The Diceroprocta delicata species complex is currently composed of D. delicata (Osborn, 1906) and D. delicata variety aurantiaca Davis, 1938. We described the species distribution, made morphological measurements of nine structural characters, analyzed the calling songs, and determined the thermal responses for each species. Our collections and analyses show that there are significant differences in the biogeography, morphology, and acoustics, which suggest a reorganization of the complex. We suggest that there are in fact two separate species and that the current variety be elevated to species rank with the name Diceroprocta aurantiaca Davis, 1938.

The Archips argyrospila complex consists of a series of morphologically indistinct populations with a confusing array of pheromone and host types. No phylogenetic studies on the genus Archips or any of its species groups have previously been published. We examined DNA variation in a 475 bp segment of the mitochondrial COI gene and compared 30 populations of A. argyrospila, four populations of A. mortuana, four populations of A. goyerana, and one specimen of each of four outgroup species. Among the 97 ingroup sequences obtained, there were 23 unique haplotypes and nucleotide variation at 20 sites. The monophyletic ingroup containing A. argyrospila, A. mortuana, A. goyerana and a West Coast clade was strongly supported by bootstrap values and decay indices. Host races and some pheromone types within A. argyrospila did not correspond to mtDNA variation in this analysis. Our molecular analyses supported phylogenetic and ecological interpretations of species status applied to A. goyerana but not A. mortuana, and supported the existence of a phylogenetically distinct West Coast species.

Ichilocoris Brailovsky, new genus, and one new species, I. mirabilis Brailovsky and Barrera, collected in Bolivia and Peru, are described in the tribe Acanthocephalini (Coreidae). Dorsal habitus, antennal segments, hind leg, and drawing of male genital capsule are included.

An extant species of the relict insect order Grylloblattodea is described from the Ussuri River Basin of southeastern Russia. This species, Galloisiana olgae, is a member of the family Grylloblattidae that probably originated as a lineage during the mid-Cenozoic and experienced subsequent range constriction associated with Pleistocene glaciation. The Grylloblattodea have a richer fossil history in warm-temperate habitats during the Late Paleozoic than the four confamilial genera of today would suggest. These modern taxa represent a specialized Cenozoic lineage that adapted to cool-temperate habitats in northwestern North America and northeastern Asia, and parallel other similar distributions of seed plants and insects.

The taxonomy of the genus Colobura Billberg, 1820, one of the most common members of the Neotropical lowland forest butterfly fauna, is critically reviewed in light of available information on the morphology of both the immature stages and adults. Although regarded by almost all authors to date as monotypic, Colobura contains two species, one of which is described here as Colobura annulata sp. n. The immature stages of both the new species and Colobura dirce (Linnaeus, 1758) are described, compared, and figured. Both larval and adult phenotypes of the two species may be readily separated, and a key to identification is provided. A review of published and unpublished information on the immature stages, hostplants, and adult behavior of both species reveals a possible case of ecological niche partitioning; larvae of C. dirce are solitary or occur in small groups on predominantly young trees or saplings, whereas those of C. annulata are highly gregarious on mature canopy trees. There is some evidence to suggest that adult flight height may, in part, be correlated with the height of preferred hostplants.

Currently, 16 species in the green lacewing genus Ceraeochrysa are known from Mexico. Many of these species occur in agricultural situations, and their trash-carrying larvae are attractive candidates for mass-rearing and use in biological control. To facilitate the use of Ceraeochrysa in biological control and to contribute to a better understanding of the phylogenetics of the group, emphasis is placed on systematics. Previously, we described the larvae of seven of the 16 species; here we describe the larvae of five more and provide keys for identifying the larvae of all known Mexican species. We also summarize the little information that is available on the biology of each species.

RESUMEN Actualmente, dieciseis especies de crisópidos del género Ceraeochrysa se conocen de México. Muchas de éstas se encuentran bajo diferentes condiciones agrícolas; sus larvas carga-basura son candidatos atractivos para la cría masiva y utilización en programas de control biológico. Para facilitar el uso práctico de Ceraeochrysa, y contribuir a un mejor entendimiento de las relaciones filogenéticas del grupo, nosotros enfatizamos el desarrollo de la sistemática del género. Previamente describimos siete larvas de las dieciseis especies; en el presente documento describimos cinco más y proporcionamos claves para identificar todos los instares de las especies Mexicanas conocidas. También resumimos la escasa información que existe acerca de la biología de cada especie.

This study focused on two questions relevant to ecophysiology: Do distributions of animal species track shifting microclimatic mosaics under field conditions? Do distributions on different levels of spatial resolution (different “scales”) consistently modify a species’ access to heat or humidity? I counted the arthropods on the bark of exposed tree trunks in northern Germany with a 10× lens and investigated how the dominant species (collembolans, psocopterans, isopods, a linyphiid spider, and an oribatid mite) used climatic patterns at various scales. These included mesoclimatic patterns and shifting microclimatic patterns such as microrelief, trunk faces, and trunk/mesoclimate differences. Bias owing to changing frequency of microhabitats, or to redistributions of animals between microhabitats was avoided. I also investigated the effects of climatic patterns on heat and humidity levels at the bark surface. The distributions of all species, except the psocopterans, similarly tracked shifting microclimatic mosaics and mesoclimates. The distributions of most species modified their access to heat or humidity consistently at several mutually independent scales. The remaining species seemed to be restricted in their climate use by sensory or metabolic limitations.

Kudzu, Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. variety lobata (Willd.) Maesen & Almeida, a close relative of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., is an adventive and widely distributed weed in the southeastern United States. Conventional wisdom says that native arthropods do not feed heavily on kudzu, but recent evidence has indicated this is not the case. To better understand the interaction of kudzu and native insects, the biology of the soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), was compared on kudzu and soybean. Insects fed on kudzu had higher mortality, longer development times with supernumerary molts, and lower pupal weights than those fed on soybean. Rearing for up to three generations on either plant host had an effect on length of development time but did not affect other measured parameters. Foliage consumption did not differ between treatments, and nutritional quality of soybean and kudzu did not differ. The instar at which insects were transferred from artificial diet to either kudzu or soybean significantly influenced development time, number of instars, foliage consumption, and pupal weights, with instar 4 being the optimum stage for transfer. In an oviposition test, females readily oviposited on kudzu in a no choice test, but when both kudzu and soybean were provided, more eggs were deposited on soybean than on kudzu. Our studies show that although kudzu is an acceptable host, soybean is a preferred and better quality host.

In certain moth species, scales from ventral surface of the female abdominal tip may be removed by the male valvae during mating. The occurrence and frequency of these scaleless patches or “abdominal marks” were quantified in an array of noctuid species to determine if these could be used as a non-intrusive means of determining the mating status of females. In 20 species, abdominal marks were never found on mated females despite the large sample sizes examined. In another 15 species the percentage of mated females (determined by the presence of spermatophores) with abdominal marks was quite variable, ranging from 1 to 100%. In three species, >95% of mated females bore abdominal marks: Aporophyla nigra Haworth, Hecatera bicolorata Hufnagel, and Mythimna unipuncta Haworth. In most species the frequency of marking was related to multiple mating (polyandry). Marks were also observed on some virgin females, i.e., individuals with no spermatophore. It is concluded that the presence of these scale-less patches may only provide a reasonable indication of the female mating status for certain species.

A survey of the braconid wasps on midwestern United States tallgrass prairies was conducted using malaise trapping on six sites forming an east-west transect through the prairie zone in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. A total of 924 specimens, representing 184 species, was recovered. Statistical analyses indicated that the asymptote of actual species richness had not yet been approached using this sampling regime. Nevertheless, this is the most complete survey yet available of prairie braconid wasps. Patterns of distinctness of the prairie fauna relative to that of other nearby plant communities are beginning to emerge.

Patterns of intraspecific variation in the size of ventral wing spots were examined among populations of Speyeria idalia Drury. All morphological variables were significantly correlated with longitude but not latitude. Principal components and discriminant function analyses of the morphological data were also consistent with a longitudinal, clinal pattern of variation. Geographic variation in morphology was concordant with patterns of mitochondrial DNA, which showed fixed differences between eastern and western populations. Inclusion of samples from populations that are currently extinct in the center of the species’ range suggests clinal, rather than the currently observed discrete, variation was originally present. The appearance of discrete variation due to extinction in the center of a cline has previously been observed in the tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis Say and may be more common than has previously been acknowledged. These results lend support the idea that conservation should attempt to preserve historical patterns of intraspecific variation rather than protect a limited number of individuals in a given species.

Megachile rotundata (F.), an adventive, gregarious, cavity-nesting, leaf cutting bee, is used throughout North America for the pollination of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., seed crops. We examined the influence of various postcocooning (prewintering) temperature regimes on development, survival, emergence time, and longevity in both nondiapausing and diapausing forms of this species. Diapausing male and female M. rotundata required 27–30 d and 29–32 d, respectively, to develop from prepupae to emergence after incubation at constant 29°C, regardless of postcocooning treatments to which they were exposed. Likewise, longevity after emergence was not related to postcocooning temperatures and ranged from 5 to 6 d and 4 to 6 d for males and females, respectively. Elevated postcocooning temperatures were associated with a higher prevalence of nondiapausing individuals, those completing development from eggs through emergence as adults in the same summer season. Relevance of our results to the commercial production of alfalfa leafcutting bees is discussed.

The testis of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) has a special histological structure, which is different from the basic morphological arrangement. The organ consists of a single saclike follicle containing all the development zones of male sexual cells. The base of the follicle is modified as a seminal vesicle where spermatozoa mature. In the testis wall there is a peritoneal sheath of large cells, closely associated with tracheoles. The main feature of these cells is a cytoplasm full of pigment grains. The peritoneum is located on a continuous layer of muscles, not previously reported in insect morphology. There is an apical follicular epithelium supported by a thick basement membrane, and an epithelium at the base of the testis forming a chamber where the spermatozoa are released from the cysts. Most of the mature spermatozoa are inside deep folds of the basal epithelium cells.

We surveyed variation in allozymes and in the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene in populations of three nominal species of hairstreak butterflies in the genus Mitoura in northern California. These species are separated on the basis of wing pattern and larval hostplant differences: M. nelsoni (Boisduval) larvae feed on incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens (Torrey); M. muiri (Hy. Edwards) larvae feed on cypress, Cupressus macnabiana A. Murray and C. sargentii Jepson; and M. siva (W. H. Edwards) larvae feed on juniper, Juniperus occidentalis Carrière. All three taxa were indistinguishable using allozyme allele frequency data. Genetic distances among populations of all three species were very small (Nei’s (1978) unbiased D = 0.000–0.007). Percent uncorrected mtDNA divergences were similarly small (P = 0.2–1.1%) and haplotypes are shared among taxa. However, analysis of molecular variation and exact tests for population differentiation indicate that populations of M. muiri in the coast range are differentiated from other populations. We conclude that divergence among these three taxa has occurred very recently. We further suggest the possibility that divergence is being driven by the evolution of larval host races, and that gene flow is restricted between M. nelsoni and at least some populations of M. muiri. This restriction may result from the adults’ habit of mating preferentially on different host trees and through phenological differences in the timing of reproduction.

We describe the daily activity patterns of resting, feeding, oviposition and mating of adult Rhagoletis turpiniae Hernández (Diptera: Tephritidae), a recently described fruit fly species from Mexico that inhabits both tropical evergreen rain and temperate cloud forests. We also compare certain mating behaviors of R. turpiniae, R. pomonella (Walsh) and R. zoqui Bush. Studies were performed under natural, field-cage and laboratory conditions. In natural settings, i.e., trees of Turpinia insignis (H.B. & K.) Tul. (Staphyleaceae) significantly more males (n = 1,059) than females (n = 178) were observed, mostly on the lower part of the host fruit (because flies were not marked, these numbers likely include resightings of the same individual over time). Only a few adults (1.13%) were observed feeding in the host plant. Of the 70 ovipositions observed, 88.9% were recorded in unripe fruits, and 11.1% took place in semiripe or ripe fruits. Greatest oviposition activity (egglaying and aculeus-dragging behavior) was observed between 1000 and 1100 hours. There was a significant positive correlation between fruit size and number of larvae in a fruit. The greatest proportion of matings (n = 89) occurred between 1100 and 1600 hours and took place on the fruit. Mean copulation duration under natural conditions was 41.78 ± 1.77 min. Studies carried out in field cages and under laboratory conditions confirmed that the “resource defense polygyny” mating system characteristic of other Rhagoletis species is also present in R. turpiniae. Under highly artificial laboratory conditions R. turpiniae females mated, on average, 10.47 ± 0.4 times, whereas R. pomonella and R. zoqui females mated, on average, 4.17 ± 0.6 and 1.61 ± 0.3 times, respectively. The maximum number of matings of a single female in one observation day was 15, 14, and 5 in R. turpiniae, R. pomonella and R. zoqui, respectively.

We evaluated olfactory attraction of overwintered male and female plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), adults to volatiles released from same or opposite sex conspecifics alone, synthetic male-produced pheromone (grandisoic acid) alone, wild plums alone, or combinations of live single-sex conspecifics or grandisoic acid with plums in large still-air arenas. Male plum curculios were most strongly attracted to volatiles released from females feeding on plums and to volatiles from mechanically punctured plums, which induced male copulations. Males were not attracted to volatiles from grouped males alone or a single male alone or synthetic grandisoic acid alone, and were just as attracted to odor of plums alone as to any of these stimuli in combination with plums, indicating either lack of enhancement of attraction to host plum odor by male-produced odors or synthetic grandisoic acid or lack of production or release of male-produced odors or problematic release of synthetic grandisoic acid. Females were attracted to odor of females alone, males alone, and synthetic grandisoic acid alone, but these attraction responses were not evident when plum odor was present (especially volatiles released from punctured plums), indicating the primary importance of host plum odor and potential influence of amount of male-produced odor in attraction of females. We concluded that female plum curculios may produce an odor attractive to male plum curculios, and both sexes produce an odor attractive to female plum curculios but in general, both male and female plum curculios were strongly attracted to host plum volatiles and only mildly attracted to conspecific odors or synthetic grandisoic acid under the conditions of our tests. We believe that attractive volatiles released from punctured plums should be used as source material to identify potential attractants for plum curculios.

Nestmate recognition is of prime importance in maintaining ant colony integration and organization. Monogyne red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, colonies are highly territorial and aggressive toward non-nestmate conspecific workers. In contrast, workers from polygyne nests in the United States show no aggression toward workers from other conspecific colonies (polygyne or monogyne). Nests within a polygyne population form a ‘supercolony,’ with free exchange of workers and food between nests. The difference in conspecific nestmate recognition is a major distinguishing feature of the two S. invicta forms in the United States. We report here the discovery of an exception to this dichotomy. High levels of worker aggression are released by the introduction of newly mated queens into both polygyne and monogyne colonies. This suggests that nestmate recognition involving female sexuals does not follow the same mechanism used to explain nestmate recognition behavior between workers.