A total of 1878 birds of 217 species were examined for the presence of fleas in Costa Rica during 2004, 2009, and 2010. Altogether 58 specimens of fleas belonging to four species of the family Ceratophyllidae were collected from 43 individuals of 27 bird species. The fleas Dasypsyllus (Dasypsyllus) gallinulae perpinnatus (Baker 1905), which were the most common, were found in 25 bird species. Dasypsyllus (Neornipsyllus) stejnegeri (Jordan 1929) and Ceratophyllus (Ceratophyllus) niger Fox, 1908 were found in three and one bird species, respectively. Six Plusaetis equatoris (Jordan 1933)-like fleas were collected from one individual of the timberline wren Thryorchilus browni (Passeriformes, Troglodytidae).

The species of Stichopogon occurring in the United States and Canada are reviewed. A key to species, diagnoses, illustrations, and distribution maps are presented. Stichopogon californica, new species, is described from Monterey County, California. Lectotypes are designated for Stichopogon abdominalis Back, Stichopogon argenteus (Say) and Stichopogon catulus Osten Sacken. Stichopogon pritchardi Bromley, 1951 is synonymized with Stichopogon colei Bromley, 1934 (new synonymy).

DNA barcodes provided the first clue to Venada lamella Burns, new species. This is the fifth species of the panneotropical but formerly monotypic genus Venada to be discovered on Volcán Cacao, a small volcano in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Two adult females of this skipper butterfly were reared from caterpillars feeding on a species of Ocotea (Lauraceae). The skipper's ACG congeners have been reared in large numbers and found to eat plants not only in Ocotea but also in five other lauraceous genera. One adult male of V. lamella was taken at black light on adjacent Volcán Orosí. Barcodes clearly associate the sexes and widely separate all five species of Venada in a neighbor-joining tree. Interspecific barcode differences range from about 4.5% to about 8.3%. Traditional taxonomic characters (facies, male and female genitalia) distinguish V. lamella from its congeners and reinforce the barcode data. Since V. lamella inhabits rainforest, and its congeners in ACG inhabit rainforest and cloud forest, and since genus Venada is panneotropical, it probably comprises many more species than are currently recognized. Although five species have been described from a limited area within ACG, their geographic distributions are undoubtedly more extensive.

Since bluetongue outbreaks occurred in november 2007 in northern Spain, an intensive trapping program was carried out to study the diversity and abundance of the Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species. Eleven sheep farms and seven natural habitats distributed throughout the Basque country region were sampled using UV light CDC traps between 2008–2011. A total of 348,685 Culicoides specimens belonging to 52 species were collected during 1,480 trappings in 24h periods. An updated checklist of these 52 species (including four new records for the Iberian peninsula) is provided from the Basque country. The most abundant species in sheep farms were the two sibling species of the obsoletus complex (81.8% of the total catches): C. obsoletus (Meigen) and C. scoticus Downes and Kettle. Culicoides lupicaris Downes and Kattle was the next most abundant taxon collected in farms (9.7% of the total). Few specimens of Culicoides imicola Kieffer, the bluetongue vector in Mediterranean Basin and some specimens of Culicoides nubeculosus (Meigen), an important candidate of BTV transmission were collected in northeast and northwest farms, respectively. In natural ecosystems, three species, Culicoides festivipennis Kieffer, Culicoides alazanicus Dzhafarov and Culicoides brunnicans Edwards, comprised 48.5% of the total captures. Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus was present throughout the year and even during the winter days in temperate Atlantic areas (Gipuzkoa, Biscay) whereas no catches occurred in winter at the southern farms of Alava, where the climate is much colder in that season. The majority of the species were active from March to November with maximum peaks of catches in summer. Most Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus specimens were collected outdoors (65.9%). The study shows greater occurrence and abundance of obsoletus and pulicaris complex in sheep farms and in lesser extent innatural ecosystems. Data about diversity, distribution and seasonal dynamics are also reported improving the knowledge of these Culicoides species in terms of surveillance and prevention for future bluetongue outbreaks.

Pubitelphusa is proposed as a new genus for Gelechia latifasciella Chambers in North America and Concubina trigonalis Park and Ponomarenko in the Palearctic Region. Pubitelphusa latifasciella, most recently assigned to Telphusa, is redescribed, and male and female genitalia are illustrated. A neotype for G. latifasciella is designated. Concubina trigonalis is transferred to Pubitelphusa.

Monomorium kondratieffi sp. n. is described and illustrated from Saudi Arabia based on the worker caste collected in Al Baha Province. It belongs to the Monomorium hildebrandti-group, which is recorded for the first time from the Arabian Peninsula. Monomorium kondratieffi is distinguished from the latter specis by the body length and mesosomal length, and the distinct obtuse angle (ca 130) between the propodeal dorsum and declivity. The two specimens of Monomorium kondratieffi n. sp. were collected in loose soil; among roots of small Portulaca oleracea L. beneath a Phoenix dactylifera L. tree. A key to the Afrotropical species of the Monomorium hildebrandti-group including the Egyptian endemic species M. dentatum Sharaf is provided.

Megaselia larvivora Disney, n. sp. is described from a series reared from the caterpillars of Acharia stimulea Clemens and Lithacodes fasciola Herrich-Schäffer feeding on Quercus alba Linnaeus. The fly closely resembles M. fisheri (Malloch), whose recognition is clarified. Observations from the rearing of Megaselia larvivora Disney, n. sp. are reported.