Bolbapium Boucomont, 1910 is a Neotropical genus of Geotrupidae with 22 known species. In this paper, we describe Bolbapium vazdemelloi sp. nov. in Southwestern Bahia, Brazil. This new species is distinguished from congeneric species by its unique combination of morphological characters: cephalic tubercle adjacent to each eye; pronotum with little expanded bidentate tubercle; parameres symmetric, with acute and divergent apex. The new species was incorporated into a previously published identification key for Bolbapium.

The corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is a specialist insect vector of the corn stunting disease complex. This leafhopper has been reported from different overwintering plants, and more information is required regarding other potential Brazilian plants that may serve as reproductive hosts for this specie. The present study aimed to evaluate possible plants for leafhopper reproduction usually found near the maize fields and the D. maidis reproductive differences among maize genotypes. Three trials were conducted to assess D. maidis survival and oviposition on different maize genotypes and other potential host plants. Survival, nymph presence, oviposition, and nymph eclosion rates were observed. No nymphs were observed in plants other than maize. The number of D. maidis adults was influenced by the different maize inbreds, and the mean number of laid eggs varied across the tested maize materials. Oviposition and nymph emergence was observed in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., Poaceae] when D. maidis adults were offered only this plant as substrate, although significantly lower than those recorded on maize. Our results suggest that eliminating maize plants in the off-season could be used as a tool to reduce D. maidis reproduction, thereby minimizing the vector population size in the following season.

Tabanidae Latreille are hematophagous and act as mechanical and biological vectors of several pathogens, and therefore they have been widely studied in both ecology and public health, as well as in taxonomy works. Males are nectarivorous and rarely captured, so for most species they remain unknown. Thus, we aimed to describe/redescribe the males of five species: Esenbeckia osornoi Fairchild, 1942, Acanthocera marginalis Walker, 1854, Dicladocera mutata Fairchild, 1958, Stypommisa aripuana Fairchild & Wilkerson, 1986, and Tabanus mucronatus Fairchild, 1961. Three males are described for the first time and two others are redescribed, we also provide a complete description of the species, including photographs of habitus, head and genitalia.

Hesperinus Walker, 1848, a member of Bibionidae (Diptera), is a Holarctic and Oriental genus. The genus has been reported from the Neotropical Region twice: i) Hesperinus conjungens Schiner, 1868, transferred to Plecia Wiedemann, 1828 by Hardy in 1967, and ii) additional specimens identified as Hesperinus sp. by Messias Carrera in 1944. In this study, we revisited the Carrera’s specimens, identifying them as Plecia sp. Additionally, we discussed the taxonomy of Plecia conjungens and compiled a list of articles that consider the species as Hesperinus.

Inventories provide important information about species, both from a biogeographic perspective and in terms of their conservation status. Among insects, dragonflies are extensively surveyed in Brazil; however, significant knowledge gaps still exist regarding the distribution of these organisms in the country, particularly in threatened biomes such as the Atlantic Forest. In this study, we present data on an Odonata community collected in the Serra do Papagaio State Park between 2015 and 2016. We recorded 64 species, including six new records for the state of Minas Gerais, along with ten species with problematic conservation status, either due to a lack of distribution data or some degree of extinction risk. Our results highlight the importance of inventories in expanding our knowledge of species distribution and providing data that can aid in the assessment of their conservation status.

Although Pantophthalmidae are widespread in the Neotropical Region, only three of 20 species of the family are known in the Northeast region of Brazil: Pantophthalmus planiventris (Wiedemann, 1821), Pantophthalmus tabaninus Thunberg, 1819, and Pantophthalmus vittatus (Wiedemann, 1828). In this paper, we record, for the first time, Pantophthalmus comptus Enderlein, 1912 from the state of Maranhão, in area of state covered by Amazon Forest biome, and Pantophthalmus pictus (Wiedemann, 1821) from the state of Pernambuco, near the coast, within the Atlantic Forest biome. These two species have been reported elsewhere from Brazil and now their distribution has expanded to the Northeast. Also, we provide images of a female specimen of P. planiventris, known, in the Northeast region of Brazil, from the state of Maranhão only, and of the male terminalia of P. comptus. This paper increases the number of known species of Pantophthalmidae from the Northeast Brazil to five species.

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.

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.

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.

Cassava crops hold high agricultural importance in Paraná State, Brazil. However, cassava root production is adversely impacted by pests. Aleyrodids, in particular, cause great damage to cassava fields, necessitating better knowledge of predators found in these agroecosystems and novel biological control strategies for integrated pest management. This study reports the first occurrence of the predatory lady beetle Delphastus argentinicus Nunenmacher, preying on all life stages of whiteflies in cassava fields. Given the economic and social importance of cassava crops in Brazil and the deleterious potential of aleyrodid species, it is recommended to conduct behavioral and bioecological studies assessing the application of D. argentinicus as a biocontrol agent in integrated pest management programs.