Showing papers in "Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society in 2009"
TL;DR: A similar rapid spread of A. manicatum into western North America, including British Columbia and Idaho, is documented, and the potential risks of this species in eastern Canada are discussed.
Abstract: Anthidium manicatum (L.) is an adventive species of European origin first recorded in North America in the late 1960's; from that point until 2001 its range on the continent was restricted to the northeast-central USA and central Canada (Ontario, more recently Quebec). In 2005, this species was reported from Nova Scotia, a rapid and wide increase in its distribution. In this paper, we document a similar rapid spread of A. manicatum into western North America, including British Columbia and Idaho, and discuss the potential risks of this species in eastern Canada. In addition, the potential of DNA barcoding as a rapid and reliable means of recognizing adventive bee species is advocated.
54 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is offered to suggest that urban residential areas represent a source of bees that continue to visit A. inermis at low levels in and immediately around Liberia.
Abstract: Long-term monitoring of bees in specific sites provides information on changes in species diversity and abundance, especially in areas close to human habitation. Evaluations of this monitoring data combined with relevant measures of anthropogenic activity can aide in interpreting emerging patterns of bee pollinators. In 1972, we sampled bees visiting flowers of a population of the leguminous tree, Andira inermis (W. Wright) DC in a dry forest site adjacent to the town of Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Slightly more than 800 bees were recorded on the average per tree site, with an overall bee diversity among the trees of approximately 70 species. Standardized bee samples were taken again from the same population of A. inermis in 1996, 1999, and 2004. In each of these years average abundance level per tree was greatly reduced, as was overall species diversity. Andira inermis trees were also observed to have variable attraction for large anthophorid bees versus honey bees. Some trees attr...
48 citations
TL;DR: The four tropical ceratinines described here and all other behaviourally classified species exhibit recurrent patterns of maternal care, maternal longevity, and nest protection, making Ceratina of future interest for the study of life history and social evolution.
Abstract: The bee tribe Ceratinini is important for understanding early stages in social evolution Their extant sister tribe Allodapini contains no strictly solitary species, and while some Ceratinini are commonly regarded as solitary, little behavioural data exist to substantiate this Studies on Asian congeners have shown recurrent sociality in temperate and subtropical ranges while behavioural data are lacking in tropical regions Field work along the west coast of Borneo in Sarawak, Malaysia, has provided some insight into these tropical taxa Here we describe the nesting biology and social behaviour of four taxonomically described yet behaviourally unclassified Ceratina species These four species are from three subgenera, namely Ceratina (Ceratinidia) accusator Cockerell, C (Ceratinidia) nigrolateralis Cockerell, C (Neoceratina) dentipes Friese, C (Pithitis) smaragdula Fabricius Nests of all species were typically attended by an adult female while all species except C accusator had a low frequency of multi-female nesting assemblages The four tropical ceratinines described here and all other behaviourally classified species exhibit recurrent patterns of maternal care, maternal longevity, and nest protection Prolonged parental care found across the genus and occasional transitions into sociality make Ceratina of future interest for the study of life history and social evolution The evolution of eusociality is considered one of the major transitions in evolution (Maynard Smith and Szathamary, 1995) In solitary species, offspring disperse and reproduce independently whereas workers in eusocial societies remain at the natal nest and largely forego reproduction to aid the queen in rearing siblings Socially polymorphic lineages, those containing both solitary and social species, retain the plasticity to allow intra-specific comparisons of solitary with social life The key to understanding the transition to sociality requires a group of closely related taxa possessing broad social, taxonomic and geographic diversity Bees provide numerous contrasts to offer insights into the origin of sociality with their range of solitary to social forms The small carpenter bees Hymenoptera: Apidae (Xylocopinae: Ceratinini) are commonly regarded as solitary (Michener, 1974) All behaviourally classified species share a relatively simple life history Females disperse from their natal nests and find appropriate nesting substrate These twig-nesting bees excavate linear burrows in the cores of dead exposed pithy stems Subsequent to burrow construction, females forage for pollen and nectar provisions that they form into a pollen mass on which they lay an egg After provisioning and oviposition, brood cells are cappe dw ith a partition of wood pith, and the process is repeated in a serial manner along the linear nest chamber
46 citations
TL;DR: Few reports of flower visitation, rare presence of only minor amounts of pollen on legs, reduced pilosity, absence of resin on body and legs, presence of a strongly extensible metasoma for fluid transport, are all interpreted as possible indications of an adaptation to lachryphagy for proteins.
Abstract: Lisotrigona cacciae, L. furva and Pariotrigona klossi (Meliponini, Apidae) workers drank lachrymation (tears) from human eyes in more than 262 naturally-occurred cases at 10 sites in N and S Thailand during all months of the year. A few visits were also seen to eyes of zebu and dog, indicating a probable broad mammalian host range. On man the bees were relatively gentle visitors, mostly landing on the lower eyelashes from where they imbibed tears for 0.5–2.5 min, often singly but occasionally in congregations of 5–7 specimens per eye. Less typically, they also took sweat, a behavior found in 11 other species of anthropophilous meliponines which are not lachryphagous. Nine further meliponine species were not anthropophilous. Lachryphagy in bees is compared to lepidopterous tear drinking and related feeding strategies such as puddling by various insects, mostly for salt requirements but in other cases proteins are sought. We propose that L. cacciae, L. furva and P. klossi drink tears for their high...
34 citations
TL;DR: A new genus and species of braconid, Archephedrus stolamissus, from Early Cretaceous (Albian) amber from Moraza-Peñacerrada I (Spain) is described, supporting a Northern rather than Southern Hemisphere origin for the lineage.
Abstract: A description of a new genus and species of braconid, Archephedrus stolamissus, from Early Cretaceous (Albian) amber from Moraza-Penacerrada I (Spain) is here provided. This is the first fossil Aphidiinae described in Cretaceous amber. The fossil has some typical characters of the subfamily but possesses a unique assemblage of characters among aphidiines, such as a fairly robust abdomen, with a more pronounced articulation between the first and second, instead of the second and third, metasomal segments, as well as several wing venational traits. The distribution of this and other aphidiine fossils, as well as their putative phylogenetic placement as basal among Aphidiinae, is discussed, supporting a Northern rather than Southern Hemisphere origin for the lineage.
29 citations
TL;DR: Both stingless bee and honey bee samples suggested heterogeneous foraging behavior and high correlation indexes were registered between honey samples of S. mexicana and A. mellifera.
Abstract: Honey samples belonging to Scaptotrigona mexicana Guerin and Apis mellifera L. from 10 localities in northern Puebla State were evaluated by means of melitopalynologic analysis. Pollen from nine plant taxa had values of importance (≥10%): Ageratum houstonianum Mill. (Compositae), Bursera spp. (Burseraceae), Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae), Muntingia cf. M. calabura L. (Tiliaceae), Heliocarpus donnell-smithii Rose (Tiliaceae), Miconia argentea DC. (Melastomataceae), Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr. (Myrtaceae), Quercus sp. (Fagaceae) and Vernonia sp. (Compositae). Honey samples of S. mexicana had relatively high numbers of pollen grains per gram and diversity indexes. Both stingless bee and honey bee samples suggested heterogeneous foraging behavior. In addition, high correlation indexes were registered between honey samples of S. mexicana and A. mellifera. Botanical relationships among S. mexicana (PAE: Parsimony Analysis of Endemism) honey samples were established by A. houstonianum, H. donell-smithii, M...
25 citations
TL;DR: A new genus and species of the neuropteran family Rhachiberothidae is described from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber from the Grassy Lake locality in Alberta, Canada, suggesting that the family was global at least 125–45 mya.
Abstract: Albertoberotha leuckorum McKellar and Engel, a new genus and species of the neuropteran family Rhachiberothidae is described from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber from the Grassy Lake locality in Alberta, Canada. Rhachiberothidae today consist of 13 species from sub-saharan Africa; but 12 species in amber throughout the Northern Hemisphere indicate that the family was global at least 125–45 mya. Despite the extent of existing studies pertaining to amber-entombed neuropterans, only members of the Berothidae and Chrysopidae have been conclusively reported from Canadian amber to date. We describe the first representative of the Rhachiberothidae to be observed in Campanian amber and draw comparisons with genera in other Cretaceous deposits.
18 citations
TL;DR: Diversity of chironomid larvae in 115 wetlands in an extensive area of Neotropical region was examined by analysis of richness and composition in different wetland subsystems, types and classes, with Chironominae showing the greatest richness, followed by Tanypodinae and Orthocladiinae.
Abstract: Chironomidae is a cosmopolitan family of dipteran insects occurring in all zoogeographical regions of the world. The family is quite diverse and the objective of this study was to examine diversity of chironomid larvae in 115 wetlands in an extensive area of Neotropical region (∼220,000 km2, southern Brazil) by analysis of richness and composition in different wetland subsystems, types and classes. Also examined were effects of wetland area, altitude, water conductivity and nutrients on these community descriptors. A total of 36 genera was found, with Chironominae showing the greatest richness, followed by Tanypodinae and Orthocladiinae. The richness and composition changed between wetland subsystems, types and classes. However, no single parameter strongly influenced the chironomid richness and composition in this broad spatial scale survey. The broad spatial scale and details of this study make it an important contribution to knowledge of chironomid diversity in the Neotropical region.
17 citations
TL;DR: Two potential host species, M. genalis and M. ecuadoria, are sympatric in Panama, which is the only locality record for M. byroni, and the new host record is tentative until it is confirmed with rearing records.
Abstract: W 079.72997), in nearby secondary forests near Gamboa, and in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument. Nests were collected in the field, and opened in the laboratory to collect resident adults and brood. The metasoma of each parasite was preserved in formalin and later dissected under light microscopy. The number of ovarioles per ovary was counted, as well as the number of yellow bodies. The width of the largest ovariole and the width of the Dufour’s gland were measured using an ocular micrometer. Means are given with their standard deviations. In 2005 only 2.7% of 75 nests contained an adult parasite, and in 2006 none of the 114 nests were parasitized (overall parasitism rate, ,1%). The first parasite was found in late June (beginning of the wet season) in a nest with two M. ecuadoria females and three open and empty brood cells. Thus, the new host record is tentative until it is confirmed with rearing records. The second parasite was found in a nest of M. genalis in early August. The nest was inhabited by a single M. genalis female and there were no cells in the nest, so apparently it was in an early stage of construction. Almost nothing is known on the biology of M. byroni, and we do not know if it is a cleptoparasite or a social parasite. Given the social flexibility of the host bees (i.e., some bees are solitary and some social) (Wcislo et al., 2004), this classification might not fit at all, and host-parasite relationships might depend also on the social status of particular nests. These two potential host species, M. genalis and M. ecuadoria, are sympatric in Panama, which is the only locality record for M. byroni. Both parasites had three ovarioles per ovary, which is the plesiomorphic number for Halictidae, including parasitic forms (Rozen, 2003), and the width of the largest ovariole was 0.45 mm for both parasites. By comparison, the resident M. ecuadoria had a mean ovariole width of 0.75 mm, slightly larger than the M. ecuadoria population mean of 0.37 mm 6 0.16 (N 5 54) and the M. genalis population mean of 0.41 mm 6 0.18 (N 5 59). Furthermore, the first parasite, collected in June, had 12 yellow bodies, while the second one, collected in August, had only one. In contrast, the nestmates had no yellow bodies, and the M. ecuadoria population mean was 0.32 6 0.96 (N 5 54) yellow bodies, and 1.16 6 2.65 (N 5 59) for M.
15 citations
TL;DR: Investigation of morphological and natural history data, along with molecular data derived from the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2), and an addendum to Mickel's (1936) Dasymutilla key are used to investigate the status of species that are morphologically similar to DasyMutilla quadriguttata.
Abstract: This study uses morphological and natural history data, along with molecular data derived from the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2), to investigate the status of species that are morphologically similar to Dasymutilla quadriguttata. Genetic distances, UPGMA cluster analyses, and maximum parsimony analyses were performed. In addition to those species that are morphologically similar to Dasymutilla quadriguttata, for our analysis we chose other species from the D. quadriguttata species-group that differ sufficiently in morphology as outgroups, as well as species from the D. bioculata and D. nigripes species-groups. These species include D. californica, D. chattahoochei, D. lepeletierii, D. nigripes, and D. wileyae. Conclusions from the analyses are that D. alesia, D. allardi, D. atrifimbriata, D. biguttata, D. castor, D. cypris, D. electra, D. hersilia, D. hora, D. interrupta, D. mediatoria, D. miamensis, D. mutata, D. nigridia, D. nitidula, D. permista, and D. rubricosa are ind...
14 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that seasonal and sex differences in size arerelated to the different flight activity patterns of males and females in summer, and that geographic differences between the two populations are related to the length and duration of winters.
Abstract: In bees, both body size and shape may show considerable variation associated with differences between females and males, among populations, and due to local environmental variation. We studied multiple parameters of body size and shape of the large carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica, to understand how body size and shape are influenced by sex, and by seasonal and annual variation. In addition, we compared bees from a population near the northern edge of the range (southern Ontario, ON) which experience relatively severe winters, to bees from the central portion of the range (Maryland, MD), which experience milder winters. Overall, males and females differed in linear dimensions but were more or less the same mass. Seasonal variability was investigated using ON bees. In winter, females and males had the same overall mass, but male thoracic volume and linear dimensions such as head capsule width, intertegular width, and costal vein length, were all larger for a given mass. In summer, males weighed less than females, due to loss of mass from the abdomen. Year-to-year differences in size and shape were indicated in MD bees, which exhibited significant differences in linear dimensions and dry mass, but not wet mass. In addition, northern bees were smaller than southern bees in terms of linear dimensions, but it is not entirely clear if overwintering mass differs. We suggest that seasonal and sex differences in size are related to the different flight activity patterns of males and females in summer, and that geographic differences between the two populations are related to the length and duration of winters.
TL;DR: It is suggested that individual turnover in food patches is high and that there is substantial opportunity for sperm competition in Japanese beetles.
Abstract: Japanese beetles are important pests of many agricultural and horticultural plants, yet few studies have attempted to follow the mating behavior of individuals in the field. In this study, we recorded mating behavior and patch residence of Japanese beetles on food plants under field conditions. Pairs of beetles were marked and their fates were followed for 2 days. Both male and female Japanese beetles frequently mated with more than one individual, with males being more likely to pair multiply than females but females more quickly re-pairing than males. Patch departure differed between males and females, with females tending to leave the food patch in midday and males tending to leave in the evening. Male mate-guarding of females was highly variable, with some males remaining with females less than 30 minutes and others guarding females for over 24 hours. The duration of mate guarding was unrelated to whether the female departed immediately after the pair broke up. The results of this study sugge...
TL;DR: To understand the mecopteran biodiversity and phenology in the Preserve more completely, it would be worthwhile to survey the entire Preserve for at least 10 yr with all appropriate sampling methods.
Abstract: As part of a long-term arthropod biodiversity study, we operated six Malaise traps in Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve (DMWP), Virginia from April 1998 through December 1999 and obtained 104 adult mecopterans in five species. They were present in samples from late May through early November. Samples indicate that as a group, the mecopterans were more abundant in the forest than in the marsh and the forest-marsh ecotone, and the mecopterans had a female-biased sex ratio. Two of the trapped species are uncommon or of limited distribution in North America. Malaise traps can be used efficiently to survey and monitor certain mecopteran species in DMWP and similar places. To understand the mecopteran biodiversity and phenology in the Preserve more completely, it would be worthwhile to survey the entire Preserve for at least 10 yr with all appropriate sampling methods.
TL;DR: The genus Ligogramma, provisionally assigned by Béthoux et al., 2004, to either Caloneurodea or Orthoptera, is redescribed and placed in the Caloneurdea, based on the discovery of a new species, Ligogramsma w Wichita, described from a specimen collected from Noble County, Oklahoma.
Abstract: The extinct polyneopterous order Caloneurodea Handlirsch, which includes more than 20 species, has been found in Eurasia and North America, and ranges from the Upper Carboniferous to the Upper Permian. North American records are most numerous from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Kansas and Oklahoma. The genus Ligogramma, provisionally assigned by Bethoux et al., 2004, to either Caloneurodea or Orthoptera, is herein redescribed and placed in the Caloneurodea, based on the discovery of a new species, Ligogramma wichita, described from a specimen collected from Noble County, Oklahoma. This brings the total number of Caloneurodea currently known from the Wellington Formation to eight species.
TL;DR: Evidence for specialized predation on Diplura in Pyramica hexamerus (Brown) was supported by field data and in the laboratory, this ant readily hunted and consumed gamasids as well as collembolans and symphylans.
Abstract: Ants of the myrmicine tribe Dacetini are mostly specialized predators of Collembola. Prey records in the field, however, indicated that the short-mandibulate species Pyramica mazu (Terayama, Lin and Wu) predates upon gamasid mites. In the laboratory, this ant readily hunted and consumed gamasids as well as collembolans and symphylans. Evidence for specialized predation on Diplura in Pyramica hexamerus (Brown) was supported by field data.
TL;DR: A diversity survey of mayflies and caddisflies in 140 wetlands in an extensive area of the Neotropical region found the richness of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera was similar between permanent and intermittent wetlands, and it did not differ significantly between aquatic bed and emergent wetlands.
Abstract: Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera larvae are important components of freshwater benthic communities. However, the environmental factors that determine Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera diversity and distribution in wetland systems of the Neotropical region are not well known. The objectives of this study were to: 1) conduct a diversity survey of mayflies and caddisflies in 140 wetlands in an extensive area of the Neotropical region (∼220,000 km2, southern Brazil), and 2) determine how much variation in mayfly and caddisfly richness and composition is explained by wetland area, altitude, hydroperiod, aquatic vegetation and water conductivity. A total of 5207 individuals distributed among 16 genera of Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera were collected in the studied wetlands. The mayflies were represented by eight genera, and comprised 94.6% of the collected individuals. The richness of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera was similar between permanent and intermittent wetlands, and it did not differ significantly betw...
TL;DR: Small creeks fed by spring runs were the most diverse aquatic systems on the VCNP, and 14 species were new state records.
Abstract: Aquatic insects were collected on the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP), in Sandoval County, New Mexico in 2003 and 2004. We surveyed running water and standing water habitats for Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Hemiptera, Trichoptera, and Coleoptera. In general, species were typical southern Rocky Mountain and southwestern fauna. A total of 130 species was collected, representing 46 families and 90 genera; 14 of these species were new state records. Trichoptera was the most diverse order and seven species represented new state records, including Agraylea multipuctata Curtis, Hydroptila xera Ross, Ochrotrichia logana (Ross), Psychoglypha subborealis (Banks), Polycentropus gertschi Denning, and new species of Neotrichia Morton and Helicopsyche von Siebold. Collections of the mayfly species Cinygmula ramaleyi (Dodds) and Paraleptophlebia temporalis (McDunnough) represented new state records. The aquatic beetles Haliplus immaculicollis Harris, H. leechi Wallis, and Ametor scabrosus Horn an...
TL;DR: Interactions with alternate hosts may influence transgenic maize resistance management models and significantly more reproductively fit beetles were produced from larvae that fed on an alternate host before moving totransgenic maize than from larvae fed exclusively on transgenic corn.
Abstract: The potential for rootworm larvae to move between grassy weeds and transgenic maize may be important in resistance management of transgenic rootworm-resistant maize. An experiment was conducted under growth chamber and greenhouse conditions to determine the impact of initial feeding of rootworm larvae on alternate hosts, followed by switching host to transgenic maize, on the development of western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte). Two grassy weed species, rootworm-resistant Cry3Bb1 transgenic maize (MON863, YieldGardH Rootworm) and its isoline, were infested with 50 neonate larvae per container four weeks after planting. Large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop), and giant foxtail, Setaria faberi R. A. W. Herrm both in the Poaceae, were chosen because they were relatively good hosts in previous studies. On the 5 th ,1 0 th , and 15 th d after infestation, the Tullgren funnel technique was used to facilitate larval movement (host-switching) from the original host plants to the final hosts (MON863 or its isoline). Beetle emergence and fecundity were significantly impacted by the original host, the final host, and their interaction. The original and the final host plant also significantly impacted the sex ratio of the beetles. The host-switching date did not impact any of those three variables. Only the original host had a significant impact on egg viability. Significantly more reproductively fit beetles were produced from larvae that fed on an alternate host before moving to transgenic maize than from larvae fed exclusively on transgenic maize. Interactions with alternate hosts may influence transgenic maize resistance
TL;DR: It is indicated that soil texture significantly influences both the rate of tunneling and amount of soil removed from foraging tubes and the resulting impact on soil turnover in this unique ecosystem.
Abstract: Movement of soil by foraging subterranean termites is important from both an ecological (i.e., soil quality, nutrient cycling) and control standpoint. Previous studies indicated a positive relationship between proportions of sand in a substrate and termite tunneling rates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate tunneling and soil movement capabilities of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) in a no-choice test using field-collected soils comprised of different proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Results indicate that soil texture significantly influences both the rate of tunneling and amount of soil removed from foraging tubes. Termites tunneled at a significantly faster rate and excavated significantly more soil from foraging tubes packed with soil containing relatively higher proportions of sand. Soil texture had little effect on mortality or wood consumption. Soil movement capabilities of subterranean termites in a native tallgrass prairie habitat and the resulting impact on soil turnover in t...
TL;DR: Testing the hypothesis that male calling burrows are aggregated due to habitat limitations linked to fine scale differences in soil characteristics showed no correlation between number of G. major burrows within 10 m of a soil sample site and any of these attributes for the three lek sites sampled.
Abstract: Gryllotalpa major Saussure is a rare burrowing insect native to the tallgrass prairie in the south-central United States. Males construct aggregated burrows in lek arenas from which they produce sexual advertisement calls in a landscape that superficially appears to be rather homogeneous. To test the hypothesis that male calling burrows are aggregated due to habitat limitations linked to fine scale differences in soil characteristics, we analyzed ten soil samples per site taken along a transect from each of three lek sites in Osage and Craig Counties in northeastern Oklahoma for mineral content, moisture content, pH, texture and color. Transects ran across a lek, and thus samples were taken from empty areas on either side of the aggregation, as well as from near burrows. Although there were differences in these soil attributes within and among lek sites, this analysis showed no correlation between number of G. major burrows within 10 m of a soil sample site and any of these attributes for the three lek sites sampled.
TL;DR: Although not generally statistically significant, brome had the lowest means of any of the ground vegetation treatments, possibly due to the relative impenetrability of the thick grass, in an alley cropping practice.
Abstract: Alley cropping is an integrated land management practice growing economic crops between rows of trees. This paper examines the effects of alley cropping on carabid beetles and other ground dwelling arthropod predators on species diversity and abundance by testing for differences among ground vegetation treatments in alleyways. Arthropods were collected with pitfall traps in two alley-cropped areas using the ground cover treatments of alfalfa, smooth bromegrass, and a vegetation-free control. Although not generally statistically significant, brome had the lowest means of any of the ground vegetation treatments, possibly due to the relative impenetrability of the thick grass. We found few significant differences among treatments. Carabidae numbers were negatively correlated with relative humidity and positively correlated to soil temperature and moisture. Sampling methods other than pitfall trapping are needed in future studies to clarify the role of ground cover in arthropod predator diversity and...
TL;DR: Long-term monitoring of odonate diversity and abundance may be useful in tracking the effects of climate change in the prairie pothole region but must take into account yearly fluctuations due to variation in winter and summer precipitation.
Abstract: An inventory of the dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) at the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) was conducted during the summer of 2003. Adult censuses and larval sampling at 32 wetland sites produced 10 dragonfly and 14 damselfly species that were resident in the refuge. In 2006, two additional species were added. The odonate fauna of LWNR consisted primarily of widespread, common species that are adapted to fishless lentic communities and tolerant of alkaline and impermanent water regimes. Enallagma annexum (Hagen), Enallagma boreale Selys, Lestes disjunctus Selys, Lestes congener Hagen, Sympetrum costiferum (Hagen), and Sympetrum internum Montgomery were the most abundant odonates at the refuge. The odonate communities of semipermanent, oligosaline ponds were the most diverse and included species of Aeshna, Anax, Libellula, Leucorrhinia, Sympetrum, Lestes, Coenagrion, Enallagma, Ischnura, and Nehalennia. Large polysaline lakes were inhabited only by Ischnura damula Calvert a...
TL;DR: The nesting biology from a small population in western Panama is described, including information on external and internal nest architecture, contents and sex ratios.
Abstract: The orchid bee genus Euglossa contains more than 100 species distributed throughout the Neotropics from Paraguay to Mexico (Michener, 2000). Most species nest in protected cavities such as in logs, trunks, small cavities between rocks, and man-made constructions, but some species build their nests in exposed sites where they are attached to small branches or underneath leaves (Eberhard, 1988; Nemesio, 2006). Nest of many species are made of wax and resins mixed with plant material and other materials, creating a strong structure that provides protection against environmental fluctuations and predators (Roubik and Hanson, 2004). Most Euglossa females are solitary nesters, but multifemale nesting is facultative for some species (Soucy et al., 2003; Augusto and Garofalo, 2004). In E. hyacinthina, for example, all females that cohabit in a nest are capable or reproducing and there are no clear indications of dominance among the individuals, with sex ratios biased toward females (Soucy et al., 2003; Capaldi et al., 2007). Euglossa dodsoni Moure is a small orchid bee known from cloud forests in Costa Rica and Panama (Ramirez et al., 2002), but otherwise little is known of its biology. Dodson (1966) described several aspects of its nesting biology based on a population found in Costa Rica. Here, we describe the nesting biology from a small population in western Panama, including information on external and internal nest architecture, contents and sex ratios.
TL;DR: Ten species of aquatic true bugs are newly reported for Illinois, and a checklist of the 54 species of amphibian true bugs occurring in the state is presented.
Abstract: Ten species of aquatic true bugs are newly reported for Illinois. Nepomorphan faunistic studies in Illinois are reviewed briefly and a checklist of the 54 species of aquatic true bugs occurring in the state is presented.
TL;DR: A review of their biogeography indicates that Trichotanypus are restricted to the more northern part of the H polarctic region and will likely be restricted to northern Mongolia; whereas Paraboroechlus has a more southern Holarctic distribution and future surveys may result in finding it in southern Mongolia, just north of the Gobi Desert.
Abstract: Paraboreochlus minutissimus (Strobl 1894) and Trichotanypus posticalis (Lund- beck 1898) have been collected from Gorkhi Terelj, Outer Mongolia resulting in the first record for these species and for the subfamily Podonominae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in this country. Both species were collected in habitats similar to their described habitats from Europe and North America. A review of their biogeography indicates that Trichotanypus are restricted to the more northern part of the Holarctic region and will likely be restricted to northern Mongolia; whereas Paraboroechlus has a more southern Holarctic distribution and future surveys may result in finding it in southern Mongolia, just north of the Gobi Desert.
TL;DR: A new parasitoid species, Gonatopus concinnus new species (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) was reared from P. holmgreni in the above provinces and is the first dryinid found to parasitize Phrictopyga.
Abstract: The genus Phrictopyga Caldwell (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) was discovered for the first time in Argentina. Phrictopyga holmgreni (Muir) was collected in Corrientes and Misiones Provinces on Graminaceae. The male holotype of P. holmgreni was reviewed and redescribed; the female was described and illustrated for the first time. A new parasitoid species, Gonatopus concinnus new species (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) was reared from P. holmgreni in the above provinces. The new species is the first dryinid found to parasitize Phrictopyga. RESUMEN: Se cita por primera vez en la Argentina al genero Phrictopyga Caldwell (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). P. holmgreni (Muir, 1931), descripta desde material capturado en Bolivia, fue recientemente colectada sobre gramo ´neas en las provincias argentinas de Corrientes y Misiones. Sobre la base del examen del holotipo de P. holmgreni y de los materiales recolectados, se describen e ilustran otros caracteres anatomicos de valor diagnostico y se da a conocer por primera vez a la hembra de esta especie. Una nueva especie de parasitoide, Gonatopus concinnus nueva especie (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae), criado desde P. holmgreni en las provincias mencionadas, se describe e ilustra, representando el primer registro de Dryinidae parasitoidizando a Phrictopyga. PALABRAS CLAVE: Phrictopyga holmgreni, Gonatopus concinnus, Argentina, taxonomo ´a
TL;DR: The cultivation of okra as a trap plant can be recommended especially in cotton fields where parasitoid release was conducted, and the results of biological control of the noctuid H. armigera by T. evanescens appear promising.
Abstract: The control of the noctuid Helicoverpa armigera Hubner (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae) with Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera:Trichogrammatidae) on a cotton (Malvaceae) farm in Turkey is reviewed. Helicoverpa armigera has five generations in a year, but only three attack cotton in the East Mediterranean region of Turkey. Releases of T. evanescens are made twice against each of the first three generations of H. armigera in the years of 2004–2005. In each release, 120,000 parasitoids ha−1 were released, resulting in 62.9% and 71.6% parasitism and the numbers of larvae of H. armigera were reduced by 76.8% and 80.6%, respectively. In fields where insecticides were applied, the numbers of larvae of H. armigera were reduced by 57.1% and 77.1%, respectively. Furthermore, it was observed that population of natural enemies was increased in released parasitoid plots, with an average of 33 to 39 Chrysoperla carnea (Steph.) (Neuroptera:Chrysopidae) were encountered in 25 plants. Pollen-generating plants ...
TL;DR: Three new species of Palmanura are described and illustrated, with Colombia having more abundant and barbulate rather than palmate chaetotaxy and Mexico having only one palmate seta on the dorsolateral cephalic tubercle.
Abstract: Three new species of Palmanura are described and illustrated. Palmanura sernaius, new species, of Colombia differs from most Palmanura species in having more abundant and barbulate rather than palmate chaetotaxy. The Mexican Palmanura goyai, new species, lacks the cephalic seta “G” and is the biggest in the genus (1.1 mm), while Palmanura hieronimus, new species, presents the cephalic seta “G,” has only one palmate seta on the dorsolateral cephalic tubercle and it is very small (0.55 mm). A key for the species in the genus is included.
TL;DR: This work attempted to discover phylogeographic patterns among populations of Colletes stepheni Timberlake, a sand dune restricted, oligolectic solitary bee, and uncovered the presence of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (NUMTS), which are mitochondrial genes that have been incorporated into the nuclear genome.
Abstract: Sand dunes in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts are unique habitats that often harbor distinct and endemic taxa (Ricketts et al., 1999). Epps et al. (1998) compared sand dunes to ‘‘habitat islands’’ in the desert, which provide habitat for many sand-obligate organisms. Because many of these dunes are distant from other dunes, and often flanked by mountain ranges or alkaline hardpan, isolated populations of dune-restricted organisms are often genetically distinct (e.g., Britten and Rust, 1996; Epps et al., 1998). We attempted to discover phylogeographic patterns among populations of Colletes stepheni Timberlake, a sand dune restricted, oligolectic solitary bee. Colletes stepheni nests solely in loose sandy substrates and provisions its nest with pollen only from a limited number of plant species (Hurd and Powell, 1958; Minckley et al., 2000; Andrus, 2003). Populations of C. stepheni in the Mojave Desert use pollen only from Larrea tridentata (creosote bush; Zygophylaceae), which is a common shrub in the hot deserts of North America, while populations in the Great Basin Desert, a cold desert, use pollen from Psorothamnus (indigo bush; Fabaceae) (Andrus, 2003). Andrus (2003) attempted to find phylogeographic patterns among populations of C. stepheni from 13 dune sites across the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts using mtDNA. These attempts uncovered the presence of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (NUMTS), which are mitochondrial genes that have been incorporated into the nuclear genome (Margulis, 1970). The presence of these pseudogenes in C. stepheni made the use of mtDNA for phylogeographic analyses difficult, if not impossible. While the majority of phylogeographic analyses use mtDNA, particularly the gene COI, to investigate phylogeographic patterns, several recent studies employ various nuclear genes to uncover intraspecific variation. For example, a phylogeographic study of sea urchins found that the internal transcribed spacer region 2 was more variable at the population level than COI (Iuri et al., 2007). Studies on several other taxa have also shown that the internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2 (ITS1 & ITS2) are variable at the population level (e.g., Mavarez et al., 2002; Gomez-Zurita and Vogler, 2003; Holderegger and Abbott, 2003). While nuclear genes are not widely used in phylogeographic studies of Hymenoptera, several recent studies have found population-level variation in various hymenopterans. For example, variation has been found among populations of stingless bees (De la Rua et al., 2007), an encyrtid wasp (Alvarez and Hoy, 2002), an oak gallwasp (Rokas et al., 2001), and several velvet ant species (Wilson and Pitts, 2008, 2009). Other studies on velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), while not specifically investigating intraspecific variation, showed that such variation exists in both the ITS1 and ITS2 sequences (Pilgrim and Pitts, 2006; Pitts et al., 2007; Pilgrim et al., 2008). Another nuclear gene, Long-wavelength rhodopsin (opsin), has not been widely used in population-level analyses, but has three introns (167 total bp in C. stepheni), which have been informative in differentiating between isolated populations of mutillid wasps (Wilson and Pitts, unpubl. data). Also, Almeida and Danforth (2009) in a phylogenetic analysis of colletid bees found that the introns of opsin were too variable to be used in a species-level analysis. This would suggest that the introns might be informative at the intraspecies level. Kuhlmann et al. (2007) found population-level differences in the introns of another nuclear gene Elongation Factor 1-Alpha for Colletes halophilus as well. In this study, we attempted to find phylogeographic patterns using three nuclear genes, the two rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 & ITS2), and the long-wavelength rhodopsin gene (Opsin).
TL;DR: During the summer of 2007, northern mole crickets were observed damaging a Penncross creeping bentgrass, Agrostis palustris Huds.
Abstract: The northern mole cricket, Neocurtilla hexadactyla (Perty) (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), is native to North America and is widely distributed across the eastern two thirds of the United States from southern Canada to Florida in the east and South Dakota to Texas including the northeast corner of Colorado in the west (Capinera, 2004). Based on Nebraska State Insect Records (nebrecs.unl.edu, accessed February 1, 2008), the first report of N. hexadactyla in Nebraska was from Saunders County in 1909. It is currently known from 61 of Nebraska’s 93 counties (Fig. 1). Mole crickets (especially the tawny mole cricket, Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder, southern mole cricket, S. borellii Giglio-Tos, and short-winged mole cricket, S. abbreviatus Scudder) are important pests of turfgrasses in southeastern regions of the United States (Brandenburg and Villani, 1995; Potter, 1998; Vittum et al., 1999). During the summer of 2007, northern mole crickets were observed damaging a Penncross creeping bentgrass, Agrostis palustris Huds. (Family Poaceae), putting green on a golf course in Butler County, Nebraska. This is the first known report of northern mole crickets causing significant damage to golf course turf in Nebraska, and is noteworthy because N. hexadactyla is rarely, if ever, considered a pest of turfgrasses (Vittum et al., 1999). Little is known about the biology, ecology, and life history of N. hexadactyla in Nebraska and the midwest. Like most mole crickets, N. hexadactyla seems to prefer moist low-lying areas and is often found along the margins of lakes and streams. The 2007 infested putting green was adjacent to a water hazard, consistent with previous environmental habitat observations. Foraging adults and immatures of mole cricket species burrow in damp loose soil and feed on the roots of plants. This tunneling behavior can cause considerable disruption to highly maintained turfs such as putting greens (Vittum et al., 1999). Soil at the 2007 infested green consisted of approximately one cm sand