The early larval instars of Lucilia sericata and Lucilia cuprina (Diptera,Calliphoridae): myiasis blowflies of Africa and Australia

Lucilia cuprina and Lucilia sericata are probably the two most important sheep myiasis flies in the southern hemisphere. This paper describes and illustrates structural features that enable reliable specific identification of the first and second instars of these species of be made.     

The species of Encarsiella Hayat (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) from China

Four species of Encarsiella are recorded from China, including Taiwan, of which two species, E. nepalensis and E. amabilis sp. n. are new records for China. An illustrated key for their identification is provided, including the as yet extralimital species E. boswelli, which is almost certainly present in China, though currently unrecorded.     

A review of the encyrtid wasp tribe Aenasiini,with descriptions of new Afrotropical taxa (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

The tetracnemine tribe Aenasiini is discussed and a key is provided for the separation of the nine genera that can be attributed to this tribe. Neodiscodes is synonymized with Aenasius and the following seven species, which were originally assigned to the former genus, are transferred to Aenasius as new combinations: abengouroui (Risbec), comperei (Kerrich), lepelleyi (Kerrich), martinii (Compere), indicus (Narayanan & Subba Rao), parvus (Kerrich) and subbaraoi (Kerrich). A key is given for the separation of the four Afrotropical species of Aenasius and the male of A. comperei is described for the first time. Incisencyrtus gen. n. is described for the following three new Afrotropical species: secus (the type-species), sirus and afer. Cladiscodes incisius sp. n. is described from South Africa and it represents the first species of this genus from Africa. New distribution records are given for three Alfrotropical species of Metaphaenodiscus.     

Tardigrades from Signy Island,South Orkney Islands,with particular reference to freshwater species

Seventeen species of Tardigrada from lakes and catchments on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, are described. Two species, Echiniscus punctus and Isohypsibius laevis are new to science, and two, Oreella minor and Pseudechiniscus suillus, are new to the Signy Is. records.     

A review of three species of Hesperonoe (Annelida: Polynoidae) in Asia,with descriptions of two new species and a new record of Hesperonoe hwanghaiensis from Korea

A taxonomic review of three Asian species of Hesperonoe (Annelida: Polynoidae) is presented. Hesperonoe hwanghaiensis Uschakov and Wu, 1959 Uschakov PV, Wu B. 1959. [The polychaete worms of the families Phyllodocidae and Aphroditidae (Polychaeta, errantia) from the Yellow Sea]. Arch Inst Oceanol Sinica. 1:1–40, pls. I–X. (In Chinese and Russian). [Google Scholar] (type locality: Qingdao, China) is redescribed based on five specimens collected from an intertidal site in the Korean coast of the Yellow Sea, as a new record of this species from Korea, which is the only known habitat outside the type locality. Hesperonoe coreensis sp. nov. is described based on nine specimens collected from two intertidal sites in the Korean coast of the Yellow Sea, including the same site as the habitat of H. hwanghaiensis. Hesperonoe japonensis sp. nov. is described by re-examination of many specimens collected from eight intertidal sites and a subtidal one in Japan, which was previously misidentified as H. hwanghaiensis. The three species are clearly distinguishable from one another by the species-specific morphology of the macrotubercles (or marked ridges) on the surface of elytra. All of the three species seemed to be commensal with the burrowing mud shrimp Upogebia major in intertidal flats, except for an additional probable host of another upogebid shrimp Austinogebia narutensis for H. japonensis sp. nov. in a subtidal habitat. The morphological characteristics and host species of the three Asian species are compared with all of the other five congeners known from the North American Pacific and Arctic Sea.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:51CB5C5B-0838-48AC-A0BA-8E63AA7628CB     

A taxonomic review of the genus Exochus Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Metopiinae) from South Korea with descriptions of ten new species

The South Korean species of the genus Exochus are revised. Ten new species, Exochus acostulatus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus adentatus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus areolaris Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus carinalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus dentisternum Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus depressus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus nigritulus Lee & Choi sp. nov., Exochus occipitalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus orbitalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov. and Exochus propodealis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., are described. Also, 21 species of this genus are reviewed and newly recorded from South Korea, with diagnoses provided. A key to the South Korean species of Exochus and illustrations of external characters are provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B28700A7-9CA7-4AE7-9816-9C8F4CD46160     

Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Mount Kilimanjaro: Nymphalidae subfamilies Libytheinae,Danainae, Satyrinae and Charaxinae

This paper, which presents an annotated checklist of the ‘lower Nymphalidae’ (Libytheinae, Danainae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae), is the fourth in a series on the butterfly fauna of Mount Kilimanjaro. Four genera of lower Nymphalidae (Danaus, Amauris, Bicyclus, Charaxes), with a total of 11 included species, are known or believed to occur within the main forest zone, from c. 1800 to 2800 m. Of these, only three species of Charaxes (Charaxes berkeleyi, Charaxes ansorgei, Charaxes xiphares) may be restricted locally to this primary forest. The lower slopes fauna, below 1800 m, is considerably richer, with a total of 11 genera and 41 species listed (8 species of which extend into the forest zone). Possible additional species, dubious earlier records, problems with African subspecies of Danaus chrysippus, a need for more work on certain Satyrinae, and classification of the genus Charaxes are discussed. An identification key to the subfamilies of Nymphalidae, and the 19 genera of Libytheinae, Danainae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae that occur in Tanzania, together with a key to the adults of all the species of these four subfamilies considered to occur or have occurred on Kilimanjaro, with 206 colour images, are included as online Supplementary Information.     

Key to the Holarctic species of Anagrus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) with a review of the Nearctic and Palaearctic (other than European) species and descriptions of new taxa

The Holarctic species of the genus Anagrus Haliday are keyed. The Palaearctic species, other than the European ones revised earlier by Chiappini (1989), and 10 out of 11 valid species described from the Nearctic region are reviewed, based on a study of their type material. Two new species, A. rilensis Donev sp. n. and A. longitibialis Donev sp. n., are described from Bulgaria. A new specific synonymy is proposed: A. giraulti Crawford, 1913 with A. nigriventris Girault, 1911 (described as A. armatus var. nigriventris). New replacement name: A. oregonensis S. Triapitsyn nom. n. pro A. nigriceps Girault, 1915 (A. armatus var. nigriceps) nec Smits van Burgst, 1914. A. spiritus Girault, 1911 and A. columbi Perkins, 1905 are reinstated as valid species. A checklist of 68 presently recognized species of Anagrus is given in accordance with their distribution in different biogeographic regions.     

A phylogenetic revision of Spilodiscus Lewis (Coleoptera: Histeridae)

Spilodiscus Lewis, a Nearctic group of Histerini, is polyphyletic as presently constituted. Morphological analyses indicate that the following species should be removed from the taxon to Hister: militaris Horn, lucanus Horn, patagiatus Lewis, sarcinatus Lewis, penulatus Lewis, tunicatus Lewis, humilis Fall, bilobatus Casey, and quadratulus Casey. Based on cladistic character evidence, Spilodiscus contains eight valid species (new junior synonyms in brackets). Morphological data supports exclusive, full-species status for S. arcuatus (Say), S. sellatus (LeConte), S. flohri (Lewis), and S. floridanus Ross. The remaining four taxa are ferespecies, which are putatively reproductively isolated entities whose phylogenetic exclusivity is not well-supported: S. ‘ulkei’ (Horn) [= Hister sculpticauda Casey, H. subcruentus Casey, H. coruscans Casey, H. iowensis Casey], S. ‘gloveri’ (Horn), S. ‘biplagiatus’ (LeConte), and S. ‘instratus’ (LeConte) [= Hister semiruber Casey, H. solaris Carnochan]. Over time the lineage has shifted from largely free-living but facultatively inquilinous habits to obligate rodentophily with a more recent reversal back to facultative inquilinism.