The purpose of this paper is to validate 4 generic names and 34 specific names previously introduced in the “Deltocephalinae from China (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)” by Li, Dai & Xing (2011). The names are unavailable in the original publication, because of the missing information on the type specimen repository. The following genera and species are introduced as new in this publication: Bambusananus, Li & Xing; Branchana Li; Cyclevertex Li & Xing; Lineana Li & Xing; Abrus biprocessus Li; Abrus graciaedeagus Li; Bambusana biflaka Li; Bambusana nigrimaculata Li; Bambusananus furcatus Li & Xing; Branchana xanthota Li; Cyclevertex furcatum Li & Xing; Lineana albipunctata Li & Xing; Lineana ductaedeagusa Li & Xing; Protensus nigrifrons Li & Xing; Protensus yanheensis Li & Xing; Paramesodes menghaiensis Xing & Li; Yuanamia producta (Xing & Li, 2011); Hishimonoides brevis Li, 2011; Litura tripunctata Li; Changwhania huajiangensis Xing & Li; Elginus productus Xing & Li; Metalimnus maoershanensis Xing & Li; Nicolaus bihamatus Xing & Li; Paralaevicephalus bisubulatus Xing & Li; Paralaevicephalus brevissimus Xing & Li; Paralaevicephalus spinosus Xing & Li; Scaphoideus annulatus Li; Scaphoideus bannaensis Li; Longicornus longus Xing & Li; Melanetettix mengyangensis Xing & Li; Osbornellus aurantius Xing & Li; Osbornellus suiyangensis Xing & Li; Osbornellus conoideus Xing & Li; Phlogothamnus acutaedeagus Li; Phlogothamnus luteoguttatus Li; Phlogothamnus productus Li & Xing; Phlogothamnus rugosus Li; Phlogotettix fanjingshanensis Li.

The family Aphididae (Hemiptera) represents one of the most diverse groups of sap-sucking insect pests referred to as aphids or plant-lice, with 366 species reported in Pakistan, associated with wide array of agricultural and horticultural crops, including fruit and forest trees, weeds, grasses, shrubs, and vines. This work aims to provide an updated checklist of aphids and their associated host plants documented across various regions of Pakistan. The checklist consolidates information from various published literature sources, including annotated checklists, regional distribution data, and host plant records from Pakistan. In this study, we present an annotated checklist of 366 aphid species, belonging to 134 genera and 11 subfamilies, associated with a total of 359 host plant species stretched over 84 families in Pakistan.

Background: The phylogenetic position and classification of Athysanini are poorly defined, as it includes a large group of polyphyletic genera that have historically been assigned to it mainly because they still exhibit the most typical deltocephaline genitalic and external body characters but lack the distinctive characteristics that other tribes possess. The bamboo-feeding leafhopper genus Abrus belong to the tribe Athysanini of subfamily Deltocephalinae, which currently comprises 19 valid described species, and are limited to the Oriental and Palaearctic regions in China. Although the taxonomy of Abrus are well updated, the references on comparative mitogenomic analyses of Abrus species are only known for a single species. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Abrus daozhenensis Chen, Yang & Li, 2012 (16,391bp) and A. yunshanensis Chen, Yang & Li, 2012 (15,768bp) (Athysanini), and compared with published mitogenome sequence of A. expansivus Xing & Li, 2014 (15,904bp). Results: These Abrus species shared highly conserved mitogenomes with similar gene order to that of the putative ancestral insect with 37 typical genes and a non-coding A + T-rich region. The nucleotide composition of these genomes is highly biased toward A + T nucleotides (76.2%, 76.3%, and 74.7%), AT-skews (0.091 to 0.095, and 0.095), negative GC-skews (− 0.138, − 0.161, and − 0.138), and codon usage. All 22 tRNA genes had typical cloverleaf secondary structures, except for trnS1 (AGN) which lacks the dihydrouridine arm, and distinctively trnG in the mitogenome of A. expansivus lacks the TψC arm. Phylogenetic analyses based on 13 PCGs, 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes consistently recovered the monophyletic Opsiini, Penthimiini, Selenocephalini, Scaphoideini, and Athysanini (except Watanabella graminea, previously sequenced species as Chlorotettix nigromaculatus) based on limited available mitogenome sequence data of 37 species. Conclusion: At present, Abrus belongs to the tribe Athysanini based on both morphological and molecular datasets, which is strongly supported in present phylogenetic analyses in both BI and ML methods using the six concatenated datasets: amino acid sequences and nucleotides from different combinations of protein-coding genes (PCGs), ribosomal RNA (rRNAs), and transfer RNA (tRNAs). Phylogenetic trees reconstructed herein based on the BI and ML analyses consistently recovered monophylitic Athysanini, except Watanabella graminea (Athysanini) in Opsiini with high support values.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the leafhopper species Paralaevicephalus gracilipenis (Dai et al. 2005 Dai W , Zhang YL , Hu J . 2005. Review of the Chinese leafhopper genus Paralaevicephalus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) with descriptions of two new species from China. Can Entomol. 137:404–409. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) are sequenced and annotated. The mitochondrial genome is 16,114 bp, and nucleotide composition of the whole mitogenome is highly A + T biased (A: 42.0%; T: 33.4%, G: 10.3%, C: 14.3). All PCGs started with ATN and stopped with TAN, except COX2, which started with TTG and stopped with single T. The phylogenetic tree confirms that P. gracilipenis and Yanocephalus yanonis are clustered into a clade. This study enriches the mitogenomes of the leafhopper subfamily Deltocephalinae.

The diamides, chlorantraniliprole (CHL) and cyantraniliprole (CYA), have been used as seed treatment agents against the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda in China. However, large-scale application of these two insecticides is prohibited because of their high cost. The neonicotinoid insecticides, clothianidin (CLO) and thiamethoxam (THI), are cheaper and widely used. In this study, we tested the efficacy of CHL + CLO and CYA + THI as seed treatment agents against FAW larvae both in laboratory and field conditions. Laboratory experiments showed that the two binary mixtures (both 240 g.a.i.100 kg⁻¹ corn seeds) caused FAW mortality exceeded 84.00% at 14 days after seedling emergence (DAE). The mortality of the binary mixtures were similar to either CHL (300 g.a.i.100 kg⁻¹corn seeds) or CYA (144 g a.i.100 kg⁻¹corn seeds), but higher than CLO (120 g.a.i.100 Kg⁻¹corn seeds) or THI (180 g a.i.100 kg⁻¹corn seeds). Two independent field experiments showed that both binary mixtures resulted in above 68.00% control efficacy at 14 DAE, suggesting that these insecticidal combinations could effectively control FAW over a relative long period. In addition, both binary mixtures showed no negative effects on the growth and development of corn seedlings. The residues of binary mixtures in corn leave were also lower at 28 DAE as compared to residues in CHL or CYA alone. Most importantly, the costs of CHL + CLO were reduced up to 50% and CYA + THI up to 20% when compared to singly used chemical. Totally, our results indicated that CHL + CLO and CYA + THI had the same control efficacy as CHL or CYA alone, but with much lower cost.

The phylogenetic relationships among the nymphalid subfamilies have largely been resolved using both morphological and molecular datasets, with the exception of a conflicting basal clade position for Libytheinae or Danainae that remains contentious between morphological and molecular studies. Several phylogenomic analyses have found that the danaine clade is sister to other nymphalid subfamilies; however, it largely depends on utilizing different molecular datasets, analysis methods, and taxon sampling. This study aimed to resolve the basal clade position and relationships among subfamilies and tribes of Nymphalinae by combining the most comprehensive available mitogenomic datasets with various analyses methods by incorporating a new Symbrenthia lilaea Hewitson sequence data. Phylogenetic relationships among 11 nymphalid subfamilies and the tribes of Nymphalinae were inferred by combining new and available mitogenomic sequence data from 80 ingroup and six outgroup species. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum‐likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods based on five concatenated datasets: amino acid sequences and nucleotides from different combinations of protein‐coding genes (PCGs), ribosomal RNA (rRNAs), and transfer RNA (tRNAs). Danainae is well‐supported as the basal clade and sister to the remaining nymphalid subfamilies, except for the paraphyletic Libytheinae. Libytheinae was either recovered as a sister to the danaine clade followed by the satyrine clade or sister to the nymphaline + heliconiine clades, and is consistent with recent phylogenetic studies on Nymphalidae. The monophyletic Nymphalinae has been recovered in all analyses and resolves tribal‐level relationships with high support values in both BI and ML analyses. We supported the monophyletic Nymphalini as a sister clade to Victorini, Melitaeini, and Kallimini + Junoniini with high supporting values in BI and ML analyses, which is consistent with previously published morphological and molecular studies.