The failure of bumblebee queens to enthusiastically start a colony under laboratory conditions may be due to lack of oviposition during an experiment, a long delay in oviposition from the termination of hibernation, and failure to rear a large first brood. In the present study, the use of frozen male pupae to start the colony with the assistance of bumblebee workers rather than fresh, young, male pupae was investigated under controlled room temperature and humidity conditions. The period of initiation of the colony decreased with an increase in the number of worker helpers from one to six. The period was as short as 3.9 days in the presence of six worker helpers. Second and third broods also started earlier with the help of workers. The rate of first worker production per egg cup was double that of the normal method (i.e. without worker helpers). Egg eating behavior of the queen was not found in the first brood if more than two workers helped the development of the larvae. Four worker helpers were found to be sufficient, as they could produce 100% colony foundation and 91.46% first worker production colonies. This study showed that using frozen old pupae is a good stimulator for colony foundation in the presence of four bumblebee worker helpers.

Insect species inventories along with pest prevalence, foraging behavior of pollinators and their effect on fruit set of mango were studied in a mango‐based agroforestry area in Bangladesh during January to June 2013. Of 1751 collected insects, 11 species in five orders and nine families were pests, 13 species in six orders and eight families were predators and eight species belonging to three orders and seven families were found as pollinators. The pests exerted significantly higher abundance but lower diversity than pollinator, predator and other insects. The pollinator richness was found to be lowest but showed higher as well as similar diversity to other category insects. Three pest species prevailed throughout the season and hoppers showed significant abundance. Among the predators, ants were most abundant. Sulphur butterfly and syrphid fly revealed statistically identical and higher abundance than other pollinators. During the flowering season, pests were dominant and the abundance of insects was observed to peak at 11.00 h. The pollinators differed in their landing duration on flowers and their activity led to higher levels of fruit set. This study provides baseline information on insect abundance in an agroforestry system, which stresses the importance of conservation of beneficial insects.

One genus, Ornithoica Rondani, and two species, Ornithoica momiyamai Kishida, and O. unicolor Speiser, are reported for the first time from the Republic of Korea. A total of six species, including two new records, of louse flies were collected from 78 birds belonging to 35 species from Seoul and Incheon Metropolitan Areas and Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Gyeongsangbuk, Jeollabuk, and Jeollanam Provinces, 2005-2010. An updated checklist of Korean hippoboscids consisting of seven genera (Hippobosca L., Icosta Speiser, Lipoptena Nitzsch, Ornithoica Rondani, Ornithoctona Speiser, Ornithomya Lattreille, and Ornithophila Rondani) and 11 species is presented, including hosts, collection records, and repositories.

The body mass of Bombus terrestris individuals is an important trait for their behavioural performance and colony organization. In this study, colonies were reared under four different photoperiodic regimes, viz. 0 : 24, 8 : 16, 16 : 8 and 24 : 0 h light : darkness (L : D) at 28°C and 50% relative humidity. The changes in body mass were observed at the stages of larvae, pupae and on the day of adult eclosion. Both the wet and dry mass of sexuals gradually decreased with increasing day length. The relationship between body mass and copulation duration revealed that copulation duration was negatively correlated with male body mass, but positively with queen body mass. Higher number of matings by males resulted in significantly higher duration of copulation.

This is the first confirmed record of the genus Lipoptena Nitzsch and its species, Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus), from the Republic of Korea. A total of five females and 10 males was collected from eight of 29 Korean water deer, Hydropotes inermis argyropus Swinhoe, from Gangwon and Gyeongsangbuk Provinces and Ulsan Metropolitan Area from May through October 2008. An updated checklist of Korean hippoboscids contains nine species in six genera (Hippobosca Linnaeus, Icosta Speiser, Lipoptena, Ornithoctona Speiser, Ornithomya Lattreille, and Ornithophila Rondani). Hosts, collection records, and repositories are also noted.