Satyrium favonius ontario is considered to be one of the rarest eastern butterflies. We conducted a status survey and studied the ecology of this hairstreak at Great Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, MA—New England's most reliable colony. Burlap banding to sample larvae proved to be a more productive censusing technique than traditional time-intensive and weather-dependent adult searches. Our preliminary data suggest that Leucobalanus (white and post) oaks serve as the primary hosts for the butterfly in the Northeast. We supply a larval key and diagnoses that will allow accurate identification of four synchronic and sympatric thecline lycaenids associated with Quercus (oaks) in New England. We document adults of four congeneric Satyrium hairstreaks (S. calanus, S. caryaevorus, S. edwardsii, and S. liparops) feeding at pip galls on Quercus ilicifolia made by the cynipid gall wasp Callirhytis balanacea. We present arguments that adults of S. f. ontario are canopy-dwelling animals that feed on non-nectar resources (such as galls and Hemiptera honeydew) and that floral nectars, while used commonly by the adults, may be unnecessary as a source of nutrients when other non-nectar resources are available. We conclude with a discussion of how the use of such resources, combined with canopy-dwelling behavior, may yield an impression of great rarity, and that conservation agencies seeking legal protection for S. f. ontario may want to do so guardedly.

The Asian shrub Rhodomyrtus tomentosa is an invasive weed in Florida and Hawaii, USA. Surveys for natural enemies of this exotic shrub in Hong Kong, China, resulted in the development of a laboratory colony and initial host range testing of Carea varipes Walker as a potential biological control agent of R. tomentosa. Twelve critical test plant species were presented to C. varipes larvae, but complete development was limited to R. tomentosa, the ornamental Myrtus communis, and the Florida native Morella cerifera. Total development time was >10 d faster when held with R. tomentosa and M. communis versus M. cerifera, with the latter species requiring an extra larval instar to reach the pupal stage. Total consumption levels over an individual's larval stage were similar among R. tomentosa and M. cerifera but, when the longer development time associated with the latter host is accounted for, consumption rates indicate that larvae consumed >2 times more leaf material when held with the Florida native. Despite an apparent preference for R. tomentosa, it is clear that the physiological host range of C. varipes includes the Florida native M. cerifera and the ornamentally important M. communis. The generalized feeding patterns exhibited in this research indicates that additional resources dedicated to the development of this species as a biological control agent are unwarranted.

Although functional response and mutual interference studies may be of great importance to augmentative biological control projects focussed on pests of economic importance, such studies have traditionally been overlooked in mass rearing projects of natural enemies. In this study, we aimed to explore both interactions in Utetes anastrephae (Viereck), a native parasitoid commonly associated with Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart), a major fruit fly pest of Spondias spp. and Mangifera indica L. in the Americas, for mass rearing purposes. The functional response of U. anastrephae on A. obliqua larvae fit a type II model according to Holling's disc equation, with an instantaneous rate of discovery (a’) of 0.470 and a handling time (Th) of 0.099. The effects of mutual interference were more severe at high parasitoid densities due to the higher frequency of interactions. An increasing number of foraging females resulted in an increasing number of oviposition scars and immature parasitoids per pupa without significant differences in the total number of attacked larvae. Superparasitism at high densities of foraging females had a negative effect on adult emergence, was associated with a female-biased sex ratio, and had no effect on survival or flight ability parameters. Strategies for optimizing the mass rearing of this parasitoid species are outlined.

The callings songs of five species from three genera of South African pygmy bladder cicadas are analyzed. The call of each species has a distinct temporal pattern and frequency spectrum. The songs are of significantly lower frequency than would be predicted based on body mass or body length. Comparison of bladder cicada calls from Australia and South Africa show similar lower than predicted frequencies in species of independent evolutionary origin. The inflated abdomen found in these cicadas appears to be a convergent adaptation to permit more efficient song production at lower carrier frequencies that increase the distance the songs will travel.

Luminescent termite mounds caused by colonization of the luminescent larvae of the click beetle Pyrearinus termitilluminans (Costa, 1982) are well reported in Cerrado ecosystems (savannas) in central west Brazil (Costa 1982). Although luminous termite mounds were occasionally reported in the Amazon forest, they have not been studied as extensively. Here we report for the first time, luminescent larvae of Pyrearinus sp. living inside Canga (clayish) caves in the National Forest of Carajás near an iron mine in Pará state. The luminescence display in the cave is very similar to that of luminous termite mounds infested by P. termitilluminans larvae, and is apparently used to attract flying insects. We also report the occurrence of luminous termite mounds inside the Amazon forest inhabited by larvae of Pyrearinus fragilis (Costa 1978) and P. termitilluminans in three different localities (Caseara-TO, Canaã do Carajás-PA, and Juruena-MT) and in a forested area in Cerrado (Novo Santo Antônio-MT). The distinct habitats and molecular phylogenetic analysis indicate the occurrence of two lineages of P. termitilluminans, which are adapted to savanna and forest termite mounds.

Very little is known about the arthropods associated with the wild ancestors of agricultural crops. Given that wild relatives of crop plants are subjected to human pressures of habitat loss and transgene flow, baseline levels of arthropod biodiversity and community composition are urgently needed to detect declines associated with anthropogenic disturbance. Here, we sampled arthropod abundance and community composition on the wild ancestor of cultivated rice, Oryza rufipogon Griffiths, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam to ask: 1) Do arthropods associated with O. rufipogon fluctuate temporally and spatially in terms of community composition, diversity, and abundance? 2) What is the abundance and diversity of lepidopteran and hemipteran species associated with O. rufipogon across sites and seasons? We found a total of 578 arthropod taxa, distributed across 178 families in 17 orders. Rarefied species richness and arthropod abundance did not vary across the sampled stands of O. rufipogon, but did vary across the years. Arthropod abundance and metrics dependent upon abundance generally declined over the observation period, suggesting that the sampling effects or other unobservable factors may have contributed to the decline in the arthropod community. Overall, predators dominated the community composition, followed by detritivores and herbivores. Predatory and herbivorous taxa were the most speciose guilds. We found 45 unique taxa of Lepidoptera, many of which were previously undescribed on rice. Given that wild relatives such as Oryza rufipogon support a diverse arthropod community, this study provides a baseline evaluation of the arthropod community in this important native habitat.

Stag beetles show a great intraspecific variation. The morphological variation of a species at a single location is a reflection of the species developmental plasticity (DP) and that across locations is a measure for the species adaptive plasticity (AP). Variations of external morphology (developmentally highly variable) and reproductive organ (developmentally highly stable) were studied in each of 514 locations comprising 187 species to determine intralocational, interlocational, and interspecific variability. Dealing with naturally occurring variation, extra attention was paid to the normality of each data set and the validity of partitioning each variation component. With this, the comparative quantification of DP and AP and its presentation as broad-sense heritability were made possible. The results indicate that intraspecific evolution begins with the diversification in genitalia morphology through selection on individual phenotypes as the traditional theory dictates while DP of external morphology sustains the morphological robustness of species. More significantly, there was a highly significant difference in DP of external morphology among species and the interspecific, broad-sense heritability of DP in body and mandible length was very high, indicating that DP is firmly a genetic trait on its own. Furthermore, DP (of body length) influences the species geographic range (GR) more significantly than the species mean or other measures. DP in external morphology and GR being a highly heritable emergent trait and an emergent property, respectively, at the species level, these findings suggest that DP plays a significant role in interspecific evolution through species selection rather than selection on individual phenotypes.

The Pampas biome is a subtropical–temperate grassland region that presents striking climatic characteristics, such as temperatures below zero in the winters and up to 40°C in the summers. Hence, long sampling periods are necessary to better understand the structure of Drosophilidae assemblages through current climatic conditions in the heterogeneous landscape of the Pampas. Samples of drosophilids were taken in natural and urban areas during 12 climatic periods. The environmental influence on the structure of assemblages was temporally and spatially analyzed through nonmetric multidimensional scaling, indicator value, and permutational multivariate analysis of variance. The following hypotheses were tested: 1) the structure of drosophilids assemblages vary through different habitats from the same area, and 2) the presence and abundance of Drosophilidae species in a particular environment is regulated by the interaction between the phytophysionomy and climatic traits of each locality. The Pampas assemblages were dominated by a few species, although it is a highly diverse biome with regards to Drosophilidae. The environmental heterogeneity was confirmed as a determinant factor of the structure of assemblages, and it explained 8.86% of the assemblage composition. Nonetheless, the interaction between temperature and humidity was revealed as the most influential environmental component of the Drosophilidae assemblages, and it explained 37.28% of all the recorded variation. Together, environment type and the climatic elements were able to explain 56.45% of the assemblages' variation. Open and close environments, such as grassland and forest patches, respectively, presented a peculiar composition of Drosophilidae assemblages and should be equally considered in the Pampas preservation strategies.

Tea geometrid Ectropis obliqua Prout (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) is a devastating defoliator throughout the tea plantations in China. To explore the putative functions of chemosensilla involved in host selection, the morphology and ultrastructure of antennal and tarsal sensilla in E. obliqua moths were visualized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Eight types (including 15 subtypes) of sensilla were identified. On antennae, sensilla trichodea (STR I and STR II) were the most abundant sensillum type characterized by porous cuticle and dendrites in the sensillum lymph. Sensilla chaetica (SCH I–SCH III) possessed a terminal pore and thick nonporous wall, with dendrites in the inner lymph cavity. Three subtypes of sensilla basiconica (SBA I–SBA III) and one type of sensilla auricillica were equipped with thin porous cuticular walls and multiple dendrites in the lymph. Sensilla styloconica were equipped with two or three dendrites that lacked cuticular pores. Sensilla coeloconica possessed four to seven dendrites and were double walled with spoke channels. Böhm bristles and sensilla squamiformia were also observed on the antennae. On tarsi, two subtypes of sensilla chaetica (SCH IV and SCH V) comprised the majority of chemosensilla, and are believed to function in gustatory perception. We summarize the validated functions of related sensilla, and propose potential functions of the corresponding sensilla in E. obliqua. These findings provide a working basis for investigating sensillum function and sensory mechanisms in this pest species.

Tephritomyia Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a fruitfly genus currently with eight species, all of which develop in flowerheads of Echinops L. spp. (Asteraceae: Cardueae). Most species in the genus are restricted to the Afrotropical Region, but T. despoliata (Hering), T. lauta (Loew), and T. sericea Munro are found only in the Palearctic Region. Tephritomyia lauta was reared from Echinops viscosus DC. but no information on the life history of any other species has been available so far. The phylogeny and geographic origin of the genus have not been studied to date. In the present work, we revise Tephritomyia based on a thorough morphological and cladistc study of all the species, and provide keys and illustrations for all of them. We describe 14 new species, and provide the first descriptions and illustrations of immature stages for this genus. Host-plant records are given for 12 species, including new records for T. lauta. Tephritomyia xiphias Bezzi is assigned to nomina dubia. Our cladistic analysis supports the monophyly of Tephritomyia as defined here, and the limitations of a morphology-based cladistic analysis of this genus are discussed. We conclude that Tephritomyia originated in Africa, and hypothesize that it is most speciose in the Afrotropics as a result of weaker competition over host plants (Echinops spp.) than in other zoogeographic regions.

We describe a new species of egg parasitoid, Oobius primorskyensis Yao & Duan n. sp., collected from the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) near Vladivostok, Russia. Morphological and molecular analyses indicate that this taxon is sufficiently distinct from Oobius agriliZhang & Huang 2005 to merit species status. Furthermore, DNA sequence divergence between O. primorskyensis and specimens in culture of Chinese origin suggest that O. primorskyensis is molecularly distinct from Oobius previously imported into the United Stated and released as biological control agents of emerald ash borer. Laboratory observations showed that O. primorskyensis also differs from O. agrili in diapause pattern. When reared with A. planipennis eggs at 25 ± 1.5° C, 65 ± 10% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h, nearly 100% of O. primorskyensis diapaused at the second and third generations after their parents had diapaused, whereas a majority (60–96%) of O. agrili did not diapauses for 11 sequential generations. Diagnosis of the species with respect to O. agrili is provided. The new species is a natural enemy of A. planipennis in its native range and may be considered for introduction against A. planipennis in North America.

Fungus-growing ants (Attini) are abundant and diverse, yet only one taxon of flies (Phoridae) and one of wasps (Diapriinae) are known parasitoids, and the biology of most species is not well known. Here we describe the first evidence for an ant parasitoid in the family Chloropidae (Diptera), in which larvae of Pseudogaurax paratolmos Wheeler, new species, parasitize larvae of the ant, Apterostigma dentigerum Wheeler, 1925. Larval flies are solitary ectoparasitoids, each of which attaches to a single ant larva and develops from larva to pupa in ~2 wk, consuming nearly the entire host, and then ecloses as an adult ~1 wk later. Overall parasitism prevalence was 6.8% of 203 nests, and flies were active during both the dry and rainy seasons. Intensity of parasitism ranged from 18.2 to 100% of larvae attacked per parasitized nest. No other species of Apterostigma that nested in the same localities were parasitized by the flies, including A. pilosum (Mayr, 1865) (n = 93 nests) and A. auriculatum (Wheeler, 1925) (n = 10 nests). All immature ants, parasitized or not, as well as immature stages of Pseudogaurax paratolmos, were attended by adult ants that exhibited normal brood care behavior, including covering immatures with mycelia, grooming, and maintaining brood in the fungus garden.

Megatoma (s. str.) jakutskiensis sp. n. from Russia is described, illustrated, and compared with related species; a differential diagnosis as well as a key to the Holarctic species of Megatoma s. str. are provided.

This study investigated the systematics of the Nearctic shield-back katydids (“Tettigoniinae”), a paraphyletic group thought to include genera from a distinctive Gondwanan tribe, the Nedubini, among an otherwise Holarctic fauna. From exemplars of five genera of Nedubini and the majority of other genera of Nearctic “Tettigoniinae,” five gene regions were sequenced, aligned with publicly available sequence data that represent diverse subfamilies of Tettigoniidae, and subjected to phylogenetic analysis under Bayesian and likelihood criteria. Our results render the worldwide Nedubini polyphyletic, strongly support the Nearctic Nedubini as a basal clade that is sister to the remaining Tettigoniidae, and group the remaining Nearctic shield-back katydid genera into a Holarctic clade. Having shared a common ancestor with the remaining katydids 175 ± 24 million years ago, the Nearctic Nedubini joins a considerable assemblage of relict groups that are found in California and the Pacific Northwest of North America. The symmetrical development and ambidextrous overlap of the tegmina of male Nearctic nedubines is re-evaluated as a plesiomorphic character.

Two new species of the genus LeipothrixKeifer, 1966 from China are described and illustrated. These species are Leipothrix pilosaesp. nov., from Bidens pilosa L. (Compositae), and Leipothrix sarcandraesp. nov., from Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai (Chloranthaceae). Both the new species described herein were found to be vagrant on their host plants without visible damage symptoms observed.