Gnamptogenys hartmani is a specialist predator that attacks colonies of fungus-growing ants. To examine the biogeography of G. hartmani, I compiled specimen records of G. hartmani from 36 sites, and records of Gnamptogenys bruchi (a possible junior synonym) from seven sites. Records of Gnamptogenys hartmani ranged from Lucky, Louisiana (32.2°N) in the north to Villa Nougués, Argentina (26.9°S) in the south. If G. bruchi proves to be a synonym of G. hartmani, this would extend the known range as far south as Alta Gracia, Argentina (31.7°S). In the US, G. hartmani populations are known only from Texas and Louisiana, yet there is much apparently suitable habitat along the Gulf coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Given the remarkable scarcity of G. hartmani records throughout its known range, it remains possible that G. hartmani populations occur all along the Gulf coast of the US, but have been overlooked.
Strumigenys lanuginosa Wheeler is a small, inconspicuous New World ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). After being described in 1905 from two sites in the Bahamas, there were no additional published records of this species for more than 50 years. Reports of S. lanuginosa in 1957 and 1961 from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama, however, suggested that this species may be native to Central America. Here, I compiled and mapped published and unpublished S. lanuginosa records from > 160 sites. I documented the earliest known records for 16 geographic areas (countries and US states), including five for which I found no previously published records: Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, and Nicaragua. Strumigenys lanuginosa appears to be native to Central America (where it is known from every country) and possibly northern South America (where it is known from Colombia, Venezuela, and French Guiana). Past researchers proposed that S. lanuginosa populations in the Bahamas and Florida were probably exotic, no doubt based on the large gap between these populations and the species' presumed native range in Central America. The discovery of S. lanuginosa populations in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, however, raises the possibility that S. lanuginosa may have continuous native populations across the Greater Antilles and into Florida and the Bahamas.
During the period of October 1996 to September 1999 cetoniine beetles were collected directly from the vegetation and using fruits traps and flight intercept traps in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) and surrounding farmland. Additional records were obtained from collections. A total of 52 species were recorded. Information on collecting locality, distribution, ecology, seasonality, and collecting methods is presented for each species. Two species, Eudicella allardi (Marais & Holm) and Pachnoda alluaudi Bourgoin, are recorded for Uganda for the first time.
Native beneficial arthropods, including bees, predators, and parasitoids, provide valuable ecosystem services, which help to maintain agricultural productivity and reduce the need for pesticide inputs. Vaccinium berry species are somewhat unique compared to many of the world’s fruit crops in that, up until recently, most of the harvesting and culture of species for food occurred in the geographic regions of their origin. This suggests that insects involved in many of the ecosystem services for these berries are native species that have a shared co-evolutionary history. Due to the shared phylogenetic origins of the Vaccinium spp. agroecosystems, the shared need for efficient pollination, and a number of shared agricultural pests, the potential exists for research from these related systems to closely apply to agroecosystems within the same genus. This review brings together research regarding arthropod-mediated ecosystem services from a number of prominent Vaccinium agroecosystems worldwide. In total, thirty-nine ecosystem service studies are discussed. These studies quantified arthropod-mediated ecosystem services being provisioned to Vaccinium agroecosystems. Additionally, thirty-nine surveys of arthropods closely associated and/or providing ecosystem services to Vaccinium systems are also reviewed. Studies took place almost exclusively in temperate regions with a heavy emphasis on insect pest biological control and pollination services. It is our hope that by synthesizing this body of literature, researchers and growers might be able to utilize research methods, results, and conservation recommendations despite differences in production practices and local arthropod fauna.
The genusTimarchaseems unique among Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae by having plesiomorphic characters such as genitalia with a ring-like tegmen, covered with a setose parameral cap, together with apomorphic characters, including apterism and fused elytra. The distribution of this genus is also very peculiar: circum Mediterranean and northwestern American. Food selection also seems rather stict, comprising 8 families and 20 genera of plants. Two of the subgenera (MetallotimarchaandAmericanotimarcha) share one plant family, the Ericaceae. The plant family Rubiaceae is also shared between three subgenera:Timarcha,Timarchostoma andMetallotimarcha. Reflex bleeding among diurnal species, aposematism, thanatosis, stomatic regurgitation are means of defense against predators, but not against parasites and commensals. A very archaic genus, probably originating in early Mesozoic, with around 100 taxa, and 50 subspecies. Mutations remain very common in the group and new species are possibly still emerging.
This study evaluates the conservation status of all of the United States species and subspecies of tiger beetles on the basis of the published literature, unpublished reports, museum and private collections, our personal field work and contact with collectors. We provide a brief summary of the status of the four species already listed and the two candidates for listing by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We indicate three taxa believed to be extinct and evaluate 62 others that we deem sufficiently rare to be considered for listing as endangered or threatened. We used a 1, 2, 3 grading system that is generally comparable to the terminology of critically imperiled, imperiled, and vulnerable designations, respectively, used in NatureServe Explorer. Fifty-two of these taxa are from the western states and Texas and most of them are named subspecies with extremely limited distributions and habitats. We assigned seven taxa a 1+ grade, our highest level of rarity and/or threats; of these there is presently sufficient information available to consider two of them-- Cicindelidia floridana Cartwright and Cicindela tranquebarica joaquinensis Knisley and Haines-- as the U. S. forms most in danger of extinction. Future prospects for conservation and listing of tiger beetles seem bleak because of the limited budget and personnel available for Endangered Species in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the current economic and political climate in the United States.
Controlling visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil has proven difficult for several reasons, including: 1) limitations in diagnosis and treatment, 2) the failure of the dog culling program, and 3) the short-term residual effect of pyrethroids against the main phlebotomine vectorLutzomyia longipalpis. The disease has become more widespread during the last three decades and it now occurs in 21 of the 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District, and even affects several state capitals and large cities. Although DDT has many environmental drawbacks and possible toxicity to animals, several countries still use this chemical in their public health programs due to its long-lasting effect. Therefore, this study aims to re-evaluate the use of DDT to control zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis.
National Moth Week is a global citizen science project focusing on moths. During the first National Moth Week, which took place in July 2012, people in over 300 locations worldwide observed and documented the presence of moths in various habitats. This article describes the project’s goals and the methods used to achieve those goals. A summary of outreach activities and data collection is presented.
Over 2,500 pieces of unselected Rovno amber (Late Eocene of Ukraine) are studied for their contents of syninclusia depending on amber piece weight class and taxonomic position of syninclusion components. Unlike previous publications (Perkovsky et al. 2010a, 2012), ceratopogonid components enter analysis separately (as genera or genus groups) rather than as entire taxon. This changes the resulting pattern drastically. Instead of two correlation pleiades, the air-plankton one (include biting midges), and the ‘Sciarazone’ dwellers, we have six pleiades now depending on developmental environments (terrestrial saprotrophsvs. aquatic) and adult behavior (low level fliers and tree trunk visitorsvs. air plankton and others which show no preference to tree trunks). Causes of some differences are uncertain.
Non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) are recorded in the Sakhalinian amber (Russia) for the first time.Pseudorthocladius zherikhinisp. n. is described in an extant genus of Orthocladiinae also known from the Baltic amber.Antillocladussp. (Orthocladiinae) is the first representative of this genus recorded from fossil resins.
Bed bugs have reestablished as pests over the last two decades after a period of near eradication throughout large portions of the world. The increasing frequency of bed bug infestations has prompted research into every facet of bed bug biology. Of particular interest is identification of the specific factors that allow bed bugs to be transported, to thrive within human dwellings and to survive pest control strategies. This review provides a synopsis of the biochemical, physiological and molecular mechanisms that contribute to the resurgence of bed bugs, with a focus upon the aspects that allow bed bugs to overcome the roadblocks preventing establishment and persistence in close proximity to humans. Topics discussed include dispersal, host avoidance, mating, chemical signaling, symbiosis, blood feeding, thermal tolerance, starvation resistance, dehydration resistance and pesticide resistance. These aspects of Cimex biology are explored within the context of the effect that these traits have upon transportation, establishment and eradication of bed bugs with an emphasis on the issues of pesticide resistance and population resurgence. In general, bed bugs are exceptional in their ability to proliferate in close-proximity to humans. The emergence of recent adaptations such as pesticide resistance has exacerbated the already difficult task of eliminating bed bug infestations.
For long time the age of Burmese amber was debatable. Recently this material was finally dated as Late Albian-Early Cenomanian. We describe herein three new species of psychodid sandflies ( Phlebotomites grimaldii , P. neli , and P. burmaticus ) belonging to the extinct genus Phlebotomites , known to date only from the Early Cretaceous amber of Lebanon. These new taxa are characterized, described, illustrated and their taxonomic position is discussed. This discovery is very interesting for the understanding of the evolution of this group, as it allows concluding that this extinct genus of sand flies was widespread and well diversified in the past, and lasted at least for thirty million years.
Odonata are beginning to be well recorded in the Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina. They are represented by body fossils and traces in three localities. Oviposition scars are recorded in Río Pichileufú (Lutetian: 47.7 Ma; Río Negro province) and Laguna del Hunco (Ypresian: 52.2 Ma; Chubut province), nymphs in Confluencia (Ypresian?; Río Negro), and adults (wings) in Laguna del Hunco. The absence of different stages in given localities could depend on different factors, such as as environmental, taphonomical and/or sampling bias. Laguna del Hunco is well sampled and the absence of nymphs seems to depend on taphonomical factors since there are other preimaginal aquatic inhabitants of the lake, such as Trichoptera nymph cases. Confluencia has not been well sampled and adults could be absent due to a sampling bias. The nymphs of Confluencia indicate a water body with low energy flux. Ovipositions in Laguna del Hunco and Río Pichileufú are made on terrestrial leaves of bushes and trees and have three different morphologies. Leaves are interpreted to be alive when oviposition was done as they show tissue reactions associated to the injuries. Wrinkled wings at Laguna del Hunco are interpreted to be signals of predation probably by birds or mammals.
1Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Department of Natural Sciences, Fanar – Matn P. O. Box 26110217, Lebanon e-mail: azar@mnhn.fr 2Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1501 Crestline Drive – Suite 140, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 USA e-mail: msengel@ku.edu 3Key State Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008 People’s Republic of China e-mail: jarzembowski2@live.co.uk 4State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Entomology, Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart, Germany e-mail: lars.krogmann@smns-bw.de 5CNRS UMR 7205, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, Entomologie, 45 Rue Buffon F75231 Paris, France e-mail: anel@mnhn.fr 6Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Washington, District of Columbia 20560 USA e-mail: blayjorge@gmail.com
The Lebanese amber is still the oldest for Gondwanaland and its fauna is relatively well studied; as to date about 180 taxa have been described from this material. Nevertheless, the formation of the different Lebanese amberiferous outcrops is not yet clearly understood. We propose a new hypothesis and interpretation for the formation of amber deposits in the Late Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Lebanese sediments. We thus evoke the evolution of the stratigraphy and the geodynamical context that lead to the amber deposition. Indeed, tectonic complexity of what is now a part of the Middle East area existed since the Precambrian times and is still modeling its geology. We redefine as well Lebanon during the formation of its amber deposits, but we do not conclude on the real age of this amber.
We review the world literature on leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) that have probed human skin, update the names presented in those published reports, and sort out which are original accounts and which are citations of previous reports (Table 1). We add 19 new records, representing five subfamilies, and at least 13 genera, all from Panama (Table 2). We speculate as to why these normally phytophagous insects sometimes probe human skin, and provide insight into the possible evolutionary consequences of this behavior.
Taphioporusgen. n. with the type speciesT. balticussp. n. and the new species,Colaspoides eocenicussp. n., from Baltic amber are described. The distinctness of the new genus makes the former definitions of the tribes Euryopini Lefèvre, 1885 and Typophorini Baly, 1865 problematic because the presence or absence of the preapical emargination on the meso- and metatibiae is the only distinguishing character.
