Dufouriini are a worldwide distributed tachinid tribe comprised of 51 species in 13 genera, made up of parasitoids of adult Coleoptera. The systematic positioning of Dufouriini has been controversial. Currently, it is placed within Dexiinae, but was previously placed in Phasiinae and Voriinae, and has even had the status of subfamily. Delimitation and composition of Dufouriini has also been debated, whether it is a single tribe or divided into two (Dufouriini and Freraeini) or three (Dufouriini, Oestrophasiini and Freraeini) tribes. Herein, we present the first phylogenetic analysis of Dufouriini based on total evidence using morphological data from adult and immature stages. The taxonomic sampling included all genera in Dufouriini (including Oestrophasiini) and also the genus belonging to Freraeini, a historically related tribe. Data matrix comprised 35 species and 22 genera in the ingroup, and 185 characters constructed from eggs, first instar larvae, puparia and adults, including female and male terminalia and spermathecae. The phylogenetic analysis recovered Dexiinae as paraphyletic in relation to Phasiinae, since the clade (Freraeini (Dufouriini + Oestrophasiini)) is more closely related to Phasiinae than Dexiinae. Dufouriini, Oestrophasiini and Freraeini are recovered as separate monophyletic tribes, strongly supported by a number of synapomorphies. Oestrophasiini is revalidated. A new synonymy is proposed: Comyopsis Townsend syn. nov. of Ebenia Macquart. Accordingly, Ebenia fumata (Townsend, 1919) is nomen preoccupatum by Ebenia fumata (Wulp, 1891), thus we change its specific epithet by designation of the new replacement name Ebenia neofumata Santis and Nihei [nomen novum]. The genera Mesnilana and Rhinophoroides are removed from Dufouriini and tentatively placed into Palpostomatini. Finally, Cenosomastat. rev., previously a subgenus of Oestrophasia, is revalidated as genus.

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. Insects were sampled over two weeks using 6-m Gressitt-style Malaise traps set at five heights (0 m–32 m–8 m intervals) on a metal tower in a tropical forest north of Manaus, Brazil. The traps contained 37,778 specimens of 18 orders of insects. Using simulation approaches and nonparametric analyses, we interpreted the abundance and richness of insects along this gradient. Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera had their greatest abundance at the ground level, whereas Lepidoptera and Hemiptera were more abundant in the upper levels of the canopy. We identified species of 38 of the 56 families of Diptera, finding that 527 out of 856 species (61.6%) were not sampled at the ground level. Mycetophilidae, Tipulidae, and Phoridae were significantly more diverse and/or abundant at the ground level, while Tachinidae, Dolichopodidae, and Lauxaniidae were more diverse or abundant at upper levels. Our study suggests the need for a careful discussion of strategies of tropical forest conservation based on a much more complete understanding of the three-dimensional distribution of its insect diversity.

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A new species of the Afro-Palearctic genus Pandelleia Villeneuve, 1907 (Diptera: Tachinidae), P. crosskeyi sp. nov., from Mauritius is described. This is the first Dexiinae to be described from Mauritius. In addition, this new species corresponds to the ninth species for this genus, and the third in the Afrotropics. The main external features that distinguish it from the other species in this genus is the abdomen that lacks the pair of small, round and dark brown spots, vein M ending in R₄₊₅ at a 90° angle, and female with dark brown scutellum.