A description of a new genus and species of braconid, Archephedrus stolamissus, from Early Cretaceous (Albian) amber from Moraza-Peñacerrada I (Spain) is here provided. This is the first fossil Aphidiinae described in Cretaceous amber. The fossil has some typical characters of the subfamily but possesses a unique assemblage of characters among aphidiines, such as a fairly robust abdomen, with a more pronounced articulation between the first and second, instead of the second and third, metasomal segments, as well as several wing venational traits. The distribution of this and other aphidiine fossils, as well as their putative phylogenetic placement as basal among Aphidiinae, is discussed, supporting a Northern rather than Southern Hemisphere origin for the lineage.

Movement of soil by foraging subterranean termites is important from both an ecological (i.e., soil quality, nutrient cycling) and control standpoint. Previous studies indicated a positive relationship between proportions of sand in a substrate and termite tunneling rates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate tunneling and soil movement capabilities of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) in a no-choice test using field-collected soils comprised of different proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Results indicate that soil texture significantly influences both the rate of tunneling and amount of soil removed from foraging tubes. Termites tunneled at a significantly faster rate and excavated significantly more soil from foraging tubes packed with soil containing relatively higher proportions of sand. Soil texture had little effect on mortality or wood consumption. Soil movement capabilities of subterranean termites in a native tallgrass prairie habitat and the resulting impact on soil turnover in this unique ecosystem are discussed.

Ten species of aquatic true bugs are newly reported for Illinois. Nepomorphan faunistic studies in Illinois are reviewed briefly and a checklist of the 54 species of aquatic true bugs occurring in the state is presented.

The extinct polyneopterous order Caloneurodea Handlirsch, which includes more than 20 species, has been found in Eurasia and North America, and ranges from the Upper Carboniferous to the Upper Permian. North American records are most numerous from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Kansas and Oklahoma. The genus Ligogramma, provisionally assigned by Béthoux et al., 2004, to either Caloneurodea or Orthoptera, is herein redescribed and placed in the Caloneurodea, based on the discovery of a new species, Ligogramma wichita, described from a specimen collected from Noble County, Oklahoma. This brings the total number of Caloneurodea currently known from the Wellington Formation to eight species.

Paraboreochlus minutissimus (Strobl 1894) and Trichotanypus posticalis (Lundbeck 1898) have been collected from Gorkhi Terelj, Outer Mongolia resulting in the first record for these species and for the subfamily Podonominae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in this country. Both species were collected in habitats similar to their described habitats from Europe and North America. A review of their biogeography indicates that Trichotanypus are restricted to the more northern part of the Holarctic region and will likely be restricted to northern Mongolia; whereas Paraboroechlus has a more southern Holarctic distribution and future surveys may result in finding it in southern Mongolia, just north of the Gobi Desert.