Most known species of hesionids, a group of annelid worms, are shallow-water predators. This paper describes six new species from the deep sea and assesses the evolutionary relationships of 42 shallow and deep-water hesionid species for which DNA data are available. Results suggest multiple colonisations of the deep sea from shallow water and that the proportion of deep-living hesionids may be greater than previously determined.

True sawflies (Tenthredinoidea) is one of the largest plant-feeding groups within the insect order Hymenoptera (wasps in the broad sense). The current paper presents the first attempt to test the existing classification of true sawflies with a morphological data set. The subfamily classification of the biggest family of true sawflies, the Tenthredinidae, is not corroborated. The data set provided will be a starting point for further exploration of the evolutionary history of true sawflies.

A late Holocene beetle assemblage from lowland Kauai included seven extinct carabid species; the first Hawaiian insects described from subfossil remains. These lowland species are either related to species currently restricted to high elevations on Kauai, or are representatives of lineages that subsequently colonised younger Hawaiian Islands. The discovery of extinct insects illustrates the pervasive nature of human activities on island biodiversity.