The occurrence of the genera Aspidoglossa Putzeys, 1846, Paraclivina Kult, 1947, Oxydrepanus Putzeys, 1867, Pyramoides Bousquet, 2002, Semiardistomis Kult, 1950, Semiclivina Kult, 1947, Stratiotes Putzeys, 1846, and Whiteheadiana Perrault, 1994 is recorded for the first time for Brazilian caves. The specimens are deposited at the zoological collection of the Laboratório de Estudos Subterrâneos at Universidade Federal de São Carlos (LES) and are stored dipped in ethanol. A map and photographs of specimens of the genera are provided, as well as the specific records of their geographical distribution in caves.

The Neotropical genus of stingless bees Melipona Illiger, 1806 is exclusive to Tropical America and has its greatest diversity in South America, with about 74 described species. In Bahia, there is an occurrence record for 12 species of Melipona, distributed in four subgenera. Among the Melipona (Melikerria) that occur in Bahia, we highlight Melipona (Melikerria) quinquefasciata Lepeletier, 1836. Although widely distributed in Brazil, its underground nesting habit associated with its preference for high altitude areas, make the species extremely vulnerable. This work sought to describe nests and map the occurrence of this species for the State of Bahia, since its record is limited to areas of Chapada Diamantina. Knowledge about the biogeography of the species is extremely important, strengthening its sustainable creation that respects the area of ​​occurrence of the species, as well as seeking alternatives and public policies for sustainable conservation, since its area of ​​occurrence is extremely vulnerable to the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the State.

Psychoda Latreille is one of the largest genera of Psychodidae, with around 450 species, from which more than 130 are known from only one of the sexes. This is a result of the high diversity, sympatry of close related species and scarcity of diagnostic characters to accurately associate males and females in this genus. Here we describe a new species, Psychoda dactyla sp. n., from Brazil, Amazonas, São Gabriel da Cachoeira with morphological description of male and female specimens associated by DNA-barcoding.

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.

The present research aimed to study the functional groups of ants in organic and conventional cropping areas and assess their influence on the abundance of other insects in agroecosystems. Sampling was carried out in eight rural properties with organic, and eight with conventional crops in Paraíba do Sul, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Fifteen pitfall soil traps were installed to collect ants in each property, in April and May 2016. The ants collected were dry-mounted and identified. The insect abundances of the orders Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Orthoptera were also obtained. Ants were classified into seven functional groups. The functional group with the largest number of species was “omnivores that inhabit the soil and the leaf litter,” followed by “omnivores that inhabit the soil, the leaf litter, and the plants.” The group “omnivores that inhabit the soil and the leaf litter” showed the highest abundance of ants in both types of crops. The mean richness of functional groups was significantly higher in organic than in conventional crops. We only observed the effect of the abundance of ants of the group “omnivores that inhabit the soil, the leaf litter, and the plants” on the abundance of coleopterans in conventional crops. Hence, areas with organic crops are more favorable for maintaining an ant fauna with higher functional diversity than areas using the conventional cropping system.

Two new species of the small carpenter bee genus Ceratina (Calloceratina) Cockerell, 1924 are described and illustrated. Ceratina (Calloceratina) mourei new species, and Ceratina (Calloceratina) silveirai new species, form the silveirai species-group, a very distinct set within the subgenus C. (Calloceratina). The taxonomy of South American species was approached, being redescribed and illustrated the species Ceratina (Calloceratina) chloris (Fabricius, 1804) and Ceratina (Calloceratina) triangulifera Cockerell, 1914, proposing the chloris species-group for them. The diagnosis for the subgenus Calloceratina is presented and an identification key for the South American species is also proposed.

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.

Polletomyia Curler, 2020 is a Neotropical genus of Psychodidae that was established based on Polletomyia subulata Curler, 2020 from French Guiana. In this paper, we describe a second species of the genus from the Brazilian Amazon. The specimens were collected by the late Larry Quate, a psychodid expert, and are deposited at the Museu de Zoologia of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. We provide illustrations and descriptions of both males and females of the new species.

Ants have been extensively used as bioindicators, however ants from different nest stratum and habitat affinity groups could distinctly respond to a same ecological process and environmental impact. In this study, we evaluated if nest stratum and habitat affinity matter in the response of ant assemblages to forest-pasture shifting. We tested the response of number of species in entire ant assemblages (soil surface and subterranean) and in each ant fauna stratum (only soil surface and only subterranean). In both cases, we also tested the response of number of ant species of each habitat affinity groups (forest specialist, open-habitat specialist and generalist). Ants were sampled in three plots for each habitat type in Southwestern Brazilian Amazon. We sampled 124 ant species. Only for soil surface ant assemblages, the number of species was different between the two habitats types, among habitat affinity ant groups and their number of species also changed with habitat shifting. Therefore, we corroborate the inclusion of samplings in different nest stratum and recommend the classification of ants according to their habitat affinity in monitoring programs that use ants as bioindicator. However, efforts must be done to improve the information availability on habitat affinity of ant species.

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.