Insects as Stem Engineers: Interactions Mediated by the Twig-Girdler Oncideres albomarginata chamela Enhance Arthropod Diversity

Background: Ecosystem engineering may influence community structure and biodiversity by controlling the availability of resources and/or habitats used by other organisms. Insect herbivores may act as ecosystem engineers but there is still poor understanding of the role of these insects structuring arthropod communities. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the effect of ecosystem engineering by the stem-borer Oncideres albomarginata chamela on the arthropod community of a tropical dry forest for three consecutive years. The results showed that ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela had strong positive effects on the colonization, abundance, species richness and composition of the associated arthropod community, and it occurred mainly through the creation of a habitat with high availability of oviposition sites for secondary colonizers. These effects cascade upward to higher trophic levels. Overall, ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela was responsible for nearly 95 % of the abundance of secondary colonizers and 82 % of the species richness. Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela is a keystone process structuring an arthropod community composed by xylovores, predators and parasitoids. This study is the first to empirically demonstrate the effect of the ecosystem engineering by stem-boring insects on important attributes o

Additional data on the geographical distribution and adult activity of the diurnal, mimetic plume moth, Oidaematophorus chamelai (Pterophoridae)

Volume: 48Start Page: 71End Page: 7

New Mexican species of the Elaphidiine genus Aneflomorpha Casey, 1912 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

New Mexican species of the elaphidionine genus Aneflomorpha Casey, 1912 are described and ilustrated. New taxa include: Aneflomorpha brevipila sp. nov., Michiacan; A. exilis sp. nov., Chihuahua; A. hovorei sp, nov,. Jalisco; A. longispina sp. nov., Oaxaca; A. longitudinis sp. nov., Chihuahua; A. modica sp. nov., Yucatan and Quintana Roo; A. parvipunctata sp. nov.,Puebla; A. Pueblae sp. nov., Puebla; A. wappesi sp. nov., Nayarit

Biological observations on Psammaecius acbrnatus (Bradley) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

Volume: 35Start Page: 195End Page: 20

Studies on the bionomics of Tragidion armatum LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Volume: 42Start Page: 36End Page: 4