Entomology Commons^™

Geographic Variation Of S̲O̲R̲E̲X̲ C̲I̲N̲E̲R̲E̲U̲S̲ In West Virginia, Lisa Jane Gatens

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The morphological and geographical diversity of Sorex cinereus is evident in West Virginia. In an attempt to identify patterns of morphological variation relative to age, sex, and geographic locality, and to clarify taxonomic status of the West Virginia soricids by defining diagnostic characters applicable to this area, a sample of 288 specimens representing three taxa were analyzed statistically. Standard external measurements were recorded, and a series of 12 cranial and dental characters were measured and recorded for each specimen. Morphological variation due to age was found in S. c. cinereus, but not in the smaller reference samples of S. …

Douglas-Fir Beetle, Richard F. Schmitz, Kenneth E. Gibson

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

The Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsuqae Hopk.) infests and kills Douglas-fir throughout most of its range in western United States British Columbia and Mexico. Occasionally western larch trees are infested when growing among Douglas-fir under attack. Attacks in standing larch are always unsuccessful, while those in freshly felled larch are usually successful and brood emergence is equivalent to that in Douglas-fir. Douglas-fir beetles normally kill small groups of trees, but during outbreaks 100 tree groups are not uncommon (fig. 1). Losses can be devastating during periodic outbreaks, such as four that occurred in western Oregon and Washington from 1950 through 1969, …

Flea News 51 (December 1995), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Obituaries:George MacKenzie Dunnet (April 19, 1928-September 11, 1995); William Livingston Jellison (January 28, 1906-November 7, 1995)

Miscellanea

Siphonaptera literatue

Flea News 50 (July 1995), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Obituary: Maria Suciu (January 9, 1932-September 24, 1994)

Miscellanea

Mailing list

Siphonaptera literature

Temporal Variation Of Esterase Activity Associated With Three Amplified Esterase Genes In A Field Population Of Culex Quinquefasciatus, Janine Marie Milligan

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Response By Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) And Cryptocercus Punctulatus (Blattaria: Cryptocercidae) To Wood Infected With The Green-Stain Ascomycete, Chlorociboria Aeruginascens Aeruginascens, Deborah Waller

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Termites of the genus Reticulitermes Holmgren and the wood roaches Cryptocercus punctulatus Scutter were observed feeding on wood stained green by the ascomycete fungus, Chlorociboria aeruginascens aeruginascens (Leotiaceae), in a Virginia forest. However, in laboratory choice trials, both termites and wood roaches preferred unstained wood to stained wood. In no-choice feeding trials, Reticulitermes fed stained birch ate significantly less wood and weighed significantly less than termites fed unstained birch. These results indicate that natural host utilization patterns cannot be relied upon to indicate feeding preferences.

Heat Shock Proteins In Mojave Desert Dragonflies, Carol Juanita Promisel

Theses Digitization Project

Temperature plays a crucial role in the constant interaction between organisms and the environment. It affects development and rates of physiological functions as well as survival of organisms.

Hydraulic Lift And Soil Nutrient Heterogeneity, Martyn M. Caldwell, John H. Manwaring

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Water released at night from roots into upper portions of the soil profile in the process of hydraulic lift may contribute to reducing spatial soil nutrient heterogeneity. A manipulative field experiment was conducted in a semiarid shrub stand to determine if circumvention of hydraulic lift, by nighttime illumination of the shrub canopy, would result in greater soil nutrient heterogeneity than if the hydraulic lift process was allowed to operate. Nutrient-enriched patches were superimposed on the existing soil heterogeneity and after 40 days, the patches and interspaces were sampled for ions of different mobility and for root mass. There was no …

Stratospheric Ozone Reduction, Solar Uv-B Radiation And Terrestrial Ecosystems, Martyn M. Caldwell, Stephan D. Flint

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Stratospheric ozone reduction is occurring and will continue to increase in magnitude into the next century. Yet, the consequences for terrestrial ecosystems of the increased solar W-B (280-320 nm) radiation resulting from total column ozone reduction are not understood. Based on studies of higher plant response to UV-B, several possible consequences for ecosystems include decreased primary production, altered plant species composition, and altered secondary chemistry with implications for herbivory, litter decomposition and biogeochemical cycles. However, like the assessment of increased atmospheric CO2, extrapolation from studies with isolated plants to ecosystem function is very tenuous at best. Very few UV-B studies …

Fifteen Years Of Colony Dynamics In Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis, The Western Harvester Ant, In Western Nebraska, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ecological communities respond to environ- mental changes as the individuals of the component species die and are replaced. Thus, pat- terns of population turnover form an important aspect of community processes. Much less is known about species of long-lived individuals than of short-lived ones (Likens, 1989).

Instantaneous observations of age structure can be used to infer long-term dynamics but not all species can be aged retrospectively. Inferring life- history dynamics from current populations requires assumptions that are hard to verify. Following marked colonies of long-lived species is slow but provides direct, non-inferential data on population dynamics, although those are specific …

Nebraska Butterflies, Stephen M. Spomer

University of Nebraska State Museum: Staff and Affiliates, Publications

Nebraska is a crossroads of butterfly diversity. Many species reach their distributional limits in Nebraska. The 100th meridian, which runs through central Nebraska, appears to be a good distributional limit for many species. In short, eastern Nebraska contains butterflies similar or identical to those found in most of the eastern United States, central Nebraska has both eastern and western butterflies, and western Nebraska has a butterfly fauna more like the Rocky Mountains or Black Hills. Over 200 species of butterflies have been recorded in Nebraska, which is a higher number than most of our neighboring states. Some of our butterflies …

The Relationship Between Lifespan And Reproduction In The Giant Waterbug (Belostoma Flumineum), Wendy Nixdorf

Masters Theses

The evolutionary significance of senescence and death is poorly understood. Life history theory suggests that the allocation of energy to growth or reproduction is necessarily associated with a decrease in energy available for maintenance of the soma. This study attempted to determine if an investment in reproduction would decrease longevity in the giant waterbug (Belostoma flumineum). Male and female waterbugs were collected from the field as last instar stage nymphs and maintained under controlled laboratory conditions. Individuals were randomly assigned to mating effort treatments, (virgins or breeders with breeding efforts ranging from 1 to >5 times). Following breeding, …

Evidence For The Sensory Receptor(S) Of The Mounting Sex Pheromone In Two Species Of Ixodid Ticks, Dermacentor Variabilis (Say) And Dermacentor Andersoni Stiles, James Stephen Phillips

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The foreleg claw sensilla were determined to be the receptors of the female contact sex pheromone, MSP (mounting sex pheromone), in D. variabilis, D. andersoni and A. americanum male ticks. In all three tick species, the claw sensilla consists of six anteriorly-directed setae arranged in three symmetrical pairs, two each on the opposite sides of the apotele of the claw and one on the ventral side. Behavioral bioassays and morphological study of these setae revealed that only the dorsal and middle (= lateral) pairs of claw sensilla are mechanogustatory, while the ventral pair are strictly mechanoreceptors. The dorsal and …

Mate Choice: Investigation Of Mating Preference For Siblings Versus Nonsiblings In The Solitary Vespid Wasp Euodynerus Foraminatus, Omoury A. Chambegga

Masters Theses

Caged wasps of Euodynerus foraminatus were given a choice of a sibling or a nonsibling for mates. Two types of experiments were conducted: female choice and male choice. For female choice experiments one female, a sibling male, and an unrelated male were introduced into an observation cage. For male choice experiments one male, a sibling female, and an unrelated female were introduced into an observation cage. Females preferred to mate with siblings, but males mated randomly with regard to family relationship.

Attraction Of Douglas-Fir Beetle, Spruce Beetle And A Bark Beetle Predator (Coleoptera: Scolytidae And Cleridae) To Enantiomers Of Frontalin, B. S. Lindgren

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

In three separate experiments, Douglas-fir beetles, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins, preferred traps baited with either (S)-(-)- or racemic (R,S)-(±)-frontalin over those baited with the (R)-(+)-enantiomer. Spruce beetles, D. rufipennis (Kirby), appeared to be attracted equally to both the (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-enantiomers, but low catches and high variance made interpretation of the data tenuous. For both species racemic frontalin was as attractive as the preferred enantiomer alone. The bark beetle predator,Thanasimus undatulus (Say), was attracted preferentially to (S)-(-)-frontalin over (R)-(+)- or (R,S)-(±)-frontalin in a Douglas-fir stand, while both enantiomers were equally attractive in a spruce stand.

Test Detects Resistant Green Peach Aphids In Lupins, Francoise Berlandier, Ian Dadour

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Confirmation of insecticide resistance in green peach aphid in Western Australia's lupin crops means farmers will have to choose insecticides much more carefully to control this pest. Resistance within an aphid population varies, and when resistant aphids are no longer exposed to insecticides, they may revert back to being susceptible in as little as one generation. Furthermore, when these revertant populations are exposed to the same insecticides in the future, resistance quickly reoccurs. In this article, the authors discuss a test to determine the extent of insecticide resistance in green peach aphid and how to manage it.

Effects Of Hypoxia On Egg Development In The Giant Waterbug (Belostoma Flumineum), Miki Furuya

Masters Theses

I quantified the oxygen requirements of developing eggs and the adaptive significance of male brooding behavior in the giant waterbug (Belostoma flumineum). Egg pads brooded by males, and egg pads experimentally removed from the dorsa of males and maintained in a metabolic shaker, were tested for hatching success in four oxygen treatments (5%, 8%, 10% and 21%-control) in a closed laboratory system. All of the control male brooded egg pads, and 100% of the eggs/pad, hatched whereas none of the egg pads hatched in the 5% oxygen treatment. Fifteen of 20 (75%) male brooded egg pads in the 10% oxygen …

On The Trail Of The Native Budworm, Kevin Walden

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Native budworm, the worst pest of lupins, is a bit of a uiill-o-the-unsp. Some years the native budworm moths go virtually unnoticed. In others, they appear in plague proportions without warning - in these years, the cost to growers in lost yield runs into millions of dollars.

If an early warning system can be developed to predict the extent of moth flights into lupin crops, and this seems possible, major crop losses could be averted.

The Department of Agriculture has started research to develop a system of predicting the size of spring flights of native budworm moth. We need to …

Life History Studies, Host Records, And Morphological Description Of Genitalia Of Eurytoma Tylodermatis Ashm. (Hymenoptera : Eurytomidae) From South Dakota, Burruss Mcdaniel, Arvid A. Boe

Native Plant Focused Publications

Eurytoma tylodermatis Ashm. was found to be parasitic on Acanthoscelides perforatus (Horn) in seed pods of Canada milk- vetch {Astragalus canadensis L.). Observations on larval behavior and frequency of parasitism are discussed. Male and female genitalia of E. tylodermatis are illustrated.

A New Bruchophagus From Glycyrrhiza Lepidota Pursh In The Northern Great Plains (Hymenoptera : Chalcidoidea : Eurytomidae), Burruss Mcdaniel, Arvid A. Boe

Native Plant Focused Publications

A new species, Bruchophagus grisselli McDaniel and Boe, which infests seeds of Glycyrrhiza lepidota Pursh (American licorice), is described and illustrated. It's known from South Dakota and North Dakota in the USA. A field study at 8 sites showed that B. grisselli has a wide distribution throughout the Dakotas.

Factors Affecting Parental Investment Strategies In Male Waterbugs, Scott Kight

Masters Theses

Male giant waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum Say) brood eggs oviposited on their dorsi by conspecific females. Preliminary observations indicate that viable egg pads are sometimes discarded before hatching. Theory predicts that such behavior should occur only if costs incurred by brooding exceed benefits of hatching the egg pad. The amount of paternal investment per pad should be similar for both large and small pad sizes, but as egg pads become smaller, investment per egg increases. Thus, smaller pads should be more likely to be discarded unhatched than larger ones. Similarly, egg pads containing inviable eggs should also be more frequently …

A Revision Of The North American Papillose Allocreadiidae (Digenea) With Independent Cladistic Analyses Of Larval And Adult Forms, Janine N. Caira

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Adult specimens of all 19 North American species of papillose allocreadiids were examined. A description and figure is given for the adult of each species; details of the cirrus sacs are presented for most spesies for the first time. Descriptions were emended where necessary and judgments were made on synonymies. Scanning electron micrographs of the oral sucker of 10 species are presented as is a new key to the 19 species. A cladistic analysis was performed on the group based on adult characters. The analysis indicated that the group is monophyletic on the basis of the ventral papillae associated with …

Evidence For The Role Of Ecdysteroids In The Genital Sex Pheromone Of Two Species Of Hard Ticks, Dermacentor Variabilis (Say) And Dermacentor Andersoni Stiles, Demar Taylor

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Neutering of part-fed females virtually eliminated copulatory behavior in Dermacentor variabilis and D. andersoni males. Extracts from the anterior reproductive tracts (ART) of part-fed (7 days) females restored the male copulatory behavior in conspecific neutered females, suggesting the presence of a genital sex pheromone (GSP). Similar extracts from unfed females did not restore the behavior, suggesting that the pheromone was produced during feeding. Perception of the GSP by sensillae on the male cheliceral digits was confirmed by electrophysiological techniques.

Ecdysteroids, specifically ecdysone and 20-OH-ecdysone were shown to be present in the anterior reproductive tracts in excess of amounts that could …

Biological Control Of Paterson's Curse, John Dodd, Bill Woods

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The long- delayed biological control programme for the weed Paterson's curse (Echium plantagineum) has begun with the release of the leaf mining moth (Dialectica scalariella)' an insect slightly bigger than a mosquito. Yhe caterpillar stage of the moth feeds inside the leaves, producing tunnels and chambers which damage the leaf.

The leaf mining moth has already become established in suitable areas. Although the familiar purple haze of Paterson's curse will continue to be seen for years to come, we expect that the leaf mining moth - and other agents yet to be released - will make it a more manageable …

Some Factors Affecting Male Mating Success In The Giant Waterbug (Belostoma Flumineum Say), Karyn S. Crisman

Masters Theses

Giant waterbugs (Subfamily Belostomatinae) are interesting in that males provide exclusive post-copulatory care of young. This unusual behavior makes this species an excellent study system for investigations of sexual selection theory because in such systems, sex role reversals are predicted. Previous studies indicate that role reversal in giant waterbugs is not complete because males still court females. It is assumed that from this courtship display females can assess male quality and "choose" a superior male. If some males are chosen over others then differential mating success results. This study was undertaken to ascertain some of the factors that affect male …

Colony Survivorship In Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis, Western Harvester Ant, In Western Nebraska, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Little is known about the life span of individual ant colonies (Keeler, 1981), even though the dynamics of some species, such as harvester ants, are crucial to the structure of plant and animal communities (e.g., Brown et al., 1979). This note reports the results of 10 years of observations on a population of harvester ants.

Fifty-six mounds of Pogonomyrmex occidentalis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), western harvester ant, were permanently marked with aluminum tags in August 1977. The site, about 1 ha just south of the University of Nebraska's Cedar Point Biological Station, Keith Co., Nebraska, was within a pasture subject to …

Douglas-Fir Beetle (Dendroctonus Pseudotsugae Hopkins, Coleoptera : Scolytidae) Brood Production On Douglas-Fir Defoliated By Western Spruce Budworm (Choristoneura Occidentalis Freeman, Lepidoptera : Tortricidae) In Logan Canyon, Utah, S E. Fredricks, M J. Jenkins

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

Douglas-fir beetle brood production was studied on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) trees defoliated by the western spruce budworm between 1983 and 1985. Tallies were made of the number of attacks, total length and number of egg galleries, number of eggs deposited, number of larval tunnels, number of pupal chambers, and number of emerging beetles (per female and per unit area). Data analysis showed no significant differences among the three years studied. The number of emerging beetles per female parent was 0.59, and emergence per 90 cm2 was 2.32 beetles. Egg, larval, and pupal survivals were 47.5%, 30.0%, and 15.5%, …

Lodgepole Pine Vigor, Regeneration, And Infestation By Mountain Pine Beetle Following Partial Cutting On The Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, Gene D. Amman, Gene D. Lessard, Lynn A. Rasmussen, Curtis G. O'Neil

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

Lodgepole pine stands were thinned in the Shoshone National Forest of northwestern Wyoming in 1979 and 1980 using different forms of partial cutting. Average losses of trees 5 inches diameter at breast height and larger to mountain pine beetles during the 5 years following thinning ranged from less than 1 percent in spaced thinnings to 7.4 percent in the 12-inch diameter limit cut, compared to 26.5 percent in check stands. Residual trees increased radial growth significantly, but change in growth efficiency is slow. Regeneration 5 years after thinning ranged between 1,160 and 3,560 seedlings per acre, with pine being favored …

A Seasonal Comparison Of Metabolic And Water Loss Rates Of Three Species Of Grasshoppers, Lynn J. Forlow, James A. Macmahon

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

1. 1. Seasonal differences in metabolic and water loss rates were examined in three related species of grasshoppers collected from shrub-steppe communities in Utah: Arphia conspersa, A. pseudonietana and

2. 2 cohorts of Trimerotropis pallidipennis. 2. No significant differences (P = 0.05) in metabolic rates were observed between seasons (early vs late), between genera (Arphia vs Trimerotropis) nor among species.

3. 3. Early season (spring) grasshoppers had a higher (but non-significant) mean water loss rate (±X ± SD in mg.g−1-hr−1) (4.81 ± 1.53) than late season (summer) grasshoppers (4.43 ± 1.43).

4. 4. Among species, early season A. conspersa had …

A Monograph Of The Genus Polyphylla Harris In America North Of Mexico (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), Ronald M. Young

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The North American species of the genus Polyphylla Harris, 1841, are defined and revised for the first time since Fall (1928). All name bearing types were examined except those of P. oklahomensis Hatch and P. subvittata LeConte (synonyms of P. hammondl), which are lost. A lectotype is designated for P. gracilis Horn, and neotypes for P. decemlineata (Say), P. occidentalis (L.), and P. variolosa (Hentz). New synonyms of P. decemlineata are P. comstockiana von Bloeker, P. matrona Casey, and P. potsiana Casey. New synonyms of P. crinita …