This study investigates molecular phylogenetic relationships of East Asian wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae), focusing on species from Korea. We analyzed a sequence data set making up a portion of the mitochondrial 12S gene from 22 Korean lycosid species, belonging to seven genera (Alopecosa, Arctosa, Lycosa, Pardosa, Pirata, Trochosa, and Xerolycosa) in four subfamilies (Evippinae, Lycosinae, Pardosinae, and Venoniinae). All Korean wolf spiders were well grouped within monophyletic clades corresponding to existing genera, with the exception of Arctosa and Alopecosa, which were both polyphyletic. The genus Arctosa formed two distantly separated clades, and the clade composed of A. kwangreungensis and A. ebicha was posited as the sister group of all the other Korean wolf spiders. We also combined our data set with 44 previously published sequences from other lycosids from various geographical regions. As with the analyses for Korean taxa, the genus Arctosa still contained two distantly separated clades; the clade made up of A. kwangreungensis and A. ebicha was a sister clade to all the other lycosid spiders, whereas the clade of A. subamylacea and A. leopardus was a sister clade to that of the Australasian genera (Anoteropsis, (Artoria, Notocosa)). Alopecosa cinnameopilosa remained as a sister clade to all Pardosa group. The results indicate that the phylogenetic placement of the two Arctosa species (A. kwangreungensis and A. ebicha) and A. cinnameopilosa warrant reconsideration in further studies at the subfamily and generic levels, respectively.

Enigmocarnus chloropiformis Buck gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of a single male from east central Texas. The phylogeny of Carnidae is analyzed based on a matrix of 25 morphological characters, and a key to the World genera of Carnidae is presented. The new genus is characterized by a reduced head chaetotaxy (bristles short and mostly pale), notable gray pruinosity of the body, and a unique configuration of pregenital sclerites (the protandrium), which precludes placement of this species in any previously described genus of Carnidae. Enigmocarnus possesses a nearly symmetrical protandrium like Carnus and Meoneura, but the position of sternite 7 indicates that symmetry evolved independently and on a different path. The protandrial peculiarities exhibited by Enigmocarnus are discussed in the framework of Carnoidea relationships.

The leafhopper Sophonia orientalis (Matsumura) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) is native to Asia, but it has been recently introduced to the Hawaii Archipelago, CA and French Polynesia. Although this extremely polyphagous species is considered to be a threat to all native plants of Hawaii and to many economically important cropping cultures, its taxonomy remains obscure. Most literature referred to this species as Sophonia rufofascia (Kuoh & Kuoh), but recently it has been shown that previous records of this species correspond to S. orientalis. In this study, S. orientalis is recorded from northeastern Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira and Canaries, with the first collection made in 2000 representing the first record of this species for Macaronesia. Diagnosis of the species together with information on the karyotype and structure of testes and ovaries is given. The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16 X0 (males) and 2n = 16 XX (females), and each testis and ovary is composed of six follicles and six ovarioles, respectively. In Madeira, S. orientalis was found on 28 plant species, including native and endemic plants, but it also was associated with important crops such as vineyards. The presence of adults and nymphs during most of the year suggests that this species has several annual generations. Owing to the suitable climate and the presence of a great number of host plants, its potential for detrimental effects to Madeira ecosystems is considered to be great, and the proximity of Madeira and Canary Islands to the European land mass suggests that this pest may spread.

We evaluated fragments of the mitochondrial COI and ND6 genes to explore phylogenetic relationships among 13 of the 20 species of the Leucosphyrus Group of Anopheles (Cellia) (Diptera: Culicidae), including all four of the currently recognized complexes. Nucleotide sequence data were analyzed using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. The results revealed the monophyly of the Leucosphyrus Group and the Hackeri and Riparis Subgroups; however, the Leucosphyrus Subgroup and the Leucosphyrus Complex were recovered as polyphyletic. The monophyly of the Dirus Complex was corroborated by all the analyses but with discordance in the placement of An. balabacensis Baisas. The maximum parsimony strict consensus tree and maximum likelihood topology support the placement of An. balabacensis within the Dirus Complex, whereas the Bayesian topology placed the species as sister to the Hackeri and Riparis clade. Support for the split leading to An. latens Sallum & Peyton and An. leucosphyrus Dönitz is not strong; however in the maximum likelihood topology by using PHYML, they were recovered in a basal group within the Leucosphyrus Group.

The present article deals with the genus Willowsia and its Mexican species. A new species, Willowsia mexicana, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Mexico, bringing the Mexican fauna to three species.

In 2001 and 2002, we monitored densities of western grape leafhopper, Erythroneura elegantula Osborn, and Virginia creeper leafhopper, Erythroneura ziczac Walsh (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), eggs from June through September in managed and nonmanaged vineyards in Washington state. Anagrus parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) were reared from sampled parasitized leafhopper eggs. Densities of nonparasitized and parasitized E. elegantula eggs, and nonparasitized E. ziczac eggs, were significantly higher in nonmanaged grapevines, although this pattern was not consistent for the latter two groups. Densities of parasitized E. ziczac eggs were consistently low across management regimes. Anagrus erythroneurae S. Trjapitzin & Chiappini, Anagrus daanei S. Triapitsyn, and Anagrus tretiakovae S. Triapitsyn emerged from parasitized E. elegantula eggs, whereas latter two mymarid species also parasitized E. ziczac eggs. Of these species, A. tretiakovae was the most common parasitoid of Erythroneura leafhopper eggs within sampled vineyards. From 2001–2003, we used yellow sticky traps to collect Anagrus wasps and potential leafhopper hosts from blackberry, grape, and wild rose sites, because these habitats might serve as refugia for the wasps. All three Anagrus species collected within vineyards and a fourth species, A. atomus L., were found on traps in these plant habitats. Several leafhopper taxa that could serve as potential alternative hosts for Anagrus spp. also were collected. Our collection of A. daanei, A. tretiakovae, and A. atomus in Washington represents range extensions for these species, revealing several novel candidate species for conservation. Because we consistently found Anagrus species of agricultural importance within rose and blackberry patches, cultivation of these plants close to vineyards may enhance colonization by Anagrus and thus improve grape leafhopper biocontrol.

Swallowtail butterfly species (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) dimorphic for pupal color produce cryptic brown and green pupae in response to environmental cues. The occurrence of perceptible and reliable cues about pupation site color is a necessary condition for the evolution of this adaptation. By comparing the pupal color responses of prepupal larvae blinded by cautery of the stemmata with prepupal larvae cauterized, but not blinded, we show that the larval eyes (stemmata) mediate the pupal color response. Using a similar comparison, we also show that the stemmata are involved in pupation site choice by prepupal larvae. Considered in light of previously published work on the spectral sensitivities of stemmatal photoreceptors, the absorption spectra of green vegetation and the effects of different colored surfaces on pupal color, our results suggest a model for the proximate control of pupal color involving the differential stimulation of green and blue stemmatal photoreceptors.

Sexual dimorphism in basitarsal pad morphology is described for prothoracic and mesothoracic legs of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence, and Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and for prothoracic legs of Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). On the indicated legs of these diabroticite beetles, the typical structure of the hairy tarsal pads of chrysomelid beetles is replaced proximally on tarsomere 1 of males by a hairless planar ovoid patch that may facilitate maintenance of the mating posture of males upon the elytra of females. This basitarsal patch proved as reliable as the standard supra-anal plate character for establishing sex of these important crop pests.

Honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) DNA has alleles, at three polymorphic restriction sites, which were initially found almost exclusively in samples from eastern Europe. These markers were first detected with three labeled, cloned, probes on DNA blots. In this study, the polymorphic sites were made easier to analyze with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplification primers and conditions are described. The regions with the polymorphic sites were mapped within the sequences of the honey bee genome and were found within three separate linkage groups. The genomic locations of the defining restriction sites and PCR primers are given. With the PCR-based method of detection, additional samples of bees from Europe and Africa were examined. Within the eastern European group, the three markers were at high frequencies in Italian bees (subspecies Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola), two markers were at high frequencies and one marker was at a lower frequency in Carniolan bees (Apis mellifera carnica Pollman), and all three markers were absent or at low frequencies in Caucasian bees (Apis mellifera caucasica Gorbachev). The three markers were absent or at low frequencies in western European bees (Apis mellifera mellifera L and Apis mellifera iberica Goetze) and in South African bees (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier).

On two wild host plants, Calystegia japonica Choisy (Convolvulaceae) and Cayratia japonica (Thunb.) Gagnep. (Vitaceae), more tetranychid mites were found on curved leaves than on flat leaves. In addition, more Cay. japonica leaflets inoculated with Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida (Acari: Tetranychidae) females became curved than those without the mite, suggesting that T. kanzawai actively deforms the leaves of its host plants. In the presence of the predatory mite Neoseiulus womersleyi Schicha (Acari: Phytoseiidae), the fecundity of T. kanzawai was indirectly reduced. However, this negative effect of predators was mitigated on curved leaves compared with that on flat leaves. In the presence of predators, T. kanzawai females on curved leaves laid more eggs on webs than those on flat leaves, suggesting that curved leaves provide more refuge for T. kanzawai, which could be a benefit of leaf deformation.

Vibrational communication of the Nearctic flatid planthopper Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) (Hemiptera: Flatidae) was investigated to determine the role of substrate-borne vibrational signals in mating behavior. Signaling activity changes throughout the day and vibrational communication in this planthopper begins at night. All recorded male and female signals consisted of a series of single pulses. Most of these signals were classified as calling signals. They were emitted spontaneously or were evoked by playback stimulation with prerecorded conspecific signals. Male calling signals are simple, and the main difference between male and female calls was in the pulse repetition time. Pulse repetition time in the middle section of the calling signal was the least variable property of the vibrational signals. During later stages of pair formation, males emit a phrase that is a sequence of pulse trains that has a distinct time and amplitude pattern, whereas females produce continuing monotonous substrate vibrations that could last for several hours. Males participated in continued exchange of vibrational signals. Signals exchanged during male–male interaction did not differ structurally from male calling signals and males never overlapped their signals.

Males of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), the lesser grain borer, produce the aggregation pheromones dominicalure-1 (DL-1) and dominicalure-2 (DL-2), which attract conspecifics for mating and to food sources. Pheromone emissions by single males feeding on 10 different plant-based diets were analyzed in a laboratory study by gas chromatography to compare effects of different host plants on pheromone emission. Body size measurements also were made from individual male R. dominica feeding on a single host to investigate variation in pheromone output and to determine the relationship, if any, between body size and pheromone output in the species. Hosts on which larvae were reared did not affect pheromone output, but hosts on which adult males fed had significant effects. Mean total pheromones (DL-1 DL-2) released by male R. dominica confined on wheat seeds for 24 h was 1,060 ng at 20 d old. There was a significant reduction in mean total pheromones (DL-1 DL-2) output from 1,246 ng when males were fed on seeds, especially cereal grains, to 60 ng when fed on woody tissues such as elm twigs. In treatments in which pheromone release was low, beetles released similar amounts of DL-1 and DL-2, whereas when pheromone output was high they tended to produce more DL-1 than DL-2. Similarly, when a significant difference between quantities of DL-1 and DL-2 was observed, more DL-1 was emitted. There were no interactions between output of either of the two pheromones, DL-1 or DL-2, and adult food sources. Percentages of DL-1 in quantities of DL-1 DL-2 emitted ranged from 41 to 61% and averaged 51%. Percentages of DL-1 in DL-1 DL-2 released by males fed test foods were not significantly different from the control (wheat) in ≈78% of the cases; in cases for which a significant difference from the control was observed, the ratio of pheromones released shifted from a DL-1 skewed output to equivalent amounts of the two pheromones. Regression analyses indicated no significant relationship between either total body length, pronotal width, or fresh body weight, and of pheromone measurements: quantity of DL-1 or DL-2 individually, total quantity of DL-1 and DL-2, or the percentage of DL-1 in the pheromone blends.