The earliest beetle with mouthparts specialized for feeding on nectar is a parasitoid of mid-Cretaceous Hymenoptera.

BACKGROUND: During the Mesozoic, there were many insects in several holometabolous orders (Neuroptera, Mecoptera and Diptera) with elongated mouthparts adapted for feeding on nectar. The evolutionary history of the megadiverse order Coleptera, which has a great diversity of mouthparts and feeding strategies, is well documented since early Permian with a significant peak in diversity in the Triassic. Currently, however, there is no evidence that in the Mesozoic these beetles fed on nectar despite the recorded specializations for pollination of flowering plants in several families since the mid-Cretaceous. RESULTS: Here we describe a new wedge-shaped beetle Melanosiagon serraticornis gen. et sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber attributed to Macrosiagonini (Ripiphoridae: Ripiphorinae), which has elongated galea comparable to that in the extant parasitoid genus Macrosiagon, and a well known example of adaptation for nectar feeding in Coleoptera. Furthermore, Salignacicola gen. nov. is established for Macrosiagon ebboi Perrichot, Nel et Néraudeau, 2004, based on the holotype found in mid-Cretaceous amber from France. Systematic positions of both newly established genera are discussed. A list of potential wasp and bee hosts of Ripiphorinae from the Mesozoic is provided. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents evidence of the earliest occurrence of specialized nectar feeding mouthparts in Coleoptera. Melanosiagon serraticornis is closely related to extant Macrosiagonini. In all genera belonging to subfamily Ripiphorinae the primary larvae are adapted for parasitism on aculeate Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) and adults are associated with blossoms of flowering plants, in terms of their specialized morphology. Adults of Macrosiagon visit blossoms of flowering plants to obtain nectar and lay eggs from which the hatching larvae attack visiting wasps and bees. An association with flowers of some tropical trees is already corroborated in some extant species. Interestingly the larvae of Ripiphorinae are also found in Burmese amber. Thus, both life stages of the mid-Cretaceous Ripiphorinae indicate a close association of this lineage with flowering trees.

The complete life cycle of a Cretaceous beetle parasitoid.

Life cycles of parasites, particularly those with complex life histories and developmental pathways, are rarely preserved as fossils in total.1 The evidence is almost universally biased toward incomplete perspectives derived from a single sex or life stage.2,3 Here, we report a piece of Cretaceous Burmese amber that contains 28 males, a larviform female, and two longipede larvae of the wedge-shaped beetle Paleoripiphorus, and its potential cockroach host. Collectively, this fossil represents the complete series of free-living stages (except of the last larval instar) for a 99-million-year-old parasitoid insect from Myanmar (Figure 1 and Supplemental Information). The wedge-shaped beetles (Ripiphoridae) are of special interest among parasitoids because of their obligatory, protelean development in larvae of cockroaches, beetles, bees and wasps.4.

Female calling, life cycle, and microstructures of the parasitic beetle Ripidius quadriceps Abeille de Perrin.

The precopulatory behaviour of the larviform females of Ripidius quadriceps Abeille de Perrin, 1872 is described. The calling posture of virgin females is documented. The cephalic morphology and microstructures are visualised using scanning electron microscopy, in particular the secretory pores in the cuticle of inflatable maxillary palps. An exhaustive overview of relevant publications revealed that the location of secretory pores on the head of females is unique within the order Coleoptera. Compared to other beetles with sedentary calling females, the calling phase of the short-lived and non-feeding female of Ripidius is exceptionally short. For bioassays, various traps using virgin females of Ripidius were tested. It is likely that the sedentary behaviour of the short-lived female combined with a unique morphology and priority for investing in reproduction is compensated for by the actively flying males with remarkably flabellate antennae. The life cycle of this species, including some of the exceptions recorded at the individual level, is discussed. Perspectives for a biological and morphological survey of this rarely collected western Palaearctic species are outlined. In addition, the calling behaviour, secretory sites and location of pheromone glands in females of Coleoptera producing long range pheromones is reviewed.

A new genus of Pelecotominae from Mexico, with notes on the genera Clinops and Scotoscopus and the description of new species (Coleoptera, Ripiphoridae).

Taxonomic notes are provided on species of the uncommonly encountered ripiphorid subfamily Pelecotominae. Zapotecotomasumichrasti gen. et sp. nov., is described from southern Mexico based on a unique male likely collected in the later part of the mid-19th Century. The discovery of additional species of the South African genus Clinops Gerstaecker permit a revised diagnosis and distinction of the group from the eastern Mediterranean genus Scotoscopus Brenske and Reitter, resurrected status. Two new species of Clinops are established: Clinopsinexpectatus sp. nov. (northeast of Durban near Swaziland) and C.perpessus sp. nov. (region of Durban), and Scotoscopusspectabilis (Schaufuss) is newly recorded for the Peloponnese in Greece.

A needle in a haystack: Mesozoic origin of parasitism in Strepsiptera revealed by first definite Cretaceous primary larva (Insecta).

Twisted winged insects (Strepsiptera) are a highly specialized small order of parasitic insects. Whether parasitism developed at an early or late stage in the evolution of the group was unknown. Here we record and describe the first definite Mesozoic strepsipteran primary larva embedded in Burmese amber (∼99 million years ago). This extends the origin of parasitism back by at least ∼50 million years, and reveals that this specialized life style has evolved in the Mesozoic or even earlier in the group. The extremely small first instar displays all diagnostic characters of strepsipteran immatures of this stage and is nearly identical with those of Mengenillidae, one of the most "ancestral" extant strepsipteran taxa. This demonstrates a remarkable evolutionary stasis over  100 million years. The new finding strongly weakens the case of small larvae embedded in Cretaceous amber interpreted as strepsipteran immatures. They differ in many structural features from extant strepsipteran primary larvae and are very likely parasitic beetle larvae.

New synonyms, combinations and faunistic records in the genus Denierella Kaszab (Coleoptera: Meloidae).

Taxonomy of the genus Denierella Kaszab, 1952 (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Epicautini) is evaluated. The following new synonyms and combinations (all from the genus Epicauta Dejean, 1834) are established: Denierella thailandica (Dvorák, 1996) comb. nov. = D. striolata Yang & Ren, 2007 syn. nov.; Denierella emmerichi (Pic, 1934) comb. nov. = D. serrata Kaszab, 1952 syn. nov.; Denierella promerotricha (Dvorák, 1996) comb. nov. A lectotype is designated for Epicauta emmerichi. Epicauta emmerichi yunnanensis Kaszab, 1960 is provisionally raised to E. yunnanensis stat. nov., until its status can be confirmed by the study of the holotype specimen. Five new country records, one new Chinese province record and two new Indian state records of six Denierella species are provided, and the distribution of all species included in this study is outlined. A checklist of the genus Denierella is provided and general problems in the taxonomy of Asiatic Epicautini are discussed.

A new genus of Strepsiptera, Rozenia gen. n. (Stylopidae), a parasite of bee genera Acamptopoeum and Calliopsis (Andrenidae, Panurginae, Calliopsini).

A new Strepsiptera genus from South America is described, Rozenia gen. n., with three new species: Rozeniacalliopsidis sp. n. (type species), Rozeniaperuana sp. n. and Rozeniaplaticephala sp. n. These three new species are parasites of bees belonging to the tribe Calliopsini (Andrenidae, Panurginae). Rozeniacalliopsidis sp. n. is a parasite of the bee genus Calliopsis Smith, 1853 and Rozeniaperuana sp. n. and Rozeniaplaticephala sp. n. are parasites of the bee genus Acamptopoeum Cockerell, 1905. Diagnoses and descriptions of female puparia are presented for all three species. Diagnoses and descriptions of first instars (triungulinids) are presented for Rozeniacalliopsidis sp. n. and Rozeniaplaticephala sp. n. The first case of increased number of setae on the body of the first instars and augmentation of chaetotaxy of Strepsiptera are discussed.