Two new species of Caribbean conocephaline katydids (Agraeciini) are described for the previously monotypic genus Erechthis: one from the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, one from Hispaniola. The first-named species Erechthis gundlachi occurs on both Cuba and Hispaniola. A median projection (prong) of the subgenital plate is taken as a major generic diagnostic trait. This structure's morphology suggests a device for removal of rival sperm. The mate attraction song of males of the Eleutheran species is a steadily repeating series of chirps, each composed of 3 – 5 pulse trains. In the audio the frequency spectrum is broadband from 11 to beyond 20 kHz, with a coherent peak near 7 kHz. Inconsistency in some within-male song features may reflect this species' isolation from congenerics. The Eleutheran species bears a striking turquoise-colored face apparently absent in the other two species. We hypothesize that this coloration is a predatoravoidance adaptation. Possible Caribbean dispersal scenarios are discussed for these species.

Trials with the naturally occurring fungus, Metarhizium acridum, were conducted against nymphs of the Italian locust, Calliptamus italicus, in Uzbekistan and in Georgia during 2010 and 2011. The trials were conducted in two quite different habitats: in western Uzbekistan, which is desert with a median annual rainfall of about 100 mm, and on the plains of Georgia, which receive about 400-800 mm of rain per year. In three trials at a dose of 500 mL/ha of Green Guard^® (containing 50 g M. acridum spores/ha in oil) during 2010 in Uzbekistan, there were clear declines in locust numbers by 7 days reaching 69-76% by 14 days. During 2011, a dose of 500 mL/ ha resulted in a decline of 78% by 10 days and 90% by day 16, while at a dose of 250 mL/ha (containing 25 g M. acridum spores/ha in oil) declines were 69% and 71% by day 10 and 16, respectively. In Georgia, 8 trials were conducted at 500 mL/ha. At four sites in pastures during 2010, declines were evident by 7 days after treatment, reaching about 80% by day 14. With two applications against locusts in young sunflower crops, declines reached 66-83% by day 14. During 2011, at two sites with moderately dense pasture, locusts declined by 74% and 83% after 14 days. Overall, locust mortality was substantial in all of the trials even though the weather was quite hot, with maximum temperatures often near 40°C.

Two new species of the previously monotypic genus Eulophophyllum Hebard, 1922 are described. All species of the genus known up until now occur in forested areas in Sabah, Borneo. The genus is unique for the strongly widened media field of the tegmen, in which all branches of the media anterior plus radius sector are strongly curved and run anteriorally. There is also a striking color difference between the sexes, with males uniformly green and females pink. The two new species E. lobulatum Ingrisch & Riede sp. n. and E. kirki Ingrisch & Riede sp. n. have large leaf-like expansions of the hind tibiae that are absent in E. thaumasium Hebard, 1922. They differ from each other in the number of main vein branches in the media field of the tegmen. Stridulation of E. lobulatum sp. n. consists of short double-clicks ranging from 6.5 to 8.5 kHz, repeated at longer intervals.

Determining whether sexually selected characters affect reproductive isolation is key to understanding the significance of such selectively driven divergence in speciation. Divergence in the shape of male genitalia is ubiquitous in many insect taxa and can have important fitness consequences for males within a species. Yet, it is unclear whether this selectively divergent character affects gene flow among species. We test this hypothesis using explicit predictions about the clinal transition in genitalic shape across a hybrid zone between the grasshopper subspecies Barytettix humphreysii humphreysii and B. h. cochisei. Slight morphological differences in genitalic shape across their ranges raised the possibility that local processes might give misleading interpretations about sexual selection's potential contribution to reproductive isolation. Therefore, we examined multiple transects to explore the effectiveness of genitalic divergence as a barrier to gene flow on a background of potentially different extrinsic (e.g., environmental conditions) or intrinsic (e.g., genetic makeup) factors. If sexual selection is the predominant factor maintaining the hybrid zone, the shape of the clines between transects is expected to be concordant, thereby overriding potential dispersal differences associated with varying environmental and ecological conditions or variation in population densities that would cause cline shape to vary among localities. Furthermore, if selection against hybrids with intermediate genitalic morphologies does indeed represent a strong barrier to gene flow, the morphological transition between the adjacent subspecies is predicted to be quite steep. These predictions were supported by the geometric morphometric analyses, suggesting that genitalic divergence plays a direct role in reproductive isolation and that sexual selection plays a predominant role in the maintenance of the subspecies differences. Thus, the results of our study provide compelling evidence that postmating-prezygotic interactions can indeed limit gene flow, and consequently may play an important role in speciation. Using this framework, we suggest future studies that can address a number of remaining questions about the nature of selection, and ultimately, how sexual selection is operating in these taxa.

In this paper for the first time we summarized both the existing literature data and our own findings on the occurrence of the infections caused by the fungus Entomophaga grylli (Fresenius) A. Batko, 1964 (Entomophthoromycota: Entomophtorales) among short-horned Orthoptera (Caelifera) in Kazakhstan. Almost 800 insect cadavers exhibiting signs of infection by E. grylli were collected in 7 out of 14 provinces (oblasts) of Kazakhstan in 2000-2016, with confirmed identification of the fungal pathogen. They belonged to 18 genera and 28 species from two families, Pamphagidae and Acrididae, and from 6 subfamilies within the latter family. A discussion summarizing the current knowledge of the host range of the fungus in Kazakhstan and its potential for the use in biological control programs is provided.

Cricket allergy is less severe and less common than allergy to locusts and grasshoppers. A partial cross-reactivity exists between cricket and grasshopper allergens. Cricket allergens are proteinaceous compounds, but their nature is insufficiently known; arginine kinase and hexamerin 1B may play a role. Occupational allergy, i.e. allergy of personnel working with rearing and breeding of cricket colonies, is the subject of the majority of reports on cricket allergy. Frequent handling of crickets (for example as fish baits) may inflict allergy which may be considered as a kind of occupational allergy. Crickets are edible insects and are widely consumed in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, food allergy to crickets seems to be relatively rare.

Two very small katydids living in upper montane rainforest and elfin forest at 2500–3200 m on the eastern Andean cordillera of south Ecuador are described: Nubimystrix consuelo gen. et sp. nov. and N. amarui sp. nov. They have strongly reduced wings and feature a confusing mixture of morphological characteristics, such as spiny fore tibiae, unconcealed tympana, and tiny auditory spiracles. Apparently these katydids represent a third South American genus of the small subfamily Hexacentrinae. Males of both species produce at night ultrasound calling songs with carrier frequency ranges from about 23 to 31 kHz. While the song of the first species consists of brief calls, males of the other call very continuously, so that especially the presence of the latter can easily be assessed using an ultrasound detector. With an acoustic record at 3210 m, N. amarui is also the highest-occurring katydid species in the investigated area. Some interrelated aspects of biogeography, ecology, and bioacoustics are discussed.

The East Palearctic genus Uvarovina comprises two species. However, their identification can sometimes be difficult, even when using all available information. The type localities of U. daurica and U. chinensis are situated at the opposite edges of the genus' range, where the species can be diagnosed easily. In other parts of their range the situation is more complicated, sometimes with contradictory diagnostic characters. The type species U. daurica (Uvarov, 1928) is removed from the synonymy with Peltastes venosus Fischer von Waldheim, 1839. The calling song consists of long sequences of short, isolated syllables.