The first record of Ravinia almeidai (Lopes, 1946) is reported for the state of Bahia, northeast region of Brazil. The record of this fly species significantly contributes to the knowledge of sarcophagids from the northeast, as well as to the mapping of its distribution in the Brazilian territory.

A agricultura convencional vem contribuindo para a degradação dos ecossistemas naturais e dos agroecossistemas, resultando em perda da biodiversidade e dos serviços ecossistêmicos. Epistemologicamente, a agroecologia se expande para além das estruturas do agrícola, auxiliando na mudança ética do ser humano. Assim, o manejo ecológico, que caracteriza o solo como um ser vivo e funcional, passa a ser visto como uma ferramenta para a transição agroecológica. Essa pesquisa investiga o papel do manejo ecológico do solo e sua relação com a transição agroecológica, o restabelecimento dos serviços ecossistêmicos e da agrobiodiversidade edáfica. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, utilizando como procedimento metodológico a revisão narrativa do conhecimento presente na literatura científica. Os resultados sugerem que o manejo do solo está conectado de forma indireta/direta aos serviços ecossistêmicos, bem como sua possibilidade de restabelecer a agrobiodiversidade. Conclui-se que o manejo ecológico de solo restaura o papel do solo como autorregulador dos processos ecológicos e é fundamental para a transição agroecológica.

Popularly known as “witch ants” or “velvet ants”, mutillids are solitary ectoparasitoids wasps of immature insects. Atillum André, 1903, is a genus endemic to South America composed of 49 valid species. This study was motivated by the inconsistency of the available information, where, depending on the consulted bibliography, the number of Atillum species in Brazil varies. This contribution aims to reduce the knowledge gap on this genus, verifying the real number of species that comprise it and which actually inhabit Brazil. The specialized bibliography for Mutillidae and Atillum was consulted, in addition to carrying out an exhaustive consultation of the specialized bibliography. Additionally, to validate some of the records found, Atillum specimens deposited in the main collections that house this group were examined. As a result, records were found for ten Atillum species in Brazil, nine of which were confirmed as present in the country, and unpublished records of presence of Atillum and Atillum bucephalum (Perty, 1833) in four Brazilian states and eight municipalities located in the Northeastern region of the country

Forensic Entomology can be defined as an area of Biological Sciences that uses the knowledge about insects and other Arthropods in criminal investigations, since decomposing corpses are sources of resources for arthropods, including insects belonging to the Coleoptera order. The objective of this work was to carry out a rapid assessment inventory of beetles of forensic importance in an urban fragment of the Atlantic Forest (Parque Metropolitano de Pituaçu) located in the city of Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. We conducted a collection in the dry period (January 2013) and another collection in the rainy period (July 2013). The capture of coleopterans took place through the use of “Pitfall” traps, stocked with a mixed bait (chicken gizzard and sardines). A total of 239 were collected, distributed in three families: Scarabaeidae (96.1%), Staphylinidae (3.0%) and Histeridae (0.9%). The morphospecies Dicothomius sp. 1 (Scarabaeidae), was more abundant with 94.1% of the specimens sampled. The dry period was more representative for both richness and abundance. All species/morphospecies sampled already have previous records as belonging to forensic importance according to previous studies.

Demographic characteristics and length of land use occupation time are important factors in the evaluation of the influence of urbanization on biodiversity. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate how population density and human occupation history influence taxonomic and guild spider (Arachnida: Araneae) and ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversities in four distinct Administrative Regions (ARs) of the municipality of Salvador (Bahia, Brazil). The ants and spiders in the ARs were collected in different types of green areas: forest fragments, vacant lots, and gardens/backyards, using three capture techniques (Winkler trap, entomological umbrella, and manual collection). We tested for eventual differences in myrmecofauna and araneofauna richness and composition, in addition to guilds (FGs) according to population density level (high vs. low) and urbanization time (old vs. recent). A total of 148 ant species were collected and classified into 15 guilds. Whereas a total of 97 spider species were captured and classified into 10 guilds. Spider richness varied significantly between the ARs, instead of to ant richness. There were also significant differences between ARs for the taxonomic composition of spiders, but not for ants. Those of the guild compositions of ants and spiders were not significant. Finally, our results indicate the importance of how historical processes of neighborhood occupation influence the distribution of spiders, demonstrating increased richness in areas with lower population densities, while other factors related to urban landscapes may be related to the distribution of ant and spider species.

In this article we present the historical records of the Brazilian hawkmoths deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Museu de História Natural da Bahia (MHNBA-UFBA), including the historical Lepidoptera collection donated by Dr. Pedro de Araújo to the MHNBA-UFBA. The Sphingidae collection is composed of 243 specimens and represents 24 genera and 66 species. The historical collection consists of specimens captured between the years 1924 and 1934, and we also included to the collection specimens that were captured more recently, between 1982 and 2014. The subfamily Macroglossinae presented the greatest species richness and Smerinthinae the presented the least species richness. Of all of specimens in the collection, 151 came from São Paulo State (Brazil), 41 from Santa Catarina State, 50 from Bahia State and only one from Pernambuco State. Three topotypes were identified in the collection, namely: Eumorpha translineatus (Rothschild, 1895), Xylophanes crenulata Vaglia & Haxaire, 2009 and Xylophanes alineae Haxaire & Mielke, 2018.

With the aim of reducing the gap in the knowledge on the Sarcophagidae fauna that occurring in the Northeast region of Brazil, the present work reports the unheard occurrence of two species of the genus Sarcophaga Meigen, 1826 in Bahia. The specimens were sampled in the urban area of the Salvador municipality (Bahia State, Brazil), through two collecting methods: traps using human feces as baits [adapted from the model proposed by Ferreira (1978)], and active sweep with entomological net. The present study brings the first record of Sarcophaga (Bercaea) africa for the Brazilian Northeast region and the first record of Sarcophaga (Liopygia) ruficornis for Bahia State.