Life Sciences Commons^™

Neochetina Species And Arthropod Communities In Water-Hyacinth Rafts In South Carolina, Benjamin Powell

All Theses

Arthropod communities inhabiting feral water-hyacinth rafts were surveyed monthly in South Carolina's Coastal Plain from March 2005 through February 2006. Special attention was given to the chevroned waterhyacinth weevil [Neochetina bruchi (Hustache)], the mottled waterhyacinth weevil [N. eichhorniae (Warner)] (both Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and the waterhyacinth moth [Niphograpta albiguttalis (Warren)] (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), which were imported into North America to control water-hyacinth. Communities of arthropods are compared among sites, flow regimes (lentic, lotic, and tidal), and months of the year. The arthropod communities in waterhyacinth rafts in South Carolina are more diverse than previously reported. Rafts in each of …

Phylogeny And Classification Of Hydropsychidae Subfamilies And Genera Of The World (Insecta: Trichoptera), Christy Geraci

All Dissertations

The family Hydropsychidae is nearly ubiquitous in streams and rivers, with over 1600 described species worldwide. Hydropsychidae is ecologically important and its larvae play key roles as indicators of water quality. Conflicting morphological characters have obscured the evolutionary history of the subfamilies, and the wide diversity of phallic morphology among Hydropsyche sensu lato species has created unstable classification systems that have been disputed among authors. My research used five nuclear ribosomal and mitochondrial COI fragments to infer a molecular phylogeny for Hydropsychidae subfamilies and genera, focusing particularly on the Hydropsychinae and the Hydropsyche sensu lato lineage. The monophyly of four …

Nesting And Foraging Characteristics Of The Black Carpenter Ant Camponotus Pennsylvanicus (Degeer) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Donald Oswalt

All Dissertations

Potential nesting sites of Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) were investigated in South Carolina to determine if nesting sites features could be characterized by habitat features for black carpenter ant nests. Environmental data from forested plots showed large-scale habitat features such as vegetation density and canopy cover were not useful as indicators for the presence or absence of nests. Small-scale individual nest characteristics such as diameter at breast height of trees, log length, tree defect type or tree species were better indicators of occupied nests. In my study, C. pennsylvanicus preferred mature hardwood (Quercus spp.) trees approximately 30 cm in diameter and …

The Effect Of Selection For Desiccation Resistance On Cold Tolerance Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Brent J. Sinclair, Sean Nelson, Theresa L. Nilson, Stephen P. Roberts, Allen G. Gibbs

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Low Temperature and Desiccation Stress Are Thought to Be Mechanistically Similar in Insects, and Several Studies Indicate that There is a Degree of Cross-Tolerance between Them, such that Increased Cold Tolerance Results in Greater Desiccation Tolerance and Vice Versa. This Assertion is Tested at an Evolutionary Scale by Examining Basal Cold Tolerance, Rapid Cold-Hardening (RCH) and Chill Coma Recovery in Replicate Populations of Drosophila Melanogaster Selected for Desiccation Resistance (With Controls for Both Selection and Concomitant Starvation) for over 50 Generations. All of the Populations Display a RCH Response, and There is No Effect of Selection Regime on RCH or …

A Revision Of Tomoceridae (Insecta: Collembola) In Great Smoky Mountains National Park And Southern Appalachians Using Morphological And Molecular Approaches, Kelly Lynn Felderhoff

Masters Theses

Large, heavily scaled tomocerid springtails (Collembola) are abundant in eastern forests, and are important components of the detrital food web. The genus Pogonognathellus predominates in the southern Appalachians While a number of well-delimited tomocerid species have been described, others have vague morphological boundaries and appear to be species complexes. Before this study began in 2005, four species were known to occur in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) and the surrounding Appalachians (P. bidentatus, dubius, elongatus, flavescens). Also occurring throughout the area is Tomocerus lamellifera, a widespread and distinctive species. The goals of this project were to …

Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Simulium Jenningsi Species-Group (Diptera: Simuliidae), Elizabeth Ann Alexander

Masters Theses

A molecular phylogenetic investigation was undertaken to identify species within the morphologically homogeneous Simulium jenningsi species group, a pestiferous group of 22 species of black flies restricted to the Nearctic region. Several species in this group have well documented medical and veterinary importance, most notably S. luggeri and S. jenningsi. Unfortunately, females are monomorphic, a conundrum given their pest status. The objective of this study was to examine the utility of molecular data in species identification, with obvious application to identification of pest females. Towards this end, we sequenced approximately 2 kilobases of sequence data from the mitochondrial (Cox …

The International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter, December 2007, International Lepidoptera Survey, Kenneth E. Davenport, Ray E. Stanford, Robert L. Langston

International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter

Contents (pages 1-66)

Title

Flight Periods of California Butterflies for “Resident Species,” Subspecies and Most Strays to the State (2007)

Authors

Kenneth E. Davenport, Ray E. Stanford and Robert L. Langston

Abstract

Normal flight periods and early/late records for resident species, subspecies and regular strays of butterflies of California are presented below.. Many subspecies or populations in the state are distinctive and may prove to merit species recognition by specialists in the future.

Simpler Mode Of Inheritance Of Transcriptional Variation In Male Drosophila Melanogaster, Marta Wayne, Marina Telonis-Scott, Lisa Bono, Lawrence G. Harshman, Artyom Kopp, Sergey V. Nuzhdin, Lauren Mcintyre

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

Sexual selection drives faster evolution in males. The X chromosome is potentially an important target for sexual selection, because hemizygosity in males permits accumulation of alleles, causing tradeoffs in fitness between sexes. Hemizygosity of the X could cause fundamentally different modes of inheritance between the sexes, with more additive variation in males and more nonadditive variation in females. Indeed, we find that genetic variation for the transcriptome is primarily additive in males but nonadditive in females. As expected, these differences are more pronounced on the X chromosome than the autosomes, but autosomal loci are also affected, possibly because of X-linked …

Ozodius, N. Gen., For The Australian Members Of The Genus Drepanocanthoides Schmidt (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Paul E. Skelley

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

The genus name Drepanocanthoides Schmidt has recently been applied to Australian and North American taxa, based on generic concepts following separate designations of different type species. Drepanocanthoides, type species Aphodius walshii Horn, is a Nearctic genus that is not congeneric with the Australian members. The new name Ozodius, n. gen., is here proposed for the Australian taxa, with Aphodius neglectus Schmidt designated as the type species. All Australian members of Drepanocanthoides are transferred to Ozodius.

New South American Taxa Of Odontolochini Stebnicka And Howden (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Paul E. Skelley

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

Recently discovered Neotropical taxa belonging in the tribe Odontolochini Stebnicka and Howden (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae) are described. New genera are: Amerilochus, type species Amerilochus cinereus, new species; and Stebnickiella, type species Stebnickiella zosterixys, new species. Three additional new species are: Saprolochus lobatus, Saprolochus tridentatus, and Saprositellus kenodontus. Updated keys are presented to the New World genera of Odontolochini as well as keys to species in the genera Saprolochus Stebnicka and Galante and Saprositellus Balthasar. New country records are presented for Saprositellus ariquemes Stebnicka.

Holotype Of Agathymus Escalantei Stallings, Turner, And Stallings, 1966 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Megathyminae), Bret M. Boyd

Insecta Mundi

Agathymus escalantei Stallings, Turner, and Stallings, 1966 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) is the only described species of Megathyminae known from a single collected individual. To date, the only images of this specimen are poor black and white illustrations published in the original description. This note presents the first color photographs of the holotype.

Nomenclatural Changes In The Nearctic Ochodaeinae And Description Of Two New Genera (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae), M J. Paulsen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

Generic placement of Nearctic species of Ochodaeinae has lagged behind changes in generic concepts in the group. In order to place Nearctic species into the appropriate genus-level taxa, several nomenclatural changes are made. The new generic name Xenochodaeus is proposed for species with an elongate, subparallel sulcus on the propygidium and a longitudinally impressed mentum. The genus contains 6 species. Xenochodaeus americanus (Westwood), new combination, is valid and is removed from synonymy with X. musculus (Say), new combination. A neotype is designated for Odontaeus musculus. Ochodaeus opacus LeConte is synonymized under X. americanus. Other new combinations include Xenochodaeus …

A New Species Of Dialeurodes Cockerell (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) On Schefflera Forst And Forst In Florida, G. S. Hodges, J. W. Dooley

Insecta Mundi

Descriptions of pupal cases of Dialeurodes schefflerae, new species, as well as distribution records are presented. This species is known to occur in Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico appearing to feed only on species of Schefflera Forst and Forst. This restriction to plant hosts in the Asian genus Schefflera, along with its affinities with Dialeurodes agalmae Takahashi, Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) and Dialeurodes kirkaldyi (Kotinsky), suggests it is an invasive species, probably endemic to the Asian region.

Nomenclatural Faux Pas For Speyeria Atlantis Greyi Moeck, 1950 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), James C. Dunford, George T. Austin

Insecta Mundi

Nomenclatural errors associated with the nymphalid butterfly, Speyeria atlantis greyi Moeck, have persisted in the literature and electronic databases. We present here a synonymy of the various combinations and misspellings associated with it and clearly indicate the correct name and spelling based on Moeck’s (1950) original description. Additionally, color images of the holotype and allotype specimens are published herein for the first time.

The Type Of Copaeodes Chromis Skinner, 1919 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae), George T. Austin, Andrew D. Warren

Insecta Mundi

The holotype of Copaeodes chromis Skinner, 1919 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), housed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is a typical specimen of Zariaspes mythecus Godman, 1900.

Habronyx Foerster (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Anomaloninae) In Andean And Neantarctic South America With Description Of New Species From Bolivia And Chile, Charles C. Porter

Insecta Mundi

Abstract:
Habronyx Foerster occurs in all regions except the Afrotropical and parasitizes lepidopterous larvae (Geometridae, Noctuidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Psychidae). Habronyx albifrons (Spinola) inhabits neantartic Chile and southern Argentina. It is black with a white flagellar annulus and with a strong prepectal carina on the lower half of the mesopleuron. Habronyx albifrons is redescribed and descriptions are given of two new species which belong to a group of their own: Habronyx citrinus Porter, n. sp., from central Chile; and Habronyx punensis Porter, n. sp., from the high Andean steppe of Bolivia, where it attacks noctuid larvae on Chenopodium quinoa Willd. These …

Beneficial Insects: Mantids, Erin W. Hodgson, Ron Patterson

All Current Publications

Mantids refer to an entire predatory group of insects in the order Mantodea. The term “mantis” or “praying mantis” actually refers to a particular genus of mantids. Therefore, only some mantids belong to the genus Mantis. There are about 2,000 species of mantids worldwide and at least 20 species in the U.S. Two mantid species dominate Utah gardens: European mantid and Chinese mantid.

Beneficial Insects: Beetles, Erin W. Hodgson, Ron Patterson

All Current Publications

There are many beneficial beetles in Utah besides lady beetles or ladybugs. Beetles can significantly reduce common insect and weed problems and in some cases eliminate the need for chemical control. Examples of beneficial beetles include: ground beetles, rove beetles, tiger beetles and tortoise beetles. Many of these beetles are native to Utah, while others have been purposely introduced to help control damage from exotic insect and weed pests.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 19, No. 5, November 2007

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents:
Congratulations
Welcome
Publications
Grants
Student News
Meet a Distance Student
Travel
Blasts from the Pasts
From the Office
An Entomological Halloween

Beneficial Insects: True Bugs, Erin W. Hodgson, Ron Patterson

All Current Publications

True bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts and belong to the order Hemiptera and suborder Heteroptera. There are more than 38,000 species of true bugs, and are most closely related to aphids, cicadas, and leaf hoppers. Although some true bugs are considered pests, about one-third are predaceous. True bugs have forewings, or hemelytra, that cross over the back at rest, but sometimes the wings are reduced.

Book Review: Catalogue Of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 3. Scarabaeoidea, Scirtoidea, Dascilloidea, Buprestoidea, Byrrhoidea (Lobl, I. And A Smetana [Eds.] 2006), Brett C. Ratcliffe

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

If done with care and thoroughness, catalogs, as opposed to checklists, can be valuable tools for summarizing taxonomic, nomenclatural, distributional, and literature information about a given group. This volume of the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera has been expertly brought to fruition and is a genuinely wonderful volume of what the editors call “structured knowledge.” Structure, hence enhanced information retrieval, is given to 250 years of discovery and documentation of Palaearctic beetles, thus providing us with a modern snapshot of biodiversity information for a broad geographic area.

This volume is the third in a massive undertaking, and the entire series, when …

First Record Of Acizzia Jamatonica (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) In North America: Friend Or Foe?, Michael D. Ulyshen, Douglass R. Miller

USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Acizzia jamatonica (Kuwayama) (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae) is reported for the first time in North America. Because the species is thought to feed exclusively on Albizia, it may prove to be an effective biocontrol agent against the invasive Albizia julibrissin Durazzini in the southeastern United States. Because A. julibrissin is also an ornamental plant of some importance, the arrival of A. jamatonica may not be welcomed by many. This is the fourth invasive species of Acizzia to be found in the United States.

Asparagus Beetle And Spotted Asparagus Beetle, Erin W. Hodgson, Dan Drost

All Current Publications

Asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi, and spotted asparagus beetle, C. duodecimpunctata are leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. These beetles feed exclusively on asparagus and are native to Europe. Asparagus beetle is the more economically injurious of the two species.

Lygus Bug In Alfalfa Seed, Erin W. Hodgson, Mike Pace

All Current Publications

Lygus bug, Lygus lineolaris, is a true plant bug in the family Miridae (Fig. 1). Sometimes this insect is also called tarnished plant bug. Lygus bug is native to North America and is distributed throughout Mexico, United States and Canada. Western tarnished plant bug, L. herperus, is closely related to the lygus bug and has overlapping distributions in the western United States.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 14, No. 4, September 2007

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents:
Congratulations
Welcome
Grants
Publications
Faculty News
Fond Farewell
Student News
Meet a Distance Student
Travel
This & That

Checklist Of The Aphodiini Of Mexico, Central And South America (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Paul E. Skelley, Marco Dellacasa, Giovanni Dellacasa, Robert D. Gordon

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

This preliminary checklist of Aphodiini south of the United States is prepared to provide published data for a future web-based checklist of all New World Aphodiinae. All species names are used in combination with their currently accepted generic name, creating many new combinations. A few genus-species combinations are discussed. New synonymies based on recent studies of type specimens are made: Aphodius azteca Harold = Aphodius multimaculosus Hinton; Aphodius ornatus Schmidt = Aphodius magnopunctatus Hinton; Aphodius caracaensis Petrovitz = Aphodius brasilicola Balthasar; Aphodius guatemalensis Bates = Aphodius striatipennis Petrovitz; Aphodius kuntzeni Schmidt = Aphodius amplinotum Gordon and Howden = Aphodius michiliensis …

Generic Limits Of The Rhyparini With Respect To The Genus Termitodius Wasmann, 1894 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Paul E. Skelley

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

Three distinct tibial types are recognized within the Rhyparini (Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae). Based on this, generic limits for the species of Termitodius Wasmann are reevaluated, with the Old World members being transferred to Termitodiellus Nakane. The resulting new combinations are: Termitodiellus besucheti (Paulian), Termitodiellus hammondi (Krikken and Huijbregts), Termitodiellus interruptus (Krikken and Huijbregts), Termitodiellus luzonensis (Howden), Termitodiellus monticola (Krikken and Huijbregts). New World members of Termitodius are split into two genera: Termitodius Wasmann and Aschnarhyparus Makhan. Aschnarhyparus soesilae Makhan is here relegated to a junior synonym of Termitodius peregrinus Hinton, new synonymy, with the resulting new combination being Aschnarhyparus peregrinus (Hinton). …

Ferrerianus, New Genus For Aphodius Biimpressus Schmidt, 1909 (Scarabaeoidea: Aphodiidae), Marco Dellacasa, Giovanni Dellacasa, Robert D. Gordon

Insecta Mundi

Ferrerianus, new genus of South American Aphodiini is created for Aphodius biimpressus Schmidt from Paraguay; the latter is figured and lectotype is designated.

An Unnecessary Generic Name In Exoplectrini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Robert Gordman

Insecta Mundi

Chnoodes chaudoiri Mulsant (1850) is designated the type species of Chnoodes Mulsant (1850), and Chapinella Gordon (1996) is recognized as an unnecessary replacement name. A new synonymy is created placing Chapinella Gordon as a junior synonym of Chnoodes Mulsant.

A New Species Of Platyauchenia Stürm, 1843 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) From Brazil, C. L. Staines

Insecta Mundi

The genus Platyauchenia Stürm, 1843 is reviewed. Platyauchenia quinquemaculata Pic, 1921 is a synonym of P. latreillei (Castelnau 1840), new synonymy. Platyauchenia ruficollis new species is described from Brazil. Each species is illustrated and a key to the species is provided.