1,675 research outputs found

    New Records of Rhopalosomatidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) From Wisconsin

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    The rhopalosomatid Olixon banksii is recorded from Wisconsin for the first time

    Recent trends in UK insects that inhabit early successional stages of ecosystems

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    Improved recording of less popular groups, combined with new statistical approaches that compensate for datasets that were hitherto too patchy for quantitative analysis, now make it possible to compare recent trends in the status of UK invertebrates other than butterflies. Using BRC datasets, we analysed changes in status between 1992 and 2012 for those invertebrates whose young stages exploit early seral stages within woodland, lowland heath and semi-natural grassland ecosystems, a habitat type that had declined during the 3 decades previous to 1990 alongside a disproportionally high number of Red Data Book species that were dependent on it. Two clear patterns emerged from a meta-analysis involving 299 classifiable species belonging to ten invertebrate taxa: (i) during the past 2 decades, most early seral species that are living near their northern climatic limits in the UK have increased relative to the more widespread members of these guilds whose distributions were not governed by a need for a warm micro-climate; and (ii) independent of climatic constraints, species that are restricted to the early stages of woodland regeneration have fared considerably less well than those breeding in the early seral stages of grasslands or, especially, heathland. The first trend is consistent with predicted benefits for northern edge-of-range species as a result of climate warming in recent decades. The second is consistent with our new assessment of the availability of early successional stages in these three ecosystems since c. 1990. Whereas the proportion and continuity of early seral patches has greatly increased within most semi-natural grasslands and lowland heaths, thanks respectively to agri-environmental schemes and conservation management, the representation of fresh clearings has continued to dwindle within UK woodlands, whose floors are increasingly shaded and ill-suited for this important guild of invertebrates

    Comparative seasonality and diets of German (Vespula germanica) and common (V. vulgaris) wasp colonies in Manawatu, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University

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    German wasp (Vespula germanica) and common wasp (v. vulgaris) colonies were studied in urban and rural habitats in Manawatu, from January to August 1993. Relative abundance of colonies, nest site preferences, colony dynamics, phenology and diet are described. Data quantifying vespulid wasp nest abundance in Manawatu between 1991-1994 were sourced from pest control companies and the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council. These data were compared with rainfall records for the same period. Over 75% of nests examined in urban and rural Manawatu were built by common wasps. This trend persisted through the season with German wasps accounting for no more than 28% of nests reported in any one month. Most reports of wasps were made in January, with February and March also being high. Heavy rainfall in spring appeared to promote colony formation in the following year. Continued high rainfall between January-June, especially over 600 mm appeared, however, to suppress colonies during this time. Nest drowning is a possible reason for this. Different nest site preferences between the two species were evident in urban and rural habitats. Over half of all urban common wasp nests and a third of urban German wasp nests reported were in sites associated with buildings. Nests in such sites grow faster and larger than those in other sites. In contrast, all rural German wasp nests and 85% of rural common wasp nests were built in the ground. The invasion of Manawatu by common wasps does not appear to have modified the nest site preferences of German wasps. Seasonal traffic rates for both species were similar, with colonies peaking in late March. Common wasp traffic rates were significantly higher in January-February, probably because of earlier nest initiations. Prior to queen production common wasp colonies were most active in the early afternoon. Around the time of queen production early evening activity increased, possibly as a result of the seasonal decrease in day length. Nests with high numbers of worker/male cells built before male production began produced significantly more queens than those with fewer cells. Although similar in size to German wasp nests, common wasp nests contained more queen cells. Cell weights differed between the castes and species. German wasp nests therefore required more than twice as much effort to build as a common wasp nest of a similar size. The possible competitive effects of such differences are discussed. Manawatu German wasp colonies appear to produce males earlier (early February) than common wasp colonies (early March). The reverse applies to queen production which may have started earlier (March 12) in common wasp colonies than in German wasp colonies (March 20). However, variation within and between the species does occur. The egg laying ability of the founder queen appears to limit oviposition in worker/male cells but the availability of empty queen cells appears to limit oviposition in queen cells. The size of the worker force limits the number of larvae that can be cared for. Reproductives were seen leaving nests from early May and continued until the colonies died. In an overwintering German wasp nest production of all three castes were at levels equivalent to an annual nest at peak. German wasp foragers returned with a higher percentage of protein items (16%) than common wasp foragers (11%). Similar percentages of woodpulp were returned to colonies by both species. Diptera, Lepidoptera. Araneae, and Hemiptera were the main animal prey returned to urban and rural colonies. German wasp foragers returned with prey items that were significantly heavier than those carried by common wasps but woodpulp weight did not differ. However, common wasp colonies killed more invertebrates to meet their needs, suggesting that they represent a substantial threat to invertebrate communities. Both prey provision and woodpulp foraging increased dramatically with the onset of queen rearing, indicating the increased needs of colonies at this time. The ecological significance of woodpulp foraging on both species is discussed. Key areas for future wasp research that are applicable within Manawatu and more widely in New Zealand, are outlined. Main areas needing investigation concern aspects of colony dynamics and phenology

    Bee and Wasp Species Diversity at a Restored Wetland in Seneca Falls, New York

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    When monitoring the health and any changes in an ecosystem, having a baseline of species present in the area is important to be able to monitor changes over time. I was interested in the bee and wasp species richness at the Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve in Seneca Falls, New York as it is a five year old restored wetland with a diverse range of habitat types. I hypothesized that the esker habitat, at the crux between wetland and upland habitat would have the greatest species richness. Using cup traps and sweep netting, I obtained and identified specimens from five major wetland types observed at the wetland. I found a total of 34 bee and wasp species, but could not detect any significant differences between habitat types

    The Effects of Urban Land Use on Wasps: (Hymenoptera: Apocrita)

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    For the first time in human history, more than half of the human population lives in urban areas (Pickett et al 2011). It is essential that research occurs in urban ecosystems understanding both the biological and social aspects of urban ecosystems is needed for the sustainable management of urban ecosystems (Angold et al. 2006, Fetridge et al. 2008, Loram et al. 2008, Matteson et al. 2008, McIntyre 2000, Picket et al 2011, Pickett et al 2001, Sumoski et al. 2009) This study examines the role of insects, specifically wasps, in urban gardens and vacant lots in Cleveland, Ohio. This study is intended to (1) provide a broader survey of Hymenoptera in an urban context (2) provide new information on diversity and distribution of parasitoid Hymenoptera (3) assess the potential for parasitoids as providers of bio-control services for urban agriculture in Cleveland, OH (4) determine the extent to which lot or garden area affects the number of wasp species occurring in those habitats and (5) provide useful information for the conservation and urban landscape management strategies that optimize the ecosystem services provided by urban Hymenoptera. I collected 13,339 insects and arachnids via beat net, belonging to 14 different arthropod orders. Nearly twice as many individuals were found at vacant lots versus gardens. The differences in insect community structure at vacant lots and gardens, based on the beat net collections, were highly significant. I collected a total of 5,165 wasps, distributed among 24 families and 369 morphospecies. I found higher wasp abundance at vacant lots (2,703 individuals) versus gardens (2,462 individuals), higher species richness at vacant lots (288 morphospecies) versus gardens (231 morphospecies), and more families at vacant lots (23) versus gardens (21). The average number of morphospecies was higher at lots (93.71) than gardens (63.44), with an overall average of 76.69. Although comparable data from other cities are few, my results indicate that wasp diversity in Clevelan

    An Annotated Checklist of Wisconsin Mutillidae (Hymenoptera)

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    A survey of Wisconsin velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) conducted from literature searches, collection inventories, and two years of field work (2001-2002) yielded 28 species in three subfamilies. Of these, 23 species (representing 82% of the Wisconsin fauna and a 460% increase in the known species richness) are new state species records, having not previously been recorded in the published literature from the state. The known distributions of all Wisconsin species are reported by region and county, along with pertinent phenological, natural history, and other collection information, when known

    BUILDING WEB-BASED INTERACTIVE KEYS TO THE HYMENOPTERAN FAMILIES AND SUPERFAMILIES

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    Traditionally manufacturing job shops either have a process layout or a product layout. The advantages of one type of layout tend to be a disadvantage for the other. Hybrid cellular constructs represents a novel fusion of process and product layouts. In this thesis, hybrid cellular constructs specifically Hybrid Flow Shops and Reoriented andamp; Reshaped Cells are clearly described in terms of their structure, key features, and modes of operation. An engineering procedure is illustrated by cases and particular manufacturing circumstances where each concept would be most useful are identified. This thesis then defines the lean practices that are compatible with the structure in question and identifies what practices are incompatible. It suggests how to modify lean practices to fit and at least obtain some benefits for the incompatible ones. Finally, a procedure for design of logistics management systems for assembly cells and lines is presented

    Vespidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Puerto Rico, West Indies

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    The vespid fauna of Greater Puerto Rico is reviewed (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Three new species are described, Ancistrocerus isla Carpenter, Euodynerus jeitita Carpenter and Genaro, and Omicron aridum Carpenter and Genaro. Polistes crinitus americanus (Fabricius, 1775) and P. crinitus multicolor (Olivier, 1792) are both reduced to synonyms of nominotypical P. crinitus (Felton, 1765), revised status; Zeta abdominale hispaniolae (Bequaert and Salt, 1931) and Zeta abdominale ornatum (de Saussure, 1855) are both reduced to synonyms of nominotypical Zeta abdominale (Drury, 1770), revised status; and Zethus rufinodus monensis Bohart and Stange, 1965, and Zethus rufinodus virginicus Bohart and Stange, 1965, are both reduced to synonyms of nominotypical Zethus rufinodus (Latreille, 1806), revised status. Parancistrocerus obliquus (Cresson, 1865) is newly recorded from Puerto Rico. The presence of Pachodynerus guadulpensis (de Saussure, 1853) in Puerto Rico is confirmed. An analysis of the composition of the Puerto Rican vespid fauna is presented.Se revisa la fauna de avispas de Puerto Rico e islas adyacentes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Se describen tres ESPECIES NUEVAS: Ancistrocerus isla Carpenter, Euodynerus jeitita Carpenter y Genaro, y Omicron aridum Carpenter y Genaro. Polistes crinitus americanus (Fabricius, 1775) y P. crinitus multicolor (Olivier, 1792) son reducidas a nombres sinónimos de la especie nominotipica P. crinitus (Felton, 1765), ESTADO REVISADO; Zeta abdominale hispaniolae (Bequaert and Salt, 1931) y Zeta abdominale ornatum (de Saussure, 1855) son reducidas a sinonimia de la especie nominotipica Zeta abdominale (Drury, 1770), ESTADO REVISADO; Zethus rufinodus monensis Bohart y Stange, 1965, y Zethus rufinodus virginicus Bohart y Stange, 1965, son reducidas a nombres sinónimos de la especie nominotipica Zethus rufinodus (Latreille, 1806), ESTADO REVISADO. Parancistrocerus obliquus (Cresson, 1865) se registra nuevamente para Puerto Rico. Se confirma la presencia de Pachodynerus guadulpensis (de Saussure, 1853) en Puerto Rico. Se analiza la composición de la fauna de véspidos de Puerto Rico

    Classification of the Fossorial, Predateous and Parasitic Wasps, or the Superfamily Vespoidea No.1

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    In the CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, during the year 1898, I gave a series of papers on the classification of the horntails and sawflies, representing the superfamilies SIRICOIDEA (Xylophaga) and TENTHREDINOIDEA (Phyllophaga); while the past year, 1899, I gave a classification of the entomophilous wasps, or the superfamily SPHECOIDEA (incorrectly spelt Sphegoidca). The present year, 1900, with the permission of the Editor, it is my intention to give a similar series of papers on the classification of the superfamily VESPOIDEA, a large natural group, representing the genuine fossorial wasps, the papermaking wasps, potter wasps, and the predaceous, inquilinous and parasitic wasps

    Classification of the Fossorial, Predateous and Parasitic Wasps, or the Superfamily Vespoidea No.1

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    In the CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, during the year 1898, I gave a series of papers on the classification of the horntails and sawflies, representing the superfamilies SIRICOIDEA (Xylophaga) and TENTHREDINOIDEA (Phyllophaga); while the past year, 1899, I gave a classification of the entomophilous wasps, or the superfamily SPHECOIDEA (incorrectly spelt Sphegoidca). The present year, 1900, with the permission of the Editor, it is my intention to give a similar series of papers on the classification of the superfamily VESPOIDEA, a large natural group, representing the genuine fossorial wasps, the papermaking wasps, potter wasps, and the predaceous, inquilinous and parasitic wasps
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