Insecta Mundi, Volume 3 (1989)
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Under the skillful direction of Professor Dindal of Syracuse University, the work of 54 authors, 11 years in the making, is blended into one large, useful volume treating the systematics and biology of all organisms involved in the soil ecology of North America, north of Mexico. The separate authors treat their special groups following a similar format throughout, covering the biology, taxonomy, and ecology of each soil biotic group. The amount of data presented varies with the extent of knowledge of the group treated. The 43 chapters cover all taxa from soil bacteria through the insects. The insects are covered in 384 pages.
In 1960 we published "Techniques for the study of ant larvae." We referred to it in 1976 and again in 1986. In the intervening years three authors have cited it and the quality of their drawings suggest they have benefited from our suggestions. The poor quality of most other recent drawings suggest they have not seen our article. Perhaps a 1960 reference is too old to be caught in latter-day "literature searches." Or, if the searcher did find it, he was unwilling to take the trouble to follow the recommended techniques. And troublesome they are, especially if one does not have readily available the required apparatus and chemicals.
The recent (1986) publication of “My Association with William Morton Wheeler” evidently stirred my latent autobiographical urge. It is quite reasonable that I should next apply it to William Steel Creighton, for he certainly ranks next to W. M. Wheeler among American myrmecologists. It will be quite different, however, because my actual association with Creighton was very brief twice a dinner guest in New York City and two visits in La Feria, Texas. Correspondence, however, is quite different. I received 45 letters from W. M. Wheeler between 1919 and 1936; the last was dated four months before his death. They dealt chiefly with our proposed treatise on ant larvae; only two ran over to the second page. From Creighton I received 81 letters between 1929 (while he was still a graduate student at Harvard) and 1973 (dated 12 days before his death). His early letters filled one page; the length increased gradually to three pages. The subject matter was chiefly practical taxonomy, but the wide variety of topics treated makes them just as interesting as when they were written.
Book Review: This book integrates present knowledge in crop protection from the theoretical and practical points of view. Pest control Information derived from field like plant pathology, entomology, nematology and weed science is analyzed with reference to plant breeding and nutrition, agronomy and agricultural economics, and some general conclusions are drawn about prognoses, forecasting, and integrated pest control.
Lectotypes are designated for the following species: A. aureocoerulans Obenberger, A. auroguttatus Schaeffer, A. cannulus Obenberger, A. carinellifer Obenberger, A. dolli Schaeffer, A. exclusus Obenberger, A. ferrisi Dury, A. huachucae Schaeffer, A. optatus Obenberger, A. pictithorax Obenberger, A. simillipictus Obenberger, A. subtropicus Schaeffer, Aphanisticus peninsulae Obenberger, Brachys fascifera Schwam, Buprestis adducta Casey, B. caliginosa Casey, B. disruptans Casey, B. fastidiosa Casey, B. flavopicta Casey, B. fulgens Casey, B. fusca Casey, B. graminea Casey, B. gravidula Casey, B. leporina Casey, B. maculipennis deficiens Casey, Chalcophora angulicollis montana Casey, C. laurentica Casey, Cinyra prosternalis Schaeffer, Conognatha fisheri Hoscheck, C. neutra Hoscheck, Cypriacis obscura Casey, C. venusta Casey, Endelus bakerianus Obenberger, E. belial Obenberger, Gyascutus amplus Casey, G. compactus Casey, G. fidelisCasey, G. pistorius Casey, Hippomelas grossus Casey, H. planicauda Casey, Meliboeus carbonicolor Obenberger, Meliboeus pravus Obenberger, Pachyschelus caeruleus Schwam, P. orientalis Obenberger, Poecilonota cupripes Casey, P. parviceps Casey, Polycesta arizonica Schaeffer, Rhaeboscelis texana Schaeffer, Sambus delicatulus Obenberger, Stereosa cribripennis Casey, Stictocera laticornis Casey, S. pollens Casey, Texania bisinuata Casey, Trachys fisheri Obenberger, T. isolata Obenberger, T. scriptella Obenberger, T. subaenella Obenberger, T. (Habroloma) bakeriana Obenberger, T. (H.) singaporensis Obenberger, Tyndaris chamaeleonis Skinner and T. olneyae Skinner.
Book Review: Insect Spiracular Systems By T. B. Nikam and V. V. Khole The authors and the publisher are to be complimented for the production of this book summarizing the various aspects of the morphology, development and physiology of the insect spiracular systems. Emphasis has been given to those aspects of the insect spiracular systems that have received scant attention so far, like functional morphology and ecophysiological considerations. The role of spiraculo-trachial system thermoregulation has been explained and integrated with the role of haemolymph circulation. The biophysical aspects have been fully explained and integrated with morpho-physiological aspects.
Selected taxonomic characters of Apion species are redefined and explained including subcephalic ridge, sensory seta and macrochaeta. New species described are Apion (Trichapion) memnonmonum Kissinger, Black Mountains, North Carolina and Apion (Trichapion) nelsoni Kissinger from Davis Mts, Texas and Santa Rita Mts, Arizona. Supplemental descriptions or new records are given for the following species: Apion aequabile Fall, A. brunnicornis Fall, A. eccentricum Fall, A. minor Smith, A. punctulirostre Sharp and A. submetallicum Boheman. A statistical test is used to evaluate the importance of a character in defining species groups in the Apion subgenus Trichapion Wagner. Eighteen characters met this criterion and were used to define 12 species groups. A method is presented to evaluate membership in a species group. The inclusion probabilities for a list of 82 species is given for each of 12 species groups of Trichapion occurring in North and Central America.
The "pollens" group of Cerceris is established for C. furcifera Schletterer (Paraguay), C. mariusi sp. n. (Paraguay), C. nigrosa sp. n. (Argentina), C. pollens Schletterer (Argentina and Paraguay), C. serrana sp. n. (Argentina), and C. willineri Fritz (Argentina), and the "rugulosa" group for C. rugulosa Schrottky (Argentina). A key to the species of the "pollens" group is included. The subspecies Cerceris r. dismorphia Schrottky is not regarded as valid.
Records from the Turrialba Valley region of Costa Rica are given for species of Cerambycidae heretofore unknown from Central America, or for which no previous specific information was recorded. The following species are recorded from Central America for the first time: Sphallambyx chabrillaci, Cycnoderus barbatus, Cylicasta nysa, Oncideres minuta, Dufauxia sp. indet., Onalcidion fibrosum, Nyssodrysola corticalis, Neoeutrypanus mutilatus, Anisopodus affinis, and Lithargyrus melzeri. Previously unrecorded locality or behavioral data are given for Xenochroma azurea, Chontalia cyanicolor, Omosarotes singularis, and Cephalodina crassiceps. New taxa described are: Ommata (Ecliptophanes) tommyi, sp. n., Eupogonius cryptus, sp. n., Jamesia ericksoni, sp. n., Oreodera lezamai, sp. n., Leptostylus lividus sp. n., Colobothina, gen. n., C. perplexa, sp.n.
All Seychelles and Mascarene taxa are discussed. Two subfamilies, eight tribes, and 28 genera are keyed. Xenoderes, new genus, is proposed for Homoeodera snelli Jordan, 1924. New generic synonyms are: Achoragus Jordan, 1914 (=Gomphides Jordan, 1936); Corynaecia Jordan, 1914 (=Megatermis Jordan, 1937). New specific synonym is: Phloeobius longicornis (Fabricius) (=Anthribus cervinus Klug). Additional keys are provided for six genera.
Treatment is provided for 224 species and subspecies in the genera Acherusia, Acmaeodera, Actenodes, Agaeocera, Agrilus, Anthaxia, Brachys, Buprestis, Chalcangium, Chrysobothris, Colobogaster, Cyphothorax, Dicerca, Dismorpha, Euchroma, Hiperantha, Hylaeogena, Leiopleura, Lius, Mixochlorus, Omochyseus, Pachyschelus, Polycesta, Psiloptera, Spectralia, Taphrocerus, Tetragonoschema, Thrincopyge, Trypantius and Tyndaris. Of these, 44 are recorded for the first time from Mexico and 175 represent new state records. Adult host and/or habitat information is provided, usually from the label data, for 93 of the taxa. Larval host records are indicated for Chrysobothris analis LeConte, C. capitata Gory and Laporte, C. multistigmosa (Mannerheim) and C. sallei Waterhouse. Acmaeodera sinaloensis Duges has been discovered to breed in bamboo. A major taxonomic character of C. multistigmosa is discussed.
This is a remarkable new book which is certainly well above all that has been done up to now in this field. Moreover, it deals with a fauna on which we have very few biological data. One hundred nine beetle families are reviewed, from the curious Micromalthidae to the Curculionidae. Mrs. Costa showed me the proofs of the book in 1987 in Sao Paulo, and I had the opportunity then to admire the good quality and even perfection of the drawings.
Tergissima Johnson and Femniterga Johnson, originally described from four sympatric south-central Andean species, are revised to include, respectively, four and nine South American species (of which six are previously undescribed). New combinations include Femniterga cissusa (Hewitson), F. cinniana (Hewitson) and F. plumans (Druce), all transferred from Thecla; new species include Tergissima montanensis and T. shargeli, and Femniterga itaituba, F. megana, F. splendida and F. strobilata. A lectotype is designated for Thecla cissusa. Femniterga and Tergissima are part of a largely undescribed eumaeine assemblage also including Calycopis Scudder and Calystryma Field.
Phylogenetic analysis of structural features of adults shows that the tribe Peleciini comprises eight genera, grouped in two subtribes: the southeastern Australian Agonicina (new status), including Pseudagonica Moore, 1960 (type species P. nitida Moore, 1960) and Agonica Sloane, 1920 (type species A. simsoni Sloane, 1920); and the Inabresian Peleciina (new status, with Peleciini and Disphaericini of authors), including the Neotropical Eripus Dejean, 1829 (type species E. scydmaenoides Dejean, 1829), Pelecium Kirby, 1817 (type species P. cyanipes Kirby, 1817), and Stricteripus, new genus (type species Pelecium peruvianum Straneo, 1953), the Oriental Ardistomopsis, new genus (type species Disphaericus myrmex, Andrewes, 1923), and the Afrotropical Dyschiridium Chaudoir, 1861 (type species D. ebeninum Chaudoir, 1861) and Disphaericus Waterhouse, 1842 (type species D. gambianus Waterhouse, 1842). A key is provided to distinguish among these genera, and the structural features of each genus are described and illustrated, with habitus and SEM photographs. For the genera Eripus, Pelecium, Stricteripus, and Ardistomopsis, the species are keyed and characterized in terms of structural features and geographical distribution, and illustrations of habitus and range maps are provided. Application of names is based on study of type material.
This entirely new book is the first on the biology of beetles since Crowson's book, published in 1981 by Academic Press. This new work in some ways completes Crowson's, but in no way is it a useless repetition. The two books together give a good idea of the biology of this enormous order, here comprising more than 200 families. Paulian's classification is slightly, but not fundamentally, different from Crowson's. There are excellent chapters on endogeous, caverniculous, aquatic, coprophagous, termitophilous, and myrmecophilous beetles. Termitophilous beetles have already been treated well in Termitologia by Grasse (1986, Masson, Paris). Paulian is a well-known specialist on Scarabaeidae and those beetles are extensively reviewed, including the American species, from data published in the United States and Mexico. The larvae of beetles are also well covered. The book was printed in Hungary and we regret several misspellings, and the misuse of French accents here and there.
Mansell (1983) described two new species and genera of Crocinae from Peru and Bolivia bringing the total number of South American species of this subfamily to five species. However, all five species occur well south of the equator. Recently the authors discovered a sixth species in northern Venezuela greatly extending the northern range of the family in South America. This new species belongs to the genus Moranida Mansell. Both adults and larvae were found and are described here with a key to the species of Crocinae of South America. We also found and reared Moranida peruviensis Mansell from Lambayeque, Peru, and provide this new record. This paper represents contribution No. 645 of the Bureau of Entomology.
The identification of North American Dolichoderus species by-way-of existing keys is unnecessarily arbitrary and misdeterminations are likely between D. mariae and D. pustulatus, the latter species showing most morphological variation over its range. Diagnoses for the four described species and an undescribed form with a revised key and figures are given to aid entomologists working without identified voucher specimens. Nest data for species other than D. pustulatus in the Coastal Plain revealed below-ground nests or structures immediately at the ground sui-face. Colonies of D. pustulatus in Florida and southern Georgia have arboreal nests in the cavities of smaller limbs of hardwoods about swamps and marshes. No ground nests have been found and the species may occur in compound nests with another arboreal ant, Camponotus (Colobopsis) impressus. These observations identify several questions for further study.