An unexpected new species of Habrophlebia from Algeria (Ephemeroptera, Leptophlebiidae)

We describe a new species of Habrophlebia, H. djurdjurensissp. nov., based on nymphal, imaginal, and egg stages obtained by sampling from the Great Kabylia watershed, north-central Algeria. The new species was previously identified as H. cf. fusca by Lounaci et al. 2000. Habrophlebia djurdjurensis is in fact more related to H. vaillantorum Thomas, 1996 but can be separated by characters on the nymphs and male imago. This is the fourth species of Habrophlebia reported from North Africa.

Habrophlebia hassainae, a new mayfly species (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) from North Africa

We present here a new species of Habrophlebia, H. hassainae sp. nov., described at nymphal, imaginal and egg stages obtained by rearing from the Tafna watershed, North western Algeria. The new species was previously identified as H. cf. fusca by Gagneur & Thomas (1988). H. hassainae is in fact more related to H. lauta McLachlan, 1884, but can be separated by different characters on the male imago and nymphs. This is the third species of Habrophlebia reported from North Africa.

2,4-Diaminothieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines, a new class of anthelmintic with activity against adult and egg stages of whipworm

The human whipworm Trichuris trichiura is a parasite that infects around 500 million people globally, with consequences including damage to physical growth and educational performance. Current drugs such as mebendazole have a notable lack of efficacy against whipworm, compared to other soil-transmitted helminths. Mass drug administration programs are therefore unlikely to achieve eradication and new treatments for trichuriasis are desperately needed. All current drug control strategies focus on post-infection eradication, targeting the parasite in vivo. Here we propose developing novel anthelmintics which target the egg stage of the parasite in the soil as an adjunct environmental strategy. As evidence in support of such an approach we describe the actions of a new class of anthelmintic compounds, the 2,4-diaminothieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines (DATPs). This compound class has found broad utility in medicinal chemistry, but has not previously been described as having anthelmintic activity. Importantly, these compounds show efficacy against not only the adult parasite, but also both the embryonated and unembryonated egg stages and thereby may enable a break in the parasite lifecycle.Author SummaryThe human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, infects around 500 million people globally, impacting on their physical growth and educational performance. There are currently huge mass drug administration (MDA) programs aiming to control whipworm, along with the other major soil transmitted helminths, Ascaris and hookworm. However single doses of albendazole and mebendazole, which are used in MDA, have particularly poor effectiveness against whipworm, with cure rates less than 40%. This means that MDA may not be able to control and eliminate whipworm infection, and risks the spread of resistance to albendazole and mebendazole in the parasite population.We are attempting to develop new treatments for parasitic worm infection, particularly focused on whipworm. We report the identification of a class of compounds, diaminothienopyrimidines (DATPs), which have not previously been described as anthelmintics. These compounds are effective against adult stages of whipworm, and also block the development of the model nematode C. elegans.Our DATP compounds reduce the ability of treated eggs to successfully establish infection in a mouse model of human whipworm. These results support a potential environmental spray to control whipworm by targeting the infectious egg stage in environmental hotspots.

New distributional records and life stage description of Caenis species (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Brazil

The genus Caenis Stephens, 1835 is well represented in South America with 24 recorded species (14 in Brazil). Based on additional material from Brazil, we describe for the first time the nymphal and egg stages of C. reissi, and re-describe the eggs of C. cuniana. New distributional records for these species and Caenis elidioi are given, and C. teipunensis (previously described from Venezuela) is reported for the first time from Brazil.

Seasonal phenology and abundance of Leucopis argenticollis, Leucopis piniperda (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), Laricobius nigrinus (Coleoptera: Deridontidae) and Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in the Pacific Northwest USA

Adelges tsugae infested western hemlock trees were sampled periodically for 1 year at two locations in Oregon and Washington to compare the phenology and abundance of three associated predators (Leucopis argenticollis, Leucopis piniperda, and Laricobius nigrinus) and their host. On each sample date, two 3–10 cm long terminal twigs were collected from each tree and brought to the laboratory to count all life stages of A. tsugae and the three predators. Peak larval abundance of Leucopis spp. and La. nigrinus coincided with the presence of A. tsugae adults and eggs. Leucopis spp. larvae were present for a much longer period of time than were La. nigrinus larvae. Furthermore, Leucopis spp. larvae were present during both the progrediens and sistens egg stages, while La. nigrinus larvae were only present during the progrediens egg stage. Overall, we collected 2.3–3.5 times more Leucopis spp. of all life stages than La. nigrinus. These results support the continued study of Leucopis spp. from the Pacific Northwest as biological control agents for A. tsugae in the Eastern USA.