In 1916 state agricultural inspectors discovered Japanese beetles in a venerable nursery in Riverton, New Jersey, near Philadelphia. Until then the species had not been known to inhabit North America. The nursery disputed that the beetle posed a serious threat and denounced the Federal Horticultural Board, the agency assigned to address the problem. It convinced government entomologists in charge of eradicating the beetle that the nursery was too profitable to destroy. The population of beetles exploded into a plague that disrupted the region's agriculture, transportation and commerce and despoiled its landscape. It instigated heavy use of lead arsenate, which sickened people and contaminated soil. The Japanese beetle endures as a reminder of the battle fought against government authority over nurseries.

Based on recent collection efforts, examination of new material, and review of published records, the caddisfly fauna of West Virginia is updated to include 235 species. A revised, annotated checklist is presented, with distributional information for 26 new records from West Virginia. Significant range extensions are noted for Arctopsyche irrorata Banks and Hydropsyche carolina Banks.

In Wisconsin, Diastata repleta (Walker) was previously known in the literature from but a single, unspecified Wisconsin state record. We confirm additional collection event evidence for the only previous literature reference of 103 years ago, and add new collection data for three specimens recovered while sweeping marshy vegetation at the Hemlock Draw Nature Conservancy Preserve in Sauk County. The specimens were taken between 18 and 24 April, 2006.

The proprioceptive function of a campaniform sensillum is to perceive stresses and changing forces on the cuticle, facilitating insect locomotion including walking and flight. In the aphid genus Mindarus (Hemiptera: Aphididae), campaniform sensilla are often clustered in groups and are found at specific locations on the insect's appendages. Ring-shaped, approximately 5µm in diameter, these sensilla are found in predictable numbers on the pedicel (1), the trochanter (4), the femur (2–4), and the distitarsus (1). Those situated on the wings are variable in number and size. The wing sensilla form five identifiable groups: four on the forewing and one on the hindwing, with an average of 4 or 6 sensilla per group. Light and electron scanning microscopy was conducted to reveal their external anatomical detail. The pattern and distribution of campaniform sensilla does not appear to inform Mindarus taxonomy.

The multi-plumed wings of Alucita hexadactyla were subjected to esonification with simulated Rhinolophus hipposideros bat cries. The ultrasonic simulator signal had a frequency of 110 kHz, a pulse length of 1 ms, an inter-pulse interval of 3 ms and intensity of 85±4 dB. Two types of ultrasonic sensors were used: a reflection sensor and a through-beam sensor. Initially, attention was directed to this problem by observation of the slotted wing structure of the moth as well as other studies indicating that bats cannot detect thin wire. My results indicate that the multi-plumed wing reduces the intensity of the reflected bat-like ultrasonic signal. The echo reduction was due to a diffraction of the signal around the micro elements of the wing structure. The interaction mechanism of the manyplumed moth wing with the ultrasound signal was also described. The multi-plumed wing of the moth Alucita hexadactyla is biology's version of acoustic grating.

An updated checklist of 137 species of robber flies from Arkansas is presented. It includes 111 confirmed species, of which 6 are new to the Arkansas checklist. Four more species have been recorded in the literature, but they have not been confirmed, and 18 species that might occur in the state have never been recorded. Known flight periods by month and distributions by counties are given.

This work reports the ocurrence of Dinoderus minutus (Bostrichidae), known as the “bamboo drill”, in the northern state of Mato Grosso, Brasil. The beetles were collected in forest plantations of Eucalyptus urograndis in 2016. Collection was performed using ethanol traps Car valho 47 (adapted). This report highlights the need for further studies, as D. minutus can cause significant economic damage by building galleries inside tree trunks.