Entomologist's Monthly Magazine - Vol. 162, No. 3, 2026
Published: 7/31/2026
Article Details for this issue
A new species and a new synonymy in the Pristiphora depressa species group (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), with a discussion of global diversity patterns in sawflies feeding on maples (Acer species)
By: ANDREW LISTON
Page: 151–164
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
Now comprising nine known species in the West Palaearctic, and several others in eastern
Asia, the depressa species group of Pristiphora Latreille is the most speciose group of sawflies
feeding on maples (Acer). Pristiphora acutivalva sp. n. is described from Spain and southern
France. Dinematus krausi Lacourt is treated as a new junior synonym of Pristiphora ifranensis
Lacourt. Although this lineage of Pristiphora apparently uses only Acer species as larval hosts,
individual species of the depressa group seem not to be strictly monophagous on single maple
species or closely related species. In the discussion, noteworthy patterns in the global distribution
of maple-feeding sawflies are highlighted. Congruent with the hypothesis of the origin and initial
diversification of Acer in eastern Asia is the high diversity at generic level of maple-specialist
sawflies in the East Palaearctic and Oriental realms. Other notable aspects are the absence of nearly
all maple-feeding sawflies in North America, and the restriction of maple-feeding Heterarthrus
Stephens, 1835, species to the West Palaearctic.
A new species and new subgenus of plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) from St. Helena
By: STUART FOSTER
Page: 165–169
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
A new plant bug, Dicyphus diminutus sp. n. is reported from St. Helena in the South Atlantic.
This is the first record of a dicyphine plant bug from the island. The species is described, together
with a new subgenus Cryptodicyphus subgen. n. The new species is separated from species in other
genera and subgenera by its distinctive small size, dorsal genital aperture, endosomal structure and
scent efferent system.
St Helena Podeonius Kiesenwetter (Coleoptera: Elateridae) reassessed; new species Podeonius thorpei and Podeonius fowlerae described
By: HOWARD MENDEL
Page: 170-180
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
The two Podeonius species described from St Helena to date are reassessed. Podeonius
thorpei sp. n. and Podeonius fowlerae sp. n. are described from St Helena. The possibility that
either or both might be ‘pseudo-endemics’ introduced from Africa rather than true St Helena
endemics is considered. The term ‘pseudo-endemic’ in the context of this paper is discussed.
To bee or not to bee: can it be both? Apiaria versus Apiaria in the works of Ernst Friedrich Germar
By: MICHAEL S. ENGEL
Page: 181–190
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
It is argued that the long-held nomenclatural interpretation of the putative genus-group name
Apiaria Germar, 1839, is mistaken. Apiaria was a family-group name for bees [today Apidae] –
but never a genus – employed by Germar in three of his works on fossil insects, although his
usage was misconstrued by subsequent authors as a generic name. The three specific names he
attributed to the family Apiaria in three separate publications were not in combination with a
generic name and are therefore unavailable from those respective works. A genus Apiaria was first
made available by Quenstedt (1852) along with two included species, made available as Apiaria
antiqua Quenstedt, 1852, and A. lapidea Quenstedt, 1852. The third species of Germar was made
available by indication as Osmia dubia Giebel, 1856. A type species is designated for Apiaria
Quenstedt, 1852, stabilizing its application. Apiaria is a senior synonym of Myrmicium Westwood,
1854 (Pseudosiricidae), and cannot automatically be deemed a nomen oblitum, necessitating a
future application to the ICZN for its suppression in favour of the latter name. Apiaria lapidea is
likely a beetle (Coleoptera) of uncertain identity and is therefore a nomen dubium. Osmia dubia is
a bee, likely of the Megachilidae, but its placement as to genus is not based on any character data
and the name should be considered as a nomen dubium until such time as the type or new material
can be discovered.
Recent records of Chamaemyiidae (Diptera: Acalyptratae) from Mongolia, with description of a new species of Parochthiphila Becker
By: MARTIN J. EBEJER
Page: 191–205
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
Records of Chamaemyiidae from Mongolia are given based on collections made in 2022 and
2023. The 20 species listed here include seven species new to Mongolia and a new species of
Parochthiphila Becker, 1903, which is described and illustrated. A checklist of the 39 species now
known from the country is provided.
SHORT NOTE Bruchophagus roddi Gussakovskiy (Chalcidoidea: Eurytomidae) and an associated parasitoid Idiomacromerus perplexus (Gahan) (Chalcidoidea: Torymidae): both new to Great Britain
By: M.T. JENNINGS
Page: 206-208
Type: Short Notes
New distribution records of the genera Dichagyris Lederer and Euxoa Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Kerman Province, Iran
By: S. SHAHREYARI-NEJAD, M. ESFANDIARI, A. RASEKH, A. SHIRVAN & M.S. MOSSADEGH
Page: 209–226
Type: Paper
Synopsis:
New distribution records of Dichagyris and Euxoa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Kerman
Province, Iran are presented based on noctuid moths collected with UV light traps at several
localities in Kerman. In total, 20 Dichagyris taxa and 13 Euxoa taxa were recorded, of which eight
Dichagyris and ten Euxoa represent new provincial records, and all identifications were confirmed
by genitalia dissections and comparison with museum and reference material. An updated and
corrected checklist of the Iranian fauna is provided, summarising 78 Dichagyris and 55 Euxoa
taxa currently known from the country, with 34 and 25 taxa, respectively, described from type
localities in Iran. This underscores the importance of the Iranian Plateau for speciation in these
xeromontane genera. The new records from Kerman extend the known ranges of several species
previously thought to be restricted mainly to northern or western parts of the Zagros Mountains and
highlight that the noctuid fauna of Kerman, like many other Iranian regions, remains incompletely
documented. These results emphasise the need for continued integrative taxonomic, phylogenetic,
and biogeographical research on Dichagyris and Euxoa, as well as targeted studies on their largely
unknown larval biology and ecology in Iran.
SHORT NOTE Overlooked subgeneric names for bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
By: MICHAEL S. ENGEL
Page: 227-228
Type: Short Notes
BOOK REVIEW A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BUTTERFLIES OF ROMANIA by L. Rákosy
By: TED BENTON
Page: 229-230
Type: Book Review