A new cynipid inquiline of the genus Lithosaphonecrus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini) from India, with an updated key to all known species

A new species, Calea arachnoidea, which belongs to Calea sect. Meyeria, is hereby described and illustrated. This species occurs in the Serra Negra region, located in the southern portion of the “Zona da Mata” in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Calea arachnoidea resembles C. quadrifolia, C. heteropappa and C. semirii, and its relationships with these species are discussed and an identification key for the species of C. sect. Meyeria in the state of Minas Gerais is provided. Additionally, photographs, a distribution map, comments about habitat and conservation status are provided.

A new species of the genus Dictyanthus is herein described and illustrated, more than 30 years since the last paper describing new species of this genus. Dictyanthus stevensii sp. nov. is known only from the Zoque forest in the Chimalapas region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This species differs from all other species because it has the smallest flowers within the genus. It is morphologically related to D. eximius, a microendemic species of Chiapas. Information on the distribution and habitat of this new species is given, and its conservation status is proposed as Critically Endangered B2ab(ii). An identification key to Dictyanthus species in southern and southerneast Mexico is also provided.

A new species of Pararhagadochir Davis, 1940 is described from the State of Tocantins, Brazil. Pararhagadochir castaneus sp. nov. differs from its congeners by relatively smaller size, elongated forewings, body uniformly chestnut-brown, submentum inflexed and strongly sclerotized, outer tip of 10Lp with both sclerotized and membranous areas and Cu vein unforked. An identification key to all species of Pararhagadochir and a short identification key to the Brazilian species are provided. 

Thygater Holmberg 1884, a Neotropical bee genus distributed from Argentina to Mexico, was last revised almost 50 years ago. Considering the species recognized then, and a few others described subsequently, 30 species are currently included in the genus. The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is a large, environmentally heterogeneous territory, including areas in the phytogeographic domains of the Atlantic Tropical Rain Forest, the semiarid Caatinga and the highly seasonal Cerrado. The state insect fauna has been poorly sampled and studied. As part of a taxonomic and phylogenetic study of the genus, a synopsis of Thygater occurring in the state of Minas Gerais was produced, including the description of a new species (Thygater danunciae Freitas & Silveira, sp. n.), the recognition of two new synonymies, and an identification key for all 15 species of Thygater recorded for Brazil. 

A new species of Salvia belonging to Salvia sect. Penellia from the state of Oaxaca is here described and illustrated. Only two species are included within this section: S. pennelli and the new species, S. robertoana. Both species are perennial herbs, with a 3-veined upper calyx lip, included stamens in the galea, late deciduous bracts, corolla tube epapillate inside, pubescent style and violet flowers. However, S. robertoana is distinguished from S. pennellii by its larger, elliptic to elliptic-oblong leaf blades (vs. blades lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate to oblong ovate) with tomentulose upper surface and pale, tomentose lower surface, and shortly decurrent base; usually longer inflorescence and shorter corolla tube and lower lip. A comparative table and an identification key of Salvia sect. Pennellia are provided.

A new species, Dryocosmus destefanii Cerasa & Melika n. sp. associated with a Cerris section oak, Quercus suber L., is described from Italy. Description, diagnosis, host associations and biology for the new species and an illustrated identification key to the Western Palaearctic Dryocosmus species are given. The description is supported by morphological and molecular data.  

A new species of Heteropterys belonging to the Parabanisteria informal group is described for the savannas grasslands of the Serra do Tombador Natural Reserve, municipality of Cavalcante, State of Goiás, Brazil. Heteropterys rosmarinifolia is easily distinguished from the remaining Brazilian species of the Parabanisteria informal group due to its stems unbranched, leaves associated with the inflorescence verticillate, blades linear to very narrowly oblong, strongly conduplicate, ascending to upright, and sparsely sericeous to glabrous at age. We present a complete morphological description for the new species, photographic plates, comments on its distribution, ecology, and taxonomy, besides an identification key to the species of Heteropterys from the Parabanisteria group from the State of Goiás, Brazil.

In this study, five species of Cathedra (Olacaceae s. l.) were recognized, four of them endemic to Brazil and one widely distributed, occurring in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. Cathedra rupestris, a new species described here, is endemic to campos rupestres (Cerrado) in the state of Bahia, and is differentiated from other species of the genus mainly by reticulate bark, length of pedicel in flower (1.5–2.2 mm), length of petals (3–3.5 mm), as well as by the proportion of the hypogynous disk in relation to the fruit, which inthis species is limited to the base of the drupe. Regarding informal conservation status, C. bahiensis, C. grandiflora, and C. rubricaulis are suggested as Endangered, while C. acuminata and C. rupestris as Least Concern and Critically Endangered, respectively. Here the genus is reviewed, nomenclatural (one synonymization and two typifications) and geographic distributional updates are provided, in addition to an identification key, descriptions, and illustrations. Emended descriptions are also provided for two species.

Miconia is the largest genus of Melastomataceae in Brazil with more than 280 species, of which 120 are found in the Atlantic Rainforest. We present here a taxonomic treatment for the species of Miconia that occur in Espírito Santo, with morphological descriptions, geographic distribution, comments, photos and an identification key. We found 55 species, from which six were recently described (five endemic, M. capixaba, M. kollmannii, M. michelangeliana, M. ruschiana and M. valentinensis, and one with wider distribution, M. atlantica) and six are new records for the state (Miconia molesta, M. petroniana, M. staminea, M. stenostachya, M. valtheri and M. willdenowii). One species is presented here as a new species that will be described soon by other authors.

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the most diverse biomes in the world. The state of Bahia includes an important portion of the central corridor of Atlantic Forest that runs along the Brazilian coast. Myrtaceae is a dominant family of trees in this biome, and among its genera, Plinia is a genus notable for high number of endangered species in the Bahia Atlantic Forest. Plinia ybotyrype is here described, discussed and illustrated. An identification key for related species is also provided.