Revision of the weevil genus Epimechus Dietz (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Anthonomini)

Epimechus curvipes Dietz is designated as type species of the genus Epimechus Dietz. Ten additional species from western North America, including four new species, are assigned to the genus: E. aemulus Fall; E. flavirostris Fall; E. mimicus Dietz; E. adspersus Dietz; E. mobilis Fall; E. nevadicus Dietz; E. molina, new species (Arizona, Baja California Norte); E. combustus, new species (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah); E. signum, new species (Arizona, Coahuila, Colorado, New Mexico, Saskatchewan, Texas, Utah) and E. hesperius, new species (Arizona, California, Colorado, Guanajuato, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo Leon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming). These are distinguished from other Anthonomini by the short, simple tarsal claws. The names Epimeclws modicus Fall, E. soriculus Dietz, and E. nanulus Fall are placed in new synonymy under E. curvipes. Lectotypes are designated for E. adspersus and E. nevadicus. Two species formerly in Epimechus are transferred the subgenus Cnemocyllus Dietz in Anthonomus Germar: E. arenicolor Fall as Anthonomus arenicolor (Fall), new combination, and E. canoides Fall as Anthonomus canoides (Fall), new combination. Adults of species of Epimechus have been collected on plants in the genera Baccharis, Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, Gutierrezia, Haplopappus, Senecio and Tetradymia (all Asteraceae)

First Report of Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Italy

The first record of Reticuliterms flavipes (Kol l?r) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Europe was in 1837, in Vienna, Austria, after infested plants im ported from the U.S. were discovered in the green house of the Sch?nbrunn Palace (Kollar 1837). In 1924, R. flavipes was found on the French Atlan tic coast and initially described as a new species, R. santonensis (Feytaud 1924). The synonymy of R. santonensis with R. flavipes was eventually confirmed by mitochondrial DNA analyses (Aus tin et al. 2002). In France, R. flavipes is currently distributed in an area extending from the Gi ronde region up to Paris and Normandy, and causes structural damage to buildings and trees (Lohou et al. 1997). During the 1930s, R. flavipes was discovered in wooden forepoles of channel construction in the steam heating district of Hamburg, Germany, where populations were sup ported by the favorable microclimate (Weidner 1937). Today, populations of R. flavipes remain es tablished in Hamburg, and cause damage to buildings and trees (Hertel & Plarre 2006). In Oct 2008, a subterranean termite infesta tion was discovered by a homeowner in a de tached house and adjacent garden situated in a residential district built in the 1970s in the out skirts of Olgiate Olona (Varese), in northern Italy. Termite workers and soldiers were observed and collected during a structural inspection in Nov 2008. Specimens are maintained in the Marini termite collection at the University of Bologna. Molecular analysis was used to determine the termite species, which were preserved in 100% ethanol prior to DNA extraction. A 684-bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene and a 491-bp region of the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene were amplified by PCR. Sequencing was performed by Macrogen Inc. (Seoul, South Korea). Closely related sequences were identified from GenBank using the BLAST network service (Altschul et al. 1990) at NCBI. For both genes, nucleotide sequences were identical in the 2 workers (GenBank Accession GU070788 and GU070789). Sequences from the Olgiate Olona house corresponded (97-100% cov erage, 100% similarity for COII sequence; 92 100% coverage, 100% similarity for 16S sequence) to GenBank sequences of R. flavipes from North America and France and of R. arenincola Goell ner (Table 1). This latter species appears to be identical to R. flavipes based on the DNA se quences obtained so far

Dragonfly assemblages in the upper parts of the River Tisza: a comparison of larval and exuvial data in three channel types

We studied dragonfly assemblages in the Ukrainian section of the River Tisza, which still shows several natural (unregulated) properties. In 2010 and 2011 larvae and exuviae were collected in the vicinity of the villages Vilok (Вилок, Tiszaújlak), Nove Szelo (Нове Cело, Tiszaújhely), Tiszobikeny (Тисабикень, Tiszabökény) and of the towns Vinohragyiv (Виноградiв, Nagyszőlős) and Huszt (Хуст, Huszt). We collected our samples from 8 sites in the main channel, 2 sites in side channels and 3 sites in two dead channels. We collected 255 larvae and 1587 exuviae, from which 8 species of dragonflies were identified [Gomphus vulgatissimus (Linnaeus, 1758), Stylurus flavipes (Charpentier, 1825), Onychogomphus forcipatus (Linnaeus, 1758), Ophiogomphus cecilia (Fourcroy, 1785), Somatochlora metallica (van der Linden, 1825), Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1782), Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas, 1771), and Sympecma fusca (van der Linden, 1820)]. We compared the species composition of dragonflies in the three habitats. In the case of larvae in the main channel G. vulgatissimus (48.0%), C. splendens (29.6%) and O. forcipatus (20.8%) dominated, while in the dead channels C. splendens (49.5%) and P. pennipes (23.7%) were found most frequently. In the side channels G. vulgatissimus, O. forcipatus and C. splendens were the most frequent species. S. flavipes appeared only in the main and side channels, while S. metallica and S. fusca were only detected in the dead channels

Niche partitioning of feather mites within a seabird host, Calonectris borealis

According to classic niche theory, species can coexist in heterogeneous environments by reducing interspecific competition via niche partitioning, e.g. trophic or spatial partitioning. However, support for the role of competition on niche partitioning remains controversial. Here, we tested for spatial and trophic partitioning in feather mites, a diverse and abundant group of arthropods. We focused on the two dominant mite species, Microspalax brevipes and Zachvatkinia ovata, inhabiting flight feathers of the Cory's shearwater, Calonectris borealis. We performed mite counts across and within primary and tail feathers on free-living shearwaters breeding on an oceanic island (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands). We then investigated trophic relationships between the two mite species and the host using stable isotope analyses of carbon and nitrogen on mite tissues and potential host food sources. The distribution of the two mite species showed clear spatial segregation among feathers; M. brevipes showed high preference for the central wing primary feathers, whereas Z. ovata was restricted to the two outermost primaries. Morphological differences between M. brevipes and Z. ovata support an adaptive basis for the spatial segregation of the two mite species. However, the two mites overlap in some central primaries and statistical modeling showed that Z. ovata tends to outcompete M. brevipes. Isotopic analyses indicated similar isotopic values for the two mite species and a strong correlation in carbon signatures between mites inhabiting the same individual host suggesting that diet is mainly based on shared host-associated resources. Among the four candidate tissues examined (blood, feather remains, skin remains and preen gland oil), we conclude that the diet is most likely dominated by preen gland oil, while the contribution of exogenous material to mite diets is less marked. Our results indicate that ongoing competition for space and resources plays a central role in structuring feather mite communities. They also illustrate that symbiotic infracommunities are excellent model systems to study trophic ecology, and can improve our understanding of mechanisms of niche differentiation and species coexistence

Seasonal fouling by diatoms on artificial substrata at different depths near Piran (Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic)

Seasonal fouling by diatoms was studied in the heavily polluted and eutrofied area near Piran in the Gulf of Trieste. Concrete plates (50 x 50 cm) were placed at l m, 3 m and 7 m depths, with the fouling observed monthly for one year, from March to October. Two plates were used at each level: one was scratched clean monthly to get an insight into the seasonality of fouling, while from the other only representative samples were taken in order to follow the fouling succession. In the eulittoral two quadrats of the same dimension were scratched clean on a vertical concrete wall. Diatoms proved to be the main fouling component sublittorally, while in the eulittoral green algae determined the physiognomy of the experi mental surfaces during spring. The present contribution deals only with the diatoms. Peaks of diatom colonization were found in April and August in the eulittoral, and sublittorally in July. Regarding the depth distribution, maxima in the number of recorded species were found at 3 m in spring, and at 7 m in autumn. The fouling populations were heterogenous, including epilithic, epipsammic and epipelic species with different affinities (marine, brackish and even freshwater). Colonial forms belonging to the genera Berkeleya, Navicula and Licmophora were outstanding and covered most of the experimental surfaces. Achnanthes species were among the primary colonizers, while Nitzschia species joined the fouling communities in autumn, along with several epipelic species. Seasonal recolonization on the monthly denuded plates was usual for species found sublittorally, either the whole year around, or only in autumn. Species found during spring did not recolonize monthly, and the same was true of the eulittoral ones

Cytotaxonomic evidence for the presence of Anopheles nivipes in India.

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