Production of ‘rooibos’ or red bush tea from Aspalathus linearis (Burman f.) Dahlgren (Fabaceae) is unique within the greater Cederberg region, Western Cape Province, South Africa. One of the principal insect pests associated with A. linearis production is the root-boring clearwing moth, Monopetalotaxis candescens Felder & Felder (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae). Annual moth flights peak during November/December, resulting in young plantations being targeted during the hot, dry summer conditions prevailing at this time. Average infestation levels progressively increased from 28 ± 2 % in year 1, to 53 ± 2 % and 72 ± 1 % in years 2 and 3, respectively. A second, 4–6 years old plantation during the three-year survey period was found to be severely infested (average 92 ± 1 %) with virtually no additional infestation over time. Estimated losses to borer infestation were calculated at 4, 24, 27 and 36 % in plantations that were 1–4 years old, respectively. Significantly more eggs were laid on leaves (66 ± 4 %) compared to woody tissue, stems and twigs. Most eggs hatched between 02:00 and 04:00, with neonates migrating down to the stem base and entering the root just below the soil surface. A control strategy, exploiting aspects of neonate migratory and feeding behaviour, should result in both yield increases and prolonged survival of plantations beyond the typical 4–5-year cycle.

The biodiversity of Apis mellifera intermissa in the northern parts of Algeria is analysed using geometric morphometric investigations of workers' forewing variability. A total of 3400 worker bees was collected from hived colonies throughout the northern parts of Algeria, between 35°19′N–37°01′N and 00°54′W–8°06′E. Results showed a clear differentiation between the main three northern ecological regions. Differences involve mostly shape, while size contribution is generally weak. Within regions, shape variability between apiaries and colonies does not appear related either to the geographic location or to altitude. The large variability observed at the colony and apiary levels can possibly be related to anthropogenic introductions or exchanges, and it is concluded that both drift and polyandry are the most probable explanations. Finally, phenotypic differences between ecological regions probably result from restrictions to gene flow between their respective populations. Nevertheless, the relative contributions of local adaptations to environmental factors and to beekeeping remain to be established.

A new genus of African stem borers of the subtribe Sesamiina (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Buakea gen. n., is described as well as the three species it includes, two new, B. venusta sp. n. and B. kaeuae sp. n., and a species that until now was placed in the genus Busseola Thurau, B. obliquifascia (Hampson) comb. n. The three species are monophagous on different graminaceous host plants, and the two sister species B. kaeaue and B. obliquifascia were collected in different ecological zones and altitudes, which suggests an ecological mode of speciation. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenies inferred from two mitochondrial genes showed that the genus is monophyletic and does not share a recent common ancestor with the genus Busseola. However no strongly supported phylogenetic relationship could be established with the other six genera of the subtribe included in the analysis.

We present the first record of honeydew feeding in Malagasy stingless bees. Two species of stingless bees, Liotrigona mahafalya and L. madecassa, collected honeydew produced by mealybugs on an Albizia perrieri (Fabaceae) tree in the dry deciduous forest of Kirindy, Madagascar. Honeydew might represent an important part of the diet of Malagasy stingless bees, especially in times of scarce floral resources in the highly seasonal environment of western Madagascar. The interaction between the bees and two species of invasive ants, Monomorium destructor and Paratrechina longicornis, in competition for the honeydew resource, was studied. Numbers of stingless bees and ants on the honeydew source were negatively correlated, with ants decreasing in density distally from the main trunk of the tree and bees showing the opposite trend. Invasive ants could therefore potentially threaten the native bees by displacing them from this resource.

The effect of temperature on the oviposition, longevity and mating of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) was investigated. The preoviposition development time ranged from 2.54 days at 21°C to 7.54 days at 15 °C. The lower threshold temperature for the preoviposition period was 11.4 °C with a thermal requirement of 22.8 degree-days. Moths did not mate and few eggs were laid at temperatures below 15 °C or above 27 °C. The mean adult longevity of summer moths, from pupae of larvae leaving fruit in December through to February, was 11.7 days when exposed to fluctuating temperatures (range 14.4–37.5 °C) and 22.5 days at constant temperatures of 15,17,19 and 21 ± 1°C. At constant and fluctuating temperatures longevity decreased with increasing temperature; thus spring moths lived longer than summer moths. Significantly more eggs were laid by summer moths at constant, compared to fluctuating temperatures. At fluctuating temperatures the mean number of eggs per female was 92.6 for spring moths and 121.2 for summer moths.

Comparisons of the historical distribution range of two fruit chafers (Mausoleopsis amabilis and Leucocelis rubra), one longhorn beetle (Phryneta spinator) and five butterflies (Charaxes brutus natalensis, Junonia orithya madagascariensis, Appias sabina phoebe, Mylothris agathina and Coeliades libeon), with their current ranges show that during the last two decades these species have extended southwards by 0.54–5.64° latitude, along distances of some 90–830 km. Although direct anthropogenic activities (e.g. land-use change, soil and plant transport) are partly responsible for these extensions, it is possible that they are also linked to the 0.5° temperature rise experienced by the region during the same period, as a direct consequence of global warming.

The blister beetle genus Lydoceras Marseul, 1870, tribe Mylabrini, is revised. Its four species are redescribed and figured. Faunistic and ecological records of each species also are summarized. Results of a morphology-based cladistic analysis show Lydoceras lictor (Gerstäcker, 1885) and L. fasciatus (Fabricius, 1775) as most closely related. These two species and L. flavosellatus (Fairmaire, 1887) are placed in the nominate subgenus. The group occurs in eastern Africa and western Arabian Peninsula. The highly distinctive L. stanleyanus (Duvivier, 1890), endemic to central Africa, is placed in the resurrected subgenus Denierus Pic.

The female of the Cape relict Meridioclita capensis Krikken, 1982 and two new subspecies of Ichnestoma are described, Ichnestoma cuspidata cochleata subsp. n. and I. struempheri kikvorsti subsp. n. are new microendemics from the Karoo region. Trichostetha fascicularis natalis Burmeister and T. fascicularis prunipennis Burmeister are reinstated as valid taxa, based on new records.

Alien trees and the invasive Argentine ant Linepithema humile are known individually to impact indigenous ant assemblages, many species of which are important functional components of South African fynbos ecosystems. We studied the effect of the two alien taxa, tree and ant, on various species of indigenous ants. Alien trees significantly influenced abundance and species richness of local ant assemblages, as a result of the dense alien tree canopy changing environmental conditions of the ants' habitat. The Argentine ant displaced Pheidole capensis and certain Camponotus spp., and reduced abundance of other indigenous ants such as Lepisiota capensis and Plagiolepis spp. Displacement by the Argentine ant appears to arise from indirect competition for food resources. The effects of alien trees and the alien ant are synergistic, both positively and negatively, depending on the particular indigenous ant species in question. Thus the changes in the indigenous ant assemblage wrought by alien trees are further influenced by the presence of the alien ant. Removal of the alien trees disadvantages the Argentine ant and reverses the adverse synergism as a result of more sunlit natural conditions. We caution against the use of the word ‘synergistic’ to focus on particular species and interactions rather than being used as an umbrella term for general impact and threat to faunal assemblages.

The sap-sucking lace bug, Gargaphia decoris Drake (Tingidae), was released in South Africa, and is pending release in New Zealand, for the biological control of Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (Solanaceae). Most releases were carried out with stocks imported from northeastern Argentina in 1995, but these were later augmented using stocks imported from southern Brazil in 2002 that were deemed to be better suited to the colder regions of South Africa. While the Argentinean stocks were subjected to extensive host-range testing prior to release, the Brazilian stocks were not tested prior to release. In retrospect, this was risky because of the possibility that distinct populations of the same insect species could comprise biotypes (strains) that display either major or subtle differences in host range, thus raising the possibility of non-target effects in the field. In this study, the host ranges of the two G. decoris populations were compared on an identical set of test plants, to rule out the possibility of within-species host-range variation prior to the insect's release in New Zealand. Standard host-range tests, involving seven ‘indicator’ Solanum species, failed to demonstrate any significant differences between the Argentinean and Brazilian populations in their response to the test plants in both no-choice and multi-choice arenas. Adults and nymphs from both populations performed considerably better on S. mauritianum and adults consequently displayed strong feeding and oviposition preferences for this species. There is thus no evidence of host-range variation between the two populations and we conclude that either is suitable for release against S. mauritianum.

Characters of the female genitalia (pygofer, first, second and third valvulae) of Paraphrodes flavigerus (Evans) are described for the first time. These observations suggest that the genus belongs in Chiasmini. It is placed in this tribe, placement n., resulting in the recognition of Paraphrodini Linnavuori 1979 as a junior synonym of Chiasmini Distant 1908, syn. n. Observations of males of P. flavigerus from four countries (Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and South Africa) revealed a substantial amount of morphological variation. The specimen from Guinea shows some unique character states which differentiate it from specimens from other locations. Previous and recent classifications and phylogenetic analyses regarding Eupelix Germar, Baikyus Singh-Pruthi, Gurawa Distant and Paraphrodes Linnavuori are discussed along with the similarity found in the metatibial apical pecten in Gurawa (Chiasmini) and Eupelix (Eupelicini). New records for P. flavigerus from South Africa are recorded.

The Afrotropical representatives of the genus Sylligma Simon, 1895 are revised. The genus belongs to the subfamily Dietinae and is known only from the Afrotropical region. Individuals are found in both vegetation and on the ground, but are rarely encountered. The genus Sylligma is redescribed and an identification key is provided for the six species that are recognized, of which four are new, namely, S. franki (♀,♂), S. ndumi (♀,♂), S. spartica (♂) and S. theresa (♀,♂). The males of S. lawrencei Millot, 1942 and S. hirsuta Simon, 1895 are described for the first time.

In this study, the genetic structure of 15 populations of the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (Hemiptera: Aphididae), from Tunisia was characterized using RAPD markers. Five decameric random primers revealed 113 polymorphic loci that were used to estimate population structure with an average of 22.6 polymorphic bands per primer. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed significant (P < 0.001) genetic diversity among populations (78.16 %) rather than within populations (21.84 %) that has been confirmed by Fst and Nm values. A cluster analysis based on genetic distance revealed that the 15 populations were divided into three groups. Populations from the south were differentiated into one group irrespective of host plant, whereas the other populations were distributed between two groups independently of the geographic origin and host plant. These results represent the first evidence for genetic structuring in M. euphorbiae.