Male larval experience of cues from adult rivals alters lifetime sperm investment patterns in a sperm heteromorphic moth, Ephestia kuehniella.

Male animals may adjust their resource allocations for reproduction and other fitness functions in response to cues from rivals. For instance, adult males increase their investment in sperm for a higher paternity share when they perceive sperm competition risk in their surroundings. In nature, both juveniles and adults may coexist spatially and temporally. Yet, it is not clear how juvenile males of different ages respond to cues from adult rivals and fine-tune their lifetime investment in sperm production and ejaculation in any insect. Here we used the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella, which produces both fertile eupyrene and infertile apyrene sperm, to explore this question. We demonstrate that the late, but not early, instar larvae are sensitive to adult male cues. As a response, they produce more sperm before emergence and their resultant adults have shorter mating latency and ejaculate more sperm in the first few matings. When the juvenile stage produces more eupyrenes, the adult stops making these sperm, but regardless of the number of apyrenes produced during the juvenile stage, the adult continues to make them. These findings suggest that the number of spermatogonia for eupyrenes may be limited and that for apyrenes may be flexible. Our results show that the insect does not trade off survival, mating frequency, body size, or testis size for sperm production in response to adult males during the larval stage. Knowledge created in the present study offers insight into the stage-dependent sensitivity of juvenile males to cues from adult rivals and subsequent lifetime resource allocations.

Growth, development, and host preference of Histiostoma feroniarum (Acaridida: Histiostomatidae): effects of temperature and types of mushroom cultivar.

One of the most common harmful mites in edible fungi is Histiostoma feroniarum Dufour (Acaridida: Histiostomatidae), a fungivorous astigmatid mite that feeds on hyphae and fruiting bodies, thereby transmitting pathogens. This study examined the effects of seven constant temperatures and 10 types of mushrooms on the growth and development of H. feroniarum, as well as its host preference. Developmental time for the total immature stages was significantly affected by the type of mushroom species, ranging from 4.3 ± 0.4 days (reared on Pleurotus eryngii var. tuoliensis Mou at 28°C) to 17.1 ± 2.3 days (reared on Auricularia polytricha Sacc. at 19°C). The temperature was a major factor in the formation of facultative heteromorphic deutonymphs (hypopi). The mite entered the hypopus stage when the temperature dropped to 16°C or rose above 31°C. The growth and development of this mite were significantly influenced by the type of species and variety of mushrooms. Moreover, the fungivorous astigmatid mite preferred to feed on the 'Wuxiang No. 1' strain of Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler and the 'Gaowenxiu' strain of P. pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél., with a shorter development period compared with that of feeding on other strains. These results therefore quantify the effect of host type and temperature on fungivorous astigmatid mite growth and development rates, and provide a reference for applying mushroom cultivar resistance to biological pest control.

Combined stereomicroscope and SEM disentangle the fine morphology of the undescribed larva and puparium of the hoverfly Milesia crabroniformis (Fabricius, 1775) (Diptera: Syrphidae).

With over 80 species, Milesia Latreille, 1804 is a hoverfly genus (Diptera: Syrphidae) found in all continents except for Australia and the Antarctica. However, little is known about its life cycle and biology. The three Milesia species for which early stages are known have saproxylic larvae, suggesting that the larvae of all other Milesia species are also saproxylic. The early stages of the three Milesia species occurring in Europe are undescribed. Milesia crabroniformis (Fabricius, 1775), a mimic of the hornet Vespa crabro Linnaeus, 1758, is the largest hoverfly in Europe and is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN European Red List of Hoverflies. We here report the first early stages of Milesia ever found in Europe, describing them and their breeding sites. Larvae of M. crabroniformis were collected in water-filled tree holes of live chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.) in Málaga, Southern Spain in 2020-2021. Various studies based on stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques have proven useful in diagnosing hoverfly early stages by observation of their fine morphology. Thus, these techniques were also used here to characterize the second (L2) and third (L3) stage larvae of M. crabroniformis, as well as the puparium. A Leica M205C binocular stereomicroscope and a Jeol JSM-ITH500HR SEM were used. The head skeleton and chaetotaxy of the L3 larva were described and illustrated. Adjustments to the diagnosis of the larvae of Milesia are proposed based on the number of hooks from the primary row of the main group of hooks. The new early stages are compared with those of other Milesia hoverflies, as well as with those of the sister group Spilomyia Meigen, 1803. The knowledge of the larval biology and breeding sites of saproxylic insects is useful for implementing forest management measures and species' conservation programs.

Description of Larva and Pupa of Psorophora (Grabhamia) dimidiata (Diptera: Culicidae) and Redescription of the Adult Female and Male.

Psorophora (Grabhamia) dimidiata Cerqueira (1943) was described based on the adult female and male. Later, descriptions of the male and female genitalia were published by Lane (in Neotropical Culicidae, vols. I & II. Editora da Universidade de São Paulo, S. P., Brazil, 1953) and Guedes et al. (in Catalogo ilustrado dos mosquitos da coleção do Instituto Nacional de Endemias Rurais. I. Gênero Psorophora Robineau-Desvoidy, 1827. Rev. Bras. Malariol. Doencas Trop. 12: 3-24; 1965), respectively. Here we describe the pupa and fourth-instar larva and redescribe the adult male and female genitalia and female cibarium. All stages (except the egg) are illustrated. Unambiguous recognition is provided. Distinctions from Ps. cingulata (Fabricius) and possible phylogenetic relationships are discussed.

Effects of elevated temperatures on the development of immature stages of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) mosquitoes.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of temperature on the development of the immature stages of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) mosquitoes. METHODS: Mosquito eggs were obtained from laboratory established colonies and reared under eight temperature regimes (25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40°C), and 80 ± 10% relative humidity. Larvae were checked daily for development to the next stage and for mortality. Pupation success, number of adults produced and sex ratio of the newly emerged adults were recorded. Larval survival was monitored every 24 h, and data were analysed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Analysis of variance was used where data followed normal distribution, and a Kruskal-Wallis test where data were not normally distributed. Larval and pupal measurements were log-transformed and analysed using ordinary least square regression with robust standard errors. RESULTS: Increasing the temperature from 25 to 36°C decreased the development time by 10.57 days. Larval survival (X2 (6) = 5353.12, p < 0.001) and the number of adults produced (X2 (5) = 28.16, p < 0.001) decreased with increasing temperature. Increasing temperatures also resulted in significantly smaller larvae and pupae (p < 0.001). At higher temperatures, disproportionately more male than female mosquitoes were produced. CONCLUSIONS: Increased temperature affected different developmental stages in the life cycle of An. gambiae (s.l.) mosquitoes, from larval to adult emergence. This study contributes to the knowledge on the relationship between temperature and Anopheles mosquitoes and provides useful information for modelling vector population dynamics in the light of climate change.

Larval social cues influence testicular investment in an insect.

Socio-sexual environment can have critical impacts on reproduction and survival of animals. Consequently, they need to prepare themselves by allocating more resources to competitive traits that give them advantages in the particular social setting they have been perceiving. Evidence shows that a male usually raises his investment in sperm after he detects the current or future increase of sperm competition because relative sperm numbers can determine his paternity share. This leads to the wide use of testis size as an index of the sperm competition level, yet testis size does not always reflect sperm production. To date, it is not clear whether male animals fine-tune their resource allocation to sperm production and other traits as a response to social cues during their growth and development. Using a polygamous insect Ephestia kuehniella, we tested whether and how larval social environment affected sperm production, testis size, and body weight. We exposed the male larvae to different juvenile socio-sexual cues and measured these traits. We demonstrate that regardless of sex ratio, group-reared males produced more eupyrenes (fertile and nucleate sperm) but smaller testes than singly reared ones, and that body weight and apyrene (infertile and anucleate sperm) numbers remained the same across treatments. We conclude that the presence of larval social, but not sexual cues is responsible for the increase of eupyrene production and decrease of testis size. We suggest that male larvae increase investment in fertile sperm cells and reduce investment in other testicular tissues in the presence of conspecific juvenile cues.

The immatures of the New World treehopper tribes Acutalini Fowler and Micrutalini Haupt (Hemiptera, Membracidae, Smiliinae).

The nymphs of Acutalis Fairmaire, Bordoniana Sakakibara, Thrasymedes Kirkaldy, and Micrutalis Fowler are described and illustrated (Bordoniana and Thrasymedes for the first time). The nymphs of all four genera are exceedingly cryptic. The nymphs of some species lack scoli on the head and pronotum but all have paired scoli on the meso- and metathoracic nota and abdominal segments III-IX. Some species also have lateral rows of enlarged chalazae on the abdomen, and even large scoli ventrolaterally-the latter condition is unique within Smiliinae. The eggs are deposited in stems (not in exposed masses) and nymphs are solitary and not ant-attended. The fifth instar nymphs of Micrutalini range in length from 3.0-3.5 mm, much smaller than the fifth instars of most other treehoppers.

Effect of Artificial Diet on Immature Stage of the Great Eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

<b>Background and Objective:</b> One of the Nymphalidae butterfly species found in West Sumatra in <i>Hypolimnas bolina</i>. Currently, research on the artificial diet for the Nymphalidae butterfly is relatively rare in Padang, West Sumatra. The objectives of this study were to analyze the preferences of <i>H. bolina</i> larvae, duration of the immature stage and mortality of <i>H. bolina</i> in artificial diet treatment. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Some biological aspects of <i>H. bolina</i> in corresponding to artificial diet and its effect were investigated in the laboratory. <b>Results:</b> The result showed that there was no significant difference in the frequency of visits of the larvae in the two diet treatments namely natural (<i>Laportea interrupta</i> leaves) and artificial diets (Sig = 0.289, p>0.05) but the duration of the visit of <i>H. bolina</i> larvae was significantly different (Sig = 0.000, p<0.05). The visit duration of the immature stage of <i>H. bolina </i>was significantly different, except the prepupa and pupal stage. There was no mortality of instar larvae and prepupa stage observed in both of the two-diet treatments. However, the mortality of pupae in an artificial diet was 4%. Of the total of 24 individual larvae fed with artificial diet, all of them successfully emerged, consisted of 12 males and 12 females but there was one male with abnormal wings. The average living period in the artificial diet of imago was 14.82 days for males and 16.77 days for a female. The average larval weight was no significant difference (Sig = 0.981, p>0.05) but the average pupal weight of the natural diet was slightly higher than the artificial diet. <b>Conclusion:</b> The formulation of an artificial diet is suitable for <i>H. bolina</i> larvae based on the results of immature mortality and adult emergences. Therefore, the formulation of an artificial diet is suitable for <i>H. bolina</i> with its composition almost similar to <i>L. interrupta</i> leaves (natural diet).

Alternative splicing during fruit development among fleshy fruits.

BACKGROUND: Alternative splicing (AS) is an important mechanism of posttranscriptional modification and dynamically regulates multiple physiological processes in plants, including fruit ripening. However, little is known about alternative splicing during fruit development in fleshy fruits. RESULTS: We studied the alternative splicing at the immature and ripe stages during fruit development in cucumber, melon, papaya and peach. We found that 14.96-17.48% of multiexon genes exhibited alternative splicing. Intron retention was not always the most frequent event, indicating that the alternative splicing pattern during different developmental process differs. Alternative splicing was significantly more prevalent at the ripe stage than at the immature stage in cucumber and melon, while the opposite trend was shown in papaya and peach, implying that developmental stages adopt different alternative splicing strategies for their specific functions. Some genes involved in fruit ripening underwent stage-specific alternative splicing, indicating that alternative splicing regulates fruits ripening. Conserved alternative splicing events did not appear to be stage-specific. Clustering fruit developmental stages across the four species based on alternative splicing profiles resulted in species-specific clustering, suggesting that diversification of alternative splicing contributes to lineage-specific evolution in fleshy fruits. CONCLUSIONS: We obtained high quality transcriptomes and alternative splicing events during fruit development across the four species. Dynamics and nonconserved alternative splicing were discovered. The candidate stage-specific AS genes involved in fruit ripening will provide valuable insight into the roles of alternative splicing during the developmental processes of fleshy fruits.

A Systematic Review of the Effects of Temperature on Anopheles Mosquito Development and Survival: Implications for Malaria Control in a Future Warmer Climate.

The rearing temperature of the immature stages can have a significant impact on the life-history traits and the ability of adult mosquitoes to transmit diseases. This review assessed published evidence of the effects of temperature on the immature stages, life-history traits, insecticide susceptibility, and expression of enzymes in the adult Anopheles mosquito. Original articles published through 31 March 2021 were systematically retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases. After applying eligibility criteria, 29 studies were included. The review revealed that immature stages of An. arabiensis were more tolerant (in terms of survival) to a higher temperature than An. funestus and An. quadriannulatus. Higher temperatures resulted in smaller larval sizes and decreased hatching and pupation time. The development rate and survival of An. stephensi was significantly reduced at a higher temperature than a lower temperature. Increasing temperatures decreased the longevity, body size, length of the gonotrophic cycle, and fecundity of Anopheles mosquitoes. Higher rearing temperatures increased pyrethroid resistance in adults of the An. arabiensis SENN DDT strain, and increased pyrethroid tolerance in the An. arabiensis SENN strain. Increasing temperature also significantly increased Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) expression and decreased insecticide toxicity. Both extreme low and high temperatures affect Anopheles mosquito development and survival. Climate change could have diverse effects on Anopheles mosquitoes. The sensitivities of Anopeheles mosquitoes to temperature differ from species to species, even among the same complex. Notwithstanding, there seem to be limited studies on the effects of temperature on adult life-history traits of Anopheles mosquitoes, and more studies are needed to clarify this relationship.

Morphological description of the third instar larva of Lasiotrichius succinctus hananoi (Sawada) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Trichiini), using scanning electron microscopy.

Cetoniinae is one of the showiest scarab groups, exhibiting bright-metallic body colors, and usually attract great attention from entomologists and amateur collectors. Larvae of Cetoniinae show dramatically diversity on morphology and living habits. Although being considered one of the best-studied groups of Scarabaeidae, larvae have been described for less than 5% species to the known Cetoniinae. In this study, the final instar larva of Lasiotrichius succinctus hananoi was described using scanning electron microscopy. The larvae are peculiar for bearing a haptomeral process dividing 10 spines into two groups: six on the left side, four on the right side, different from the previous descriptions on L. succinctus (Pallas, 1781). The morphological differences under SEM imply the further requirement of taxonomic revision in Lasiotrichius. Both advantage and disadvantage of SEM utilizing in larval descriptions were briefly discussed.

Description of the larva of the genus Archaeopodagrion Kennedy, 1939 (Zygoptera: Philogeniidae).

The larva of Archaeopodagrion fernandoi Bota-Sierra, 2017, is described and illustrated in detail, being the first larva described for the genus Archaeopodagrion. The description is based on F-0 larvae collected from the type locality. The larva of A. fernandoi shows great resemblance to larvae of Philogenia spp., which adds support to the hypothesis of the monophyletic family Philogeniidae which groups together Archaeopodagrion and Philogenia. However, both genera differ each other by the presence of basal, spiny, fleshy tubercles on caudal lamellae of Archaeopodagrion.

Description of larvae of Japanese Macronychini (Coleoptera: Elmidae: Elminae).

Larvae of 15 species of Macronychini, subfamily Elminae, belonging to the genera Sinonychus Jäch Boukal, Paramacronychus Nomura, Zaitzeviaria Nomura, Zaitzevia Champion, and Urumaelmis Satô were described based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. Larvae of eleven of these species, S. tsujunensis Yoshitomi Nakajima, Zaitzeviaria gotoi (Nomura), Zaitzeviaria brevis (Nomura), Zaitzeviaria kuriharai Kamite, Ogata Satô, Zaitzevia elongata Nomura, Zaitzevia aritai Satô, Zaitzevia yaeyamana Satô, Zaitzevia awana (Kôno), Zaitzevia nitida Nomura, Zaitzevia tsushimana Nomura, and U. uenoi (Nomura) are described for the first time.

A new millipede-parasitizing horsehair worm, Gordius chiashanus sp. nov., at medium altitudes in Taiwan (Nematomorpha, Gordiida).

Gordius chiashanus sp. nov., a newly described horsehair worm that parasitizes the Spirobolus millipede, is one of the three described horsehair worm species in Taiwan. It is morphologically similar to G. helveticus Schmidt-Rhaesa, 2010 because of the progressively broadening distribution of bristles concentrated on the male tail lobes, but it is distinguishable from G. helveticus because of the stout bristles on the mid-body. In addition, a vertical white stripe on the anterior ventral side and areoles on the inside wall of the cloacal opening are rarely mentioned in other Gordius species. Free-living adults emerged and mated on wet soil under the forest canopy in the winter (late November to early February) at medium altitudes (1100-1700 m). Mucus-like structure covering on the body surface, which creates a rainbow-like reflection, might endow the worm with high tolerance to dehydration. Although Gordius chiashanus sp. nov. seems to be more adaptive to the terrestrial environment than other horsehair worm species, cysts putatively identified as belonging to this hairworm species found in the aquatic paratenic host, Ephemera orientalis McLachlan, 1875, suggest the life cycle of Gordius chiashanus sp. nov. could involve water and land. The free-living adults emerged from the definitive hosts might reproduce in the terrestrial environment or enter an aquatic habitat by moving or being washed away by heavy rain instead of manipulating the behavior of their terrestrial definitive hosts.

Integrated management of blood-feeding arthropods in veterinary teaching facilities - Part 2: overview of control methods against adults and immature stages.

Numerous arthropod species are involved in the vector-borne transmission of pathogens either to animals and/or to humans. Part 1 of this paper was dedicated to a review of these species, and their role in the transmission of pathogens in North-western Europe. This part will discuss the different anti-arthropod control methods, which are either general, used as good management practices, or arthropod-specific. The majority of these measures are efficient against several arthropod groups. Management of the environment is crucial for controlling the immature stages of winged arthropods, fleas and lice, but also ticks. Spraying pesticides should be considered carefully, because of the risk of emergence of resistance and the negative impact on the environment and non-targeted insects. Monitoring of haematophagous arthropods is useful when considering its use in the validation of control measures, the follow-up of endemic populations, vigilance for emergence of new species, and the detection of pathogens and, indirectly, resistance to chemicals. Monitoring also helps to determine the most appropriate timing and location for implementing control measures. It is strongly advised to combine control methods targeting adults and others addressing immature stages. Even if challenging, their combination under an integrated pest management programme should be preferred. Indeed, integrated vector management aims at making vector control more efficient, cost-effective, ecologically sound and sustainable.

Nombre d'espèces d'arthropodes participent à la transmission vectorielle d'agents pathogènes aux animaux et/ou aux humains. Dans une première partie de leur étude, les auteurs ont donné une vue d'ensemble de ces espèces et expliqué le rôle qu'elles jouent dans la transmission d'agents pathogènes dans le nord de l'Europe occidentale. Cette deuxième partie est consacrée aux différentes méthodes de contrôle des arthropodes ; elles se répartissent entre d'une part, des méthodes générales qui correspondent aux bonnes pratiques de gestion, et d'autre part, des méthodes ciblant spécifiquement les arthropodes. La plupart de ces mesures sont efficaces contre plusieurs groupes d'arthropodes. Il est essentiel de respecter les principes de bonne gestion de l'environnement afin de parvenir à contrôler les stades immatures des arthropodes ailés tels que les puces et les poux, mais aussi les tiques. L'utilisation de pesticides par aérosols devrait être envisagée avec prudence en raison du risque d'émergence de résistances et de l'impact négatif de ces produits sur l'environnement et sur les insectes non-cibles. La surveillance des arthropodes hématophages présente un intérêt lorsqu'on l'applique pour la validation des mesures de contrôle, le suivi des populations endémiques, la veille face à l'émergence d'espèces nouvelles et la détection d'agents pathogènes, ainsi qu'indirectement pour détecter les résistances aux agents chimiques. La surveillance permet également de déterminer quand et où mettre en oeuvre les mesures de contrôle pour plus de résultats. Il est conseillé d'associer les méthodes ciblant les adultes et celles ciblant les stades immatures. Malgré les difficultés d'une telle association, il conviendra de la privilégier dans le cadre d'un programme intégré de gestion des nuisibles. En effet, la gestion intégrée des vecteurs vise à rendre la lutte anti-vectorielle à la fois plus efficace, plus rentable, plus rationnelle au plan écologique et plus durable.

Numerosas especies de artrópodo participan en la transmisión vectorial de patógenos a animales o personas. En la primera parte de esta serie de artículos se hace un repaso de estas especies y se explica el papel que cumplen en la transmisión de patógenos en el noroeste de Europa. En esta segunda parte se examinan los diferentes métodos de lucha contra los artrópodos, que pueden ser genéricos, esto es, utilizados como buena práctica de gestión, o ir dirigidos selectivamente contra artrópodos. La mayoría de estas medidas son eficaces contra varios grupos de artrópodos. La gestión de las condiciones del entorno es crucial para combatir a las fases inmaduras de artrópodos alados, pulgas y piojos, así como a las garrapatas. El rociado con plaguicidas es un recurso que conviene estudiar con detenimiento, dado el riesgo de que surjan resistencias y su negativo impacto en el medio ambiente y en otros insectos que no se pretende dañar. La vigilancia de las poblaciones de artrópodos hematófagos resulta útil cuando se contempla su uso para la validación de medidas de lucha, el seguimiento de poblaciones endémicas, la vigilancia de la aparición de nuevas especies o la detección de patógenos e, indirectamente, la resistencia a productos químicos. La vigilancia también ayuda a determinar el momento y lugar idóneos para aplicar medidas de lucha. Se aconseja vivamente combinar métodos de lucha dirigidos contra los adultos con otros que combatan a las fases inmaduras. La aplicación de este tipo de planteamiento combinado, por dificultosa que resulte, será siempre la opción preferible para formar parte de un programa de gestión integrada de plagas. La lucha integrada contra los vectores, en efecto, tiene por objetivo hacer más eficaz, rentable, ecológicamente sensata y sostenible la lucha contra los vectores.

Phylogeny of marine Ainuyusurika tuberculata (Tokunaga) (Diptera: Chironomidae: Chironominae), with description of the immature stages.

The marine Chironomidae Ainuyusurika Sasa et Shirasaka, 1988, previously known from the adults only, is associated with its immature stages for the first time based on reared specimens from Oriental China. The larva resembles those of Sergentia Kieffer and Endochironomus Kieffer in the ventromental plate with an anteromedial projection and the 5-segmented antenna with opposite Lauterborn organs. The pupal thoracic horn has 12 branches at maximum and netted tergite spinulation which appears to be similar to those of Polypedilum Kieffer, Endotribelos Grodhaus, Phaenopsectra Kieffer and Sergentia. The phylogenetic relationship was furtherly explored through molecular analysis based on concatenation of five gene makers (18S, 28S, CAD1, CAD4 and COI-3P) using both mixed-model Bayesian and maximum likelihood inference methods. The result shows Ainuyusurika is nested with an assemblage of Endochironomus, Phaenopsectra and Endotribelos. We concluded that Ainuyusurika is a good independent genus showing affinity with Endochironomus-Phaenopsectra related genera.

Description of adults and larvae of Orientelmis parvula (Nomura amp; Baba, 1961) (Coleoptera: Elmidae) with their molecular phylogenetic analysis.

The elmid beetle Orientelmis parvula (Nomura Baba, 1961) is a rare and endangered species in Japan. Mouth parts and genitalia in adults of both sexes and larval morphology are described based on scanning electron microscope observations. The larva of the genus Orientelmis Shepard, 1998 is described for the first time. The systematic position of the genus is discussed based on the morphology and a phylogenetic tree inferred from the mitochondrial COI, and nuclear ArgK and 18S gene sequences. A new key for larvae of known species and genera of Japanese Elmidae is given.

Species Diversity and Abundance of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Cachoeiras de Macacu Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State: An Area of the Atlantic Forest Receptive and Vulnerable to Malaria.

The present study evaluated the diversity of Anopheles Meigen, 1818 belonging to the subgenus Nyssorhynchus Blanchard, 1902 in four areas of Cachoeiras de Macacu municipality, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The immature collections were carried out during a rainy period and a post-rainy season. During the two periods, 3,932 specimens of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) were collected: 562 in the rainy period (14.29%) and 3,370 in the post-rainy period (85.70%). Among 3,932 specimens collected during both periods, 489 were identified, 50 (8.89%) in the rainy period and 439 (13.02%) in the post-rainy period. Nine Anopheles species were recorded: Anopheles albitarsis Lynch Arribálzaga, 1878 s.l. (76.86%), An. braziliensis (Chagas, 1907) (17%); An. evansae (Bréthes, 1926) (8, 48%); An. triannulatus (Neiva & Pinto, 1922) s.l. (8.23%); An. oswaldoi (Peryassú, 1922) (6.43%); An. strodei Root, 1926 (5.40%); An. argyritarsis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1827 (1.54%); An. rangeli Gabaldón et al., 1940 (1.28%); and An. aquasalis Curry, 1932 (0.51%). Among them, An. albitarsis was dominant and abundant in 93.75% of the collection points. Our results show a diverse Anopheles fauna in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, with a strong association of occurrence between An. rangeli and An. oswaldoi; An. rangeli and An. evansae; An. evansae and An. oswaldoi; and An. albitarsis s.l. and An. braziliensis during the rainy period. However, there was a weak correlation in the post-rainy period, except between An. rangeli and An. oswaldoi and between An. triannulatus and An. aquasalis, which displayed a moderate linear correlation. Our results suggest that following a potential reintroduction of malaria Cachoeiras de Macacu, local transmission of Plasmodium Marchiafava & Celli, 1885 may be enhanced by the presence of nine Nyssorhynchus species (all potential malaria vectors).

First description of the larvae of the fishfly genus Anachauliodes Kimmins, 1954 (Megaloptera: Corydalidae: Chauliodinae).

Anachauliodes Kimmins, 1954 (Megaloptera: Corydalidae: Chauliodinae) is a fishfly genus endemic to the Oriental Region with only one recognized species, Anachauliodes laboissierei (Navás, 1913). Currently, the immature stages of this genus are completely unknown. Here we describe the larvae of A. laboissierei for the first time. The larval characters, especially the strongly developed respiratory tubes on the abdominal segment VIII, support a close relationship between Anachauliodes and the eastern Nearctic Chauliodes Latreille, 1796.

Larva and pupa of Ctesias (s. str.) serra (Fabricius, 1792) with remarks on biology and economic importance, and larval comparison of co-occurring genera (Coleoptera, Dermestidae).

Updated descriptions of the last larval instar (based on the larvae and exuviae) and first detailed description of the pupa of Ctesias (s. str.) serra (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are presented. Several morphological characters of C. serra larvae are documented: antenna, epipharynx, mandible, maxilla, ligula, labial palpi, spicisetae, hastisetae, terga, frons, foreleg, and condition of the antecostal suture. The paper is fully illustrated and includes some important additions to extend notes for this species available in the references. Summarised data about biology, economic importance, and distribution of C. serra are also provided. The comparison of larval characteristics for some of the genera of Dermestidae co-occurring with Ctesias is presented. A key for identification of these genera is also provided.