Previous information on host plants of the blissid Ischnodemus rufipes Van Duzee has been limited to single observations in Florida on each of two sedges (Cyperaceae): Cyperus erythrorhizos and C. odoratus. In the piedmont of South Carolina, during extreme drought conditions in August 2008, I. rufipes was found on redroot flatsedge, C. erythrorhizos, which had colonized mudflats on exposed shorelines of Hartwell Lake in Clemson. Surveys to determine the host-plant range of I. rufipes were conducted from 2008 to 2012 in the Blue Ridge ecoregion of Georgia and North Carolina and coastal plain and piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina. The blissid exploits the short (floriferous) growth form of C. erythrorhizos, an annual sedge of unpredictable availability in ephemeral mudflats, while maintaining populations mainly on a perennial sedge, Scirpus cyperinus, in more persistent habitats. The blissid also develops on the generally taller C. erythrorhizos plants in more permanent wetlands. Only one generation of I. rufipes might be possible on annual sedges of inconstant occurrence, but the blissid is bivoltine on woolly sedge (woolgrass), S. cyperinus. Adults overwintered not only on host sedges (mainly S. cyperinus), but also on nonhost sedges and other graminoids, beginning as early as September. A mating pair was observed on S. cyperinus in mid-May, early instars in late May, and first-generation adults by mid-July. Early instars of a second generation (and a mating pair) were observed in mid-August. The late instars found sparingly on woolly sedge in late fall and early winter probably attain adulthood or die during winter; only adults were observed after January. New state records for I. rufipes are Arkansas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

A new species, Celticecis caucasicae Gagné, is described from leaf galls on Celtis caucasica Willd. found in southern Turkey. The new species, the first Celticecis known from the western Palearctic, is compared with previously described congeners. The leaf gall formed by this species affects a more extensive area of the leaf than do other Celticecis galls and the larval chamber uniquely remains open at its apex until sealed by the pupal cocoon.

The pupal case of the Nearctic robber fly Proctacanthus brevipennis (Wiedemann, 1828) is described, illustrated, and compared with those of P. hinei Bromley, 1928; P. micans Schiner, 1867; P. milbertii Macquart, 1838; P. philadelphicus Macquart, 1838; and P. rufus Williston, 1885. A revised key is provided to the pupal cases of these species. Observations are reported on emerging adults and a newly emerged female P. brevipennis being captured and eaten by a green anole, Anolis carolinensis (Voigt, 1832).

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius Linnaeus, are increasingly reported as pests in hotels, apartments and homes worldwide. Although limited ultrastructural analysis of bed bug nymphs and adults has been performed, little is known about the ultrastructure of bed bug eggs. This study, using scanning and transmission electron microscropy, revealed several unique structural aspects of bed bug eggs. Chorionic projections form a polygonal pattern covering the egg surface. A complex operculumcollar structure is found on the anterior end of the egg, and the inner surface of the collar has three distinct regions, a smooth outer rim, a porous palisade layer and a porous ribbed layer. The outer surface of the collar is smooth with an operculum fitting into the collar. Large and distinctly ridged polygons cover the surface of the operculum. The polygons around the perimeter of the operculum have a rugose surface; the polygons adjacent to the rugose ones display spheres on the surface; and the remaining polygons have a smooth surface. The lateral margin of the operculum has a porous rugose surface with ridges and the ventral inner surface is smooth. Internally, the chorion is made up of three distinct divisions, the outer electron-dense layer with round electron opaque areas near the surface, a middle layer which is less electron-dense and the innermost layer of porous struts creating distinct spaces. Three distinct layers are found in the operculum, an outer porous layer, then an electron-dense layer, and an inner layer of porous struts and spaces. These findings constitute the first detailed description of the bed bug egg using electron microscopy.

Gomphus (Gomphurus) lynnae Paulson, known from only a few localities in the states of Washington and Oregon, U.S.A., is reported from 10 localities in a 260 km stretch of the John Day River in Gilliam, Grant, Sherman, and Wheeler counties and a 59 km stretch of the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, all within the Columbia River watershed. We collected adults, nymphs and exuviae from several localities and two nymphs were associated with adults. Nymphs of this rare species have not been fully characterized. The nymph is described and illustrated; its closest congener is G. externus Hagen, from which it is distinguished by the lack of a distinct postero-lateral spine on abdominal segment 6, shorter postero-lateral spine on abdominal segment 9, and the presence of only two or three denticles, sometimes lacking, on the lateral margins of abdominal segment 8. Nymphs of G. lynnae occupy substrates of mixed sand and silt in riffle/run areas of large, slow flowing rivers.

The Old World aradid Brachyrhynchus membranaceus (Fabricius), belonging to the subfamily Mezirinae, is reported for the first time from the Western Hemisphere. Since 2005, eight specimens have been intercepted at United States ports-of-entry in international commerce from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Jamaica. Eventual study of specimens from the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Panama allowed us to confirm that this flat bug is established in the New World. Diagnostic information and illustrations of the adult male and female are provided to help distinguish this Old World aradid from other New World Mezirinae. Host associations and habits are discussed.

Tropideucoila blepharoneurae, a new species of Zaeucoilini, is described from Peru. Specimens were reared from numerous species of the tephritid genus Blepharoneura feeding on species of Gurania (Cucurbitaceae). Prior to the discovery of this species, it was hypothesized that species of Tropideucoila were restricted to Agromyzidae hosts; this new species is remarkable for its host association with Tephritidae. To support the inclusion of this new species in Tropideucoila, we performed a total evidence phylogenetic reconstruction of the Zaeucoilini; this new species was recovered (with strong branch support) within Tropideucoila.

A new species, Paramblynotus delaneyi, is described and characters separating it from the Nearctic species P. zonatus Weld and P. virginianus Liu are discussed. A discussion of the insect biodiversity survey at Joshua Tree National Park is provided.

In this study we use a combination of morphological, molecular (mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene), geographic and ecological (field observations and cpDNA sequences from ingested plant tissue) data to describe and diagnose a new southern Nearctic leaf beetle species of Calligrapha Chevrolat, 1836 (Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae): Calligrapha thermalis Gómez-Zurita, sp. nov., associated to Perymenium mendezii De Candolle (Asteraceae). This new species, restricted to the Sierra Madre Occidental, is closely related to the Texan endemic Calligrapha wickhami Bowditch, 1911 associated to Viguiera stenoloba Blake (Asteraceae) in the northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental ecoregion. The evolutionary scenarios explaining this recent taxonomic split, dated in the Pleistocene, are laid out and discussed.

The new genus and new species Cymapamphantus valentineorum, belonging to the geocorid subfamily Pamphantinae, is described from one brachypterous male and six brachypterous females taken on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands. A dorsal habitus illustration, dorsal and lateral photographs of the male and female, diagnosis, and description of C. valentineorum are provided to help distinguish this new Caribbean bug from other New World pamphantines. A checklist of the species, keys to the three tribes and eight genera, and a color photograph of a representative species of each genus of the New World Pamphantinae are provided.