A new species Aphaenogaster wennebergi Zharkov et Dubovikoff, sp. n. is described from late Eocene Danish amber. The holotype is the first known male of the genus Aphaenogaster Mayr from Late Eocene ambers and we consider it appropriate to describe it as a new species. Current classification problems of the ant genus Aphaenogaster and related taxa, both recent and fossil, are discussed. We also present a complete palaeoreconstruction of the new ant based on computer microtomography.
Celonites tristiculus Kostylev, 1935 and C. montanus Mocsáry, 1906 demonstrate two different foraging strategies. The first species is probably polylectic (or at most eclectically oligolectic). Females of C. tristiculus collect pollen (but not nectar) from flowers of Allium caricifolium Kar. & Kir. (Amaryllidaceae), consuming it directly from the anthers with the mouthparts and the foretarsi. They collect nectar from flowers of Ziziphora tenuior L. (Lamiaceae), which are hardly used for pollen uptake. Females of C. montanus collect pollen and nectar from nototribic flowers of the genera Lagochilus Bunge ex Benth. and Moluccella L. (Lamiaceae). They take up pollen with pollen-collecting setae on the frontal surface of the head, by rubbing it over the anthers; rubbing movements are alternated with pollen brushing from the head with the foretarsi, from which the pollen is finally consumed with the mouthparts. Males visit flowers of other plants (such as Convolvulus fruticosus Pall., Convolvulaceae) for nectar uptake only. The evolution of pollen uptake with pollen-collecting setae in the pollen wasps is discussed.
New species Tapinella mishevi sp. n. is described from French Guiana. The holotype female was collected from dry Cecropia leaves in a rainforest edge habitat near a road between Regina and St. George. The new species is most similar to T. fusca Badonnel, 1977 from Angola but differs in wing venation, eye coloration, and leg pigmentation. It also shares some characteristics with T. candida New, 1974 from Australia.
An annotated list of 63 species of Ephydridae from the Republic of Mordovia (Russia) is given, of them Allotrichoma schumanni Papp, 1974, Diasemocera bornholmi (Becker, 1926), Ditrichophora strandi (Duda, 1942), Hydrellia porphyrops Haliday, 1839, Hydrellia subalbiceps Collin, 1966, Parydra mitis (Cresson, 1930), Philygria femorata (Stenhammar, 1844), and Ptilomyia orsovana (Enderlein, 1922) are recorded from Russia for the first time. Additional 31 species are first records for republic. Nowadays, totally 74 species of Ephydridae are known from the Republic of Mordovia.
The data on robber flies in the Republic of Khakassia is based on the results of an expedition in 2014, as well as a study of museum specimens. A total of 17 species and two subspecies of robber flies have been recorded in the region. Fourteen of these species and one subspecies are new to Khakassia. Dysmachus cochleatus (Loew, 1854) was recorded in Eastern Siberia for the first time. Currently the asilid fauna of Khakassia accounts 19 species and two subspecies.
Species of the small genus Aproceros Malaise in Russia are examined. Illustrated redescriptions of species, including detailed structures of the genitalia, are provided. Variability of the morphological characters and seasonal dimorphism are discussed. The taxonomic status of populations from different parts of the range, as well as the presence of various colour forms, are clarified based on molecular data including two mitochondrial and one nuclear genes. One species, Aproceros hakusanus Togashi, is excluded from the Russian fauna. The distributions of A. leucopoda Takeuchi and A. pallidicornis (Mocsáry) in Russia are clarified. An illustrated key to Russian species of the genus Aproceros and their forms is proposed, and the new data on the phenology of these species across different regions of Russia are provided.
A new species, Carcilia storozhenkoi sp. n., is described and illustrated from Lao Cai Province in north-east Vietnam. New species similar to C. major Voss, 1953 but easy recognizable from latter by its smaller body size, shorter second and third antennomeres, and its convex mesosternal process. The new species differs from other species of the genus Carcilia Roelofs, 1875 by its conical rostrum.
