Checklist of the ants of Mt. Hamiguitan, Mindanao Island, Philippines (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The ant diversity of Mt. Hamiguitan, Mindanao Island, Philippines was surveyed using a variety of collection techniques in several sites. A total of 122 species belonging to 51 genera in 8 subfamilies was recorded. Fourteen species are newly recorded from the Philippines: Acropyga near rubescens, Meranoplus malaysianus, Paratopula ankistra, Pheidole cf. planidorsum, Ph. deltea, Ph. near tjibodana, Ph. retivertex, Strumigenys dryas, S. euryale, S. near hispida, S. n.sp. HAM01, S. treptodens, Tetramorium adpressum and T. cf. vertigum

A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are lacking. We sequenced 391 genes from nearly 2,300 butterfly species, sampled from 90 countries and 28 specimen collections, to reconstruct a new phylogenomic tree of butterflies representing 92% of all genera. Our phylogeny has strong support for nearly all nodes and demonstrates that at least 36 butterfly tribes require reclassification. Divergence time analyses imply an origin similar to 100 million years ago for butterflies and indicate that all but one family were present before the K/Pg extinction event. We aggregated larval host datasets and global distribution records and found that butterflies are likely to have first fed on Fabaceae and originated in what is now the Americas. Soon after the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, butterflies crossed Beringia and diversified in the Palaeotropics. Our results also reveal that most butterfly species are specialists that feed on only one larval host plant family. However, generalist butterflies that consume two or more plant families usually feed on closely related plants

New species in the genera Eumacrocyrtus Schultze, 1923 and Enoplocyrtus Yoshitake, 2017 from Luzon Island, Philippines (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae, Pachyrhynchini)

We describe and illustrate two new species from two previously monotypic genera Eumacrocyrtus Schultze, 1923 and Enoplocyrtus Yoshitake, 2017 from Luzon Island, Philippines: Eumacrocyrtus robertfoxi sp. nov., and Enoplocyrtus angelalcalai sp. nov. Eumacrocyrtus robertfoxi sp. nov. serves as a new record for Luzon Island for Eumacrocyrtus which was only previously represented by E. canlaonensis Schultze, 1923 from Negros Island whereas Enoplocyrtus angelalcalai sp. nov. serves as an additional record of Enoplocyrtus in Mountain Province in Luzon Island. The discovery of these two new species from the Zoological Collections of the Philippine National Museum, collected in 1947 and 1985, respectively, highlights the value of natural history collections for the present and future generations of researchers

Revision and redefinition of the crematogastrine ant genus Tetheamyrma BOLTON, 1991, with the description of a new species and the first description of the dealate queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Genera, David Emmanuel M., Buenavente, Perry Archival C. (2018): Revision and redefinition of the crematogastrine ant genus Tetheamyrma BOLTON, 1991, with the description of a new species and the first description of the dealate queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 28: 45-51, DOI: 10.25849/myrmecol.news_028:04

Fig.4 in Revision and redefinition of the crematogastrine ant genus Tetheamyrma BOLTON, 1991, with the description of a new species and the first description of the dealate queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Fig.4: Tetheamyrma subspongia BOLTON, 1991. Holotype worker. (a) Full-face view; (b) lateral view; (c) dorsal view; (d) labels. Images courtesy of AntWeb (unidentified image creator)

Fig.5 in Revision and redefinition of the crematogastrine ant genus Tetheamyrma BOLTON, 1991, with the description of a new species and the first description of the dealate queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Fig.5: Distribution map ofthe species of TetheamyrmaBOLTON, 1991. Blue star = type locality of Tetheamyrma bidentata sp.n. Blue circles = other known localities for T. bidentata sp.n. Red star = type locality of Tetheamyrma subspongia BOLTON, 1991. Red circle = other known locality of T. subspongia

Amphibians and Reptiles of Luzon Island (Philippines), VII: Herpetofauna of Ilocos Norte Province, Northern Cordillera Mountain Range

We report new distribution records for amphibians and reptiles from 20 localities within the northern Cordillera Mountain Range of Ilocos Norte Province, Luzon Island, Philippines. Together with opportunistic collections of specimens from past surveys, our new data result in a total of 58 amphibian and reptile species for Ilocos Norte Province and the extreme northern Cordilleras—all of which constitute major geographic range extensions. We utilize new data and IUCN formalized conservation assessment criteria to revise the conservation status of many species. Our results highlight the degree to which fundamental distribution data are lacking for Luzon amphibians and reptiles and emphasize the manner in which many current species assessments are based on incomplete data and, as a result, may be sorely misleading. The complex biogeography of Luzon’s herpetofauna remains poorly understood, providing opportunities for future research and conservation efforts once distribution patterns and local abundances are properly documented

Investigation of an Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial and Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting \u3ci\u3eNepenthes\u3c/i\u3e Phytotelmata

Elevation is an important determinant of ecological community composition. It integrates several abiotic features and leads to strong, repeatable patterns of community structure, including changes in the abundance and richness of numerous taxa. However, the influence of elevational gradients on microbes is understudied relative to plants and animals. To compare the influence of elevation on multiple taxa simultaneously, we sampled phytotelm communities within a tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes mindanaoensis) along a gradient from 400 to 1200 m a.s.l. We use a combination of metabarcoding and physical counts to assess diversity and richness of bacteria, micro-eukaryotes, and arthropods, and compare the effect of elevation on community structure to that of regulation by a number of plant factors. Patterns of community structure differed between bacteria and eukaryotes, despite their living together in the same aquatic microhabitats. Elevation influences community composition of eukaryotes to a significantly greater degree than it does bacteria. When examining pitcher characteristics, pitcher dimorphism has an effect on eukaryotes but not bacteria, while variation in pH levels strongly influences both taxa. Consistent with previous ecological studies, arthropod abundance in phytotelmata decreases with elevation, but some patterns of abundance differ between living inquilines and prey