Refine
Document Type
- Article (2)
- Part of Periodical (2)
Language
- English (4)
Has Fulltext
- yes (4) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (4) (remove)
Keywords
- neotropics (4) (remove)
The Asterolecaniidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha), known as pit scales, are currently represented by 11 genera and 52 species in the Neotropical region, and by five species in Argentina. The goal of this study is to review and update the information currently known about the biodiversity of Asterolecaniidae in Argentina. We describe Argenta Granara de Willink new genus, Argenta eduardoi Granara de Willink new species, Mycetococcus ligae Granara de Willink new species, and Sclerosococcus williamsi Granara de Willink new species; an illustration of Pollinia pollini (Costa) is also included; the species Asterolecanium puteanum Russell and Russellaspis pustulans (Cockerell) are noted for the first time in Argentina. Dichotomous keys to the genera of Asterolecaniidae and the species of Asterolecanium Targioni-Tozzetti, Mycetococcus Ferris, and Sclerosococcus McKenzie in Argentina are presented. This work increases the number of known species in Argentina to ten.
ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A1FB016-1B67-4861-BB8B-2011B26679F1
The original description of Rivudiva trichobasis Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty, 1998 is short, with few illustrations. The lack of information resulted in a broad specific diagnosis, with emphasis on the spine-like setae on the antenna. Our hypothesis is that the lack of information resulted in many species being hidden behind R. trichobasis name. We evaluated the species R. coveloae (Traver, 1971) and R. venezuelensis (Traver, 1943) considering the new evidence. After analyzing the paratype of R. trichobasis and records of the species in Brazil, the hidden-species hypothesis was corroborated. Five new species were identified among the published records of R. trichobasis of which four are described here: R. amazona sp. nov. (Roraima State), R. oxum sp. nov. (Rondônia State), R. uiara sp. nov. (Amazonas State), R. naia sp. nov. (Roraima State). The fifth species, Rivudiva sp. X from Maranhão State, could not be described due to the poor conservation of the specimen and is therefore left in open nomenclature. Records from Espírito Santo State (Brazil) and from Paraguay are treated as putative and must be evaluated considering the new evidence. Rivudiva venezuelensis and Rivudiva coveloae are diagnosed and illustrated based on type material. After analyzing these two species, we hypothesize that only R. coveloae likely belongs to the genus Rivudiva. However, information on the nymphal stage is needed to corroborate this hypothesis.
The South American genera of the Cimbicidae are reviewed. Five genera and nine species are recognized. Redescriptions of all genera and an identification key to all species are provided. All species are illustrated, including both sexes and aberrant specimens when relevant. The South American Cimbicidae are grouped in the subfamily Pachylostictinae, but there is substantial morphological divergence at the genus level. This and the isolated geographic and phylogenetic position relative to the other subfamilies of Cimbicidae indicates that the Pachylostictinae have evolved in isolation for a substantial amount of time. Host plant records are known for only one species, Pseudopachylosticta subflavata, which is mainly found in the Chacoan subregion. The distribution of the remaining species falls almost exclusively within the range of the Parana subregion forest provinces, a biome that has been much reduced by human activity in the past half millennium. It is likely that these rarely collected wasps are threatened by habitat degradation.
Coprophagy and probable saprophagy are reported for larvae of two species of chrysaugine moths (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Larvae of Parachma ochracealis Walker are found in rotten pine wood and mulch in North-Central Florida. Larvae of Basacallis tarachodes (Dyar) inhabit feces of an unidentified small mammal in a cave in Central Florida and seem to be troglophilic. These behaviors are compared to similar ones in Neotropical chrysaugines such as Humiphila Becker and Cryptoses Dyar. Saprophagy and coprophagy are predicted to be more general habits among Chrysauginae.