New combinations and a new generic synonym in the genus Taeniothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).

Reasons are provided for considering Javathrips as a new synonym of Taeniothrips, resulting in the following new combinations: Taeniothrips ciliaris (Reyes) comb.n., Taeniothrips musae (Zhang & Tong) comb.n., and Taeniothrips variegatus (Reyes) comb.n. Also recognised here are the following nomenclatural changes: Taeniothrips grisbrunneus (Feng, Chou & Li) comb.n. (from Megalurothrips), and Yaothrips pediculae Han comb.n. (from Taeniothrips) with Yaothrips shii Mirab-balou et al. syn.n. Taeniothrips musae is redescribed and illustrated.

Redescription of aquatic grass inhabiting Frankliniella zizaniophila (Thripidae: Thripinae) with remarks on its systematic position within the genus Frankliniella (Thysanoptera).

The aquatic grass-inhabiting thrip, Frankliniella zizaniophila (Han & Zhang 1982) (Thripidae: Thripinae), is redescribed and illustrated, and the larvae and the yellow color type of this species are described for the first time. Judging from its unique morphological characters and host plant, the systematic position of this species in Frankliniella is questionable, but until the thrips fauna of Asia is better explored, it seems best to leave this species in Frankliniella, rather than to erect a new monobasic genus.

One new species, four new records and key to species of Hydatothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from China (including Taiwan).

Hydatothrips ormosiae sp. n. (Thripidae: Sericothripinae) is described from southern China; H. ekasi, H. liquidambara and H. onari Kudô are newly recorded for mainland China, and H. noro Kudô is newly recorded for Taiwan. A key to the 16 Hydatothrips species recorded from China (including Taiwan) is provided.

Neohydatothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from China: new species and records, with a key to species.

Three new species of Neohydatothrips (Thripidae: Sericothripinae) are described and illustrated from China: N. concavus sp. n., N. flavicingulus sp. n. and N. luteolipes sp. n.; and two species previously recorded from Taiwan are here reported for mainland China for the first time: N. plynopygus (Karny) and N. tabulifer (Priesner). A key to the 16 Neohydatothrips species recorded from China (including Taiwan) is provided.

A new synonym of Sericothrips from China and Japan (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).

Nine species are listed in the genus Sericothrips (Thripidae: Sericothripinae) (Mound 2013), and all of these species have the abdominal tergites completely covered with microtrichia medially (Mound & Tree 2009). S. marginalis Kud6 was described from Japan on a large number of specimens, including a micropterous holotype and macropterous females and micropterous males. These specimens were collected from plants in the families Poaceae and Fabaceae (Kudô 1991). Specimens from Japan were examined by the first author (including one paratype in SCAU), and three paratypes were also checked by the second author and compared with Chinese specimens of S. houji (Chou & Feng 1990). We were not able to find any character differences between these two species, and therefore place S. marginalis in synonymy with S. houji.

A new species of Siphlonurus Eaton, 1868 (Ephemeroptera, Siphlonuridae) from Yunnan, China.

Siphlonurusdongxi Li & Tong, sp. nov. from Shangri-La City, Yunnan Province, China, is described based on egg, nymph, and winged stages. The new species is closely related to S.davidi (Navás, 1932), and can be distinguished by the colour of the imago, the forking point of MP, the penis, posterolateral spines of tergum IX of imagoes, and first abdominal terga nymph, as well as the structure of the egg. The new species and S.davidi have the same morphological and structural characteristics, such as the long cubital area with many intercalaries, cross veins between C, Sc, RA, and RSa1 surrounded with distinct pigments, the strong curvature of vein CuP in the forewing, the broad expansion of the hindwing, the membranous penis lobes fused without teeth, supporting the proposition of a new species complex, the Siphlonurusdavidi group. The structures of the penis and the egg of the new species could help understand the origin and evolution of the genus Siphlonurus.

A new species of Scirtothrips infesting Ginkgo biloba in eastern China.

A new thrips species, Scirtothrips ginkgoe Mirab-balou, Tong, and Chen, sp. n. (Thripidae: Thripinae) from Eastern China, collected on the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. (Ginkgoaceae), is described and illustrated based on the male and female adult stage and the larva.

A new record and description of a new species of the genus Thrips, with an updated key to species from Iran.

An illustrated key is provided to distinguish the 26 species of the genus Thrips L. (Thripidae: Thripinae) recorded from Iran. Thrips alavii Mirab-balou, Tong & Chen, sp. n. is described and illustrated. Thrips alliorum (Priesner) is newly recorded for the fauna of Iran. A checklist is provided for all recorded species in this genus from Iran, with information on the geographical distribution for each species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the longhorn beetle, Massicus raddei.

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Massicus raddei, which is the first beetle sequenced in Cerambycinae to date. The complete mitochondrial genome is 15,585 bp in length with an A + T content of 71.82%, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and a control region. The gene order and orientation are similar to that of typical insect species. These data will provide useful molecular information for phylogenetic relationships among the suborders of Coleoptera. By using 13 protein-coding genes as phylogenetic markers, the results support that the suborder Archostemata is a sister group to the remaining beetles and the most primitive suborder in any case; the suborder Myxophaga is sister to the suborder Adephaga.

Two new synonyms among Chinese Thripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).

Two species of Thripinae described from China, Danothrips dianellae Zhang and Tong, and Taeniothrips calopgomi Zhang, are here recognized as synonyms of two widespread Southeast Asian species.

A new species of the genus Karnyothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) from China.

Karnyothrips cyathomorphus sp. n. (Phlaeothripidae: Phlaeothripinae) is described as a new apterous species in the genus Karnyothrips Watson 1923, and it represents the fourth species of the genus to be recorded from China. A key to the Chinese species is given.

[Responses of functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in middle reach of Qiantang River, East China].

Based on the biological traits such as life history, resistance ability against environmental disturbance, and physiological characteristics of aquatic insects, and by using the fourth-corner statistical method, this paper studied the responses of the functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in the middle reach of Qiantang River, Zhejiang Province of East China. For the test aquatic insect community, some of its biological traits were sensitive to land use change, and altered along human disturbance gradients as expected. With the increasing intensity of human disturbance, the maximal insect body length decreased gradually, the dominant respiration pattern evolved from gill respiration to tegument respiration, and the abundance of burrowers increased significantly. At the same time, the functional diversity measured as Rao's quadratic entropy was significantly higher in reference sites than in disturbed sites (P < 0.001), demonstrating that the changes in the functional diversity of the aquatic community were mainly induced by the land use change caused by human activities, which resulted in the decline of stream water quality and habitat quality and the variations of aquatic insect community composition and biological traits. The aquatic insect biological traits and functional diversity could be the potentially effective indicators in the stream health assessment in the future.

[Relationships of Syzygium jambos and Dracontomelon duperreanum leaf tannin concentration and leaf litter breakdown with the colonization of benthonic invertebrates].

An investigation was made on the dynamic changes of tannin concentration in Syzygium jambos and Dracontomelon duperreanum leaves over a 105-day period of leaf litter decomposition in a second-order stream in Longdong Reservoir, Guangzhou. The initial tannin concentration in S. jambos leaves (0.191 g x g(-1) DM) was higher than that in D. duperreanum leaves (0.057 g x g(-1) DM). In the first week of leaf litter decomposition, the tannin concentration in D. duperreanum and S. jambos leaves decreased by 45% and 22% respectively. 21 days after, the decline in tannin concentration slowed down, but the decomposition rate increased, with the leaves of D. duperreanum decomposed faster than those of S. jambos (k value was 0.038 d(-1) and 0.013 d(-1), respectively). The average density of benthonic invertebrate colonized on D. duperreanum leaves (287.9 ind x g(-1) leaf mass) was significantly higher than that on S. jambos leaves (26.2 ind x g(-1) leaf mass) (P < 0.05). A continual increase of benthonic invertebrate's abundance was observed during leaf litter decomposition, which could be attributed to the rapid decrease of leaf tannin concentration. The slower breakdown of S. jambos leaf litter was likely because of the high tannin concentration in S. jambos leaves, which inhibited benthonic invertebrate, especially the shredder's colonization.

[Stream ecosystem health assessment based on the measurement of leaf litter breakdown: a case study in Hengshishui River of Guangdong Province].

Based on the Gessner' s model of leaf litter breakdown, the functional integrity and ecosystem health of Hengshishui River in Guangdong Province were assessed, and the breakdown rates of Castanopsis fissa and Schima superba leaf litters at the sites unpolluted and polluted by acid mine drainage were compared. The leaf litters of the two tree species had a significantly lower breakdown rate at polluted than at unpolluted sites (P < 0.05). According the Gessner's model, all polluted sites had an ecosystem health score 0, while all unpolluted sites had a score 2, indicating that the health status of polluted river reaches were severely damaged. The biological assessment of stream ecosystem health was consistent with the results of water quality analysis, indicating that the leaf litter breakdown model was a suitable index of stream status.

[Invertebrate biodiversity in litter layers of natural forest and Eucalyptus plantation in eastern Guangdong, China].

A comparative study was made on the community structure of invertebrates and the species diversity of thrips in the litter layers of natural forest and Eucalyptus urophylla plantation in eastern Guangdong of China. The results showed that in natural forest, Acarina, Collembola, Dipteran larvae, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, and Coleoptera were the most abundant invertebrates, accounting for 96.5% of the total individuals collected; while in Eucalyptus plantation, Acarina, Collembola, Dipteran larvae, and Lepidopteran larvae were the dominant invertebrate groups, which accounted for 96.3% of the total. The diversity of invertebrate assemblages was much higher in natural forest than in Eucalyptus plantation, based on the comparsions of Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H'), Pielou eveness index (J), Density-group index (DG), and Simpson dominance index (D). The individuals and species of fungus-feeding thrips were also more abundant in natural forest than in Eucalyptus plantation. However, there was no significant difference in the average density of invertebrates between natural forest and Eucalyptus plantation, because the individuals of Acarina were predominant, constituting 77.6% of the total. All of the results suggested that it is important to remain the understory and litter to improve the litter invertebrate diversity in fast-growing Eucalyptus plantation.

[Diel rhythm of benthic macroinvertebrate's drift in streams in Hengshishui River watershed of Guangdong, China].

An investigation was conducted on the species composition and diel rhythm of benthic macroinvertebrate's drift in two adjacent 3rd order streams in the Hengshishui River watershed of Guangdong, China. One of the streams was seriously polluted by acid mine drainage (AMD) discharged from the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, with a very low pH (3.45) and high contents of heavy metals that exceeded the Chinese National Standards for surface water, and the another adjacent was a clean stream. The results showed that the individuals and species of benthic macroinvertebrates were much more in clean stream than in AMD-polluted stream. In the drift samples from clean stream, a total of 6871 macroinvertebrate individuals belonging to 52 taxa of 10 orders were collected, among which, 99.5% were aquatic insects. However, the total drift density was dominated by a few taxa, of which, the dominant drift taxa with relative abundance in excess of 5% included Pseudocloeon morum (28.5%), Cinygmina yixingensis (13.8%), Cheumatopsyche sp. (13.2%), Serratella albostriata (7.5%), Chironomidae (6.5%), and Psephenoides sp. (5.0%). The most abundant drifter both in species and in individuals was Ephemeroptera, constituting 65% of the entire caught (dominated by Baetidiae, which represented 63% of total mayfly individuals), followed by Trichoptera (18%). The macroinvertebrate's drift showed significant diel rhythm, i. e., the drift was strongly nocturnal, with the peaks at 21:00 and 2:00, and the average drift densities being (70.3 +/- 10.8) and (289.0 +/- 124.6) ( ind x 100 m(-3)), respectively. No diurnal drifter was observed. Most dominant drift taxa showed slightly differences in their drift peaks, but some dominant taxa, e. g., chironomids and Psephenoides sp., showed no clear diel rhythm of drift. Polypedilum sp., an acidophilic species of Chironomidae, was the only drift animal found in AMD-polluted stream, which had three distinct drift peaks, i. e., at 19:00, 0:00 and 4:00, with the highest drift density being only (6.7 +/- 5.2) (ind x 100 m(-3)). It was indicated that AMD not only reduced the numbers and species diversity of drift benthic macroinvertebrates, but also altered their drift patterns.

[Litter decomposition and associated macro-invertebrate functional feeding groups in a third-order stream of northern Guangdong].

By placing 5 mm- and 0.1 mm mesh bags with Dracontomelon duperreanum (Anacardiaceae) and Syzygium jambos (Myrtaceae) litters in the Hengshishui Stream, a third-order stream in northern Guangdong of China, this paper studied the decomposition of the litters and the colonization of macro-invertebrates over a 101-day period. The results showed that the decomposition rate of D. duperreanum litter in 5 mm- and 0.1 mm mesh bags was 0.0247 d(-1) and 0.0151 d(-1), while that of S. jambos litter was 0.0108 d(-1) and 0.0095 d(-1), respectively, indicating that D. duperreanum litter decomposed faster than S. jambos litter, and the decomposition rates of these two kinds of litters were higher in coarse mesh bag than in fine mesh bag. Among the colonized macro-invertebrate functional feeding groups, scraper occupied the highest proportion (36%), followed by collector (33%), predator (25%), and shredder (6%). At the middle and late stages of the experiment, the total number of individuals and the numbers and densities of dominant groups of macroinvertebrates on D. duperreanum litter were significantly higher than those on S. jambos litter. It was suggested that in the subtropical medium-size streams where shredders are few or absent, scrapers play an important role in the breakdown of litter. The low decomposition rate of S. jambos litter was mainly due to its high content of polyphenols which inhibits microbial activity and makes the litter less eatable to the macro-invertebrates.