Lepidoptera is a diverse and abundant group of insects, widely used in biodiversity and conservation studies, as it has great social appeal. From this perspective, this study was aimed to conduct a survey of flower – visiting butterfly species in Bosque da Ciência, at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), an urban forest fragment open to public visitation in the State of Amazonas, Brazil. Thus, attractive plants for nectarivorous butterflies were observed, and the best location and conditions for viewing such diversity, as well as a guide for their identification was proposed. Forty-three species of flower – visiting butterflies were identified, among which Anthoptus epictetus (Fabricius), Ascia monuste (Linnaeus), Anartia jatrophae (Linnaeus), Eurema albula (Cramer) were observed to be more frequent. According to the species accumulation curve, the species richness of butterflies would be higher if greater collection effort were employed. The period of greatest flight activity and flower - visitation occurred from 9 am to 11 am. Of the six attractive plants identified, Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) and Lantana camara L. were the most visited, so we consider that these species are important for butterfly attractiveness. The butterflies of Bosque da Ciência are a representation of the nectarivores guild of the city of Manaus, Amazonas, and the establishment of an attractive butterfly garden in this place can contribute to the promotion of environmental education by stimulating the knowledge and awareness for biodiversity preservation.

A new species of Paratropis is herein described and illustrated, namely: Paratropis minusculus n. sp. based on males, females and immatures from Potaro-Siparuni, Guyana. Male e female of P. minusculus differ from those of all other species of the genus by having six eyes and by spinneret apical segment domed. In addition, we presented the first record of paratropidid species from Guyana, contribute to the knowledge of local biodiversity.

The puruí Alibertia edulis (Rich.) A. Rich. (Rubiaceae) is a naturally occurring species in the Cerrado biome in Brazil; its fruits serve as food for the local fauna (birds and mammals) and humans. Here, we report on a beetle feeding on the fruits of A. edulis in the Cerrado of Minas Gerais (MG). Monthly collections were carried out in four A. edulis trees in two areas of Cerradão in the vicinity of the municipality of Monte Carmelo, MG, between September and October 2018. These were a legal reserve area of Fazenda Juliana (ARL; Juliana Farm; 18°42'30 "S and 47°33'05 "W) and an area at the Atalho Community (ACA; 18°41'39 "S and 47°34'49 "W). Fruits with or without attack symptoms were collected from the treetop in the four cardinal directions. A total of 100 fruits (50 from each area) were collected from the trees and packed into plastic bags. The fruits were then transported to the laboratory, stored in plastic containers isolated with voile fabric, and checked daily for the emergence of adult insects. After emergence, the insects were identified. During the evaluation period, 33 beetles emerged in puruí fruits from ARL and 13 from ACA. The species has been identified as Eubulus (Kirsch) sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The animals consumed the entire fruit endocarp, leaving it with emergence orifices caused by the adult emergence. It is concluded that Eubulus sp. feeds on the pulp of A. edulis and is able to compete for this resource with other animal species.

In this study, we use geometric morphometry to discriminate thrips of the species Gynaikothrips uzeli (Zimmerman) and Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marchal) and also to detect sexual dimorphism in these species. Two hundred individuals, one hundred females and one hundred males, from G. uzeli and G. ficorum, were used to verify sexual dimorphism. For interspecific differentiation, two hundred females were used, one hundred individuals of each species. It was possible to observe differences in the shape of the wing between sexes in both species. In G. uzeli, the first two main components explain 92.5% of the total variation of individuals. The first main component explains 87% and the second 5.5 of the total variation of individuals. For G. ficorum, the first two main components explain 78.2% of the total variation of individuals. The first principal component contributed with 62% and the second principal component with 16.2% of the variation of the shape of the wing. Besides, significant interspecific differences were observed in the shape of the wing, where the first two main components were sufficient to explain 86% of the total variation of the individuals. The first principal component explained 76.2% and the second 9.8% of the total variation of the individuals, being possible to verify differences in the shape of the wing of these two species. Geometric morphometry is a viable technique for assessing sexual dimorphism, as well as interspecific differences in the shape of the wings of these species, which are morphologically very similar.

Hymenopteran parasitoids are insects that play a fundamental role in ecosystems as they reduce the population density of insects that are considered pests in monocultures. However, little is known about the fauna in association to the eucalyptus trees in comparison to adjacent native vegetations. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the fauna of parasitoid wasps that occur in a commercial plantation of Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, as well as in native forest and capoeira environments in the plateau of Conquista, Bahia, a semiarid region of Bahia. The study was conducted for two consecutive years with monthly monitoring using five Malaise traps. The collected insects were sorted and identified at the family level. The faunal indices referring to the families of each area were studied by evaluating the frequency, species richness, shannon diversity and equitability. In total, 5,899 individuals were collected, which were distributed in 24 families and eight superfamilies. The most abundant families were Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Bethylidae. Capoeira and eucalyptus trees showed greater similarity and equitability when compared to the rest of the forest. Given the diversity of Hymenopteran parasitoid families found in the area, it was concluded that the maintenance of native vegetation environments is important, even at the initial stage of succession.

Recently, Martins-Silva (2022) published the article entitled “Checklist of Aquatic Heteroptera genera (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado Biome), with family and genera identification key”. The paper provides information on which genera of aquatic Heteroptera would occur in the Cerrado biome and an identification key to families and genera, based on specimens deposited in the Aquatic Invertebrates Collection of the University of Brasília, Brazil. However, it presents many problems, including misidentifications, lack of care with references, scientific names and taxonomic authorities, and poor grammar, syntax and spelling. Here, we express our concern about this paper and provide identification corrections for specimens figured in it whenever possible.

Ecosystem fragmentation negatively affects biological diversity and compromises different environmental services. This situation occurs in two important biomes in Brazil, the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. There is little information on the effects of fragmentation on animal taxa, including social wasps. It was hypothesized that fragments that are small in size and subject to anthropogenic pressures have reduced social wasp richness and colony numbers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of forest fragmentation on Polistinae richness and colony number at Atlantic Forest and Cerrado sites in southern central Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. The study was conducted in three fragments, Mata do Baú, Cachoeira da Lajinha, and Cachoeira do Padeiro, from October 2020 to March 2021, using active collection to record social wasp species and colony numbers. A total of 42 species and 80 colonies were recorded in the three fragments. Forest fragment size alone did not influence social wasp communities, but communities were significantly affected by a combination of factors, including fragment size, adjacent vegetation, and anthropogenic pressures. Species richness was higher in Mata do Baú and Cachoeira da Lajinha, which did not differ from each other, than in Cachoeira do Padeiro; however, all fragments had exclusive communities. Therefore, an increase in anthropogenic pressure in any of the three fragments may lead to losses in social wasp species.

Hymenopteran parasitoids are insects that play a fundamental role in ecosystems as they reduce the population density of insects that are considered pests in monocultures. However, little is known about the fauna in association to the eucalyptus trees in comparison to adjacent native vegetations. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the fauna of parasitoid wasps that occur in a commercial plantation of Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, as well as in native forest and capoeira environments in the plateau of Conquista, Bahia, a semiarid region of Bahia. The study was conducted for two consecutive years with monthly monitoring using five Malaise traps. The collected insects were sorted and identified at the family level. The faunal indices referring to the families of each area were studied by evaluating the frequency, species richness, shannon diversity and equitability. In total, 5,899 individuals were collected, which were distributed in 24 families and eight superfamilies. The most abundant families were Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Bethylidae. Capoeira and eucalyptus trees showed greater similarity and equitability when compared to the rest of the forest. Given the diversity of Hymenopteran parasitoid families found in the area, it was concluded that the maintenance of native vegetation environments is important, even at the initial stage of succession.

The order Phasmatodea includes insects known as stick insects. In Brazil, few taxonomic, ecological or evolutionary studies have been published in recent years, the reason is related to the few number of researchers dedicated to this particular group. Cladomorphus phyllinus Gray is one of the largest Brazilian insects and perhaps one of the most studied species of Phasmatodea in the country. It is considered as a phytophagous, generalist, and feeds mainly on guava leaves (Psidium guajava), powder-puff (Calliandra sp.) or Angico (Piptania sp.). Females of this species reproduce in a sexual and asexual manner, by the production of diploid daughters from unfertilized eggs (thelytokous parthenogenesis). The absence of records on the reproductive capacity of virgin parthenogenetic females of C. phyllinus led us to record the longevity, fertility, and eggs viability of ten specimens. The results obtained were compared to those found in the scientific literature for mated females of the same species. The fertility and eggs viability were observed to be much lower for the parthenogenetic females when compared to the mated females; however, the longevity for virgin females was longer than that recorded in the literature for mated females.

We reported the hymenopteran fauna (except Formicidae) in a floodable area in the South Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The study was conducted in a riparian forest of the Miranda river, located in the Passo do Lontra region, Corumbá. The collection occurred in the dry season of August 2016 using different capture methods. A total of 137 individuals distributed in 18 families, 43 genera, and 64 morphospecies (10 nominal) were collected. The families with the greatest richness were Diapriidae and Ichneumonidae with 11 morphospecies each (17% of the total), followed by Platygastridae and Braconidae with 10 and nine, respectively. Two species were newly recorded for Brazil: Gryonoides pulchellus Dodd, 1920 (Platygastridae) and Losada penai Fritz, 1873 (Crabronidae), plus 22 new records for Mato Grosso do Sul. This study increases about 5.2% of the wasp fauna recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as for the Pantanal.