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Predator-induced plasticity in life-history and antipredator traits during the larval period has been extensively studied in organisms with complex life-histories. However, it is unclear whether different levels of predation could induce warning signals in aposematic organisms. Here, we investigated whether predator-simulated handling affects warning coloration and life-history traits in the aposematic wood tiger moth larva, Arctia plantaginis. As juveniles, a larger orange patch on an otherwise black body signifies a more efficient warning signal against predators but this comes at the costs of conspicuousness and thermoregulation. Given this, one would expect that an increase in predation risk would induce flexible expression of the orange patch. Prior research in this system points to plastic effects being important as a response to environmental changes for life history traits, but we had yet to assess whether this was the case for predation risk, a key driver of this species evolution. Using a full-sib rearing design, in which individuals were reared in the presence and absence of a non-lethal simulated bird attack, we evaluated flexible responses of warning signal size (number of orange segments), growth, molting events, and development time in wood tiger moths. All measured traits except development time showed a significant response to predation. Larvae from the predation treatment developed a more melanized warning signal (smaller orange patch), reached a smaller body size, and molted more often. Our results suggest plasticity is indeed important in aposematic organisms, but in this case may be complicated by the trade-off between costly pigmentation and other life-history traits.
The tortoise beetle, Cassida sphaerula Boheman, 1854 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Cassidini) is endemic to South Africa. Its endemic host, Arctotheca prostrata (Salisb.) Britten (Asteraceae) has been introduced in other countries where it is becoming invasive. Cassida sphaerula could provide a potential biocontrol of Arctotheca weeds as it spends the entire life cycle on this host. An intensive field study, with rearing, photography, and short films of C. sphaerula was conducted in its native habitat to document the life cycle. A checklist of Cassidinae genera in South Africa, along with 19 new host records for Cassidini species in South Africa are presented. Oothecae are simple, with few laminate membranes enclosing fewer than five eggs. There are five larval instars. Larvae and adults feed by making a series of cuts in the ventral cuticle, forming an arc, and they consume the mesophyll as the cuticle is rolled to one side. This creates many ventral craters, thickened on one margin with the rolled cuticle; these ventral craters correspond to ‘windows’ in the dorsal leaf surface where the dorsal cuticle is left intact. This unusual feeding pattern is known in three Cassida species, all in South Africa. Like many tortoise beetles, instar I initiates a feces-only shield on its paired caudal processes (= urogomophi); this construction is retained, along with exuviae, by subsequent instars. The shield construction was studied by film and dissections. This revealed that the columnar or pyramidal shield in this species has an exterior of dry or moist feces that obscures the central nested stack of exuviae, each exuviae compressed onto the caudal processes. Pupae may retain the entire larval shield of exuviae and feces or only the 5th instar exuviae; this behavioral flexibility in pupal shield retention is novel for tortoise beetles. Behaviors of C. sphaerula are discussed in the context of phylogenetic characters that can give evolutionary insights into the genus, tribe, and subfamily.
ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4AC56F98-6474-4AAD-A2A9-51AE2F39A1E1
As a result of the integrative (morphology and DNA barcodes) revision of the Taiwanese species of the rove beetle genus Quedius belonging to the abnormalis group, in the subgenus Microsaurus, three valid hypogean species are reported for the fauna of this island: Quedius masuzoi Watanabe, 1989, Q. nishikawai Watanabe, 1991 and Q. adilus sp. nov. A new synonymy, Quedius masuzoi = Quedius chiangi Smetana, 1995 syn. nov., is established along with providing additional records, a larval description and bionomic information for this species. Finally, the biogeographic origin of the abnormalis group in Taiwan is discussed.
Six species of the genus Polyplectropns are recorded from the People's Republic of China. All the species are new to science. A key to the males is given. The larva of Polyplectropns nanjingensis sp. nov. is illustrated. The phylogenetic relationships among these species and with Polyplectropns species of the New World are discussed.
A new genus, Dejunaleon Miller and Stange, is described with two new species: Dejunaleon loja Miller and Dejunaleon maculosus Stange (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini). A key to species is provided as well as distributional data. A description of the larva of Dejunaleon loja is given. A key to genera of the tribe Brachynemurini is provided based on larvae and adults.
Macrostemum is the second largest genus of Macronematinae with about 104 described species distributed in the Neotropical (18), Afrotropical (20), Australasian (7), Palearctic (2), Nearctic (3) and Oriental (54) regions. Despite its great diversity, knowledge about its immature stages is scarce: worldwide, only 7 species (6.7%) have larvae and/or pupae described. From the Neotropics, only one species, Macrostemum ulmeri (Banks, 1913), has described larvae and pupae. The objectives of this study are to describe and illustrate a new species, Macrostemum araca sp. nov., based on adult males and females from Serra do Aracá, Amazonas, Brazil, and the larvae and pupae of M. brasiliense (Fischer, 1970) from an Atlantic Forest fragment in São Paulo state using the metamorphotype method. In addition, this species is recorded for the first time for Minas Gerais state.
The genus Elliptera Schiner, 1863 is represented by ten species worldwide, but immatures of only the European species E. omissa Schiner has been described so far. Molecular methods were used to associate larvae and adults for two East Asian species from South Korea. Elliptera jacoti Alexander and E. zipanguensis zipanguensis Alexander are common species in aquatic, hygropetric habitats in mountainous parts of the Korean peninsula. Elliptera mongolica Podeniene, Podenas & Gelhaus sp. nov. from Mongolia and China (Inner Mongolia) is described based on mitochondrial DNA COI gene barcode sequences and morphological characters of larvae. Larvae of all three species and pupae of E. jacoti are described and illustrated. Morphological characters of the larvae useful for discrimination of species are given. An identification key for East Asian larvae of the genus Elliptera is compiled.
New distribution and host records plus additional notes are provided for North American species in the genus Chrysobothris Eschscholtz (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Forty-one species are treated. The occurrence of Chrysobothris bicolor Horn in the USA is refuted. Chrysobothris breviloboides Barr is newly synonymized with Chrysobothris breviloba Fall. The southernmost record for Chrysobothris piuta Wickham, from Baja California, Mexico, is established. A specimen of the Argentinian Chrysobothris rugosa Gory and Laporte labeled from Florida is reported. A lectotype for Chrysobothris vulcanica LeConte is newly designated.
ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FDB5C4A4-548C-4436-92BB-59AE3183378C