uma nova praga na cultura da mandioca no Brasil Central. Nós estudamos a biologia de P. navesi em condições controladas e observamos alguns aspectos do seu comportamento em campo. Os estudos foram conduzidos em laboratório (25 ± 2°C; UR 70 ± 23%; 12 h fotofase) de agosto a dezembro de 2004 e em campo de setembro de 2003 a agosto de 2004, em Planaltina, Distrito Federal, Brasil. Em laboratório P. navesi apresentou um ciclo (ovo-adulto) de 69,2 dias, passando por três estádios ninfais com duração total de 44,5 dias. As fêmeas se reproduziram por partenogênese telítoca, sendo capazez de colocar em média 239,6 ovos. Não foram observados machos nesta espécie. Em campo, P. navesi apresentou uma população subterrânea permanente. Entretanto, de setembro a dezembro, parte dessa população colonizou a parte aérea das plantas, sendo controlada pelo predador Exoplectra sp. (Coccinellidae). No campo foram observadas fases ativas do inseto, em raízes de plantas de mandioca, durante todo ano sugerindo que a cochonilha pode produzir pelo menos cinco gerações por ano.

Female genitalia of insects are formed by several structures whose functions are poorly understood. The signa are sclerotized structures located on the inner wall of the corpus bursa of females of many Lepidoptera species. In this paper, we first describe seven hypotheses concerning the function of signa and derive several predictions from them. Then, we test several of these hypotheses with studies of four butterfly species (Callophrys xami Reakirt, Eueides isabella Cramer, E. lineata Salvin & Godman, and Heliconius ismenius Doubleday) and conclude that in these species signa are mainly used for breaking the envelope of spermatophores. These results are in agreement with the idea that signa are a product of sexual coevolution.

RESUMEN Los genitales femeninos de los insectos están constituidos por varias estructuras cuyas funciones generalmente son poco conocidas. Los signa son estructuras esclerosadas que se localizan en la pared interior del corpus bursa de las hembras de muchas especies de Lepidoptera. En este artículo se describen siete hipótesis sobre la función de los signa y se derivan varias de sus predicciones. Varias de estas hipótesis son evaluadas con estudios realizados con cuatro especies de mariposas (Callophrys xami Reakirt, Eueides isabella Cramer, E. lineata Salvin & Godman, and Heliconius ismenius Doubleday), los cuales llevan a la conclusión de que en estas especies los signa son utilizados principalmente para romper las cubiertas de los espermatóforos. Estos resultados son congruentes con la idea de que los signa son un producto de la coevolución entre machos y hembras.

We examined patterns of genetic variation between the transcontinental species Pyrgus communis (Grote) and Pyrgus albescens Plötz (Hesperiidae) to examine whether patterns of molecular variation are congruent with the taxonomy. Sequence data from mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA failed to distinguish the two taxa. Although substantial genetic variation is explained by the two nominal taxa, more variation is explained by geography. Specifically, our molecular data indicate that the Transverse Ranges of southern California and the Sierra Nevada are important features affecting patterns of genetic variation. The possibility of recent divergence and secondary contact is discussed. Although P. communis and P. albescens do not adhere to a phylogenetic species concept, diagnostic morphological and distributional differences exist between the two entities that merit consideration regarding their taxonomic status.