Entomology Commons^™

Comparative Mitogenomic Analysis Of Damsel Bugs Representing Three Tribes In The Family Nabidae (Insecta: Hemiptera), Hu Li, Haiyu Liu, Fan Song, Aimin Shi, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Nabidae, a family of predatory heteropterans, includes two subfamilies and five tribes. We previously reported the complete mitogenome of Alloeorhynchus bakeri, a representative of the tribe Prostemmatini in the subfamily Prostemmatinae. To gain a better understanding of architecture and evolution of mitogenome in Nabidae, mitogenomes of five species representing two tribes (Gorpini and Nabini) in the subfamily Nabinae were sequenced, and a comparative mitogenomic analysis of three nabid tribes in two subfamilies was carried out.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nabid mitogenomes share a similar nucleotide composition and base bias, except for the control region, where differences are observed at the …

The Role Of Olfactory Cues In The Sequential Radiation Of A Gall-Boring Beetle, Mordellistena Convicta, Bradley Rhodes, Catherine Blair, Mizuki Takahashi, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii

Faculty Journal Articles

1. Herbivorous insects often have close associations with specific host plants, and their preferences for mating and ovipositing on a specific host-plant species can reproductively isolate populations, facilitating ecological speciation. Volatile emissions from host plants can play a major role in assisting herbivores to locate their natal host plants and thus facilitate assortative mating and host-specific oviposition.

2. The present study investigated the role of host-plant volatiles in host fidelity and oviposition preference of the gall-boring, inquiline beetle, Mordellistena convicta LeConte (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), using Y-tube olfactometers. Previous studies suggest that the gall-boring beetle is undergoing sequential host-associated divergence by utilising …

Viral Metagenomics Demonstrates That Domestic Pigs Are A Potential Reservoir For Ndumu Virus, Charles Masembe, George Michuki, Maria Onyango, Cecilia Rumberia, Martin Norling, Richard P. Bishop, Appolinaire Djikeng, Stephen J. Kemp, Alan Orth, Robert A. Skilton, Karl Ståhl, Anne Fischer

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: The rising demand for pork has resulted in a massive expansion of pig production in Uganda. This has resulted in increased contact between humans and pigs. Pigs can act as reservoirs for emerging infectious diseases. Therefore identification of potential zoonotic pathogens is important for public health surveillance. In this study, during a routine general surveillance for African swine fever, domestic pigs from Uganda were screened for the presence of RNA and DNA viruses using a high-throughput pyrosequencing method. Findings. Serum samples from 16 domestic pigs were collected from five regions in Uganda and pooled accordingly. Genomic DNA and RNA …

Evaluation Of Low Density Polyethylene And Nylon For Delivery Of Synthetic Mosquito Attractants, Wolfgang R. Mukabana, Collins K. Mweresa, Philemon Omusula, Benedict O. Orindi, Renate C. Smallegange, Joop Ja Van Loon, Willem Takken

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Abstract. Background: Synthetic odour baits present an unexploited potential for sampling, surveillance and control of malaria and other mosquito vectors. However, application of such baits is impeded by the unavailability of robust odour delivery devices that perform reliably under field conditions. In the present study the suitability of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and nylon strips for dispensing synthetic attractants of host-seeking Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes was evaluated. Methods. Baseline experiments assessed the numbers of An. gambiae mosquitoes caught in response to low density polyethylene (LDPE) sachets filled with attractants, attractant-treated nylon strips, control LDPE sachets, and control nylon strips placed in …

Taxonomic Identity Of The Invasive Fruit Fly Pest, Bactrocera Invadens: Concordance In Morphometry And Dna Barcoding, Fathiya M. Khamis, Daniel K. Masiga, Samira A. Mohamed, Daisy Salifu, Marc De Meyer, Sunday Ekesi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In 2003, a new fruit fly pest species was recorded for the first time in Kenya and has subsequently been found in 28 countries across tropical Africa. The insect was described as Bactrocera invadens, due to its rapid invasion of the African continent. In this study, the morphometry and DNA Barcoding of different populations of B. invadens distributed across the species range of tropical Africa and a sample from the pest's putative aboriginal home of Sri Lanka was investigated. Morphometry using wing veins and tibia length was used to separate B. invadens populations from other closely related Bactrocera species. The …

Widespread And Persistent Invasions Of Terrestrial Habitats Coincident With Larval Feeding Behavior Transitions During Snail-Killing Fly Evolution (Diptera: Sciomyzidae), Eric G. Chapman, Andrey A. Przhiboro, James D. Harwood, Benjamin A. Foote, Walter R. Hoeh

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Transitions in habitats and feeding behaviors were fundamental to the diversification of life on Earth. There is ongoing debate regarding the typical directionality of transitions between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and the mechanisms responsible for the preponderance of terrestrial to aquatic transitions. Snail-killing flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) represent an excellent model system to study such transitions because their larvae display a range of feeding behaviors, being predators, parasitoids or saprophages of a variety of mollusks in freshwater, shoreline and dry terrestrial habitats. The remarkable genus Tetanocera (Tetanocerini) occupies five larval feeding groups and all of the habitat types mentioned above. …

Nebline, September 2012

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extend Your Growing Season with a Cold Frame or Hotbed

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 24, No. 4, September 2012

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents

Welcome

Congratulations

Publications

Grants

Department Meeting Dates for Fall 2012

This 'N That

Faculty News

Student News

Meet an Off Campus Student

Condolences

Travel

Fond Farewell

Calendar of Events

Evolutionary History Of Assassin Bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Reduviidae): Insights From Divergence Dating And Ancestral State Reconstruction, Wei Song Hwang, Christiane Weirauch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Assassin bugs are one of the most successful clades of predatory animals based on their species numbers (~ 6,800 spp.) and wide distribution in terrestrial ecosystems. Various novel prey capture strategies and remarkable prey specializations contribute to their appeal as a model to study evolutionary pathways involved in predation. Here, we reconstruct the most comprehensive reduviid phylogeny (178 taxa, 18 subfamilies) to date based on molecular data (5 markers). This phylogeny tests current hypotheses on reduviid relationships emphasizing the polyphyletic Reduviinae and the blood-feeding, diseasevectoring Triatominae, and allows us, for the first time in assassin bugs, to reconstruct ancestral states …

Mediation Of A Plant-Spider Association By Specific Volatile Compounds, Ximena J. Nelson, Andrew J. Pratt, Xavier Cheseto, Baldwyn Torto, Robert R. Jackson

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Evarcha culicivora, an East African jumping spider (Salticidae), is the only spider for which there is evidence of innate olfactory affinity for particular plant species. Evarcha culicivora also actively chooses as preferred prey the females of Anopheles mosquitoes, and both sexes of Anopheles are known to visit plants for nectar meals. Here, we identified compounds present in the headspace of one of these species in Kenya, Lantana camara, and then used 11 of these compounds in olfactometer experiments. Our findings show that three terpenes [(E)-β-caryophyllene, α-humulene and 1,8 cineole] can be discriminated by, and are salient to, E. culicivora. The …

West Nile Virus In Utah, Erin Hodgson

All Current Publications

West Nile Virus (WNV) was first detected in Uganda in 1937. For several years, WNV remained relatively contained in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

An Annotated List Of Symmachia Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Symmachiini) From Parque Nacional Da Serra Do Divisor, Acre, Brazil, With The Description Of A New Species, Diego Rodrigo Dolibaina, Luis Anderson Ribeiro Leite, Fernando Maia Silva Dias, Olaf Hermann Hendrik Mielke, Mirna Martins Casagrande

Insecta Mundi

We provide an illustrated list of species belonging to the genus Symmachia Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Symmachiini) collected during an expedition conducted between September 10-21, 2011 in the northern part of the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil, a remote region of Amazon rainforest. A total of 46 individuals were collected belonging to 15 species. For all recorded species, drawings of male genitalia and behavioral information are provided to support future studies on the taxonomy of the group. A new species, Symmachia divisora Dolibaina and Leite, sp. nov., is described, and a revised status for Symmachia hetaerina hesione …

Notes On The Distribution And Habitat Of Omethes Marginatus Leconte (Coleoptera: Omethidae), Arthur V. Evans, Kyle E. Schnepp

Insecta Mundi

The known distribution of a rarely collected omethid, Omethes marginatus LeConte (Coleoptera), includes Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Collection and ecological notes on recent collections in Arkansas, Indiana, and Virginia are presented.

Neoxantholinus Cristatus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) Is Reported From The Cayman Islands, J. H. Frank

Insecta Mundi

One male specimen of Neoxantholinus cristatus Smetana (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), collected in 1993, is reported from Grand Cayman. The presence of that species brings to 63 the number of species of Staphylinidae reported from the Cayman Islands.

A Review Of The New World Krisnini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Iassinae) Including Three Genera And Six New Species, Paul H. Freytag

Insecta Mundi

The tribe Krisnini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is presently known in the New World from three species from Puerto Rico and one species from Dominican Amber, all described in the Old World genus Krisna Baker. The three species from Puerto Rico are being placed in Lipokrisna, new genus, with Krisna insularis Oman as the type species, becoming Lipokrisna insularis (Oman), new combination. The other species in this genus are L. montana (Caldwell) and L. aesta (DeLong) both new combinations. The one species from Dominican amber is placed in the Genus Archiokrisna, new genus, with Krisna …

The Genus Gromphas Brullé, 1837 In Peru (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini), Luis Figueroa, W. D. Edmonds, Felipe Meza-Velez

Insecta Mundi

The genus Gromphas Brullé (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) comprises four species, of which G. aeruginosa (Perty) and G. amazonica Bates are known to occur in Peru. This paper presents a revised description of Gromphas as well as illustrated diagnoses and distributional and ecological data on the Peruvian species.

Contribution Towards The Knowledge Of Psalidognathus Gray, 1831 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae), Antonio Santos-Silva, Ziro Komiya

Insecta Mundi

The species of the “modestus” group of the genus Psalidognathus Gray (Cerambycidae: Prioninae) (currently with four species and three subspecies), which are recognized mainly by the antennomeres without apical spines, are studied. Psalidognathus thomsoni Lameere, 1885 is revalidated as a species distinct from P. modestus Fries, 1833. Psalidognathus erythrocerus reichei Quentin and Villiers, 1983 and P. erythrocerus pubescens Quentin and Villiers, 1983 are considered as different species from P. erythrocerus Reiche, 1840. Psalidognathus colombianus Demelt, 1989 and Psalidognathus modestus chocoensis Salazar, 2005 are synonymized with P. modestus, syn. nov. Psalidognathus rufescens, although belonging to “friendii” …

First Recorded Introduction Of The Milliped Order Stemmiulida (Eugnatha: Nematophora): Potential Establishment In Florida, Usa, And New Records From Mexico; Northward Range Extension Into Southern Tamaulipas, Rowland M. Shelley, G. B. Edwards, Arthur E. Bogan

Insecta Mundi

Based on two “uni-ocellate” females, the world’s first introductions of the milliped order Stemmiulida are recorded from Florida, United States (US). One individual was collected in 1976 in Gainesville, Alachua County (Co.)., in northcentral peninsular Florida, and the other was taken in 1991 some 408 km (255 mi) to the south-southeast in Pompano Beach, Broward Co. The absence of further individuals and additional samples suggests that the introductions did not result in viable populations, and stemmiulidans are not presently established in the state; the Gainesville site was reinvestigated in 2012 without finding additional specimens. New records from Mexico include the …

A New Species Of Culcua Walker (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) From Vietnam, Norman E. Woodley

Insecta Mundi

A new species of Culcua Walker (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), C. lingafelteri Woodley, new species, is described from northern Vietnam. It is diagnosed relative to other species using the recent revision of the genus by Rozkošný and Kozánek (2007). This is the first species of Culcua reported from Vietnam

Revision Of African Parandrinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), Thierry Bouyer, Alain Drumont, Antonio Santos-Silva

Insecta Mundi

A comprehensive revision of the Subfamily Parandrinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from the Afrotropical Region is presented. Two new genera are described: Adlbauerandra and Meridiandra. The known species from the Afrotropical Region are excluded from Parandra Latreille, 1802, which resulted in the following new combinations: Acutandra beninensis (Murray, 1862), A. comoriana (Fairmaire, 1895), A. gabonica (Thomson, 1858), Adlbauerandra morettoi (Adlbauer, 2004) and Meridiandra capicola (Thomson, 1861). Eighteen new species are described: Acutandra amieti, A. barclayi, A. camiadei, A. dasilvai, A. delahayei, A. gaetani, A. garnieri, A. grobbelaarae, A. hugoi, A. jolyi …