The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is one-year world-wide celebration of biological diversity and its importance for life on Earth. While biodiversity is frequently spoken about in the context of its conservation, no one would argue that protection of biodiversity relies strongly on knowledge of what we must conserve. Nonetheless, traditional taxonomy has often been marginalised among biological sciences by policy- and decision-makers, and left for old-fashioned museum eccentrics. Moreover, few high-profile scholarly journals these days accept long taxonomic revisions unless based on 'cutting edge' DNA sequencing or/and computer-generated phylogenetic trees. African Invertebrates, a journal of biodiversity research published by the Council of the Natal Museum, continues to contribute its mite to rejoice taxonomy and to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity with a selection of research articles on molluscs, millipedes, spiders and insects. The highlight of the current issue is a major revision of southern African cannibal snails by D.G. Herbert and A. Moussalli. Their 132-page, generously illustrated and meticulously referenced article presents the most comrehensive account of morphology, biology and taxonomy of the rhytidid genera Natalina, Afrorhytida and Capitina. The assessment of conservation status of each species and a profound biogeographic analysis of their distribution enhance the theoretical and practical value of the paper, which should difinitely receive a close attention of ecologists and conservation specialists. The article offers a perfect example of how taxonomic papers should be written. A contribution by T. Wesener, I. Bespalova and P. Sierwald is focussed on the discovery of new species of giant pill-millipedes of the genus Zoosphaerium from Madagascar, a well-known biodiversity hotspot. Apart from being spectacular creatures, the giant pillmillipedes are often microendemics of undisturbed habitats and totally absent from anthropogenic landscapes. G.N. Azarkina and D.V. Logunov present new records of spartaeine jumping spiders from the Afrotropical region and describe hitherto unknown sexes of three species. A review of the robber fly genus Daspletis by J.G.H. Londt has been prompted by a re-discovery of a remarkable species from the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, but also provides new records of Daspletis from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, as well as an updated identification key to all eight species in the genus. A short contribution by C.K. Oppong and co-authors deals with behavioural aspects of the biology of the mopane psyllid Retroacizzia mopani studied in the Limpopo Province. The last research paper in the issue by I. Shamshev and P. Grootaert adds two new species to the dipteran genus Tachydromia (Hybotidae), one from Ethiopia and one from Uganda, and demonstrates a wider distribution of Tachydromia in the Afrotropics. The issue is finished off with very appropriate comments by K. Williams on the importance of museum collections, with a particular reference to the Durban Natural Science Museum. I sincerely hope that the global biodiversity will not be neglected after 2010, and African Invertebrates will continue to play its important role in publisizing results of taxonomic endeavours in the Afrotropics.

In revising the taxonomy of Acnephalum Macquart, 1838 it was discovered that the Afrotropical species are not congeneric when compared with the Palaearctic type species (A. olivierii Macquart, 1838 from Greece), which is congeneric with species of Pycnopogon Loew, 1847. As a consequence all Palaearctic Pycnopogon species are transferred to Acnephalum which takes precedence over Pycnopogon. In addition it was found that Sporadothrix Hermann, 1907, a genus previously synonymised with Acnephalum, is worthy of full generic reinstatement. The new genus Acnephalomyia is provided for Afrotropical species previously assigned to Acnephalum. The following taxonomic adjustments, innovations and decisions are introduced in this paper: New combinations: Species transferred from Pycnopogon - Acnephalum apicalis (Matsumura, 1916), Acnephalum apiformis (Macquart, 1849), Acnephalum denudatus (Séguy, 1949), Acnephalum fasciculatus (Loew, 1847), Acnephalum hirsutus (Becker, 1913), Acnephalum laniger (Dufour, 1833), Acnephalum leucostomus (Engel, 1939), Acnephalum melanostomus (Loew, 1874), Acnephalum mixtus (Loew, 1847), Acnephalum nikkoensis (Matsumura, 1916), Acnephalum pallidipennis (Brullé, 1936). Species transferred from Acnephalum - Acnephalomyia andrenoides (Wiedemann, 1828); Acnephalomyia dorsalis (Macquart, 1838); Acnephalomyia platygaster (Loew, 1858); Afroholopogon futilis (Wulp, 1899). New synonyms: Dasypogon quadratus Wiedemann, 1828, Acnephalum punctipennis Macquart, 1855, Acnephalum cockerelli Curran, 1934 and Sisyrnodytes sericeus Oldroyd, 1974 = Acnephalomyia andrenoides (Wiedemann, 1828); Acnephalum cylindricum Oldroyd, 1974 = Sporadothrix gracilis Hermann, 1907. New genera: Acnephalomyia (Type species: Dasypogon andrenoides Wiedemann, 1828), Astiptomyia (Type species: Astiptomyia bikos sp. n.). New species: Acnephalomyia eremia (Namibia), Acnephalomyia iota (Namibia, South Africa), Acnephalomyia leukoros (South Africa), Acnephalomyia probolos (South Africa), Ammodaimon platythrix (Namibia), Astiptomyia bikos (Namibia). Lectotype designations: Dasypogon andrenoides Wiedemann, 1828; Acnephalum dorsale Macquart, 1838; Acnephalum futile Wulp, 1899. Keys, tables and illustrations are provided for Afrotropical taxa as identification aids while distribution maps are included where appropriate.

Two new species of Labenopimplinae, Labenopimpla orapa sp. n. and Rugopimpla botswana sp. n., are described from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) deposits of Orapa in Botswana. These are the first and only known Cretaceous Ichneumonidae from the southern hemisphere. The new species seem to be very similar to their relatives from the Cenomanian of the Russian Far East. This indicates a wide distribution of Ichneumonidae by the early Late Cretaceous at least.

The taxonomy of the western Malagasy stingless bees (Liotrigona spp.) has been complicated by the high degree of morphological similarity between the described species. This group includes one of the smallest bee species of the world, Liotrigona bitika (Brooks & Michener, 1988). However, the description of this species is solely based on size differences, and observation of individuals intermediate in size between Liotrigona bitika and Liotrigona madecassa (Saussure, 1890) have cast doubt on the distinctness of the former taxon. I examined specimens, collected in the dry deciduous forest of Kirindy, representing all three of the described Liotrigona species of western Madagascar using a combined approach of size measures and DNA sequence analysis of the cytochrome oxidase I barcoding region. The analysis revealed all described taxa to be valid and furthermore uncovered the existence of a fourth taxon, described as Liotrigona kinzelbachi sp. n. The sympatric species exhibit non-overlapping body size ranges, indicating a strong influence of body size in niche differentiation of this otherwise morphological highly similar clade.

The genus Aphasmaphleps Grichanov, gen. n. is described from Senegal to accommodate a new species, A. bandia sp. n. The new genus has been placed in the subfamily Diaphorinae and is considered close to the genus Phasmaphleps Bickel, 2005. A key to Afrotropical diaphorine genera of long-legged flies is compiled, and characters of the new genus are discussed.

The millipede genus Zinophora (Chamberlin, 1927) was previously revised based on the species present south of the Zambezi and Kunene Rivers. Since that revision, two additional new species have been discovered and are here described: Zinophora lobata (Mozambique) and Z. taromberai (Zimbabwe and Tanzania). This brings the total number of described species in the genus to 21. An updated key to species in the genus is presented. Detailed illustrations of the gonopods supplement the descriptions and a distribution map of Z. taromberai in Zimbabwe is provided. There appear to be up to three species groups in the genus and the character states defining these groups are discussed.

The dark sac spiders of the genus Cetonana Strand, 1929 (Corinnidae: Trachelinae) of the Afrotropical Region are revised. Following a detailed comparison of the somatic and genitalic morphology of the Afrotropical C. martini (Simon, 1897) with the European type species, C. laticeps (Canestrini, 1868), Afroceto gen. n. is established to include the transfer of two Afrotropical species previously described in Cetonana, namely A. martini (Simon, 1897) comb. n. (type species) and A. coenosa (Simon, 1897) comb. n. Three species are proposed as junior synonyms of A. martini, namely C. curvipes (Tucker, 1920) syn. n., C. tridentata (Lessert, 1923) syn. n. and C. simoni (Lawrence, 1942) syn. n. The type of C. aculifera (Strand, 1916) from Madagascar is presumed destroyed and this species is considered nomen dubium. Additionally, 12 new Afroceto gen. n. species are described from southern Africa, namely A. arca sp. n., A. bulla sp. n., A. bisulca sp. n., A. capensis sp. n., A. corcula sp. n., A. croeseri sp. n., A. flabella sp. n., A. gracilis sp. n., A. plana sp. n., A. porrecta sp. n., A. rotunda sp. n. and A. spicula sp. n. Afroceto gen. n. species display variable ecological preferences, occurring in tree canopies, lower foliage strata, bark, and on the ground in contrasting habitats (forests, savannah, grassland, karoo and fynbos) in southern Africa, with single records from Malawi and Tanzania. Patelloceto gen. n., closely resembling Afroceto gen. n. but distinguished by the reduced leg spination and distinctive genitalic morphology, is also described, with three new species, P. secutor sp. n. (type species), P. denticulata sp. n. and P. media sp. n. from southern, central and east Africa. Patelloceto gen. n. species are primarily arboreal, occurring in tree canopies, lower foliage strata or on bark in forests and savannahs.

A new species of the tracheline sac spider genus Poachelas Haddad & Lyle, 2008 (Araneae: Corinnidae), presently known only from southern Africa, is described. The genus has been represented by three species, all of which are suspected to be closely associated with grasses. The new species described here, P. refugus sp. n., is known only from females collected at the type locality, Tembe Elephant Park in Maputaland, South Africa. New collecting records of the type species of the genus, P. striatus Haddad & Lyle, 2008, described from three localities in the central Free State Province of South Africa and with a distribution range of about 100 km, are presented. The species is widespread throughout the province, and is also recorded from the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumulanga provinces for the first time, expanding its range to approximately 900 km.

Nineteen stations were surveyed and 46 species of terrestrial molluscs were recorded from an 18×55 km area in the north-eastern corner of Mozambique. Three stations on Cabo Delgado (a peninsula at the northern extremity of the Quirimbas Archipelago) yielded 19 species that were not found on the inlandsampled area and 18 species that occur inland were not found on Cabo Delgado, with nine species inhabiting both areas. The main ecological difference between Cabo Delgado and the inland area is the abundance of limestone in the former and the total lack of it in the latter. The reference to the original publication, type locality, size of the type specimen(s) and summary geographical distribution as well as colour photographs are provided for each recorded species. One new species of Gulella (Pulmonata: Streptaxidae) is described from Cabo Delgado.

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity to celebrate biodiversity, increase understanding about how biodiversity is critical for sustaining life on Earth, and to highlight the ongoing and increasing loss of biodiversity. The emphasis of this campaign is on people and biodiversity, and the monetary value of biodiversity in terms of goods and services, rather than the traditional focus on saving iconic threatened species and ecosystems. The change in emphasis away from species conservation may seem misdirected; we monitor biodiversity by tracking the number of species that have gone extinct and by the number of threatened species, species make up ecosystems, which provide people with services, and species are directly used by people. However, if we reflect on the progress made in terms of the commitments by governments at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth", it is evident that the targets have not been met. Threatened species have become more threatened, natural habitats continue to decline, and the ecological footprint of humans exceeds that of the 2010 target. In addition, conservation and sustainable use are usually not integrated into national policies, and biodiversity is not considered when there are major plans for development. The driving factors of biodiversity loss have not been addressed. These were the main conclusions in The Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 document (Secretariat of the CBD 2010). The realisation in this report that "We can no longer see the continued loss of, and changes to, biodiversity as an issue separate from the core concerns of society: to tackle poverty, to improve the health, prosperity and security of our populations, and to deal with climate change" is a fundamental shift in the way that conservationists and scientists approach activities around biodiversity. Perhaps the International Year of Biodiversity also provides an opportunity for biologists, particularly taxonomists working on African invertebrates, to reflect on our contributions to biodiversity conservation and to consider real integration of the discipline into biodiversity conservation. Invertebrates comprise the bulk of biodiversity at both biomass and species levels (1,359,367 or 72 % of all described species), and they play critical roles in the functioning of all ecosystems, so there is no doubt that invertebrates are a major component of biodiversity. They also remain a neglected component relative to the far less diverse chordates (64,788 species) and plants (297,857 species), with 75% of the 18,000 new species described in 2007 being invertebrates and an estimated 5,396,465 invertebrate species still remaining to be described globally (Chapman 2009). In the IUCN Countdown 2010 scoping paper for the southern African subregion, the assessment of species diversity by taxon excludes estimates of species richness or threatened species for invertebrates, and this reflects the lack of awareness of the significance of invertebrates and also the paucity of accessible, co-ordinated information. One of the major arguments used in promoting surveys, inventories and taxonomy is the need to know what species are present in an area before they can be conserved or used. Invertebrate taxonomists in Africa and international scientists working on the fauna of the region have for decades explored and documented the diversity through revisions and descriptions. Scientific journals such as African Invertebrates (formerly Annals of the Natal Museum) have a long history of consistently publishing this research. African Invertebrates provides taxonomists with an opportunity to broadcast their research both nationally and internationally. Its current Impact Factor (1.216) brings the journal to amongst the three most highly cited scientific periodicals in South Africa, showing that material published in African Invertebrates is in high demand. Each issue of the journal gives life to dozens of new scientific names, traditionally supplementing species descriptions with much-needed identification keys and often with an assessment of the conservation status of invertebrate taxa.