The insect genitalia work as a perfect taxonomical tool as it is one of the most stable prezygotic isolation powers among species. The details of morphological characters are potentially useful in the recognition and diagnosis of species but sometimes it can be really difficult to find out the details of visible features.

Within this context, male genitalia of bumblebees from the Kashmir Himalaya were compared using a model pool of 28 species with 38 taxa from eight subgenera. Three structures that have a function in copulation (penis valve from the postero-dorsal aspect and from the outer lateral aspect, volsella from the interio-ventral aspect, and gonostylus from the dorsal aspect) were inspected and the outline-based geometric morphometric technique of elliptical Fourier analysis were performed. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Variates Analysis (CVA) were used to explain the diagnostic power of these structures for the taxonomy of bumblebees at the subgeneric rank. It was found that the lateral aspect of the penis valve shows greater diagnostic power than the other genital structures investigated. This approach may help future studies by contributing towards solving problems in taxonomy and semi-automatic taxonomical systems.

Wing dimorphism is a widespread phenomenon of many insect species. The katydid species Metrioptera bicolor Philippi displays distinct wing dimorphism. In this paper, we recorded the calling songs of two wing morphologies of the species and observed the acoustic generators under stereoscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The two wing morphologies showed differences in acoustic signals but no obvious differences in morphological traits. The individuals with long hind-wings produced an energetic call, i.e., the calling songs with longer pulse duration but shorter interval. Therefore we infer that the advantage of acoustic signals is a compensation for the weakness in reproduction. Furthermore, some molecular tests were performed to clarify the differences between them at a molecular level. The individuals with long hind-wings got together, while the short-winged individuals were in a group. We proposed that the molecular difference has already existed between these two groups at birth. From the consistency of the stridulatory organs and the differentiation of the acoustic signals, we could infer the behavioral traits might evolve rapidly than the morphological features.

The association between acoustic signals and genetics is not fully understood as of yet. It is unclear whether the acoustic characters of insect calling songs are correlated with insect genetic divergence. Here, we analyzed the genetic distance using 16S rDNA and cytochrome b sequences and calculated acoustic distance by the intensity distribution histograms statistic on the spectrograms of calling songs. After the alignment, 510 bp of cytochrome b and 542 bp of 16S rDNA sequences were used to calculate the genetic pairwise distance. The Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic analysis of both sequences was generally concordant with taxonomy. For acoustic signals, the L1 norm distance was in the range of [0.133, 0.434], showing a good reflection of the “vocal print” of the species. Finally, based on the two genetic distance matrice and one acoustic matrix, a multiple regression analysis was performed. The cubic regression diagram formed an upward sloping surface, suggesting that the genetic distance was positively correlated with the acoustic distance. This study demonstrates that the evolution rate of mating signal is sufficient in accordance with the gene at an interspecies level in insect.

The clubbed-legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus (Linnaeus, 1767) and its genus Gomphocerus Thunberg, 1815, (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) are recorded for the first time from the Indian fauna. The species was recorded from the Trans-Himalayan region (Zanskar and Panikhar region of Ladakh) of India in august 2019. A detailed description of both the genus and the species is given.

Here we report on the faunistic, ecological and zoogeographical composition of the subfamily Steninae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) of the Eastern Blacksea Region of Turkey. Forty two species, belonging to two genera, were detected by field studies between years 2013-2015 in the Eastern Blacksea Region. It is concluded that among these, five species from Stenus are new records for Turkey. Four species are endemic for Turkey and seven species are new records for Eastern Blacksea Region.

Platycleis kashmira was first discovered by Uvarov in 1930 from the Srinagar (Parimahal) region of Kashmir, India. After not having be documented for 90 years, the species has been rediscovered from the southern region (Pulwama) of Kashmir and is appears to be endemic to Kashmir (Chandra et al. 2013). Detailed morphology and distribution of Platycleis kashmira is given here.

The weevil Conorhynchus kindermanni Faust, 1904 (Curculionidae: Lixinae: Cleonini) was detected in close association with Salsola tragus L. (Amaranthaceae) in Ağrı Mountain soutwestern lowland area where sandy desert. The aim of this study is to determine the life cycle of C. kindermanni feeding on S. tragus. The field research was conducted between Iğdır and Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı Province Turkey in the summer of 2020. According to the results, adults of C. kindermanni feed on S. tragus starting on the rosette stage of this weed. Mating occurs on the ground among young plants, and eggs were laid on roots attached with a glue-like secretion. The legless larvae are freely able to move in sandy soil to reach lateral branches of roots for feeding. The mature larva prepares a solitary soil-case for pupal development in the soil near the host plant root. New generation adults hibernate inside the chamber until emergence from soil in early spring. This species produces one generation in a year in the Ağrı Mountain lowland desert habitat. Key words: Conorhynchus kindermanni, Salsola tragus, weed, biological observation, Ağrı Mountain

The focus of this study is to make contributions to Staphylininae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) fauna of Turkey with additional material which was composed of specimens collected from Eastern Black Sea Region between 2013 to 2015. Totally, 71 taxa of 19 genera belonging to 3 tribes of Staphylininae were recorded. Among them, Ocypus almensis Coiffait, 1967 and Quedius edmundi Coiffait, 1969 are collected from Turkey for the first time. Moreover, first detailed localities for Philonthus picimanus (Ménétriés, 1832), Philonthus splendens sideropterus Kolenati, 1846 and Tasgius globulifer (Geoffroy, 1785) are given with this study. General distribution pattern of the species depending on collecting months, altitudes and habitats, and species diversity of the region are presented and compared. Distribution of species in other regions of Turkey and zoogeographical regions are included, and the zoogeographical statuses of species are discussed. European and Middle Eastern species compose the most of the collected species. Since the region is transition between Caucasia and Europe through the Anatolian peninsula, species composition reflects the regional characters, and consequently, represents this pathway.

A 2005 review compiled a list of 155 ant species plus the hybrid fire ant Solenopsis invicta X richteri from Alabama. Here, we add an 38 additional species based on both published and unpublished records and revised identifications raising the total to 193 species and one hybrid. Of these, 32 species and one hybrid are considered exotic to the state. We present county level maps of species richness and collection efforts for native and exotic ants highlighting areas of special concern for conservation and invasion risks.