Protohermes sirindhornae: A new species of Dobsonfly from Thailand and Laos.

The Megaloptera, (Alderflies, Dobsonflies and Fishflies) are a small group (about 300 species) of Holometabolan (fully metamorphosing) Insects, thought to be one of the earliest branching members of the group. Although they are typically quite large, most species are poorly known, as they spend most of their life as aquatic larvae, with an adult stage that often emerges for less than a day. The Dobsonflies, Corydalinae, are probably the best known members of the group, as there are a large number of species in North America, where their larvae are often used as bait for angling. Male Dobsonflies have large, tusk-like mandibles, although these are for display only and the Insects are quite harmless.

In a paper published in the journal Tropical Natural History on 14 October 2025, Kanyakorn Piraonapicha of the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Narin Chomphuphuang of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Khon Kaen University, Kanuengnit Wayo of the Futuristic Science Research Center at Walailak University, Yuezheng Tu of the  Department of Entomology at the China Agricultural University,  Fumio Hayashi of the Department of Biology at Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Xingyou Liu of the State Key Laboratory of Animal Biodiversity, Conservation, and Integrated Pest Management at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describe a new species of Dobsonfly from Thailand and Laos.

The new species is named Protohermes sirindhornae, in honour of Her  Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in commemoration of her 70th birthday anniversary. The species is described from three male and one female specimens collected from a site in Bo  Kluea  District in Nan Province, Thailand, by Kanyakorn Piraonapicha in April 2021, and one male specimen collected in Ban Muang District in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos, by Japanese entomologist Hiroyuki Yoshitomi.

Protohermes sirindhornae, living specimens in dorsal view. (A) Male; (B) Female. Scale bars are 1 cm. Piraonapicha et al. (2025).

The male specimens of Protohermes sirindhornae range from 21.06 to 37.3 mm in length, with forewing lengths of 25.4 to 36.6  mm, while the female is 43.1 mm long with a forewing length of 44.7 mm. Both sexes have a yellowish brown and brown colouration. 

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Apis (Apis) aibai: A new species of Honeybee from the Early Pleistocene of Japan.

Honeybees, Apis spp., are important pollinators in modern ecosystems and agricultural settings, with one species, Apis mellifera being the world's most abundant domesticated Insect. There are nine described species of extant Honeybees, split into three genera, Cavity-nesting Honeybees Apis (Apis), Small Honeybees Apis (Micrapis), and Giant Honeybees Apis (Magaapis), although the Domestic Honeybee does not appear to fit into any of these, and may be a hybrid. Apis mellifera is found over a wide area of Asia, Africa, and Europe, but other extant species of Honeybee are restricted to tropical and subtropical areas of South and Southeast Asia, with the exception of Apis cerana, which has a range extending into temperate parts of East Asia. 

A number of Fossil Honeybee species have been described from the Oligocene and Miocene of Europe, East Asia, and North America, most of which are assigned to extinct subgenera. These include Apis (Cascapis) nearctica, Miocene, from Nevada, Apis (Priorapis) vetusta, Oligocene, Apis (Synapis) henshawi, Oligo-Miocene, and Apis (Cascapis) armbrusteri, Miocene, from Germany, Apis (Synapis) petrefacta, Oligocene, from Czechia, Apis (Synapis) miocenica, and Apis (Synapis) dalica, both Miocene, from China, Apis (Synapis) longtibia, and Apis (Megapis) lithohermaea, both Miocene, from Japan. Thus, of the three extant subgenera, only Apis (Megapis) has a fossil record, although phylogenetic reconstructions suggest that all three originated towards the end of the Eocene. A number of subfossil Honeybees are also known from Latest Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, all of which have been ascribed to living species.

In a paper published in the journal Zookeys on 13 October 2025, Yui Takahashi of the Keio Yochisha Elementary School, and Jun-ichi Takahashi of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Kyoto Sangyo University, describe a new species of Honeybee from the Early Pleistocene Teragi Group, of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

The Teragi Group comprises a series Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene lake deposits outcropping across eastern Tottori and northwestern Hyogo prefectures in southwestern Japan. The sedimentary deposits are interspersed with volcanic deposits, mostly from pyroclasic flows, the whole being contained within a volcanic collapse basin called the Teragi Cauldron. Fossils within this sequence come from the Haruki Mud, a series of sandstones and siltstones, with volcanic tuff layers, laid down between 2.8 and 2.2 million years ago. These deposits produce abundant Plant and Insect fossils, and although well known to fossil collectors, have not been extensively studied by scientists. An analysis of leaf fossils from the Haruki Mud suggests that the ancient lake was surrounded by temperate woodland.

Locality of the studied specimen. (A) Map of the Japanese Islands; (B) Distribution of the Teragi Cauldron between Tottori and Hyogo prefectures. (C) Simplified geological map of the Teragi Cauldron, representing the fossil locality; (D) Photo of the riverside fossil locality (35°29'39.41"N, 134°26'24.53"E), with whitish tuffaceous siltstones. Takahashi & Takahashi  (2025).

As with many Insect groups, it is possible to classify Bees entirely upon the venation of their wings, which has been shown to be a good proxy for taxonomic relationships. Based upon this, Takahashi and Takahashi feel confident in assigning the new species to subgenus level, identifying it as Apis (Apis) aibai, where 'aibai' honours the Japanese palaeontologist Hiroaki Aiba, who has studied the Umigami site from which the new fossil comes, and described a species of Nymphalid Butterfly from that site, for his contributions to Earth science education through the use of fossil collection activities.

Photographs of Apis (Apis) aibai (SOU-002). (A) Fossil-bearing piece (38.3 mm × 67.1 mm × 9.8 mm);  (B) Studied fossil reflecting dorsal view of SOU-002. Takahashi & Takahashi  (2025).

Apis (Apis) aibai is described from a single specimen, SOU-002, held in the collection of the Museum of  Unique Insect Fossils, in the town of Shin’onsen in Hyogo Prefecture. It is a middle-sized worker Honeybee preserved as a compression fossil with no counterpart. This specimen is 9.81 mm in length, but part of the head is missing, so it was probably about 10 mm long in life. 

Takahashi and Takahashi did not carry out a full phylogenetic analysis for Apis (Apis) aibai, but based upon its wing venation, they suggest that its closest known relative is probably Apis (Apis) nigrocincta, an extant species found in the Philippines and Indonesia. This suggests that the two species form a single clade (group of species with shared ancestry) which once had a wider distribution, including temperate Japan as well as the tropical regions of the Philippines and Indonesia. It has also previously been suggested that Apis (Apis) nigrocincta is the closest living relative of Apis cerana, the only native Honeybee species found in Japan today, suggesting that the three may form a single group.

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Batrachedra olei: A new species of Frog Moth from La Gomera, Canary Islands.

Frog Moths, Batrachedridae are a small group of largely tropical Moths, which gain their name from their resting posture, in which the front legs are held under the body while the back legs sprawl at the side, causing them to sit upright in a similar manner to a Frog. There are ten genera within the Family Batrachedridae, with the most abundant genus, Batrachedra, containing 114 known species and being found on every continent except Antarctica.

In a paper published in the journal SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología on 30 September 2025, Per Falck, an independent researcher from Neksø in Denmark describes a new species of Batrachedra, from the island of La Gomera in the Canaries. 

The new species is named Batrachedra olei in honour of the Danish lepidopterist Ole Karsholt, who Per Falck identifies as a good friend, and who helped him which both the content and the language of the research paper. The species is described from a series of specimens attracted to an actinic light (the sort of light in electric 'fly-killers') set up at locations on the island of La Gomera between 2021 and 2024.

Batrachedra olei, male, La Gomera, 11.5 mm wingspan. Falck (2025).

Specimens of Batrachedra olei range from 7.5 to 12.5 mm in wingspan, and have are white on their heads, necks, and the forepart of their thoraxes, while the hindpart of their thoraxes, their abdomens, their hindwings, and their antennae are yellowish grey. The forewings of the species are yellowish ochreous mottled with grey scales, with two indistinct, longitudinal streaks.

 Batrachedra olei, female, La Gomera, 12 mm wingspan. Falck (2025).

Adults of Batrachedra olei were found on the northern part of La Gomera between January and November, no juvenile specimens were found. The species is probably endemic to the island. Batrachedra olei is the first species discovered in the Canary Islands. There are seven previously described species of Batrachedra from Europe and North Africa, but a DNA barcode analysis recovered an unnamed species from South Africa as the closest relative to Batrachedra olei.

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Eupholidoptera stelae: A new species of Bush Cricket from Cyprus.

Bush Crickets of the genus Eupholidoptera are found around the Mediterranean Basin from southern France to Turkey and the Levant. There are currently 55 known species, mostly with very limited distributions. The maximum diversity in the genus has been recorded from Greece (26 species) and Turkey (21 species). The cryptic habits of these Crickets, which are almost entirely nocturnal and mostly live in dense thorn-scrub, means that new species are still being discovered fairly regularly. The standard method of sampling Orthopterans, capture by hand, is difficult with cryptic groups such as Eupholidoptera, but members of the genus have been captured in baited pit traps set for Spiders and Beetles, which offers an alternative way to study the group.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 26 June 2025, Luc Willemse of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Christodoulos Makris of Lemesós on Cyprus, and Baudewijn Odé of Plasmolen in the Netherlands, describe a new species of Eupholidoptera from the Troodos Massif.of Cyprus.

The new species is named Eupholidoptera stelae in honour of Stela Makris, the daughter of Christodoulos Makris. It is described from a series of specimens obtained from baited traps and 'wine ropes' (ropes made from absorbent material which has been soaked in a mixture of vinagar and sugar and draped over shrubs and bushes - a method used primarily to capture Moths) in the Cedar and maquis forests of the Troodos Massif of Cyprus.

Eupholidoptera stelae field images. (1) Female Cedar Valley 07/09/2021 on a ‘wine rope’; (2) female Kannoures 23/08/2019; (3) male Kannoures 21/09/2019; (4) male Kannoures 21/09/2019. Christodoulos Makris in Willemse et al. (2025).

Female specimens are, on average, slightly larger than males, measuring between 17.4 and 21.4 mm, compared to between 16.2 and 19.5 mm in males. They are maroon in colour, alternated with some yellowish and blackish parts, a shade of green is visible on the legs. In females the proximal edge of the last abdominal tergite is black.

Eupholidoptera stelae is found at altitudes of 525 m–1515 m in the central and south-western part of the Troodos Massif of Cyprus, a landscape dominated by open Pine and Oak forests. The area of available habitat appears to be over 1000 km², and while it has only been detected in an area of about 24 km², it is difficult to detect and could be more widespread. This area receives a high number of tourist visits, but falls mostly within a series of national reserves, and is largely protected from development. For this reason, Willemse et al. do not believe that Eupholidoptera stelae needs to be included on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Habitats of Eupholidoptera stelae. (250 The central and south-western part of Troodos Massif. (26) Open Black Pine, Pinus nigra, forest with an undergrowth of Golden Oak, Quercus alnifolia, Grecian Whitebeam, Sorbus graeca and Holy Bramble, Rubus sanctus, in the Kannoures area of the Troodos Mountains,  (27)  Cedar  forest  with  the  endemics Cyprus Cedar, Cedrus  brevifolia,  and Golden Oak, Quercus  alnifolia,  in the Tripilos  area  of  Pafos  Forest,  (28) Shrubs including the endemic Golden Oak,  Quercus alnifolia, in Turkish Pine, Pinus brutia, forest. Christodoulos Makris in Willemse et al. (2025).

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Nocticola vagus: A new species of parthenogenetic Nocticolid Cockroach from Florida and Vienna.

Nocticolids are a small group (39 described species in ten genera) of Cockroaches found in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, Papua-New Guinea, and Australia. They differ from other Cockroach groups in that they are flattened laterally rather than horizontally. Nocticolids are rather cryptic in their habits, and the group is not well studied in the wild; most of what we know about their biology comes from studies of colonies in labs, or the pet trade.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 5 May 2025, Junkai Wang of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University, Alan Jeon of the Natural History Museum at Auburn University, and Anthony Cognato, also of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University, describe a new, and apparently invasive, species of Nocticolid Cockroach from Florida and Vienna.

The new species was originally detected in the wild at University Park in Miami Dade County, Florida, where Alan Jeon collected several female specimens in June 2020.  In captivity, these were found to reproduce parthenogenetically, i.e. the female Cockroaches laid eggs without mating, which hatched into new females, also capable of producing fertile eggs without mating. This trait has not previously been recorded in Nocticolid Cockroaches, although it is known in several other Cockroach groups.

Because Nocticolid Cockroaches are not thought to be indigenous to the Americas, Wang et al. carried out a genetic analysis, in which they also included specimens from the US pet trade, which weren being traded under the name Nocticola sp. 'Malaysia', as well as specimens from a greenhouse at Schönbrunn  Zoo in  Vienna, Austria, where another all female colony of Nocticolid Cockroaches was reported.

The genetic study recovered all three populations as the same species, which Wang et al. name Nocticola vagus, where 'vagus' means 'wandering' in Latin, in reeference to the known distribution of the species. The original location of the Cockroaches traded as Nocticola sp. 'Malaysia' is unknown, but Nocticola vagus was recovered as the sister species to an un-named specimen from Vietnam in the genetic study. Thus, it is likely that the species originates in Southeast Asia, and possibly with a range that includes Peninsula Malaysia. A morphological comparison was more difficult, as many species of Nocticola are known only from male specimens, whereas all known specimens of Nocticola vagus are female.

Nocticola vagus female holotype. Habitus (A) frontal, (B) dorsal, (C) lateral, (D) ventral view and ootheca (E) lateral view. Wang et al. (2025).

Specimens of Nocticola vagus are described as 'small' (although Wang et al.do not provide measurements, and yellow or brown in colour. Their bodies are covered in short sensilla chaetica (sensory bristles). Each eye has eight ommatidia (the individual lenses of an Insect's compound eye), and the maxillary palps (mouthparts) each have five segments, making them almost as long as the head. 

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Samaroblattella valmarensis: A Subioblattid 'roachoid' from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio fauna of Switzerland.

The Eoblattodea, or 'roachoids' form a stem group to the living Dictyoptera, which comprises the Cockroaches, Mantises, and Termites (a stem group contains fossil species more closely related to the living group they are on the 'stem' of than to any other living group, but not descended from the last common ancestor of all living members of that group). This stem group first appeared in the Carboniferous, with the common ancestor of all living Dictyopterans probably living in the Jurassic. The Subioblattids are a small group of 'roachoids' known from the Triassic of South Africa, France, and Central Asia. This group is fairly well-known from its forewing anatomy (the forewings are considered to be reliable on their own for the diagnosis of Insect relationships), but to date no body fossils found to date.

In a paper published in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology on 10 March 2025, Matteo Montagna of the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, Fabio Magnani of the Museo Cantonale di Storia Naturale, Giulia Magoga, also of the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, and André Nel of the Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité at the National d’Histoire Naturelle, describe a new species of Subioblattid 'roachoid' from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio fauna of Switzerland.

The Monte San Giorgio fauna derives its name from Monte San Giorgio, a mountain on the border between Italy and Switzerland in the Lugano Prealps. The exposed geological sequence on this mountain begins in the Lower Permian, where a succession of volcanic rocks mark the onset of the Variscan Orogeny, as the continents of Euramerica and Gondwana collided during the formation of the supercontinent of Pangea. These are overlain by a sequence of Triassic sediments recording a tropical terrestrial environment, a shallow near-shore environment, a deeper marine basin with extensive limestone deposits, a second terrestrial exposure caused by a major marine regression (drop in sealevel) in the Late Triassic, and finally an Early Jurassic marine Basin.

The fossils of the Monte San Giorgio fauna come from shales of the Besano Formation and the overlying Meride Limestone, which were laid down in the Early-Middle Triassic marine basin. These fossils include Bivalves, Marine Reptiles, Fish, Crustaceans, and Cephalopods, as well as terrestrial-derived fossils such as Plants, terrestrial Vertebrates, and Insects. To date, 273 species of Insect have been recorded from Monte San Giorgio, including Thrips, True Bugs, and Flies, as well as representatives of groups such as the Monura and Permithonidae, which were thought to hve died out in the End Permian Extinction until they were discovered here.

Location of the Monte San Giorgio UNESCO World Heritage Site and stratigraphic section of the Middle Triassic sediments. (A0 Map showing the location of Monte San Giorgio and the carbonate Anisian-Ladinian sequence and the location of Val Mara (indicated by a star) where VM 12 site occurs. (B) Stratigraphic section of Middle Triassic sediments in Monte San Giorgio; black arrow indincates the position of VM 12 strata where the Insect fossil was collected. Montagna et al. (2025).

The new species is described from a single specimen from Meride Limestone of Monte San Giorgio. This is placed in the genus Samaroblattella on the basis of its forewing veination, but assigned to a new species, valmarensis, meaning 'from Val Mara' in reference to the location where the fossil was found.

The genus Samaroblattella was first described in 1976 to describe a fossil from South Africa, with a second species described from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, in 2001. Unlike these previously described species, and indeed all other previously described members of the roachoid family Subioblattidae, to which the genus is assigned, Samaroblattella valmarensis has a preserved body as well as wings.

The hind legs of Samaroblattella valmarensisi closely resemble those of the extant Jumping Cockroach, Saltoblattella montistabularis, with both species also having an elongate shape, and a narrow pronotum (plate on the forepart of the prothorax, before the wings) suggesting that this ancient roachoid may have had a similar jumping habit. 

However, a close relationship is not proposed, as Samaroblattella valmarensisi also has an elongated, sword-like, external ovipositor, something absent from crown group Dictyopterans (ctown group comprises all species deecended from the last common ancestor of all living species), which have an internal ovipositor. External ovipositors were found in the earliest Insects, with internal ovipositors having appeared separately several times in different groups.

Holotype of Samaroblattella valmarensis. Arrows highlight specifc body parts: f, fore legs (femora)[ ml, mid legs (femora and tibiae); hl, hind legs (femora and tibiae); ce, cerci; ov, ovipositor. Scale bar is 5 mm. Montagna et al. (2025).

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