Helina richardisp. nov. is described from Morocco and Spain. The presence of setulae at the base of vein R4+5 suggests placement in Mydaea Robineau-Desvoidy but other characters and the structure of the female ovipositor indicate that it is otherwise a typical species of Helina Robineau-Desvoidy.

Two parasitoids, identified as a species each of Aprostocetus Westwood (near Aprostocetusmarylandensis (Girault)) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Platygaster Latreille (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), were discovered in cranberry shoots (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (Ericaceae)) infested with cranberry tipworm, Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson), on a farm in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada. Parasitoids emerged from ∼18% of collected shoots in 2009, when Aprostocetus sp. was more numerous, and in 2010, when Platygaster sp. predominated. In 2009, Aprostocetus sp. was the only parasitoid species present in May and June, and predominated until late August, when Playtgaster sp. became prevalent. In 2010, Platygaster sp. was more numerous throughout June and July; numbers of Aprostocetus sp. increased in late July and early August. The parasitoids were naturally present despite applications of the insecticide diazinon.

Assessing biodiversity is essential in conservation biology but the resources needed are often limited. Citizen science, by which volunteers gather data at low cost, represents a potential solution for the lack of resources if it produces usable data for scientific means. Scientific inventories for butterflies are often performed with a Pollard transect, a standardised surveying technique that generates high-quality data. General microhabitat surveys (GMSs) are potentially more appealing to amateurs participating in citizen science projects because they are less constrained. We compare estimates of butterfly species richness acquired by Pollard transects to those obtained by GMSs. We demonstrate that GMSs allow surveyors to detect more butterfly species and a more complete portrait of local butterfly assemblages for the same number of individuals captured.

The nominal taxon Tachina macularis Wiedemann is revised and redescribed from the adult and first instar larva. It is transferred from its current status as a valid species of Protomiltogramma Townsend to a position as a valid species of Eremasiomyia Rohdendorf, comb. nov. and senior synonym of Setulia luteicornis Villeneuve, syn. nov., Eremasiomyia setulioides Rohdendorf, syn. nov., and Eremasiomyia orientalis Verves, syn. nov. The nominal species Sphecapatodes maroccana Séguy is revised and redescribed from the adult, and is shown to belong to Miltogramma Meigen, comb. nov. The nominal genus-group taxon Capnopteron Rohdendorf was originally proposed as a subgenus of Miltogramma with the type species Miltogramma maculigerum Speiser sensu Rohdendorf). However, the latter is shown to be a misidentification of Miltogramma maroccana (Séguy), which herewith is fixed as the type species of Capnopteron.

This study examines the seven described species of Epiphragma Osten Sacken (Diptera: Tipulidae s.l.) known to occur in North America including Mexico. A key to species, descriptions, distributional ranges, habitat information, and literature references are given and the wing patterning and male genitalia are illustrated. The male of Epiphragma celator Alexander is described for the first time and the species range is extended north from Michoacan, Mexico to southern Arizona, United States of America. The range of Epiphragma arizonense Alexander is extended from southern Arizona south to Sinaloa, Mexico. The male hypopygium of Epiphragma nebulosum (Bellardi) and wing and hypopygium of Epiphragmaoreonympha Alexander are illustrated for the first time.

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are ubiquitous and of considerable ecological interest, yet poorly studied in Canada. Given their natural history attributes and relatively low density and diversity in cool boreal forests, there is a need to evaluate the applicability of commonly used approaches to sampling and analysis. We examined the relative utility of two pitfall trap designs, mini-Winkler litter extractions, and colony versus forager sampling for ecological studies. First, we found that Laurent (conventional) and Nordlander (modified to exclude larger nontarget organisms) pitfall traps were equally efficacious for estimating total species richness. Second, pitfall trapping yielded marginally higher total species richness than mini-Winkler litter sampling, by the incidence-based estimator (Chao2). Third, two studies considering the relationship between captures of individual ants in pitfall traps and identified ant colonies argued for caution in how pitfall captures are interpreted. In the first study, Nordlander traps placed in a grid surrounding nests of Formica obscuripes Forel revealed unique and highly patchy captures of individuals, with no patterns relating to proximity to the nest. In the second study, abundance estimates to compare ant assemblage structure in a simple grassland ecosystem by pitfall trapping (relative) and area-based hand sampling (absolute) for colonies, revealed that relative sampling does not reflect the absolute ant assemblage structure. Our results support, equivocally, the use of pitfall traps (Nordlander) over mini-Winklers in the cool moist forests of west-central British Columbia, but individual specimen counts should not be used when analysing the data.

The synonymy of Prionocera chosenicola Alexander with Prionocera tjederi Mannheims is discussed and the following syn. nov. is proposed: Prionocera mannheimsi Savchenko = Prionocera byersi Brodo. Prionocera parrii (Kirby) remains a nomen dubium. Significant range extensions are noted for Prionocera dimidiata (Loew), Prionocera ominosa (Alexander), Prionocera oregonica Alexander, Prionocera pubescens Loew, Prionocera ringdahli Tjeder, Prionocera serricornis (Zetterstedt), Prionocera subserricornis (Zetterstedt), and Prionocera turcica (Fabricius).

Larvae, pupae, and adult males and females of Clytocerus (Boreoclytocerus) americanus (Kincaid), as well as adult males and females of Clytocerus (Boreoclytocerus) microlimnetessp. nov. were collected during various biodiversity surveys in the southeastern United States. Clytocerus (B.) americanus is redescribed, C. (B.) microlimnetes is described, and the natural history and relationships of Nearctic species of Clytocerus are discussed.