B. asiaticus Morawitz is a widely distributed medium-tongued bumblebee species occurring in both the northeast and northwest Indian Himalayas. This species exhibits a wide range of color variation in all castes. Queens have white, pale yellow, yellow or brownish pro- and metanotum, and some specimens possess an entirely white thoracic dorsum. Metasomal tergum 1 and 2 are white, pale yellow, brownish or even black; metasomal tergum 4 is black, brick red or orange red with anterior white and posterior dirty yellow bands in some specimens; tergum 5 is white, black, brick red or even orange red, with some individuals having anterior black and posterior dirty yellow bands. The size of workers may vary from small through medium to large (10–18 mm). Members of this species forage heavily on Cirsium spp. (Asteraceae) and Trifolium spp. (Papilionaceae) during August. In addition to population variation, detailed taxonomic descriptions, synonymy, host plants and distribution pattern are discussed and illustrations are given. Twenty-six host plants of this species have been recorded for the first time from the study area.

The larval and imaginal stages of Baetis maculosus sp. nov., a new species of Baetidae from China, are described and illustrated. The spotted color pattern of the new species resembles Baetis taiwanensis (Müller-Liebenau), but can be readily distinguished from it and other members of the genus Baetis by the following diagnostic characters: inner margin of right mandibular incisors of the larvae lacks a row of fine, short setae; tibiae dorsally with minute and sharp main setae; and 6 pairs of gills on abdominal segments 2–7. The hind wing of the imago has a crossvein between the costa and the longitudinal veins proximal to its bifurcation; segments II of the genital forceps have concave interior surfaces near their base, and the apical portion is densely wrinkled.

The intraspecific variations in the morphology of populations of cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera) from cotton, okra and hibiscus were analyzed. The principal component analysis and discriminant functional analysis revealed a wide range of morphological variations in the critical taxonomic characters among the populations. Genetic diversity in the populations using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCO-1) sequences revealed that there were no significant variations of P. solenopsis collected from various hosts in Asia. However, the phylogenetic tree with available sequences in the NCBI GenBank of different geographic regions revealed a distinct separation between Asian and American populations. Thus, this study adds to our knowledge of the host-associated morphological variations and genetic diversity of P. solenopsis populations.

Cloning and sequence characterization of four important genes (actin, ultra spiracle proteins, tyrosine hydroxylase and vATPase B) from Plutella xylostella are compared with other species of Lepidoptera. Sequence analyses showed variation of the genes within Lepidoptera and the number of parsimony informative sites observed in nucleotide sequences was 151, 426, 502 and 103 for actin, ultra spiracle proteins, tyrosine hydroxylase and vATPase B respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that actin and vATPase B are highly conserved across Lepidoptera. This analysis is useful in understanding the genetic relationship among various Lepidopteran insect and thereby providing insight into the genetic structure. This can establish a critical basis for analysis of biological functions in insects using novel approaches such as RNA interference (RNAi).

The ability to distinguish gender among insects is essential to their study and management. The objective of this work was to find sexual dimorphism between males and females of Oncideres ocularis Thomson, 1868 based on their external morphology. Twenty-seven morphometric variables from the body of males and females of this beetle were measured. The length of body, elytra, length and width of the head, and length of antennae were found to have different dimensions between genders. The antennae in males can be two times longer than the elytra, while in females it is one and a half times longer. The length of the last antennal segment of males is almost seven times longer than the pedicel, while in females the difference is only about two and a half times longer. Males and females of O. ocularis can be separated based on the length of the last antennal segment.

The banana fruit caterpillar, Tiracola plagiata Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Hadeninae) is reported for the first time attacking the dolichos bean, Lablab purpureus L. The caterpillars feed on leaves as well as pods and frequently cause severe losses (68–72%). This is a new insect pest observed on dolichos bean plants in the last three years. Therefore, we studied basic biological and some quantifiable parameters associated with the infestation of T. plagiata on bean plants, so that feasible management strategies against this pest can be formulated. In the laboratory, T. plagiata took 81.67±4.41 days to complete its life cycle. Adults were positively phototrophic; therefore light traps could be an effective control option for this pest.

Spider web construction is energetically costly, but it plays an important role in survivorship and reproduction. Studies have revealed facultative changes in spider web construction to adjust to available attachment sites. We used rectangular cardboard frames and two contrasting substrates to determine preferences in placement of gumfoot lines. This study demonstrated that mature females and first-instar nymphs of the brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, display preferences for smooth substrates as sites to attach the gumfoot lines of their webs. First-instar nymphs also preferred to attach to the peaks when offered a wrinkled substrate. The preference of first-instar nymphs supports the hypothesis that substrate preferences for gumfoot line attachment may already be a selected behavior and not learned from previous experience.

Megalurothrips flaviflagellus sp. nov. (Thripidae: Thripinae) is described from Fujian Province in southeastern China. Unlike other species of this genus, antennal segments III–VIII are completely yellowish white to white. Based on the color of body and antennae, this new species is similar to Parabaliothrips cokerakus, but the Megalurothrips species can be readily distinguished from Parabaliothrips by having dorso-apical median setae on first antennal segment and no ctenidia on abdominal tergites. The genus Megalurothrips Bagnall now includes 10 species in China. One of them, M. grisbrunneus Feng, Chou and Li is clearly not a member of this genus as is discussed here.

We report the first record of Nervellius exquisitus Braet et al., 2003 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae: Doryctinae) from Brazil. This species is known previously only from French Guyana. A new species, Nervellius itirapinae Castro & Penteado-Dias, is described and illustrated, and a new key to species identification is provided.

Two species of owlflies are newly reported from Colorado, Ululodes arizonensis Banks from western Colorado and U. quadripunctatus (Burmeister) from eastern Colorado.