To elucidate the role of stridulatory sound in the burying beetle Nicrophorus quadripunctatus (Coleoptera: Silphidae), we investigated the type and temporal pattern of stridulatory sounds during reproduction. As a result, two types of stridulatory sounds, single and continuously repeated ones, were detected. The single sound was frequently emitted in the early stages of reproduction when hatchlings were not yet present. So, this sound may be used for parental communications. In contrast, frequencies of the continuous sound increased at the time when hatchlings appeared, suggesting that the sound is used for communication between parents and larvae.

The hosts, visited flowers, and distribution of Japanese Gasteruption were newly recorded based on the specimens deposited at the Shimane University. Three species of Colletidae, Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) floralis (Smith, 1873), H. (N.) pectoralis Förster, 1871 and H. (N.) transversalis Cockerell, 1924, and one species of Crabronidae, Trypoxylon malaisei Gussakovskij, 1933, were recorded as the hosts of G. japonicum Cameron, 1888. Two species of Colletidae, Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) floralis (Smith, 1873) and H. (N.) transversalis Cockerell, 1924, were recorded as the hosts of G. boreale (Thomson, 1883). Gasteruption sinicola (Kieffer, 1924) was recorded from Japan based on the specimens from Iriomote Island, the southern most of the Ryukyu archipelago. The fifth Japanese case of G. oshimense Watanabe, 1934 was recorded from Shimane Prefecture, western Honshu. A total of 19 plant species, belonging to the 12 families, were recorded as visited flowers by the four Japanese species of Gasteruption. Bionomics of the Japanese Gasteruption was discussed.

The yellow spotted stink bug, Erthesina fullo (Thunberg, 1783) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is an introduced species and its distribution has expanded northward within Japan. To clarify the features of the life history that are related to the establishment of its distribution, the seasonal occurrence of the bug was examined twice a month on cherry trees (Cerasus spp.) and katsura trees (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) in Kanagawa Prefecture from April 2020 to April 2021. In both species of trees, the first-instar nymphs were present in June and the second- to fifth-instar nymphs were present from June to September. Adult bugs were present from May to October. A small peak abundance of overwintered adults occurred in June and large peak abundance of first-generation adults occurred in September. Thus, E. fullo is likely to be univoltine and overwinters at the adult stage. Moreover, we estimated the developmental period to be approximately 90 d, considering the interval between the peak abundance of the first-instar nymphs and the adults as the period from hatching to eclosion. E. fullo in Japan may have originated from a univoltine population found in other regions where univoltine, bivoltine, or multivoltine populations are widely distributed. Furthermore, we concluded that one of host plants for E. fullo is the katsura tree, which has not previously been recognized as a host plant.

Thelaxes suberi (Del Guercio, 1911), an oak-feeding aphid species, is native to Europe, the Mediterranean region, and Southwest Asia, but adventive in South Africa and Florida, USA. The present paper reports the first occurrence of T. suberi in Japan based on the specimens collected in Tokyo in 2017–2019. This adventive species is assumed to have become established in Japan. The colonies of T. suberi were observed on new shoots and leaves of the Japanese native plant, Quercus phillyraeoides and often attended by the Japanese native ants, Lasius japonicus and Pristomyrmex punctatus. These represent newly recorded biological associations for T. suberi, respectively. A Japanese common name is newly proposed for T. suberi: “Korukugashi-mitsu-aburamushi”, meaning cork oak thelaxid.

Drawdown zones in lakes and marshes are ecotones between terrestrial and aquatic environments and many organisms inhabit the boundary areas. In addition, drawdown zones can serve as temporary refuges for terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Evaluating the role of drawdown zones as refuges is an important topic of study in terms of regional biodiversity conservation. In this study, I focused on the drawdown zone in the dam lake of the Kasegawa Dam. From 2016 to 2018, I surveyed the fruit galls induced by the aucuba fruit gall midge Asphondylia aucubae Yukawa et Ohsaki (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on an evergreen shrub Aucuba japonica Thunb. var. japonica (Garryaceae) in an area where terrestrial plants had died due to the initial impoundment between October 2010 and February 2012 (submerged area) and the adjacent non-submerged area. Galled fruit rates were significantly lower in the submerged area (about 60％) than in the non-submerged area (more than 95％). In contrast, there was no significant difference in the parasitism rate of the gall midge by a hymenopteran parasitoid Syntomernus asphondyliae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) among sites. These results suggest that the drawdown zones can act as refuges for the plant to escape fruit infestation by the gall midge but do not function as refuges for the gall midge to escape from their hymenopteran parasitoids. Such differences may be due to the differences in the dispersal and host-seeking abilities of the insects.

Regarding true bugs, or the hemipteran suborder Heteroptera, in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, although the number of recorded species has increased in recent years due to the successive publication of new species and newly recorded species, the number of species listed in the insect catalog has decreased with each publication since 2000. This discrepancy is thought to be due to the oversight of the literature recording the species and the difference in the criteria for listing indeterminate species in each insect catalog, making confusion of the current state of species numbers. Therefore, we compiled a catalog of true bugs from the Ogasawara Islands by comprehensively reviewing the literature published so far, including information on the species recently added to the fauna of the islands. In the present catalog, we recognized 87 species in 25 families. Of these, 25 species are endemic to the islands, and the heteropteran fauna is characterized by a high endemic species rate among insects. True bugs have been recorded from 15 islands of the Ogasawara Islands. Of these, Chichijima and Hahajima Islands (inhabited) have 69 and 59 species, respectively, while the other islands (uninhabited) contained less than 26 species. As invasive alien species such as green anoles continue to have negative impacts on ecosystems unique to the Ogasawara Islands, comprehensive field surveys are still necessary to elucidate and conserve the species diversity in the Ogasawara Islands.

The Koshiki Islands are located in the western part of Kyushu District, and consist of Kami-Koshiki Island, Naka-Koshiki Island, and Shimo-Koshiki Island. Although it is considered that the Koshiki Islands were connected to Kyushu Island during the last glacial period when the sea level lowered, some endemic species have been reported there. This is suggested that the Koshiki Islands have formed their own unique biota. There are few studies of the aquatic insects of the Koshiki Islands. In particular, there are no reports of the distribution of the mayflies that we focus in this study. However, we were able to collect mayflies in some streams of the Koshiki Islands, so we would like to report on them here. We were able to collect at least nine species of six genera, and four families (i.e, Baetidae, Ephemeridae, Heptageniidae, and Dipteromimidae). All the mayfly species recorded on the Koshiki Islands were also recorded on Kyushu Island, and there was no difference in the fauna present between Kami-Koshiki Island and Shimo-Koshiki Island. In Naka-Koshiki Island, we were not able to observe any mayflies. This paper is the first record of mayflies in the Koshiki Islands.

Life history traits, i.e., clutch size, egg weight, developmental periods of eggs, and female body size, were investigated in eight species of the genera Acanthosoma Curtis and Sastragala Amyot and Serville (Hemiptera: Acanthosomatidae): S. esakii Hasegawa, S. scutellata (Scott), A. firmatum (Walker), A. forficula Jakovlev, A. haemorrhoidale angulatum Jakovlev, A. labiduroides Jakovlev, A. denticaudum Jakovlev, A. expansum Horváth. In the former four species, females guard eggs and young on host leaves, but no females of the latter four show such behaviour. There were significant differences in these traits among species, suggesting potential differences in reproductive allocation between species with and without maternal care.

The green lacewing Plesiochrysa ramburi (Schneider, 1851) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) was recorded from Minami-Daito Island in the Daito Islands, representing the first report of this species in Japan. In the laboratory, larvae of P. ramburi were successfully reared by feeding on eggs of the flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller, 1879). The mean total development period at 25°C was 25.7 d for females and 23.2 d for males. I propose Semadara-nan-you-kusakagerou as the Japanese name for this lacewing species.

The theory of the structure of biological systematics developed in 『Biological Systematics』 (University of Tokyo Press, 2002) is reinterpreted from a new perspective, with some annotations for a better understanding of what I developed on it in the section 5 of chapter 1. Systematics (sensu lato) consist of 5 subdisciplines: taxonomy, systematics (sensu stricto), phylogenetics, chorology and biogeography. First, disciplinary difference of the taxonomy and systematics (sensu stricto) is discussed, which is shown by the qualitative difference between the classification system constructed by the former discipline and the system constructed by the latter. Second, subdivided administration of the various systematic information useful for the understanding of nature into phylogenetics and systematics (sensu stricto) is discussed. Phylogenetic information is administrated on the phylogenetic tree(s) of an organismal group, while systematic (s. str.) information is administrated in the classification system constructed on the various data obtained from phylogenetic and taxonomic studies. Third, concept conversion as a philosophical action is also discussed. An example of the concept conversion (conversion of ‘class’ to ‘individual’ in the philosophical sense) is as follows: what is regarded as ‘class’ (e.g., taxonomic species) by some philosophers (who support traditional taxonomy) can be reinterpreted as ‘individual’ (e.g., evolutionary species) by some philosophers (who support contemporary cladistics).

Nearly a decade after its entry into force, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) continues to pose challenges for academics. The diversity of local regulations and the complexity of procedures can make it difficult for researchers to understand how to properly comply with the protocol when working with samples collected in signatory countries. To address this issue, the ABS Support Team at the Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University aims to assist Japanese researchers in navigating ABS procedures during their studies. In this article, we present three cases of successful ABS compliance involving animal and plant samples from strictly regulated countries in Southeast Asia. For each example, we provide detailed information on the procedures followed, the required documents, and the government ministries and departments involved. These examples serve as practical guidance for researchers, helping them better understand the structure and complexity of the ABS procedures and providing advice on how to successfully navigate them.