Entomology Commons^™

Life History And Natural Enemies Of Parthenolecanium Spp. In Four Southeastern States, Ernesto Robayo Camacho

All Dissertations

Soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) are some of the most prevalent and difficult to control arthropod pests in urban landscapes of the southern United States. European fruit lecanium, Parthenolecanium corni (Bouche), and oak lecanium, Parthenolecanium quercifex (Fitch), are commonly found in mixed populations as pests of oak trees (Quercus spp.) in the region. The phenology and natural enemies of the two species are poorly understood, which in turn hinders pest managers' ability to develop an integrated management program against these species. This research project aims to fill the information gaps concerning the life history and natural enemies of P. corni and …

Undercover Predators: Vegetation Mediates Foraging, Trophic Cascades, And Biological Control By Omnivorous Weed Seed Predators, Carmen K Blubaugh

Open Access Dissertations

Weed pressure is the most costly challenge that vegetable growers face, requiring more labor investment than other production inputs. Vertebrate and invertebrate seed predators destroy a large percentage of weed propagules on the soil surface, and their ecosystem services may ease labor requirements for farmers in herbicide-free systems. Cover provided by living vegetation is an important predictor of seed predator activity, and my dissertation takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the behavior, predator, and environment-mediated mechanisms by which cover impacts weed seed predation in crop environments. ^ First, I performed a meta-analysis of 27 studies to quantitatively evaluate what is …

Carrion-Associated Arthropods In Rural And Urban Environments, Serena Daye Gross

Open Access Dissertations

Preferences of arthropods are important in forensic entomology, as the species collected can help determine the postmortem interval or if remains have been moved. This study looked at arthropods that are attracted to pig carcasses in rural and urban habitats in Northwest Indiana. The species and number of carrion-associated arthropods that are found at a carcass vary with habitat type, month, and stage of decomposition. Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a synanthropic species that was found in higher numbers in urban locations for both adults and larvae. Though L. sericata had higher numbers in urban habitats, caution must be exercised …

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore different ways that the environment impacts life history in mosquitoes in ways that may alter vectorial capacity. In chapter I, I tested if short-term sugar deprivation experienced after exposure to La Crosse virus altered infection rates in Aedes albopictus and if sugar treatment and virus infection status altered blood feeding behavior and fecundity. I found no evidence that sugar deprivation impacted infection rates or fecundity. Sugar deprivation did increase blood feeding. There was no effect of infection status on blood feeding or fecundity. In chapter II, I tested for effects of seasonal cues (temperature and …

Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Variation in the quantity of nutrients ingested over an individual’s lifetime is likely to differentially affect distinct male secondary sexual traits and courtship signals, potentially providing females with information about a male’s past and present foraging history. We hypothesize that female choice is thus influenced by a male’s lifetime foraging history. To test this, we manipulated the quantity of nutrients (i.e. prey items) available to male wolf spiders, Schizocosa stridulans, using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design with low versus high prey quantity across juvenile and adult life stages, and assessed the impact of these diet treatments on male …

Butterfly Biology, Joshua Feingold

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

A photographic exploration of butterflies from larvae to adults in Davie, Florida.

Cold Truths: How Winter Drives Responses Of Terrestrial Organisms To Climate Change, Caroline M. Williams, Hugh A.L. Henry, Brent J. Sinclair

Biology Publications

Winter is a key driver of individual performance, community composition, and ecological interactions in terrestrial habitats. Although climate change research tends to focus on performance in the growing season, climate change is also modifying winter conditions rapidly. Changes to winter temperatures, the variability of winter conditions, and winter snow cover can interact to induce cold injury, alter energy and water balance, advance or retard phenology, and modify community interactions. Species vary in their susceptibility to these winter drivers, hampering efforts to predict biological responses to climate change. Existing frameworks for predicting the impacts of climate change do not incorporate the …

Understory Diversity And Composition Drives Carabid Assemblages, Tierney Brosius, Michael Reisner

Biology: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

Fire suppression has nearly eliminated fire as a disturbance in temperate deciduous forests. Lack of fire is transforming these ecosystems through a positive feedback loop termed mesophication: cool, damp, shady conditions become continually more favorable for a few mesophytic species, while deteriorating for diverse array of heliophytic ones. Disturbances caused by urbanization fragment and degrade remnant forests. In urban settings, human management (or lack thereof) is often a dominate driver of succession. Carabid diversity, understory vegetation, patch size, patch connectivity, and permeable surface area were all examined in multiple forest plots in Rock Island and Moline. The result of this …

Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica L. Thornton, Paul V. Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Oviposition site location may be affected by (1) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the offspring (e.g., resource availability, competition, predation risk) and (2) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the female (e.g., predation risk or mate ha- rassment). In cases in which both the male and female are involved in locating a site, costs and benefits may differ for each parent and the resulting oviposition site location may represent the outcome of selection pressures on one or both of them. We studied oviposi- tion behavior in the black saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata Hagen), a species in which …

Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica Thornton, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Oviposition site location may be affected by (1) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the offspring (e.g., resource availability, competition, predation risk) and (2) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the female (e.g., predation risk or mate ha- rassment). In cases in which both the male and female are involved in locating a site, costs and benefits may differ for each parent and the resulting oviposition site location may represent the outcome of selection pressures on one or both of them. We studied oviposi- tion behavior in the black saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata Hagen), a species in which …

Nueva Técnica De Microscopía Electrónica De Barrido Para El Estudio De Coccoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera), Andrea Saracho Bottero, Lucía E. Claps

Insecta Mundi

Se presenta un protocolo para preparar material de Coccoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera) para realizar observaciones con microscopía electrónica de barrido. Esta técnica consiste en muestras conservadas en alcohol 96°, limpiadas con xilol y acetona y llevadas directamente a la etapa de hidratación y una posterior deshidratación, en alcohol, omitiendo la fi jación en formaldehído gluteraldehído y la posfijación en tetróxido de osmio. Se destaca la importancia de la limpieza del material y la correcta realización de punto crítico, en la etapa de desecación.

A new protocol to prepare material of Coccoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera) for observation with scanning electron microscopy is presented. …

The Trichoptera Of Panama. Ii. Ten New Species Of Microcaddisflies (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae), Steven C. Harris, Brian J. Armitage

Insecta Mundi

In the Republic of Panama, the family Hydroptilidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) is currently represented by 82 species distributed among 14 genera. In this publication we provide descriptions and illustrations for 10 new species of hydroptilids in the subfamily Hydroptilinae: Tribe Leucotrichiini—Zumatrichia teribe and Z. zegla; Tribe Neotrichiini—Neotrichia pamelae and N. parabullata; and, Tribe Ochrotrichiini—Metrichia nowaczyki, M. sencilla, Nothotrichia panama, Ochrotrichia abrelata, O. nimmoi, and O. pulgara. The genus Nothotrichia is recorded from Panama for the first time.

A Revision Of The Biting Midges In The Culicoides (Monoculicoides) Nubeculosus-Stigma Complex In North America With The Description Of A New Species (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), William L. Grogan Jr., Timothy J. Lysyk

Insecta Mundi

This revision of the Nearctic biting midges in the Culicoides (Monoculicoides) nubeculosus-stigma complex recognizes four species: C. grandensis Grogan and Phillips, C. riethi Kieffer, C. stigma (Meigen) and C. shemanchuki, new species, from Alberta, Canada and North Dakota, USA. Culicoides stigma is recorded for the first time in the Nearctic region from Alberta, Canada. Culicoides gigas Root and Hoffman is a junior synonym of Culicoides riethi Kieffer (new synonym). A key is provided for the recognition of both sexes of the four North American species in the Culicoides (Monoculicoides) nubeculosus-stigma complex.

A Checklist Of Natural Enemies Of Diaphorina Citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) In The Department Of Valle Del Cauca, Colombia And The World, Takumasa Kondo, Guillermo González F., Catherine Tauber, Yoan Camilo Guzmán Sarmiento, Andrés Felipe Vinasco Mondragon, Dimitri Forero

Insecta Mundi

In recent years, populations of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), have increased in rural citrus orchards and urban backyard gardens. In order to find biological control options for D. citri, a search for natural enemies was conducted in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The collections were carried out in citrus orchards in rural areas and house gardens and street trees in urban areas. Natural enemies were collected from D. citri found on Citrus spp. and Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack (Rutaceae). A total of 16 species of natural enemies of D. citri distributed in …

Natural History Of The Tortoise Beetle, Discomorpha (Discomorpha) Biplagiata (Guérin) (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Omocerini), R. Wills Flowers, Caroline S. Chaboo

Insecta Mundi

The first natural history account of Discomorpha (Discomorpha) biplagiata (Guérin) (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Omocerini) from Ecuador is presented. Larvae and adults feed on the leaves and stems of Cordia hebeclada Johnst. (Boraginaceae), the first documented host plant for the species. Oviposition and pupation also occur on this host. Young larvae suffered heavy predation, especially from Ectatomma sp. (Formicidae: Ponerinae) and Oplomus nr. marginalis (Pentatomidae: Asopinae).

Se presenta la primera cuenta de la historia natural para Discomorpha (Discomorpha) biplagiata (Guérin) de Ecuador. Las larvas y los adultos se alimentan de las hojas y tallos de Cordia hebeclada Johnst. (Boraginaceae), su primera planta …

The Beetles Of The Lesser Antilles (Insecta, Coleoptera): Diversity And Distributions, Stewart B. Peck

Insecta Mundi

The island arc of the Lesser Antilles lies at the eastern margin of the Caribbean Sea in the Western Hemisphere, and stretches from the eastern end of the islands of the Greater Antilles (at the Virgin Islands), south to a position near the continental islands of Trinidad and Tobago at the north eastern corner of South America. The islands are a part of the West Indian Islands biodiversity “hotspot” and have been available for terrestrial colonization for about the past 15 million years. This is a status report on present knowledge of the beetle faunas of these islands, which is …

New Species And New Country Records For Vietnamese Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera), Tatiana I. Arefina-Armitage, Brian J. Armitage

Insecta Mundi

Identification of caddisfly specimens (Insecta: Trichoptera) from Vietnam collected by or for the Royal Ontario Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin revealed nine new species in a variety of families and genera. New species include: Philopotamidae—Dolophilodes carpenteri and Wormaldia montuosa; Stenopsychidae—Stenopsyche siniaevi; Polycentropodidae—Nyctiophylax hatinh; Psychomyiidae—Eoneureclipsis afonini; Hydropsychidae—Maesaipsyche lappa; Glossosomatidae—Agapetus darlingi and Agapetus grimaldi; and, Molannidae—Molannodes sapa. In addition, new records for 11 species and two genera (Georgium and Tagalopsyche) of caddisflies from Vietnam …

The Enigmatic Milliped Genus Pandirodesmus Silvestri 1932 And Description Of A New Species From Tobago Represented By Males (Polydesmida: Leptodesmidea: Chelodesmidae: Chelodesminae: Pandirodesmini), Rowland M. Shelley, Jamie M. Smith

Insecta Mundi

Pandirodesmus rutherfordi, n. sp., represented by 18 individuals including eight adult males, occurs in secondary forests near Charlotteville and Speyside, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago. Along with the type and second species, P. disparipes Silvestri, from Guyana and known only from females, the segmental legs of P. rutherfordi alternate between long (anterior pairs) and short (posterior ones), spiracular openings are on straw-like tubules, and ozopores are located on paramedian metatergal spines. These features appear to be adaptations for biotopes of loose sand, detritus, or frass, and 17 specimens, including the six juveniles, exhibit coatings of “sand grains” that are loosely …

Notas Sobre La Identifi Cación Y Distribución De Centris Testacea Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Anthophila; Apidae), Julio A. Genaro

Insecta Mundi

Information about the range of distribution of Centris (Centris) testacea Lepeletier has not been historically accurate. Range of distribution and identifi cation of the species is clarifi ed. Images of both sexes as well as male terminalia are presented. Centris testacea is a good species, with no synonym names. According to the available information, C. testacea should be considered endemic to the Greater Antillean island of Hispaniola.

A New Genus Of Rhinotragini For Molorchus Laticornis Klug, 1825 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), Robin O. S. Clarke, Amoret Spooner, Joachim Willers

Insecta Mundi

Klugiatragus gen. nov. is described for Epimelitta laticornis (Klug, 1825) because this species has closed procoxal cavities, a crucial diagnostic incompatible with Epimelitta Bates, 1870, which has open procoxal cavities. Both sexes of this species are illustrated.

Listado Actualizado De Diaspídidos Sobre Frutos Tropicales Y Primer Registro De Pseudaulacaspis Cockerelli (Cooley) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) Para La Argentina, Cristian Amún, Lucía E. Claps

Insecta Mundi

Resumen. En este trabajo se actualiza el conocimiento sobre la presencia de cochinillas protegidas en frutos tropicales en Argentina y se registra por primera vez a Pseudaulacaspis cockerelli (Cooley) para Argentina y Sudamérica. Se presentan tres asociaciones nuevas para el mundo: Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) / Musa paradisiaca L.; Hemiberlesia cyanophylli (Signoret) / M. paradisiaca y Acutaspis paulista (Hempel) / Persea americana Miller, y 10 asociaciones nuevas de diaspídido/fruto tropical para Argentina. Se cita por primera vez para este país, asociada a frutos tropicales, a A. paulista, Hemiberlesia palmae (Cockerell), Mycetaspis personata (Comstock) y P. cockerelli.

Abstract. This paper updates …

The Trichoptera Of Panama I. New Records For Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) From The Republic Of Panama, Brian J. Armitage, Steven C. Harris, Ralph W. Holzenthal

Insecta Mundi

The Republic of Panama currently has 245 recorded species of Trichoptera distributed among 13 families. Herein we add 32 new country records for Panama, including one new family (Limnephilidae) and one new genus (Limnephilus). We also provide the first collection information for Oxyethira maya Denning for Panama. These results are part of an ongoing effort to characterize the caddisfly fauna of Panama, and to evaluate that country’s major cuencas (water basins).

Una Especie Nueva Del Género Hempelicoccus Kozár Y Konczné Benedicty (Coccoidea: Eriococcidae) En La Argentina, Patricia González, María Begoña Riquelme Virgala, Agustina Ansa

Insecta Mundi

Hempelicoccus alba (Coccoidea: Eriococcidae), a new species for Argentina is described and illustrated. A key to the seven known species of Argentina is provided

Nueva Especie De Lycomedes Brème, 1844 (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Dynastinae) De Los Andes Colombianos Y Clave Para Identifi Cación De Las Especies, Luis Carlos Pardo- Locarno, Alfonso Villalobos Moreno, Román Stechauner Rohringer

Insecta Mundi

A new scarab species of the genus Lycomedes Brème, 1844 is described, totaling five species of the genus reported for Colombia. Lycomedes salazari was collected in an oak forest at the high Andean region of Santurbán in the municipality of California, Santander Department, Colombia. Besides inhabiting the highest altitude known for the genus, L. salazari has affi nities with L. buckleyi Waterhouse, 1880, but differs on the cephalic, thoracic and leg morphologies. Biological notes and an updated key for the adults of the genus are included.

Description Of A New Species Of Plesioclytus Giesbert (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) From Georgia, And Transfer Of The Genus To Plesioclytini Wappes And Skelley, New Tribe, James E. Wappes, Paul E. Skelley

Insecta Mundi

Plesioclytus morrisi Wappes and Skelley new species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from the Ohoopee dune system in central Georgia is described with comments on the biology of the new species. The taxonomic placement of Plesioclytus Giesbert in the tribe Clytini is questioned as key characters are found to differ from the current characters used to define the tribe in the New World, resulting in its transfer to the newly erected Plesioclytini Wappes and Skelley new tribe, defined herein. Habitat photos for the new species and habitus photos for it and P. relictus Giesbert are provided.

Phenology Of Zagryphus Zulaya Gauld (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Tryphoninae) In A Montane Forest In Guatemala And A New Country Record For Z. Vegai Gauld, Jack C. Schuster, Gabriella Steele

Insecta Mundi

Ichneumonidae are incredibly diverse, yet there have been few Guatemalan ichneumonid studies. We studied the phenology of 215 specimens of Zagryphus zulaya Gauld (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Tryphoninae), most captured in a light trap and two Malaise traps in a montane (1850m) forest from 2002 to 2014. One of the Malaise traps caught over 95% of the specimens. The results suggest that Z. zulaya is most abundant in May, June, July, and August, the rainy season. Zagryphus vegai Gauld is newly recorded from Guatemala; it was previously known only from Costa Rica. It was found at an altitude of 1850m, though its …

The Trichoptera Of Panama. Iii. Updated Species List For Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) In The Republic Of Panama, Brian J. Armitage, Steven C. Harris, Tatiana I. Arefina-Armitage, Aydeé Cornejo

Insecta Mundi

The fauna of Panama is species-rich due to its location and topography, and the resulting diversity of microclimates and habitats. The last summary of information about the caddisfly fauna (Insecta: Trichoptera) of Panama in 1992 noted 168 taxa in 13 families and 39 genera. Since then, and through 2014, a large number of publications, based on work by a dedicated cadre of individuals, have recorded a net gain of 78 species and six genera. In 2015, 17 new species to science and 38 new country records were added, including one new family and two new genera for the country; and, …

A New Species Of Drapetes Megerle (Coleoptera: Elateridae), With Taxonomic Summaries And A Key To The Species Of Northern North America, Paul J. Johnson

Insecta Mundi

Seven species of Drapetes Megerle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are recognized from northern North America. Drapetes chiricahua new species is described from southeastern Arizona and north-central New Mexico. Drapetes parallelus Van Dyke is a senior homonym of Drapetes paralellus Cobos by variant spelling, and a new synonym of Drapetes cylindricus Fall. Drapetes paralellus Cobos is replaced with Drapetes cobosi new name. Drapetes clarki Bonvouloir is not a North American species and is given a redesignated type locality in Brazil. Drapetes plagiatus (Boheman) is not a California species and is given a redesignated type locality in Panama. New state records are reported …

Redescripción De Megaplatypus Exaratus (Blandford 1896) Con Notas Sobre Su Distribución En México Y Centroamérica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae), Armando Burgos-Solorio, Thomas H. Atkinson

Insecta Mundi

New host and geographic records are given from Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica for Megaplatypus exaratus (Blandford), previously reported only from three localities in Guatemala. Like most Platypodinae it is polyphagous and breeding hosts are reported from five genera in four unrelated families. A redescription and updated diagnosis is included.

Se presentan nuevos registros geográfi cos y de hospederos de México, Guatemala, y Costa Rica para Megaplatypus exaratus (Blandford), previamente reportado de tres localidades en Guatemala. Al igual que la mayoría de Platypodinae es una especie polífaga y se reporta aquí de hospederos de cinco géneros en cuatro familias no …

Identificación De Las Especies Mexicanas Del Género Xyleborus Eichhoff, 1864 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), Mauricio Pérez Silva, Armando Equihua Martínez, Thomas H. Atkinson

Insecta Mundi

Xyleborus is one of the most diverse and abundant genera of ambrosia beetles, several species of which are considered important tropical pests. Given the current importance of this group, we present taxonomic keys for the 18 Mexican species of Xyleborus, using distinct external morphological features. A brief diagnosis and illustrations are included for each species.

Xyleborus es uno de los géneros más diversos y abundantes de coleópteros ambrosiales; algunas especies son consideradas plagas tropicales importantes. Debido a su importancia actual, se presenta una clave taxonómica enfocada a las 18 especies mexicanas del género Xyleborus, para lo cual se …