Cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) are an understudied family with poor dispersal abilities and broad distributions, which makes them ideal for investigations of historical biogeography. Within Rhaphidophoridae, Diestramima is the largest genus of the tribe Diestramimini, and most species are endemic to China. It was divided into three subgenera based only on morphological characteristics, and no molecular evidence has been previously reported. Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny and phylogeography of Diestramima based on three mitochondrial (COI, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) and two nuclear fragments (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA). A total of 114 samples representing 28 morphological species were sampled from China. Molecular phylogenies were reconstructed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood and four approaches (ABGD, jMOTU, GMYC and bPTP) were employed to delimit species. Phylogenetic analyses highly supported the monophyly of Diestramima, but did not support the classification system consisting of three subgenera. Species delimitation methods suggested 28 species, among which six new species were described: Diestramima furcata Zhu & Shi sp. n., Diestramima spinata Zhu & Shi sp. n., Diestramima qionglaiensis Zhu & Shi sp. n., Diestramima taiwanensis Zhu & Shi sp. n., Diestramima longifolia Zhu & Shi sp. n., Diestramima sichuanensis Zhu & Shi sp. n. Divergence time estimation and reconstruction of ancestral areas indicated that Diestramima may have originated from Southern Yunnan at 17.72 Ma (95% highest probability density: 14.71–21.05 Ma) in the early Miocene. The initial divergence within the genus was likely to be correlated with geographical isolation. Most speciation events have occurred since the Pliocene, possibly driven by multiple dispersal and vicariance events and influenced by the uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan plateau and climate change.ZooBank URL: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D461A536‐6728‐4547‐9EC4‐AF56D3BB9000. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5FA4075B‐4CD2‐43A5‐B109‐D32882CCF369. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C3D02B4E‐1442‐456F‐BD59‐C811716F0704. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E022BD2C‐8A69‐4C00‐B008‐129DE9ABB229. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4E5552E4‐78CB‐498F‐ABB6‐98D56BEC6FBC. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:480E002C‐4B82‐4F0D‐B421‐2AFD9F333333. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:220EE409‐293B‐4ACC‐B853‐090EF226123D.

Insect microbial symbioses play a critical role in insect lifecycle, and insect gut microbiome could be influenced by many factors. Studies have shown that host diet and taxonomy have a strong influence on insect gut microbial community. In this study, we performed sequencing of V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene to compare the composition and diversity of 12 Ensifera from 6 provinces of China. Moreover, the influences of feeding habits and taxonomic status of insects on their gut bacterial community were evaluated, which might provide reference for further application research. The results showed that Proteobacteria (45.66%), Firmicutes (34.25%) and Cyanobacteria (7.7%) were the predominant bacterial phyla in Ensifera. Moreover, the gut bacterial community composition of samples with different feeding habits was significantly different, which was irrespective of their taxa. The highest diversity of gut bacteria was found in the omnivorous Ensifera. Furthermore, common and unique bacteria with biomarkers were found based on the dietary characteristics of the samples. However, the bacterial community structure of the Ensifera samples was significantly different from that of Caelifera. Therefore, we concluded that feeding habits and taxonomic status jointly affect the gut bacterial community composition of the samples from Orthoptera. However, the influence of feeding habit dominates when taxonomy category below the suborder level. In addition, the dominant, common and unique bacterial community structure could be used to predict the contrastic feeding habits of insects belonging to Ensifera.

Species of Sinocyrtaspis Liu inhabit moist montane environments in south China, and occur allopatrically in restricted regions without overlapping areas. This study presents the first phylogeny of Sinocyrtaspis based on one nuclear DNA sequence [partial ITS1‐5.8S rDNA‐ITS2 (ITS)] as well as two mitochondrial genes [cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (CYTB)] using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood. In addition, reconstructing the ancestral geographical range on the basis of the combined genes and distribution information, MaxEnt modelling was used to predict potential distribution areas in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the mid‐Holocene, the present‐day and in the year 2070, in order to understand speciation processes and responses to climate change in this genus. The phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of Sinocyrtaspis. The results of species delimitation confirmed seven Sinocyrtaspis species and that the speciation events mainly occurred in the late Miocene to early Pliocene when the climate became colder and drier. The conclusions of the phylogeographical analysis are as follows: (i) the centres of origin of Sinocyrtaspis were Hunan and north‐east Guangxi; (ii) two dispersal routes became obvious with the final destinations of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, respectively; (iii) after the Miocene cooling period, the ancestor species partly remained in Guizhou and partly spread; (iv) as a response to climate change, species altered distribution areas by moving along altitude gradients in mountain regions, whereas the anthropogenic global warming trend has promoted some species moving to high‐latitude areas or caused population differentiation.

In this paper, the genus Mimadiestra Storozhenko & Dawwrueng, 2014 is reported from China and two new species are described, i.e. Mimadiestra gracila sp. nov. and Mimadiestra dicha sp. nov. Morphological photographs of the two species are provided. All type specimens are preserved in the Museum of Hebei University.

This paper describes eight new cave-dwelling species of the genus Tachycines from Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi and Sichuan, i.e. Tachycines (Gymnaeta) liboensis sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) bifolius sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) tuberus sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) paradoxus sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) umbellus sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) nulliscleritus sp. nov., Tachycines (Gymnaeta) taenus sp. nov. and Tachycines (Gymnaeta) latiliconcavus sp. nov. The females of T. (G.) ferecaecus (Gorochov, Rampini & Di Russo, 2006) and T. (G.) proximus (Gorochov, Rampini & Di Russo, 2006) are first recorded. Moreover, we consider T. (G.) aspes (Rampini & Di Russo, 2008) as a valid species instead of a synonym of T. (G.) proximus (Gorochov, Rampini & Di Russo, 2006) according to obviously different reduction of fastigium verticis and eyes, higher number of spines on the hind tibia and the shape of male genitalia. Furthermore, Eutachycines crenatus (Gorochov, Rampini & Di Russo, 2006) should be retransferred to the subgenus Tachycines (Gymnaeta) due to the diagnosis of genus Eutachycines: dorsal sclerite of male genitalia with a protuberance in the upper part. Therefore, it should still belong to the subgenus Tachycines (Gymnaeta). In addition, morphological photographs of the eight new species and five known species are provided, including eyeless species.