Holocene climate warming has dramatically altered biological diversity and distributions. Recent human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases will exacerbate global warming and thus induce threats to cold-adapted taxa. However, the impacts of this major climate change on transcontinental temperate species are still poorly understood. Here, we generated extensive genomic datasets for a water strider, Aquarius paludum, which was sampled across its entire distribution in Eurasia and used these datasets in combination with ecological niche modeling (ENM) to elucidate the influence of the Holocene and future climate warming on its population structure and demographic history. We found that A. paludum consisted of two phylogeographic lineages that diverged in the middle Pleistocene, which resulted in a “west–east component” genetic pattern that was probably triggered by Central Asia-Mongoxin aridification and Pleistocene glaciations. The diverged western and eastern lineages had a second contact in the Holocene, which shaped a temporary hybrid zone located at the boundary of the arid–semiarid regions of China. Future predictions detected a potentially novel northern corridor to connect the western and eastern populations, indicating west–east gene flow would possibly continue to intensify under future warming climate conditions. Further integrating phylogeographic and ENM analyses of multiple Eurasian temperate taxa based on published studies reinforced our findings on the “west–east component” genetic pattern and the predicted future northern corridor for A. paludum. Our study provided a detailed paradigm from a phylogeographic perspective of how transcontinental temperate species differ from cold-adapted taxa in their response to climate warming.

Since the beginning of the Holocene era, human activities have seriously impacted animal habitats and vegetative environments. Species that are dependent on natural habitats or with narrow niches might be more severely affected by habitat changes. Malcus inconspicuus is distributed in subtropical China and highly dependent on the mountain environment. Our study investigated the role of the mountainous landscape in the historical evolution of M. inconspicuus and the impact of Holocene human activities on it. A phylogeographical approach was implemented with integrative datasets including double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA (ddRAD), mitochondrial data, and distribution data. Three obvious clades and an east–west phylogeographical pattern were found in subtropical China. Mountainous landscape has “multifaceted” effects on the evolutionary history of M. inconspicuus , it has contributed to population differentiation, provided glacial refuges, and provided population expansion corridors during the postglacial period. The effective population size ( Ne ) of M. inconspicuus showed a sharp decline during the Holocene era, which revealed a significantly negative correlation with the development of cropland in a hilly area at the same time and space. It supported that the species which are highly dependent on natural habitats might undergo greater impact when the habitat was damaged by agricultural activities and we should pay more attention to them, especially in the land development of their distribution areas.

Urostylididae, a phytophagous heteropteran family that feeds on the sap of various trees and shrubs, comprises 8 genera and 173 species. Its phylogeny has received little attention, and no studies have revealed its generic monophyly or relationships. We present the first molecular phylogeny of Urostylididae based on complete mitogenomes and nuclear ribosomal genes from almost all genera and representative species, using maximum likelihood analysis and Bayesian inference. All phylogenetic results showed overall consistent topological relationships, indicating polyphyly of the three most speciose genera, Urolabida, Urochela, and Urostylis. Among the three monotypic genera, Chelurotropella formed a stable relationship with Urochela wui in all trees, Cobbenicoris was a stable sister group of Urostylis fici but with position variation among trees, and Urochellus formed a sister group with Urostylis cuneata or species of two or more genera in different trees. The smaller genus Tessaromerus was always sister to Urostylis tricarinata, but their positions varied among trees. Thus, the currently recognized genera of Urostylididae are unreliable. Furthermore, our phylogenetic results suggested some topological incongruence among the trees produced with different analytical methods and data sets, mainly among deep internal nodes, with short branches and low support values. Given the quartet-based evaluation system and branch patterns, Urostylididae underwent rapid radiation resulting in incomplete lineage sorting and introgression in our data sets, making our phylogenetic analyses more sensitive to the data or method used. Moreover, the rapid radiation might have caused morphological homoplasy of diagnostic characters of genera, leading to taxonomic confusion for Urostylididae. Therefore, a thorough taxonomic revision of this family is needed.

Aim: Protected areas (PAs) in China have typically been designed by considering one or several focal taxa (e.g., relict plant and vertebrate species), but the effectiveness of these "protective umbrellas" in safeguarding insects remains unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the distribution and diversity of endemic true bugs for four family groups (i.e., Miridae, Lygaeoidea, Pentatomidae, and Reduviidae) in China, the environmental factors shaping these diversity patterns, and the effectiveness of China's PAs in safeguarding their diversity. Location: China. Methods:We mapped the spatial distributions of 1028 endemic true bugs in China using stacked species distribution models and pixel grids of observed points. The environmental factors that influence diversity patterns across China were explored by generalized linear models and random forest models. The effectiveness of PAs in safe guarding species distributions was evaluated by the Zonation platform. Main results:We found that most (84.9%) diversity hotspots for total species were located in mountainous areas of southern China. Additionally, the diversity patterns are shaped by the combined effects of different environmental factors, with the minimum temperature of the coldest month, annual precipitation, and elevation showing the strongest effects. On average, Chinese PAs covered 10.2% of the distribution areas of these endemic true bugs. Main conclusions:In general, our research identifies the important roles of mountainous areas in southern China in maintaining species diversity. Moreover, our research also suggests that PAs in China could not provide sufficient protection for this diversity. Protecting these endemic true bugs diversity should be valued more in mountainous areas of southern China.

Velia (Cesavelia) buisp. nov. from Hubei Province, China is described, and Velia (Cesavelia) tonkina Polhemus & Polhemus, 2003 is newly recorded from China. In addition, new distribution data for three species of Velia (Cesavelia), V. longiconnexiva Tran, Zettel & Buzzetti, 2009, V. sinensis Andersen, 1981 and V. tonkina Polhemus & Polhemus, 2003 are provided. Photographs of the habitus in dorsal and lateral views, metafemora of males, genitalic structures and habitats, along with a distribution map of this subgenus, are provided.