The taxonomy of the Antillean genus Drepanaporus Bradley (Pompilidae) is problematic because of sexual dimorphism and nearly uniform morphology of males across species. Species limits are not well understood, and sexes are not properly associated in all species. In this study, we reassessed morphology, and collected novel molecular data for the purpose of determining species boundaries and establishing sex-associations for all species. Two genes, cytochrome c oxidase (COI) and long-wavelength rhodopsin (LWRh) were amplified for 20 specimens of Drepanaporus, from both females and males. Using LWRh (including both introns and exons) and COI sequences, the relationships of Drepanaporus samples were reconstructed. Sequences obtained for COI showed unusually high divergences and putative introgression, and thus were not used for taxonomic decisions. Taxonomic changes were made based on the LWRh phylogenetic results. A new species of Drepanaporus— Drepanaporus bachata sp. nov—is described herein based on both molecular and morphological characters for both male and female specimens, and a key is provided for the genus for the three species now recognized. We also discuss the usefulness of mitochondrial and nuclear markers in Pompilidae for species delimitations and sex-associations.

Our recent reexamination of Nosekiella Rusek, 1974 has shown that only the type species Nosekiella danica (Condé, 1947) and Nosekiella urasi Imadaté, 1981 should remain in this genus. Nosekiella condei (Tuxen, 1955) and Nosekiella hoogstraali Nosek, 1980 differ from N. danica and N. urasi in the number of anterior setae on the metanotum. N. condei is transferred into Vesiculentomon Rusek, 1974 because of its possession of four pairs of anterior setae on the metanotum and a baculiform sensilium tl. N. hoogstraali differs from both N. danica and N. urasi in having a claviform foretarsal sensilium tl, two pairs of anterior setae on metanotum, and four pairs of anterior setae, and the anterior position of P3 on tergites II-VI. N. hoogstraali is transferred into Sugaentidus Imadaté, 1978. The original descriptions are corrected and supplemented with new characters, including head chaetotaxy, seta length, and porotaxy.

Our reexamination of Alaskaentomon Nosek, 1977 demonstrated that the type species, Alaskaentomon fjellbergi Nosek, 1977, and Alaskaentomon condei Nosek, 1981 are united in the presence of two granulated appendices on the calyx of the maxillary gland, filiform sensilium tl and very long sensilium a on foretarsus, presence of two pairs of A-setae on mesonotum and metanotum, and presence of medial posterior (Pc) seta on tergite VII and sternites VI–VII. They differ from each other in the position of foretarsal sensilla d and a′’, number of setae on tergite VII and sternites II–III, and position of P3 on tergites II–VI. The original descriptions are corrected and supplemented with new characters, including head chaetotaxy, seta length and porotaxy.

A new genus and three new species of New Zealand endemic pselaphine staphylinid beetles belonging to the supertribe Faronitae are described as follows: Pseudostenosagola Park and Carlton, gen. nov.; Pseudostenosagola coromandelensis Park and Carlton, sp. nov.; Pseudostenosagola wellingtonensis Park and Carlton, sp. nov.; and Pseudostenosagola solodovnikovi Park and Carlton, sp. nov. In total, 30 specimens were available for study. Illustrations of habitus and major diagnostic characters, distributional maps, and an identification key of all species are provided.

This article describes the morphological features and occurrence of Demodex ponderosus n. sp. on brown rats, Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout), in Poland. D. ponderosus n. sp. is a small demodecid, adults average 152 µm in length, and are oval in shape. They were found in the skin of nearly hairless regions, tail and paws, of rats. Adult mites exhibit sexual dimorphism in terms of body size and proportions. The study also compared the features of the new species with those of the four species of Demodex described previously from this host. Demodex spp. were observed in 100% of the rats examined; however, despite high infestation levels, no symptoms of parasitosis were observed in the hosts.

The known distribution of the bark beetle Dendroctonus vitei Wood has been basically restricted to species-type location in Patzun, Guatemala, and in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. There are also reports of the species in Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This bark beetle cannot be confidently distinguished from its sibling species Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, Dendroctonus mexicanus Hopkins, and Dendroctonus sp. nov. by morphological characteristics (e.g., color and pronotum width). It has been proposal that the seminal rod is a useful characteristic to distinguish these species; however, its robustness has not been assessed quantitatively. The goal of the present work was to analyze the seminal rod from 601 specimens of the D. frontalis complex, collected in 89 locations from Mexico and Guatemala, using geometric morphometrics to clarify and update the distribution of D. vitei. Our results confirmed the presence of this species not only in the previously recognized locations (Patzun, Guatemala; San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas; Perote Veracruz, and Chipinque, Nuevo Leon) but also in seven new ones. The analyzed specimens of D. vitei and other D. frontalis complex species showed a strong differentiation in seminal rod shape among them. The accumulated information indicates that D. vitei is distributed across the entire Sierra Madre Oriental, the east Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and the Cordillera Central of Guatemala.

To clarify the phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobiantes japonicus Hirst, 1911 and its allied species, Epedanellus tuberculatus Roewer, 1911 and Kilungius insulanus (Hirst, 1911) (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores: Epedanidae), we conducted morphological and nucleotide sequence analyses of this complex. Sequencing of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of 179 samples recovered six clades comprised of four allopatric lineages within P. japonicus and two monophyletic groups of E. tuberculatus and K. insulanus, respectively, related as follows: ([Clades A B of P. japonicus] [Clade C of P. japonicus]) (K. insulanus [Clade D of P. japonicus E. tuberculatus]). This phylogenetic relationship implies that “Pseudobiantes japonicus” is paraphyletic or polyphyletic, unless mitochondrial introgression between species is postulated. Moreover, Clades C and D of P. japonicus were also separable by the combination of a few morphological characters and from Clades A and B in P. japonicus. These results suggest that a thorough taxonomic revision is needed for the classification of P. japonicus and allied species.

The “mother knows best” hypothesis states that adults should choose hosts for oviposition on which their offspring will best perform, maximizing their own fitness. It has been hypothesized that this preference—performance relationship for wood-boring insects is especially important because larvae are not able to switch hosts, although no study has examined oviposition choices for these insects. We examined oviposition preferences of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), in two common gardens, one on the campus of Wright State University in Dayton, OH, and the other at the Michigan State University Tollgate Research Farm in Novi, MI, by wrapping cheesecloth around ash trunks to assess passive oviposition patterns.Wefound that in both gardens, ash species native to North America, which are highly susceptible to the emerald ash borer, consistently received more ova than Manchurian ash, which is indigenous to Asia and more resistant to the emerald ash borer. Susceptible trees in the Novi garden received 93 times the number of ova and susceptible trees at the Wright State garden received up to 25 times the number of ova that were received by Manchurian ash in each of their respective gardens. Neither tree size nor vigor affected oviposition choice. There were also higher numbers of adult exit holes on North American than Manchurian ash in both common gardens. The observed oviposition preferences in this study align with patterns of adult feeding preference, ash host mortality, and exit hole numbers from other studies. These observations also suggest that oviposition preferences may contribute to interspecific patterns of host resistance and mortality. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the emerald ash borer prefers to oviposit on species on which its offspring will best perform, suggesting that there is strong selection for the ability to recognize host cues that predict better larval survival and performance.

The camphor shot borer, Cnestus mutilatus (Blandford) is a nonnative ambrosia beetle first reported in the United States in 1999 at Oktibbeha County in Mississippi. Although, C. mutilatus is a major pest of several trees in its native habitat in Asia, it is not yet a major pest in the United States. However, the range expansion in recent years across the southeastern region indicates that C. mutilatus could be adapting quickly to the new environment, perhaps because of the availability of numerous host trees and suitable environmental conditions that support the population. As the population increases, future outbreaks of C. mutilatus may result in mortality of valuable hosts. Our objective was to identify potential suitable habitats for C. mutilatus in the southeastern United States under changing climate by 2020 and 2060 by examining C. mutilatus preferred conditions, host environmental requirements, precipitation, and temperature projections from an ensemble of general circulation model, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future climate scenarios. Our results indicated that suitable habitat for C. mutilatus in the southeastern United States will expand slightly under the A1B emission scenarios (i.e., moderate population growth and high-energy use balanced across all sources), and significantly under B1 emission scenarios (i.e., representing moderate population growth and an emphasis on global approaches to economic and environmental stability) by 2060. Whereas the opposite may occur under the A2 scenario (i.e., representing continuously increasing population, regionally focused economic growth, and slower introduction of alternative fuels technology). Nearly half of the parishes in Louisiana and counties in Mississippi will be suitable for C. mutilatus by 2020, under the A2 emission scenarios. However, suitable habitat range could decrease and become fragmented by 2060. These results could be useful in forest management efforts in places where C. mutilatus may become established in the future.

Hartigiola faggalli (Monzen), a cecidomyiid species that induces leaf galls on Fagus crenata Blume (Fagales: Fagaceae), was studied to assess the degree of sexual isolation between known intraspecific populations derived from two different gall types. “Upper-type galls” form on the lateral veins of upper leaf surfaces, whereas “lower-type galls” develop between the lateral veins of lower leaf surfaces. The two populations were distinguished based on slight differences in theirDNAsequences. They coexisted in F. crenata forests. Emergence, swarming, mating, and oviposition occurred sequentially each day and almost simultaneously in both populations. Thus, they were not isolated from each other in time or space. However, 85% of 134 swarming males flew to females of the same population when responding to female sex pheromone. About 92% of 251 mating pairs were homogenic, and IPSI indicated a significantly homogenic mating. The female sex pheromone and male sensitivity to the pheromone seemed to differ between the two populations. After mating, females of each population oviposited their eggs only on either the upper or lower surfaces of fresh leaves. The strongly assortative mating combined with differences in pheromones and gall morphology indicates that the two populations are almost completely reproductively isolated and that they have diversified into the stage of sibling species.

The capacity of Telenomus remus to parasitize eggs of Anticarsia gemmatalis, compared with its natural host, Spodoptera frugiperda, was evaluated under different temperatures. The parasitoid T. remus was reared at 25 ± 1°C for a single generation on both hosts. After reaching the adult stage, they were allowed to parasitize both hosts to study parasitoid biology and parasitism capacity at temperatures between 19°C and 37 ± 1°C. Egg-to-adult developmental time was similar on both hosts. The number of A. gemmatalis eggs parasitized was lower than that of S. frugiperda eggs at all temperatures. Parental female longevity of parasitoids was greater on A. gemmatalis eggs. This indicated a smaller metabolic expense during parasitism, acommonfeature observed on nonpreferable hosts. In general, sex ratio was little affected by temperature or hosts. When parental T. remus were reared on A. gemmatalis before the experiment, base temperature (Tb) and the thermal constant (K) were 9.53°C and 209.57 DD on eggs of A. gemmatalis and 9.68°C and 197.79 DD on eggs of S. frugiperda, respectively. When parental T. remus were reared on S. frugiperda eggs, Tb and K were 10.12°C and 188.46 DD and 9.69°C and 190.24 DD for the evaluated host eggs of A. gemmatalis and S. frugiperda, respectively. Therefore, T. remus develops in eggs of A. gemmatalis. This can be beneficial for its use in field crops where outbreaks of both Spodoptera spp. and A. gemmatalis occur. However, A. gemmatalis is a less favorable host for the parasitoid development.

Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a gregarious ecto-parasitoid that attacks larvae of several species of Lepidoptera, mainly pyralid moths infesting stored products. Host quality strongly influences the reproductive success of the parasitoid. In this study, we assessed the reproductive performance of the parasitoid, H. hebetor in a series of laboratory experiments using six different pyralid host species: Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller), almond moth, Ephestia cautella (Walker), rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton), navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Walker), and greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. Experiments were conducted using petri dishes (100 by 15 mm) as experimental arenas at 29 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h. Two-day-old H. hebetor females were introduced singly into experimental arenas and given a single host larva every day throughout their lifetime. The numbers of hosts paralyzed and parasitized, numbers of eggs laid each day on each host, egg-to-adult survivorship, and progeny sex ratio were used as parameters for assessing host suitability. Paralysis of hosts by H. hebetor females was significantly affected by host species. H. hebetor paralyzed >95% of the preferred host larvae that were offered and also used ≈90% of those for oviposition. Daily fecundity was highest on G. mellonella (22.1 ± 0.4) and C. cephalonica (21.6 ± 0.3), and lowest on E. cautella (13.4 ± 0.2). The egg-to-adult survivorship and progeny sex ratio were also significantly affected by the host species. The highest percentage of parasitoid survival was on A. transitella (75.7 ± 2.0) and C. cephalonica (75.4 ± 2.5), and lowest on G. mellonella (49.7 ± 4.8). Our studies clearly showed that H. hebetor females can paralyze and lay eggs on several pyralid species, but it cannot necessarily develop and reproduce optimally on all host species that it can paralyze and parasitize.

The biology of the afrotropical Conchyloctenia hybrida Boheman on Solanum campylacanthum subsp. panduriforme was studied under laboratory conditions in South Africa. Papery oothecae contained between 2 and 10 eggs. Adults displayed vigorous feeding, high fertility, longevity, as well as careful choice of oviposition site. Construction of oothecae was highest at the junctions of main and lateral veins on abaxial leaf surfaces facing upwards or downwards and adaxial surfaces facing downwards. The period from oviposition to adult eclosion ranged between 37 and 42 d at 25°C. Adults had an even sex ratio. After a preoviposition period of 34 d, females deposited 3 to 48 oothecae in 4 to 91 d. The mean longevity of females and males was 168 and 165 d, respectively. The net replacement rate was 50.14, the intrinsic rate of natural increase was 0.97 per month, the mean generation time was 4 mo, and doubling time was 0.71 mo. Daily consumption rate of leaves increased rapidly in late larval instars and was highest for adults. Adults underwent a series of elytral color changes corresponding with age and physiological state. Mature adults characterized by hardened metallic-colored elytra had a higher winter survival rate than young adults with soft, nonmetallic elytra.

Diaphania hyalinata L. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a key pest of plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, defoliating and reducing photosynthetic area and yield. Trichospilus diatraeae Margabandhu & Cherian, 1942 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) parasitizes the pupae of this pest, but its biological and reproductive parameters with this host are unknown. The objective of our study was to characterize the reproduction of T. diatraeae in D. hyalinata pupae with different densities of this parasitoid. Individual D. hyalinata pupae (48 h old) were exposed to different densities of T. diatraeae (1:1, 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, 20:1, and 24:1). The parasitoid density did not affect the parasitism and emergence rate of this natural enemy. The progeny, sex ratio, longevity, and head capsule width of T. diatraeae males and females decreased with increasing density, and its life cycle was proportional to density increase of T. diatraeae. Densities of up to eight T. diatraeae individuals per D. hyalinata pupae are favorable for the development of this parasitoid.

The northern corn rootworm (Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence) in eastern and central North America exhibits at least three distinct populations with respect to Wolbachia infection: uninfected; singly infected; multiply infected. The infected states are associated with different mtDNA haplotypes and reduced mtDNA variability. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to define strain types and examine the diversity of Wolbachia infecting northern corn rootworm. Four of the five MLST genes (coxA, hcpA, fbpA, and ftsZ) were represented by three alleles each. The remaining MLST gene (gatB) had four to six alleles. The uncertainty arose from whether to call two small clusters new alleles or artifacts of the amplification process. Singly infected individuals had a common set of alleles that defined one strain (wBarB). This strain was also a component of the multiple infections. A second strain (wBarA), restricted to the multiple infections, was defined by alleles that appeared with substantially greater frequency for each of the five loci. By default a third strain would comprise the less frequent third allele of the four loci, but it is not possible to determine to which gatB allele they are linked. Therefore, the strain is not fully defined. The diversity of gatB indicates that four to six Wolbachia strains are present in northern corn rootworm, a number that is similar to the five variants reported previously for the wsp gene. These results also highlight the very real difficulty of using the MLST system to define specific strains in a multiply infected host.

We examined the propensity for flight initiation and flight capability of the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, Hemiptera: Liviidae) with a flight mill. We measured continuous flight by D. citri for up to 3 h, which equated to a distance of ≈2.4 km. We compared the flight capability of D. citri depending on their sex and morphotype (color of abdomen). Two general morphotypes exist within this species: green-blue and gray-brown. We observed that ≈32% of psyllids from the green-blue morphotype tested exhibited long durations of flight (>60 s); whereas <5% of psyllids from the gray-brown morphotype performed such long duration flights. There was no significant difference in flight performance between the two sexes within both the gray—brown and green—blue morphotypes. Furthermore, psyllids from the gray—brown morphotype were characterized by smaller pronotums and shorter wings than psyllids from the green—blue morphotype. In addition, males, in general, were characterized by smaller pronotums and shorter wings than females. However, neither pronotum nor wing size were associated with flight capability of D. citri. Our results may help explain dispersal behavior of D. citri with respect to practical management on an area-wide scale.

The functional aspects of the adult house fly crop have not been studied even though various human and domestic animal pathogens have been discovered within the crop lumen. The average volume consumed (midgut and crop) by flies starved for 24 h was 3.88 µl by feeding both sexes on a sucrose phosphate glutamate buffer. In addition, various volumes of a solution (0.125 M sucrose plus Amaranth dye) were fed to 3-d-old adult female house flies to quantify the crop contraction rate as affected by crop volume. As crop volume increased, the contraction rate increased until it reached a peak at 2 µl, after which it declined. It is hypothesized that the high contraction rate of the crop, which in house fly is almost twice the rate of three other fly species, is one of the factors that makes house fly an excellent vector. The mechanism for such a high contraction rate needs to be investigated.

The bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellapé (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) is a pest of Corymbia and Eucalyptus. Thus far, there are no effective control methods for this pest in commercial plantations. A study of the reproductive tract could provide basic strategies for controlling this insect. T. peregrinus females and males, of different ages, were obtained from mass rearing and analyzed using light microscopy. The male reproductive tract has a pair of testes with three globular follicles isolated by a peritoneal sheath, and two pairs of well-developed mesadenial tubular accessory glands. The female reproductive tract includes a pair of ovaries, each with two meroistic telotrophic ovarioles, opening into two long lateral oviducts, which joints in a short common oviduct. This common oviduct ends in a large and folded, thick-cuticle lined bursa copulatrix. Eggs with embryos in the stages of anatrepsis, catatrepsis, and post dorsal closure were found in the reproductive tract of females. The reproductive tract of T. peregrinus males and females are similar to those of other Thaumastocoridae, but differ in the number of ovarioles per ovary in its females.

The juxtaposition and functional relationship of the sperm storage organs in Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is described. The spermatheca squash technique has been used to determine mated status in tephritid fruit flies, and thus as a measure of compatibility and coverage for sterile insect technique programs. Female A. ludens have four seminal storage organs: three spermathecae and a ventral receptacle. By interrupting coitus at set intervals, it is shown that the ventral receptacle fills first and after 15–30 min the spermathecae begin to fill. Among wild captured flies, all mature (gravid) females had semen in the ventral receptacle, but only 40 – 60% had sperm in at least one spermatheca. Therefore, examination of the ventral receptacle rather than the spermathecae alone is the more reliable method for determining mated status.

The pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an important pest of rice in China and other parts of Asia. The wide geographic distribution and broad host range of S. inferens is likely to result in high genetic variability within the species. To better understand the genetic structure and phylogeography of this pest, 30 polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and characterized by fast isolation by amplified fragment length polymorphism of sequences containing repeats (FIASCO). Our results from two geographic locations (Yangzhou and Guiyang) showed that the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.181 to 0.947, with an average of 0.633 (relatively high polymorphism). The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 31, with expected heterozygosities from 0.196 to 0.962 and observed heterozygosities from 0.043 to 1.000. Fourteen loci showed no significant departure from Hardy—Weinberg equilibrium after sequential Bonferroni's correction at least in one population; furthermore, loci CA194 and GT106, GA13 and TG52, GA13 and TG51, CA31 and CA43, GT16 and GT206 showed significant linkage disequilibrium. A preliminary analysis of mutation patterns in microsatellites was undertaken, and three types of microsatellite mutation patterns were described. We conclude that the microsatellite markers described herein will be useful in studying population genetics within S. inferens. Furthermore, some of the microsatellites show high polymorphism and lack null alleles, indicating potential use in the identification of the species, S. inferens.

The stink bug Bagrada hilaris (Bermeister) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is an Old World pest recently established in North America. Literature on the ovipositional behavior of B. hilaris is limited. As part of a study on the seasonal biology of B. hilaris in New Mexico, we included observations of the odd egg-laying behavior of this bug. Here, we describe and illustrate the phases associated with this behavior.

The effects of the oviposition regime on egg maturation rate in the synovigenic parasitoid, Microplitis rufiventris Kokujev were investigated. In non-ovipositing wasps, females normally reach a peak of egg maturation rate on 1 d posteclosion. Egg maturation slowed down once the maximum oviduct egg load was reached on 2 d posteclosion. In wasps manipulated for 20 ovipositions per day, the egg maturation rate during the first 3 d posteclosion was lower compared with those manipulated for 40 ovipositions per day. The rate of egg maturation in 1-d-old wasps was found to be the highest for those that experienced 60 ovipositions per day. The maturation rate in females offered unlimited hosts was not significantly greater than those manipulated for 40 ovipositions per day. The act of oviposition significantly increased the rate of egg maturation and minimized egg resorption in the female wasp. The distribution of mature eggs in the ovaries at death is apparently associated with the oviposition regime. Trade-offs between egg maturation rate and female longevity were quite evident.

Most adult Lepidoptera depend on a proboscis for fluid uptake. Although the proboscis has been regarded as a sealed tube with fluid uptake restricted to the distal end, recent evidence indicates that it is permeable along its entire length in at least some species. We, therefore, tested the effectiveness of the seal during feeding in four species of butterflies. Feeding rates in monarchs (Danaus plexippus L.), painted ladies (Vanessa cardui L.), and tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucus L.) did not differ significantly when the proboscises were straightened and fully, versus partially, submersed in 1 or 15% sucrose solutions. To explore these results, we tested fluid uptake along the nearly transparent proboscises of buckeye butterflies (Junonia coenia Hübner) by applying colored droplets of water to the legular seam between the paired galeae. Colored fluid appeared in the food canal of straightened and naturally flexed proboscises within 10 s, regardless of whether the chemosensilla were stimulated with sugar. Statistically significant entry of fluid, however, occurred ≈30 s after droplets were applied and only if the proboscis was naturally flexed and stimulated with sucrose. The results suggest that fluid uptake along the length of the proboscis is influenced by changes in legular spacing when the butterfly naturally bends the proboscis and on activation of the cibarial pump when chemosensilla are stimulated with sugar.