The following new synonymy is proposed： Acompus rufipes （Wolff, 1804） = Heterogaster minimus Zou ＆ Zheng, 1981, syn. nov. Habitus photos and male genitalia illustrations of this species are presented.
The genus Heissiella Pericart, 1984, previously known from India and Bhutan, is newly recorded for China, with the species Heissiella sinica sp. nov. described as new. Dorsal habitus photograph and illustrations of characters of the species are provided, together with a key to species of Heissiella.
Our knowledge of the identity and distribution of most species on earth is remarkably poor. Species in hotspots tend to be scarce within their range which increases their probability of extinction. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling （ENM） to estimate dimensions of realized niches of 4 species that are totally （Physopelta robusta St^l and Physopelta slanbuschii Fabricius） or partially （Physopelta cincticollis StS,1 and Physopelta quadriguttata Bergroth） distributed in the Indo-Myanmar and South Central China hotspot, and predicted additional sites where they might be found. Our findings suggest that the range of the 4 species could extend beyond their presently known distributions, which might be useful for future field surveys. Niche overlap was modeled between the 4 species, with R slanbuschii and R robusta showing more tolerance to temperature and P quadriguttata and P. slanbuschii more tolerance to precipitation. This study presents one more case study which highlights the ecological approach for taxonomic study in biodiversity conservation, especially of poorly, little known, and localized endemic species.
The phylogenetic relationships among the Nepomorpha （Hemiptera： Heteroptera） were analyzed based on nuclear protein coding genes-partial sequences of four Hox genes： abd-A, Dfd, Ubx and pb. Fifteen taxa, of which eleven were ingroups representing ten of the eleven families, were selected to produce a phylogenetic inference of nepomorphan superfamilial or familial relationships via parsimony and Bayesian techniques. Our results supported the monophylies of Nepomorpha, Naucoroidea （Aphelocheiridae ＋ Naucoridae）, Nepoidea （Belostomatidae ＋ Nepidae）, Ochteroidea （Ochteridae ＋ Gelastocoridae） and Pieoidea （Pleidae ＋ Helotrephidae）; the most basal lineage of Ochteroidea; Notonectoidea contained Notonectidae only and formed a new sister relationship with （Pleoidea ＋ Naucoroidea）; and the sister relationship of （Nepoidea ＋ Corixoidea）. The Hox genes are suitable molecular markers to resolve phylogenetic relationships at superfamily or family levels in Heteroptera.
With the development and decreasing cost of sequencing techniques, it is possible for scientists to conduct deeper research in phylogenomics. During the procedure of phylogenomic analysis, the mostimportant and vitalest step is orthology prediction, for that the prerequisite to phylogenetic reconstruction is that the genes being compared are orthologous. Here we briefly review the related concept of orthology anddifferent methods for orthology prediction. We also provide recommendations to give some advice for better selection of orthology prediction methods.
The genus Aradacrates Slater and Wilcox,1969 has been previously known from Madagascar and Malaysia.This article describes a new species of Aradacrates zhengi from southern China.A key to the species of Aradacrates is given.The type specimen is deposited in the Institute of Entomology,College of Life Sciences,Nankai University,Tianjin.
