The Neotropical fauna of Mantispidae is currently composed of 106 species. We provide new distributional records of Mantispidae from Colombia and Panama. Three new species are described, one in Symphrasinae from Colombia, and two in Mantispinae from Colombia and Panama. Haematomantispa nubeculosa (Navás, 1933) and Leptomantispa axillaris (Navás, 1908) are reported from Colombia for the first time, the former being the first record of the genus in the country. New locality records for other species previously known from Colombia are also given. For Panama, we report Anchieta fasciatella (Westwood, 1867) and Trichoscelia iridella (Westwood, 1867) for the first time, the former is herein newly transferred from Plega to Anchieta. Three names Mantispa confluens Navás, 1914, n. syn., Buyda apicata Navás, 1926, n. syn., and Mantispa neotropica Navás, 1933, n. syn., are here synonymized with Buyda phthisica (Gerstaecker, 1885). Updated keys for the genera of Mantispinae, and species of genera Trichoscelia, Buyda, and Climaciella from Colombia are included. With this new information, the known species richness of Mantispidae from Colombia increases from 21 to 26, and from 16 to 19 species in Panama.

Aedes spp. comprise the primary group of mosquitoes that transmit arboviruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses to humans, and thus these insects pose a significant burden on public health worldwide. Advancements in next-generation sequencing and metagenomics have expanded our knowledge on the richness of RNA viruses harbored by arthropods such as Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Increasing evidence suggests that vector competence can be modified by the microbiome (comprising both bacteriome and virome) of mosquitoes present in endemic zones. Using an RNA-seq-based metataxonomic approach, this study determined the virome structure, Wolbachia presence and mitochondrial diversity of field-caught Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes in Medellín, Colombia, a municipality with a high incidence of mosquito-transmitted arboviruses. The two species are sympatric, but their core viromes differed considerably in richness, diversity, and abundance; although the community of viral species identified was large and complex, the viromes were dominated by few virus species. BLAST searches of assembled contigs suggested that at least 17 virus species (16 of which are insect-specific viruses [ISVs]) infect the Ae. aegypti population. Dengue virus 3 was detected in one sample and it was the only pathogenic virus detected. In Ae. albopictus, up to 11 ISVs and one plant virus were detected. Therefore, the virome composition appears to be species-specific. The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia was identified in all Ae. albopictus samples and in some Ae. aegypti samples collected after 2017. The presence of Wolbachia sp. in Ae. aegypti was not related to significant changes in the richness, diversity, or abundance of this mosquito’s virome, although it was related to an increase in the abundance of Aedes aegypti To virus 2 (Metaviridae). The mitochondrial diversity of these mosquitoes suggested that the Ae. aegypti population underwent a change that started in the second half of 2017, which coincides with the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Medellín, indicating that the population of wMel-infected mosquitoes released has introduced new alleles into the wild Ae. aegypti population of Medellín. However, additional studies are required on the dispersal speed and intergenerational stability of wMel in Medellín and nearby areas as well as on the introgression of genetic variants in the native mosquito population.

Dengue virus, transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, is a significant public health challenge in tropical and subtropical countries, with an incidence that is growing at an alarming rate. The release of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes has been suggested as a strategy to reduce the incidence of multiple arboviruses. In Medellín, Colombia, large-scale releases of Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were performed between 2017 and 2022 by the World Mosquito Program to facilitate population replacement. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and distribution of Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti two years after completion of these releases. We conducted the sampling across 19 communes in Medellín, using 416 ovitraps to collect Ae. aegypti eggs from epidemiological weeks 26 to 41 in 2023. Upon hatching the collected eggs, we identified and pooled adult female Ae. aegypti for DNA extraction. Subsequently, we conducted PCR assays for the detection of Wolbachia infection in these mosquitoes. We used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and Bayesian methods to estimate the prevalence of Wolbachia infection, while using QGIS to analyze spatial distribution of infection in the region. A total of 774 female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from 182 pools were evaluated. We detected Wolbachia in 33.5 % of pools, with an estimated individual minimum infection rate of 9.5 % and a maximum of 33.2 %. The prevalence varied significantly across communes, with the highest rates observed in the northeastern and southwestern areas. Spatial analysis revealed a highly heterogeneous island-like distribution of Wolbachia across Medellín with a few hotspots. The observed Wolbachia prevalence in this work was lower than previously reported. We suspect a decline in the prevalence of Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in Medellín following the completion of their release.

Surveillance and control activities for virus-transmitting mosquitoes have primarily focused on dwellings. There is little information about viral circulation in heavily trafficked places such as schools. We collected and analyzed data to assess the presence and prevalence of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses in mosquitoes, and measured Aedes indices in schools in Medellín (Colombia) between 2016–2018. In 43.27% of 2632 visits we collected Aedes adults, creating 883 pools analyzed by RT-PCR. 14.27% of pools yielded positive for dengue or Zika (infection rates of 1.75–296.29 for Aedes aegypti). Ae. aegypti was more abundant and had a higher infection rate for all studied diseases. Aedes indices varied over time. There was no association between Aedes abundance and mosquito infection rates, but the latter did correlate with cases of arboviral disease and climate. Results suggest schools are important sources of arbovirus and health agencies should include these sites in surveillance programs; it is essential to know the source for arboviral diseases transmission and the identification of the most population groups exposed to these diseases to research and developing new strategies.

The clonal propagation of T. cacao by somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a promising approach to multiply elite genotypes. Assessing clonal fidelity in plants regenerated from somatic embryos is the first step toward ensuring genetic uniformity in the mass production of planting material. This study assessed the genetic stability of cacao plantlets propagated by SE and conventional grafting for genotypes CCN51 and TSH565 using 13 SSR. The leaves of in vitro plantlets (IVL) were collected from 6-month-old plants and leaves of field plants (FPL) were selected from 3-year-old trees. The 13 analyzed loci revealed 25 alleles in genotype CCN51 and 24 alleles in genotype TSH565. The highest PIC value was observed for all SSR, only mTcCIR8 and mTcUNICAMP09 were intermediate, with PIC values of less than 0.250. IVL and FPL populations were genetically equal. According to the results, no differences in allelic composition were observed between FPL and IVL in each genotype. This indicates that plants propagated by SE did not show perceptible detriment to their genome with the used SSR. In addition, Jaccard’s coefficient showed more than a 91% similarity for TSH565 and 92% for CCN51. The UPGMA and PCA showed that the populations tended to group within two genotypes. The SSR results obtained do not exclude the occurrence of other changes in the nuclear genome. However, considering the morphological stability of in vitro propagated plants, the results indicate that the protocol used is suitable and efficient for large scale, true-to-type propagation of genotypes CCN51 and TSH565 for commercial purposes.