Showing papers in "Australian Journal of Zoology in 1966"

A taxonomic study of Australian Aphidoidea (Homoptera).

Abstract: Keys are given for the determination of the families, subfamilies, genera, and the 119 species of aphids known from Australia. The keys are supplemented by 192 figures. The genera of Australian aphids are described in detail and a reference to a recent revision of the genus and to a detailed description of each species is given where possible. A summary of the known host plant range and geographical distribution of each species is given. A few references to recent economic literature are given for those species regarded as pests.

A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

Abstract: Current classifications of subfamily Myrmicinae stem from the work of Emery, most recently formulated in 1922. With the exception of a few well-defined tribes, the remainder (and bulk) of the Myrmicinae is composed of alarge group of genera exhibiting close phyletic relationships and many bewildering series of convergences. These genera previously have not been clearly defined and classified due to the too-frequent use of superficial habitus characters. The present paper examines new, as well as old disused, taxonomic characters, especially meristic ones, and applies these to a critical analysis of tribes Solenopsidini and Pheidologetini of authors. The old conventional tribal groupings prove to have little utility, and pending a re-examination of the remainder of the Myrmicinae, the use of informal genus groups is recommended. Replacing the two traditional tribes are four genus groups, related respectively to Monomorium, Megalomyrmex, Solenopsis, and Pheidologeton, and a number of genera are excluded from these groups. All the genera are redefined with extensive synonymies. All the currently unchallenged species-level names in these genera are listed with bibliographic citations, and a brief review is given of the present status of larval taxonomy.

Ecological characteristics of the eucalypt-defoliating chrysomelid Paropsis atomaria Ol.

Abstract: This paper reports part of a study of the llfe system of Paropsis atomaria Ol., and deals with the intrinsic properties of the species, e.g. its behaviour, host preferences, reproductive capacity, rate of growth, diapause phenomena, and distribution. The studies reported were made in plantations of eucalypts in the Australian Capital Territory where two generations of the insect are completed annually. Adults which emerge in autumn were found to enter a form of reproductive diapause in response to shortening day-length, and to hibernate in the litter and soil beneath their host trees. In spring and summer, eggs are laid in batches on young shoots, their distribution conforming to that of a negative binomial. The larvae are highly gregarious in all four instars. Their rate of growth and their final weight are influenced, respectively, by temperature and by intrinsic qualities of the foliage upon which they feed. Pupation occurs in the soil beneath the trees. The fecundity of adult females was found to be a function of their size, this in turn being determined by the level of larval nutrition. The average female can mature more than 600 eggs. Although the adults appear competent to fly for considerable distances, the females tend to oviposit on the first suitable tree they encounter following emergence from the soil or litter.

Observations on the attatchment of marsupial pouch young to the teats and on the rearing of pouch young by foster-mothers of the same or different species

Abstract: The buccal cavity is modified in young red kangaroos by hemispherical indentations into hard palate and tongue which receive the bulbous swelling at the end of the teat. Attachment to the teat is aided by the formation of ridges on the hard palate and the lateral fusing of the lips of the young. The epiglottis of the young red kangaroo is intra-nasopharyngeal rather than intra-narial as is stated to be the case in other marsupials. Red kangaroos less than 1 day old were removed from the teat to which they had attached and replaced on another teat in the same pouch. A grey kangaroo young aged 13 days was replaced on the teat after removal and was removed and replaced at 7-day intervals thereafter. No difficulty was experienced in replacing 15 young aged between 41 and 100 days on the teats from which they were removed. The following transfers of young less than 1 day old were made: two red kangaroos to foster-mothers of the same species, one red kangaroo to a grey kangaroo, two grey kangaroos to foster-mothers of the same species, one tammar to a red kangaroo, and two swamp wallabies to red kangaroos. All the transfers were initially successful; however, one red kangaroo and one grey kangaroo were lost soon after the transfer, apparently because the foster-parents were at the incorrect stage of their reproductive cycles. The followmg transfers of young 2-25 days old were made to foster-mothers suckling young 2-20 days old: two swamp wallabies to red kangaroos, one red kangaroo to a swamp wallaby, one red kangaroo to a red-necked wallaby, one grey kangaroo to a red kangaroo, one tammar to a red kangaroo, and one red-necked wallaby to a red kangaroo. All the transfers were initially successful except a 13-day-old tammar which failed to attach to the teat of its foster-mother. A swamp wallaby young transferred at the age of 25 days to a red kangaroo showed accelerated growth and early sexual maturity compared to control swamp wallabies raised by their own mothers. A total of 12 inter-species and intra-species transfers of young aged 41-255 days old were made. A 53-day-old young of the yellow-footed rock wallaby failed to attach to the teat of a red kangaroo but all other transfers were initially successful and, in most cases, growth of the foster-young was normal and they were reared to at least the latter stages of pouch life. Young placed in the pouches of foster-mothers were readily accepted and there were indications that the behaviour patterns of the foster-mother were altered so that they responded to calls made by the foster-young. Foster-young of species which have a longer pouch life than the red kangaroo remained in the pouches of red kangaroo foster-mothers for the time usual in their own species. Foster-young transferred to the pouches of other species were usually reared to the end of pouch life if adult sizes of transferred young and foster-mother were nearly equal. Young of small species transferred to the pouches of larger species were often lost before the end of pouch life.

The population pattern of Miniopterus schrebersii (Chiroptera) in north-eastern New South Wales

Abstract: In north-eastern New South Wales Miniopterus schreibersii is found at a wide range of cave and mine roosts as colonies that may include up to several thousands of individuals. Between April 1960 and September 1963 a field study of the biology and population characteristics of this species was carried out. Field criteria permitting aging of individuals were developed. Age classes considered were juveniles ( 21 months). Seasonal changes in numbers, and in the sex and age composition of colonies were followed in detail at several roosts and comparative information was obtained at others. Movement patterns were assessed by a marking and recapture programme in which 1365 recoveries were obtained from a marked (toe clips and bands) population of 8775. Conspicuous sex or age biases or both were shown to exist in clusters of M. schreibersii at specific roosts and it was suggested that clustering in this species functions, in part, as a social spacing mechanism. Segregation of different sex or age classes at specific colonies permitted classification of colonies as (1) maternity colonies in which adult females and their young predominate, (2) "adult" colonies which are predominantly adult, or adult and yearling, in composition, and (3) "juvenile" colonies in which juveniles, or juveniles and yearlings, are almost prevalent. The observed social biases of colonies appeared to be related to particular phases of the reproductive cycle. Certain adult colonies were interpreted as important sites of copulatory behaviour. Recovery data for two of these mating colonies showed that adult females were more transient members of the colony than adult males. Juveniles are often well represented at adult colonies in the autumn, and during this season their presence may be correlated with a drop in the abundance of older males.

The skin and hair of the southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina (Linn.) I. The facial vibrissae

Abstract: The arrangement, number, and anatomy of the facial vibrissa follicles of the southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina (Linn.), are described. There are three groups of vibrissae: mystacial, supraorbital, and rhinal, containing approximately 38, 7, and 1 follicles, respectively. These specialized hairs appear to be retained for at least 2 yr and are not shed with the pelage hairs at each annual moult. The histology of the vibrissa follicles and associated organs is described and discussed in relation to their sensory function. Vibrissa follicles of elephant seals are different in anatomy from those described in the mouse and rat: the ringwulst is relatively smaller and, in addition to the sebaceous glands, there are tubular glands of unidentified function but resembling apocrine sweat glands.

On the pseudoscorpionidea of Australia

Abstract: The Australian pseudoscorpionid fauna, as now known, includes representatives of 7 families and 24 genera, of which Austrohorus (Olpiidae, type species exsul mihi, Western Australia) and Paraustrochernes (Chernetidae, type species victorianus mihi, Victoria) are described as new. Tubbichthonius Hoff (Chthoniidae) is considered to be a synonym of Pseudotyrannochthonius Beier. Of the 53 Australian species, to which a key is given, 12 are described as new, namely-Chthoniidae : Sathrochthonius crassidens, Tyrannochthonius (Tyrannochthonius) laevis, T. (Lagynochthonius) australicus, Pseudotyrannochthonius bornemisszai, P. australiensis; Olpiidae: Austrohorus exsul, Xenolpium squalidum, X. bornemisszai; Garypidae: Synsphyronus (Maorigarypus) fallaciosus; Chernetidae: Nesidiochernes australicus, Paraustrochernes victorianus; Cheliferidae: Protochelifer victorianus. No new specific synonymy is recorded.

The spider fauna (Araneida) of deciduous orchards in the Australian Capital Territory

Abstract: A total of 38 species of spiders were collected as suspected predators of the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walk.), in the Australian Capital Territory. In all, 16 of these are re-described, and three are described as new species, while seven new synonyms are proposed: Theridiidae; Achaearanea veruculata (Urquhart). Araneidae Arachnura feredayi (Koch); Cyclosa fuliginata (Koch), comb. nov. ; Araneus transmarinus (Keyserling) = A. viridis (Keyserling), syn, nov. = A. thyridotus (Thorell), syn. nov.; Araneus heroine (Koch) = A. annulatus (Keyserling), syn. nov.; Araneus psittacinus (Keyserling); Araneus ginninderranus, sp. nov.; Phonognatha graeffei (Keyserling) ; Phonognatha melania (Koch), comb. nov. ; Gasteracantha minax Thorell. Tetragnathidae; Tetragnatha quadridens, sp. nov. Clubionidae; Chiracanthium gracile Koch; Chiracanthium mordax Koch = C. diversum Koch, syn. nov. = C. gilvum Koch, syn. nov. ; Clubiona canberrana, sp. nov. Thomisidae; Diaea cruentata (Koch), comb. nov. = D. elegans Koch, syn. nov.; Diaea pilula (Koch) = Xysticus daemeli Koch, syn. nov.; Diaea inornata (Koch), comb. nov. Amaurobiidae; Badumna inornata (Koch); Ixeuticus candidus (Koch). The genus Singotypa Simon, 1894 is proposed as a junior synonym of Phonognatha Simon, 1894.

Observations on the life history of the scorpion Urodacus abruptus (Scorpionidae), and the analysis of its home sites

Abstract: The life history of the scorpion was worked out for a discrete population on Black Mountain near Canberra, A.C.T. The biology was unusual because of an unexpected longevity and a highly imbalanced adult sex ratio. A clear selection of favoured home sites was demonstrated, but it was also shown that availability of food limited the population before all potential home sites were occupied. A mechanism of numerical stabilization dependent on the regulation of recruitment is discussed.

Revision of the genus Charletonia Oudemans (Acrina : Erythraeidae)

Abstract: A comprehensive revision of the genus Charletonia Oudemans, 1910 (Acarina: Erythraeidae) is made from (1) representative specimens of the Oudemans collection, Leiden Museum, of European, Asian, African, and Australasian species; (2) the South Australian Museum collection containing Australian material, as well as European material collected by Womersley; (3) the author's collection containing Australasian, Asian, and European material; and (4) the collection of larval erythraeid mites ectoparasitic upon Australian grasshoppers (and, to a small extent, phasmatids) of the Australian National Insect Collection, Division of Entomology, CSIRO. The genus is left with 32 species, comprising 5 European (1 new), 7 African (1 new), 5 Asian (1 new), and 16 Australasian (10 new). One species, C. volzi (Oudemans), is recorded from both Asia and Australasia. No North or South American material was seen. It has been possible to key all of these species, the only exception being that of C. ojirnai (Kishida) from Japan. Some reference is made to the life history of C. kvendowskyi (Feider) from Europe, and the egg stage described from preserved material. The fragmentary holotype larva of Callidosoma dasypodiae (Womersley) is redescribed, and brief reference is made to the rediscovery of this species, which has allowed its correct generic placing, previously impossible from loss of diagnostic parts of the original material.

Management and behaviour of breeding groups of the marsupial Perameles nasuta Geoffroy in captivity

Abstract: The marsupial Perameles nasuta Geoffroy was repeatedly bred in captivity, in large enclosures, for the first time. Methods of management are described. The bandicoot's behaviour was observed on 104 nights with spotlight and binoculars. All the bandicoots used the whole enclosure, were solitary in habit, and were very busy feeders, spending little time in other activities. Sexual activity was restricted to a few nights close to oestrus. Close following of the female by the male led to several matings which occurred in quick succession, with intromission lasting a few seconds. Gestation lasted 12.5 days. The interval between successive periods of oestrus, when young conceived at the first oestrus were successfully reared to weaning, was 62-63 days. Young were carried in the pouch at night for 50-54 days and appeared to be weaned when the next litter was due.

Daily patterns of flight activity of blowflies (Calliphoridae: Díptera) in the Canberra district as indicated by trap catches.

Abstract: Patterns of blowfly flight activity were studied in the Canberra district by clearing traps at 90-min intervals throughout sampling days. In hot weather there were pronounced morning and afternoon peaks in the trap catches of Calliphora stygia and C. augur, and there were morning and evening peaks in the male to female ratio. In the colder months the curves of the trap catches were unimodal. Microcalliphora varipes visited traps for a shorter period each day than the Calliphora species. Its flight activity patterns were also bimodal in the hottest months, sometimes with a pronounced evening peak. Chrysomya rufifacies, Phaenicia cuprina, and P. sericata also commenced to enter traps much later in the day than Calliphora species and the curves of the daily catches were essentially unimodal. There was wide variation in the air temperature at which first and last flies of any species were caught each day, or at which peaks and troughs occurred in catches. Temperature when activity ceased tended to be higher than when activity commenced on the same day. The possible influence of radiation intensity on flight activity is discussed.

An attempt to control ragwort in Australia with the cinnabar moth, Callimorpha jacobaeae (L.) (Arctiidae : Lepidoptera)

Abstract: This paper describes research on the cinnabar moth, Callimorpha jacobaeae, introduced from England and Italy to Australia for the control of the poisonous weed, ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). Studies were conducted for six seasons in a high rainfall area of southern Gippsland, Vic., where the impact of ragwort infestation on dairy pastures was severe. Callimorpha has a univoltine life cycle with an obligatory pupal diapause during winter. The termination of this diapause in introduced stocks was successful to a limited extent only, and changes in its duration required for synchronization with the southern hemisphere seasons adversely affected the reproductive capacity of emerging females. The larval progeny of Italian stock failed to survive in the field, and disappeared completely within the first season, whereas those of English origin were reasonably successful. In view of the low reproductive rate of Callimorpha and because of its numerous insect enemies, breeding was carried out in the field using techniques designed to provide protection from the locally abundant predators. An attempt was also made to assess factors playing a role in its numerical regulation. The larvae were liable to heavy mortality in the field due to the combined effect of fungal infections, insect predators, and parasites, and also to a virus disease introduced in a latent state with the insect. At an early stage of this work (the second Australian generation), a nuclear polyhedral virus epizootic destroyed 90% of the larval population. The fifth Australian generation was the last to survive in the field. Of the larval predators, the mecopteran Harpobittacus nigriceps caused the most serious mortality. This predator, common in all ragwort-infested areas of Victoria, showed a zonal pattern in its density distribution; the high density zones often overlapped sites occupied by larval colonies of the cinnabar moth. The larvae of Callimorpha were more frequently taken by Harpobittacus than tipulid flies (Macromastix spp.) which are normally its principal prey; the abundance and distribution of these flies was also studied. The abundance of both Harpobittacus and Macromastix, was influenced by weather factors, resulting in a marked annual fluctuation in their numbers. At times of high Harpobittacus abundance, mortality in larval colonies of Callimorpha due to this predator averaged over 80%, with extremes of 90-100% being observed frequently. The larvae of Callimorpha were found to be potentially efficient in controlling ragwort. The viable seed production of severely attacked plants was reduced, following defoliation and destruction of the primary flowerheads, by an average of over 98%. However, taking all factors into account, it is unlikely that Callimorpha could exert useful control of ragwort in Australia. There seems little chance that high larval densities, necessary to suppress seeding by ragwort, could be maintained in face of heavy predation. As the data presented in this paper indicate, Harpobittacus alone would be capable of preventing the effective establishment of C. jacobaeae in this country.

Prolonged paralysis of the chick embryo, with special reference to effects on the vertebral column

Abstract: Chick embryos were paralysed with decamethonium, the first dose usually being administtered at 5 days of incubation. Some of the specimens were kept paralysed for as long as 1 week. A number of the treated embryos exhibited deformations in the shape of the body or abnormal postures of the limbs. These features were probably caused by pressures arising from contact between the embryo and the actively contracting amniotic membrane. In transverse sections through the thorax of some of the embryos, the vertebral column was seen to have been rotated about its axis. The rotation, as viewed from the anterior aspect, was always in an anticlockwise direction, and the mid-sagittal plane of the vertebral column was at an angle of about 30-40 degrees to the median plane of the body. In longitudinal sections, the vertebral column was sometimes found to be buckled into an S-shaped curvature, presumably as a consequence of anteroposterior compression of the body, which could not be compensated for because of the muscular paralysis. There was extensive cartilaginous union between the vertebrae, and the articulation of the first cervical vertebra with the skull was also fused. The results obtained by paralysis indicate that functional activity of the embryonic skeletal musculature plays important roles in ensuring normal development; firstly, by enabling the embryo to resist external mechanical pressures which would otherwise result in a distortion of its shape, and secondly, by being a causal factor in the formation of movable articulations within the vertebral column

Observations on the hunting and mating behaviours of two species of scorpion flies (Bittacidae : Mecoptera)

Abstract: This paper describes the hunting and mating behaviour of two species of Harpobittacus which are endemic to Australia. The larvae of H. australis, and probably also those of H. nigriceps, are scavengers, whereas their adults are rapacious predators. Their prey include a wide variety of soft-bodied insects and spiders. In the field only the male was observed to hunt and capture its prey with its powerful raptorial hindlegs. After taking a short meal, the male curves its abdomen to evert two intertergal vesicles between segments 6 and 7 and segments 7 and 8. These vesicles contract and expand in a slow rhythmic motion and discharge a sex pheromone which attracts the female. As soon as copulation is established the male passes the prey to the female which feeds on it as a nuptial meal while mating is in progress. Both sexes mate several times daily throughout their entire lifetimes. The hunting and mating behaviour of the two species differ only in that the nuptial meal remains in the possession of the male H. australis, the same prey being used for several mating actions with different females. In H. nigriceps, the meal is in possession of the female which discards it just prior to the termination of copulation. In this species a fresh nuptial meal is provided by the male on each mating occasion. It is suggested that similar mating behaviour may occur in other genera of Bittacidae, notably in the worldwide genus Bittacus.

Studies on the biology, immature stages and relative groowth of some Australian bugs of the superfamily Coreoidea (Hemiptera : Heteroptera)

Abstract: The biology and immature stages of 11 species of native Australian bugs of the superfamily Coreoidea are studied and their relevance to the status of the included taxa are considered. The immature stages of Hyocephalidae and Agriopocorinae are described for the first time and an account of the life cycle of the former is given. The morphology of the coreoid larvae is studied in detail and the relative growth of pronotum and antennal and leg segments is studied in six species of Coreidae and Alydidae. Hypothesis 1 of Matsuda (1961) has been supported.

Notes on the ecology of the bushfly, Musca vetustissima Walk. (Diptera : Muscidae), in the Canberra district

Abstract: In the Canberra area Musca vetustissima has been bred from faeces of man, cattle, sheep, and dog. Other Australian records include dung of the horse and pig, and the paunch contents of dead ruminants. Bushflies first appear in Canberra in October. Maximum abundance is attained in December-January. No flies are present from late May to late October. The species may overwinter in the pupal stage. In December experiments marked flies were recovered up to 3.5 miles from the liberation point within 48 hr of release. Calculations suggested a population density of about 9000 bushflies per acre at this time. Catches of M. vetustissima in liver-baited blowfly traps differed from those of blowflies in not being markedly lower in treeless areas than in areas with trees and shrubs. The daily M. vetustissima flight activity pattern, as judged by trapping, was usually unimodal but there was some evidence of reduced activity in the early afternoon in hot weather. Air temperatures afforded a poor guide to the daily flight activity patterns of M. vetustissima, and the temperatures at which the first flies entered the traps in the morning were generally lower than those at which the last ones entered in the evening on the same day. The male to female ratio in trapped M. vetustissima was significantly higher than in any blowfly species, and the correlation between male to female ratio and total trap catch was lower than in blowfly species. The male to female ratio of M. vetustissima showed a distinct pattern of correlation with the male to female ratio of blowfly species.

Description and biology of an Australian species of Cypselosomatidae (Diptera), with a discussion of family relationships

Abstract: A new species of the genus Cypselosoma Hendel is described, in both the adult and immature stages. This constitutes the first record of the family Cypselosomatidae in Australia. Notes on the family, generic, and specific characters are given with keys to aid identification. The ecology of the new species is discussed and some adaptions necessary to survival in its environment are pointed out. The known distribution of the cypselosomatid genera Cypselosoma and Formicosepsis is given, and the latter recorded from New Guinea for the first time. The relationships of the families Micropezidae and Neriidae are discussed in the light of knowledge gained from the more primitive Cypselosomatidae. It is concluded that the superfamily Micropezoidea should include the following families : Pseudopomyzidae, Cypselosomatidae, Neriidae, Micropezidae, and Megamerinidae. Protoborborus Malloch and Heluscolia Harrison are mentioned as new synonyms of Pseudopomyza Strobl. The genus Heloclusia Malloch is transferred from the Heleomyzidae to the Pseudopomyzidae.

Physiological differences between races of Teleogryllus commodus (Walker) (Orthoptera : Gryllidae) related to a proposed genetic approach to control

Abstract: A method of population control for a diapausing race of Teleogryllus commodus, based on the introduction of a non-diapausing population, is postulated. One factor that could influence the degree of probability of success of the method is the susceptibility of eggs of the northern tropical race to winter temperatures when exposed to the temperate climate of the south. Tests were conducted which showed that eggs of the tropical race were more vulnerable to low temperature and had a higher threshold of development. Hybrid eggs appear to be intermediate in their ability to survive low temperature. A comparison of the diapausing characteristics of races from widely separated localities in Australia confirmed the non-diapausing characteristic of northern Queensland races; all others showed the ability to enter diapause but varied in the proportion of eggs in which diapause was averted by exposure to high temperature. A method of rearing crickets, suitable for the production of large numbers for field release, is described.

Nematode parasites of free-living rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in eastern Australia

Abstract: (1) Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (Zeder, 1800) in wild rabbits in Australia has been studied by more or less regular sampling of rabbit populations in four climatically different areas of eastern Australia (2) In a semi-arid locality in north-western New South Wales, T retortaeformis is rarely found; in a subtropical area of south-central Queensland it was found only in small numbers and many rabbits were apparently free of infection In an area of the Riverina district of New South Wales most rabbits were infected but parasite numbers were rarely high The highest levels of infection were recorded at a site in a subalpine area of New South Wales (3) It was possible to build up a detailed picture of the dynamics of T retortaeformis in rabbits throughout their lives at Snowy Plains, the subalpine site, in which breeding of rabbits is limited to a relatively few months each year During their first 6-8 months of life (prior to their first breeding season) male and female rabbits carry moderate numbers of T retortaeformis with the males carrying somewhat more parasites than the females During the breeding season T retortaeformis numbers in female rabbits increase very markedly (about tenfold) while numbers in male rabbits are decreasing to a low level (their lowest during the year) Following breeding, worm numbers in female rabbits drop quite rapidly while those in males increase to a similarly moderate level Apparently a similar cycle of events occurs during each 12 months of a rabbit's life (4) At Urana, in the Riverina plain region the cycle of events described above for Snowy Plains could not be seen, although T retortaeformis was found in moderate numbers This may have been due to infrequent sampling, lack of a defined rabbit breeding season, or some other factor

Nematode parasites of free-living rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in eastern Australia. II. Variations in the numbers of Graphidium strigosum (Dujardin) Railliet & Henry.

Abstract: Numbers of the stomach worm Graphidium strigosum were estimated in the stomachs of about 2500 rabbits collected from four sites in eastern Australia extending over 1-3 yr of regular sampling. At two of these sites - in the semi-arid far north-west of New South Wales and in subtropical south-central Queensland - G. strigosum was not found. At a third site in the riverine plain region of southern New South Wales G. strigosum was found in 15% of the 470 rabbits examined but it was never found in high numbers in any rabbit. At a subalpine site in south-eastern New South Wales G. strigosum probably infected all rabbits during their life and was often found in high numbers. Numbers of adult stomach worms tended to increase during the first year of the rabbit's life. During each breeding period (which is of 4-6 months duration at this site) female rabbits carried more Graphidium than did male rabbits, although this situation is only of quite short duration and might have been overlooked except by frequent sampling. It is thought that this pattern would be repeated each breeding period throughout the life of the rabbit and is probably of considerable ecological significance for the parasite.

On the larva of Sphaerius and the systematic position of the Sphaeriidae (Coleoptera)

Abstract: The first-known larva of the family Sphaeriidae is described and compared with descriptions of the larvae of Hydroscaphidae and Torridinicolidae. It is concluded that the similarities of the larvae confirm the relationship of the families suggested by Crowson (1955) on the basis of adult characters, and justify the establishment of the suborder Myxophaga.

Cytogenetics of the cultrata group of morabine grasshoppers I.A group of species with XY and X1X2Y sex chromosome mechanisms

Abstract: Two closely related species belonging to the cultrata group show an XY condition in the male as a result of an X-autosome fusion. One of these has two cytological races which differ in the shape of the Y chromosome. This complex of XY forms has given rise to an XlX2Y species by a further Y-autosome fusion. The latter species has two cytological races which differ in the shape of the Y and X2 chromosomes, presumably as a result of the fixation of pericentric inversions and other structural changes.

A revision of the subfamily Leptoconopinae Noe (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) in Australia

Abstract: The historical background and status of the subfamily Leptoconopinae Noe is discussed, the known Australasian species of Leptoconopinae reviewed and a further 12 species (nine Leptoconops (Leptoconops) Skuse and three Styloconops Kieffer) are described. Males are included for six of the Leptoconops and three of the Styloconops. The female genitalia of Leptoconops (Leptoconops) are used as a definitive specific character; this is supported by the male genitalia, when males are present.

The food of morabine grasshoppers

Abstract: Over 200 species of plants were tested for their acceptability to morabine grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Eumastacidae) living in the habitat with the plant. The characteristic colour produced by each plant in the ileal diverticula of each morabine species was recorded, so that by comparison with the colours of the diverticula of grasshoppers dissected in the field, their natural foodplants could be estimated. Morabines can survive up to 14 days without food if water is available; they are polyphagous and also need certain plants as shelter. Where small ephemeral plants are available, morabines often feed on them, reverting to larger perennial species as need arises.

The bastocyst of the red kangaroo, Megaleia Rufa (Desm.), during diapause

Abstract: A method is presented for splitting open fixed blastocysts and mounting the entire vesicle on a flat surface. A description is given of the red kangaroo blastocyst during lactation-controlled embryonic diapause. The protoderm is unilaminar and contains about 85 cells. No mitotic figures are seen, and there is no growth or differentiation. The marsupial blastocyst is compared with blastocysts of eutherian mammals during diapause.

Behavioural cycles during Pseudopregnancy in confined populations of domestic rabbits and their relation to the histology of the female reproductive tract

Abstract: Female domestic rabbits living with vasectomized males in large compounds (3/16 ac in area) exhibited periods of sexual attraction and mating, together with other behaviour such as aggression towards other females, digging, burrow interest, and nest building at intervals of about 6 days or multiples thereof. The behavioural cycles occurred during pseudopregnancy (of about 18 days) and were not a manifestation of an underlying inherent sequential cycle or a typical mammalian oestrous cycle. Behaviour with a strong sexual component culminating in mating and ovulation was observed at the beginning (or end) of each of 54 pseudopregnancies. Similar behaviour was also grouped about either the sixth or twelfth days of pseudopregnancy or both. This behaviour was extremely variable in both incidence and the number of components involved. Sexual components occurred less frequently and only once culminated in mating and ovulation. The behaviour observed on the sixth and twelfth days of pseudopregnancy was not reflected in measures of physiological activity such as numbers of graafian follicles, diameter of graafian follicles or corpora lutea, or weight changes in ovaries or uteri. The histology of the ovaries, uterus, and vagina and dimensional changes such as ovarian and uterine weights, number and diameter of graafian follicles, and diameter of sets of corpora lutea showed no detectable difference from those reported by other workers during pseudopregnancy for caged female rabbits isolated from males. The incidence of 6-day and 12-day behaviour was highest in the autumn-winter months when sub-optimal reproductiveconditions prevailed and lowest in spring-summer. Some possible causal mechanisms and the adaptive significance of the sixth-day and twelfth-day periods of sexual behaviour are discussed.

Polymorphism in Velacumantus australis (Gastropoda : Potamididae) and its relationship to parasitism

Abstract: Velacumantus australis is a common gastropod along the Australian coast. Samples of four populations were examined and the frequency of two banded forms was recorded. All brown-banded snails were small juveniles and these apparently die before reaching adolescence. White-banded snails occurred in all age groups and their frequency tends to be highest in juveniles and lowest in the oldest adults. White-banded snails have a much lower incidence of larval trematode infection than unbanded snails and also differ slightly in weight and in the onset of sexual maturity. It is suggested that these forms are maintained as a selectively balanced polymorphism.

Australian Blattidae (Blattodae) V. Revision of the genera Anamesia Tepper and Pseudolampra Tepper

Abstract: A total of 11 species of Anamesia have been named, three of them being described as new, namely A. maculosa, sp. nov., A, uniformis, sp. nov., and A. angusta, sp. nov. Four species of Pseudolampra are known, one being described here as new, namely Ps. venusta, sp. nov.

Australian Blattidae (Blattodae) IV. Megazosteria, gen. nov., and revision of the genus Desmozosteria Shelford

Abstract: A new genus Megazosteria is proposed for Polyzosteria patula Walker, and for four other species, including M. nigrolutea, sp. nov., and M. shawi, sp. nov. A total of 11 species of Desmozosteria are recognized, six of them being described as new, namely: D. elongata, sp. nov., D. flava, sp. nov., D. lunata, sp. nov., D. obscura, sp, nov., D. pallidula, sp. nov., and D, scripta, sp. nov.