A first account of Chyromyidae (Diptera: Acalyptratae) from continental Central and South America and some Caribbean Islands, with descriptions of new species.

An account of Neotropical Chyromyidae is given and the following new species are described: Gymnochiromyia semihirta sp. nov., G. tropica sp. nov., Tethysimyia bonairensis sp. nov., T. chilensis sp. nov., T. litophila sp. nov. and T. nigrifacies sp. nov. Aphaniosoma Becker and Notiochyromya Ebejer are reported for the first time from the Neotropical Region. The following species are transferred from Aphaniosoma Becker to Tethysimyia Ebejer: Tethysimyia arenicola (Wheeler, 1994) comb. nov., Tethysimyia aldrichi (Wheeler, 1961) comb. nov., T. galamarilla (Wheeler, 1994) comb. nov., T. macalpinei (Hardy, 1980) comb. nov. and T. minuta (Hardy, 1980) comb. nov., T. rabida (Wheeler, 1994) comb. nov. A key to the Neotropical species of Tethysimyia is provided.

Grand challenges in entomology: Priorities for action in the coming decades.

Entomology is key to understanding terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems at a time of unprecedented anthropogenic environmental change and offers substantial untapped potential to benefit humanity in a variety of ways, from improving agricultural practices to managing vector-borne diseases and inspiring technological advances.We identified high priority challenges for entomology using an inclusive, open, and democratic four-stage prioritisation approach, conducted among the membership and affiliates (hereafter 'members') of the UK-based Royal Entomological Society (RES).A list of 710 challenges was gathered from 189 RES members. Thematic analysis was used to group suggestions, followed by an online vote to determine initial priorities, which were subsequently ranked during an online workshop involving 37 participants.The outcome was a set of 61 priority challenges within four groupings of related themes: (i) 'Fundamental Research' (themes: Taxonomy, 'Blue Skies' [defined as research ideas without immediate practical application], Methods and Techniques); (ii) 'Anthropogenic Impacts and Conservation' (themes: Anthropogenic Impacts, Conservation Options); (iii) 'Uses, Ecosystem Services and Disservices' (themes: Ecosystem Benefits, Technology and Resources [use of insects as a resource, or as inspiration], Pests); (iv) 'Collaboration, Engagement and Training' (themes: Knowledge Access, Training and Collaboration, Societal Engagement).Priority challenges encompass research questions, funding objectives, new technologies, and priorities for outreach and engagement. Examples include training taxonomists, establishing a global network of insect monitoring sites, understanding the extent of insect declines, exploring roles of cultivated insects in food supply chains, and connecting professional with amateur entomologists. Responses to different challenges could be led by amateur and professional entomologists, at all career stages.Overall, the challenges provide a diverse array of options to inspire and initiate entomological activities and reveal the potential of entomology to contribute to addressing global challenges related to human health and well-being, and environmental change.

Catalogue of the Diptera (Insecta) of Morocco- an annotated checklist, with distributions and a bibliography.

The faunistic knowledge of the Diptera of Morocco recorded from 1787 to 2021 is summarized and updated in this first catalogue of Moroccan Diptera species. A total of 3057 species, classified into 948 genera and 93 families (21 Nematocera and 72 Brachycera), are listed. Taxa (superfamily, family, genus and species) have been updated according to current interpretations, based on reviews in the literature, the expertise of authors and contributors, and recently conducted fieldwork. Data to compile this catalogue were primarily gathered from the literature. In total, 1225 references were consulted and some information was also obtained from online databases. Each family was reviewed and the checklist updated by the respective taxon expert(s), including the number of species that can be expected for that family in Morocco. For each valid species, synonyms known to have been used for published records from Morocco are listed under the currently accepted name. Where available, distribution within Morocco is also included. One new combination is proposed: Assuaniamelanoleuca (Séguy, 1941), comb. nov. (Chloropidae).

A checklist of the Diptera (Insecta) of the Maltese Islands.

A checklist is presented of all 986 extant species of Diptera known from the archipelago of the Maltese Islands situated in the central Mediterranean. Species considered to be alien to the Islands are listed with annotations in Appendix 1. The history of dipterology applicable to the islands is outlined and the three important historical published records by Zetterstedt, Rondani and Bezzi de Stefani-Perez are listed in Appendices 24. Species names that are synonyms are indicated where these were used in published records for Malta more or less after the Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera was published. Species we consider to have been misidentifications are also indicated with an annotation in most cases. Vermileo immaculatus Carles-Tolr syn. n. Cuesta-Segura and Vermileo balearicus Wheeler syn. n. are proposed junior synonyms of Vermileo vermileo (Linnaeus).

Annotated checklist of Orthoptera of the Maltese Islands.

The representation in the Maltese Islands of the Order Orthoptera, including the Tettigonioidea, Grylloidea, Gryllotalpoidea, Tetrigoidea, Pyrgomorphoidea and Acridoidea, is reviewed for the first time in almost fifty years. A total of fifty-five species are treated, of which forty-six are accepted and nine are rejected on the basis of re-evaluated taxonomic evidence, including the re-examination of actual specimens from historical collections, and consideration of species' distribution. Two species, namely, Platycleis sabulosa Azam, 1901 and Oecanthus dulcisonans Gorochov, 1993, are reported for the first time from the Maltese Islands. Of the confirmed taxa, the occurrence of three species, Oedipoda caerulescens caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1767), Sphingonotus obscuratus lameerei Finot, 1902, and Sphingonotus savignyi savignyi Saussure, 1884, is considered accidental and another species, Schistocerca gregaria gregaria (Forskål, 1775), is known for its dependence on episodes of passage from the African mainland, while the status of another four taxa remains unclear. Extirpation of some of the rare and localised species, such as Conocephalus conocephalus (Linnaeus, 1767), Ruspolia nitidula (Scopoli, 1786), Brachytrupes megacephalus (Lefebvre, 1827), and Heteracris adspersa (Redtenbacher, 1889), is not excluded unless appropriate conservation measures are introduced and implemented.

Taxonomic notes on West Palaearctic species of Lauxania Latreille, Sapromyza Fallén, Calliopum Strand and Minettia Robineau-Desvoidy, with a description of a new species of Minettia (Diptera, Acalyptrata: Lauxaniidae) from Morocco.

Taxonomic characters separating the genera Lauxania, Calliopum and Sapromyza are discussed. The taxonomy of Sapromyza sordida, S. halidayi and S. tuberculosa is revised. Sapromyza sordida and S. halidayi are proposed junior synonyms of S. tuberculosa, which is transferred to Calliopum, comb. nov. The Minettia punctiventris group of species is characterized and the following taxonomic changes are proposed: Minettia suillorum (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830), = Sapromyza tinctiventris Rondani, 1868-syn. nov.; = Sapromyza muricata Becker, 1895-syn. nov.; = Sapromyza subtinctiventris Papp, 1981-syn. nov. Minettia aenigmatica sp. n. is described within this group.

The Snail-killing Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of West Africa.

A review of the West African "snail-killing flies" or "marsh flies" (Sciomyzidae) shows that the fauna is not as dominated by the generally aquatic, predaceous genus Sepedon as was previously considered. Twenty species in seven genera, including three new species, Colobaea occidentalis, Pteromicra zariae and Sepedonella castanea are recorded. The Holarctic-Oriental genera Colobaea and Pteromicra are documented from Africa south of the Sahara for the first time. Biogeographical analyses based on the discovery of "Palaearctic" genera of Diptera south of the Sahara, faunal connections, and dispersal routes are presented. A key for identification and illustrations of diagnostic characters for some species are included.

Out of the South? The first Afrotropical record of Prochyliza Walker (Diptera: Piophilidae), with description of a new species.

The genus Prochyliza Walker is recorded for the first time from the Afrotropical Region. A new species, Prochyliza ignifera sp. nov., is described from the Indian Ocean islands of Aldabra and La Réunion. The status of this species as possibly the most primitive in the genus Prochyliza is hypothesised and discussed, raising some questions about the taxonomy and the zoogeographical origin of the group. The holotype of Piophila viridicollis Macquart from La Réunion was studied and it is instated as a subjective junior synonym of Piophila casei (Linnaeus), syn. nov.

The Moroccan species of Chyromyidae (Diptera) with descriptions of five new species of Aphaniosoma Becker.

Nineteen species of Chyromyidae from Morocco are listed with data and compared to the fauna of the other North African countries bordering the Mediterranean. Five new species of Aphaniosoma, A. gatti, A. nigripes, A. nitidum, A. soror and A. zizense spp. n. are described and their relationships discussed and 11 species are recorded from Morocco for the first time.

Novel polymorphisms influencing transcription of the human CHRM2 gene in airway smooth muscle.

Muscarinic receptors are a functionally important family of G-protein-coupled receptors. Using a combination of rapid amplification of 5' cDNA ends and reporter gene assays, we characterized the 5' untranslated region of the CHRM2 gene as expressed in human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells. A splice site is present 46 bp upstream from the ATG start codon. Five exons with alternative splicing patterns are present upstream of this splice site, separated by introns ranging from 87 bp to > 145 kb. There is evidence for the gene being under the control of a TATA-less promoter with Sp1, GATA, and activator protein-2 binding sites. Multiple transcription start sites (TSSs) were identified. We identified a novel 0.5-kb hypervariable region located 648 bp upstream of the most 5' TSS, a multiallelic (CA) tandem repeat 96 bp downstream of the most 5' TSS, and a common C-->A SNP located 136 bp upstream of the most 5' TSS. Functional studies in primary HASM cells and the BEAS-2B cell line demonstrated highest promoter activity to be upstream of the most 3' TSS, with potential repressor elements operating in a cell type-dependent manner, located upstream of the most 5' TSS. We present functional data to show that the CA repeat may influence the transcription of the gene in HASM and BEAS-2B cells.