Vertical stratification of insect abundance and species richness in an Amazonian tropical forest.

Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse biomes on the planet. Nevertheless, quantifying the abundance and species richness within megadiverse groups is a significant challenge. We designed a study to address this challenge by documenting the variability of the insect fauna across a vertical canopy gradient in a Central Amazonian tropical forest.

Taxonomic revision of the genus Trichopoda Berthold, 1827 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae), with emphasis on the Neotropical fauna.

Trichopoda Berthold, 1827 is a tachinid genus belonging to the subfamily Phasiinae and natively distributed in the Americas. Species of Phasiinae are parasitoids of Hemiptera, especially Heteroptera, and are greatly important as biological control agents. Trichopoda is included in the "Trichopoda typica" group sensu Sabrosky, along with the genera Eutrichopoda Townsend, 1908 and Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915a.

A new synonym for Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera, Tachinidae), the genus Opsozelia Townsend, 1919, with the description of three new species.

The monotypic tachinid genus Townsend, 1919 (Diptera: Tachinidae) is synonymized with Robineau-Desvoidy 1830, . The single species of , Townsend, 1919, is redescribed as , , based on examination of the holotype from Guyana and additional material from Suriname, Brazil and Paraguay. Three new species of similar to are described from Brazil: , and .

A remarkable new species of Eutrichopoda Townsend, 1908 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae).

A new Tachinidae species, Eutrichopoda flavipenna sp. nov. (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae), from Brazil and Paraguay is described and illustrated by photographs and line drawings.