Four species new to science are described from Vanuatu, namely Holophygdon nishidae sp. n., Idiocysta vanuatuensis sp.n., Nesocypselas minicysta sp. n., and Tingis parvoroe sp. n. New records are provided for six species, five of them being new to Vanuatu: Cysteochila idonea Drake, Stephanitis subfasciata Horváth, Teleonemia scrupulosa Stål, Tingis chazeaui Guilbert, and Tingis irregularis (Montrouzier). A key to genera and species of Vanuatu is added., Eric Guilbert, and Lit
Ectrichodiinae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), the millipede assassin bugs, are a speciose group (>660 species) of assassin bugs that appear to be specialist predators on Diplopoda, or millipedes. Apparently capable of coping with the noxious defensive compounds produced by many millipedes, Ectrichodiinae are engaged in a predator-prey relationship with millipedes realized only by few other arthropods. Unfortunately, feeding behaviors of Ectrichodiinae are inadequately documented, rendering this exciting phenomenon largely inaccessible. We here present a literature review on ectrichodiine prey selection and feeding behaviors, with supplemental original observations on Rhiginia cinctiventris (Stål, 1872) in Costa Rica. Thirteen species in 12 genera have been observed to feed on millipedes. The majority of diplopod prey species were reported from the orders Spirostreptida and Spirobolida, whereas Polydesmida are rarely attacked. Ectrichodiinae insert their stylets at the millipede’s intersegmental membranes on the ventral and ventro-lateral trunk area or between the head and collum. Communal predation was observed among conspecific nymphs, among groups of nymphs with a conspecific adult, and more rarely among adults. Immature ectrichodiines were rarely observed to engage in solitary predation. Observations on R. cinctiventris indicate that this species preys on spirobolid and polydesmid millipedes and are in agreement with behaviors described for other Ectrichodiinae., Michael Forthman, Christiane Weirauch., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
1_The arboricolous dolichoderine ant Liometopum microcephalum (Panzer, 1798) is considered to be mainly predatory, although there are some reports of it tending aphids. The main objective of the present study was to confirm that this ant has a trophobiotic relationship with aphids and assess seasonal differences in its utilization of honeydew. We hypothesized that the worker ants on trees where they have their nest (nest tree) and trees where they are foraging (foraging trees) should differ in gaster mass and sugar content depending on their direction of movement, and that both should be highest in spring. From spring to summer 2009, ascending and descending workers were collected from nest and foraging trees at a locality in South Moravia, Czech Republic. Mass of their gasters and their content of total and reducing sugars were measured using chemical (photometric) methods. Differences in gaster mass confirmed the flow of liquid food from foraging to nest trees, but there were no significant between-month differences. Contents of total and reducing sugars were positively correlated with gaster mass. The gasters of workers descending from foraging trees contained significantly more reducing sugars than those of workers descending or ascending nest trees. The content of reducing sugars was lowest at the beginning of the ants’ activity period in April and highest in June, with a non-significant drop in July. Results for total sugars were similar, with the decrease in July being significant. The concentration of sugars in the gasters of workers ascending and descending nest trees did not differ significantly but the absolute content of total sugars was higher in the gasters of ascending ants., 2_Results from foraging trees confirmed that the ants collected the honeydew from these trees. Possible reasons for the ambigous results for nest trees are discussed. We conclude that trophobiosis is an important component of the nutritional biology of L. microcephalum., Jiří Schlaghamerský ... []., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
nvestigating the function of both male and female mating behaviours is essential in our attempts to understand the evolution of mating systems. Variation in mating behaviours among different populations within a species provides a useful opportunity to explore how behaviours may co-vary, although comparative studies are still rather few in number. Population variation in mating behaviour may also have important implications in terms of the evolution of reproductive isolation, the distribution of genetic diversity within and between populations, and the associated ability of those populations to adapt. Here we consider male and female mating behaviour in two populations of the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, from the UK and Russia. We find that male and female mating behaviours differ between the populations in terms of the length of female rejection behaviour and the duration of mating, and that this variation is independent of which population an individual's mating partner is from. Our data confirm that patterns of sexual selection and reproductive behaviour are likely to vary across populations in the two-spot ladybird. The extent to which this variation is due to current ecological factors or population history remains to be verified for this species, as for many others., Penelope R. Haddrill, Michael E.N. Majerus, David M. Shuker., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Although there is a considerable amount of information on the ecology, genetics and physiology of life-history traits there is little information on the morphological variations associated with flight ability within species. In this paper, the morphology and ultrastructure of certain organelles in the flight muscles of Gryllus firmus are recorded using transmission electron microscopy. The ultrastructure of the flight muscles of 7-day-old female adults reveals that the ratio of thick to thin filaments is 1 : 3. Each thick filament is surrounded by 6 thin filaments in a hexagonal arrangement. The length of the sarcomere of each myofibril is significantly shorter and diameter of the myofibrils significantly smaller in long-winged than in short-winged morphs. However, the thick filaments in the long-winged morph are denser than those in the short-winged morph. Furthermore, in the long winged morph there are a greater number of mitochondria than in the short-winged morph. These differences correspond with the fact that long-winged crickets are stronger fliers than short-winged crickets., Cheng-Ji Jiang ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The great capricorn beetle or Cerambyx longicorn (Cerambyx cerdo, Linnaeus, 1758) is an internationally protected umbrella species representing the highly diverse and endangered fauna associated with senescent oaks. For the conservation and monitoring of populations of C. cerdo it is important to have a good knowledge of its microhabitat requirements. We investigated determinants and patterns of C. cerdo distribution within individual old, open-grown oaks. Trees inhabited by this species were climbed, and the number of exit holes and environmental variables recorded at two sites in the Czech Republic. Distribution of exit holes in relation to height above the ground, trunk shading by branches, orientation in terms of the four cardinal directions, diameter, surface and volume of inhabited tree parts were investigated. This study revealed that the number of exit holes in the trunks of large open-grown oaks was positively associated with the diameter of the trunk and openness and negatively with height above the ground, and the effects of diameter and openness changed with height. The number of exit holes in the surface of a trunk was also associated with the cardinal orientation of the surface. Approximately half of both C. cerdo populations studied developed less than 4 m and approximately a third less than 2 m above the ground. This indicates that most C. cerdo develop near the ground. Active management that prevents canopy closure is thus crucial for the survival of C. cerdo and searching for exit holes is an effective method of detecting sites inhabited by this species., Jan Albert, Michal Platek, Lukas Cizek., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Caterpillars of the poplar lutestring moth, Tethea or, construct leaf shelters that they defend against intruding conspecifics using a combination of vibratory signals and physical aggression. Staged interactions between a resident caterpillar and introduced conspecific were recorded with a video camera and laser vibrometer. Residents crawl towards the intruder and perform three behaviours: lateral hitting, pushing, and mandible scraping. Vibrations caused by mandible scraping result from the caterpillar repeatedly scraping opened mandibles laterally against the leaf surface in bouts lasting 1.16 ± 0.39 s, with an average of 4 ± 1 scrapes per bout. We propose that these scrapes function in leaf shelter defense against conspecifics for the following reasons: Mandible scrapes are produced only by residents; they are generated when a resident is approached by an intruder; the rate of scraping increases as the intruder approaches the shelter; and residents in all trials retain their shelters, with the intruder leaving the leaf within 127.9 ±104.3s from the beginning of the trial. The function and evolutionary origins of vibration-mediated territoriality in caterpillars are discussed. and Jaclyn L. Scott, Jayne E. Yack.
Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted intracellular symbiont which causes reproductive distortions in the arthropods it infects. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in using Wolbachia as a potential tool for biological control by genetic manipulation of insect pests. In the present paper we report Wolbachia infection in several Trissolcus wasps (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) which are important egg parasitoids of the sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Heteroptera: Scutellaridae). We used DNA sequence data for a gene encoding a surface protein of Wolbachia (wsp) not only to confirm Wolbachia infection but also to discriminate Wolbachia strains. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that Wolbachia strains in Trissolcus species were closely related to one another and belonged to supergroup B. Determination of the infection status of various populations, the possible role of Wolbachia in causing the incompatibility and knowledge of the reproductive compatibility of Trissolcus populations is important for the success of parasitoids in sunn pest management., Nurper Guz ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury