Las Especies sudamericanas del género "Neralsia" Cameron, 1883 (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Figitinae): estudio del material tipo

Les espècies sud-americanes del gènere Neralsia Cameron, 1883 (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Figitinae): estudi del material tipus Neralsia Cameron, 1883, és un gènere de distribució americana present tant a la regió neàrtica com neotropical. Aquest treball és la primera contribució taxonòmica que fem del gènere. Fa referència a l'estudi de les 12 espècies descrites de Neralsia a Sud-amèrica. Neralsia fiebrigi Hedicke, 1914, N. ciliatinervis (Kieffer, 1910) i N. acuminata (Dettmer, 1932) han de ser considerades com incertae sedis. S'estableix la sinonímia entre N. splendens (Borgmeier, 1935) i N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909). Es transfereix Xyalophora albipennis Kieffer, 1909, al gènere Neralsia, N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909) n. comb. Per tot això, es consideren vàlides vuit espècies: N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. bogotensis (Kieffer, 1909), N. claripennis (Dettmer, 1932), N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909), N. flavidipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. pilosa (Borgmeier, 1935), N. striaticeps (Kieffer, 1909) i N. suffecta (Dettmer, 1932). Es redescriuen aquestes espècies ja que les descripcions dels autors anteriors presenten, en general, deficiències diagnòstiques.Neralsia Cameron, 1883, es un género de distribución americana presente tanto en la región neártica como neotropical. Este trabajo es la primera contribución taxonómica que realizamos del género. Se refiere al estudio de las 12 especies descritas de Neralsia en Sudamérica. Neralsia fiebrigi Hedicke, 1914, N. ciliatinervis (Kieffer, 1910) y N. acuminata (Dettmer, 1932) han de ser consideradas como incertae sedis. Se establece la sinonimia entre N. splendens (Borgmeier, 1935) y N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909). Se transfiere Xyalophora albipennis Kieffer, 1909, al género Neralsia, N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909) n. comb. Por todo ello, se consideran válidas ocho especies: N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. bogotensis (Kieffer, 1909), N. claripennis (Dettmer, 1932), N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909), N. flavidipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. pilosa (Borgmeier, 1935), N. striaticeps (Kieffer, 1909) y N. suffecta (Dettmer, 1932). Se redescriben dichas especies puesto que las descripciones de los autores anteriores presentan, por lo general, deficiencias diagnósticas.The South American species of the genus Neralsia Cameron, 1883 (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Figitinae): a study of the type material The genus Neralsia Cameron, 1883, has an American distribution and it is present in both Neotropical and Nearctic regions. The present work is our first contribution to the taxonomy of this genus and deals with the 12 species of Neralsia described from South America. Of these, Neralsia fiebrigi Hedicke, 1914, Neralsia ciliatinervis (Kieffer, 1910) and Neralsia acuminata (Dettmer, 1932) have to be considered «incertae sedis». The synonymy of Neralsia splendens (Borgmeier, 1935) and N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909) is established. The species Xyalophora albipennis Kieffer, 1909, is transferred to Neralsia as N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909) n. comb. In conclusion, 8 of the 12 previously known species are considered valid: N. albipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. bogotensis (Kieffer, 1909), N. claripennis (Dettmer, 1932), N. fossulata (Kieffer, 1909), N. flavidipennis (Kieffer, 1909), N. pilosa (Borgmeier, 1935), N. striaticeps (Kieffer, 1909) and N. suffecta (Dettmer, 1932). These species are redescribed here because the original descriptions generally have diagnostic deficiencies

Disease Severity in Patients Infected with Leishmania mexicana Relates to IL-1β

Leishmania mexicana can cause both localized (LCL) and diffuse (DCL) cutaneous leishmaniasis, yet little is known about factors regulating disease severity in these patients. We analyzed if the disease was associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-1β (−511), CXCL8 (−251) and/or the inhibitor IL-1RA (+2018) in 58 Mexican mestizo patients with LCL, 6 with DCL and 123 control cases. Additionally, we analyzed the in vitro production of IL-1β by monocytes, the expression of this cytokine in sera of these patients, as well as the tissue distribution of IL-1β and the number of parasites in lesions of LCL and DCL patients. Our results show a significant difference in the distribution of IL-1β (−511 C/T) genotypes between patients and controls (heterozygous OR), with respect to the reference group CC, which was estimated with a value of 3.23, 95% CI = (1.2, 8.7) and p-value = 0.0167), indicating that IL-1β (−511 C/T) represents a variable influencing the risk to develop the disease in patients infected with Leishmania mexicana. Additionally, an increased in vitro production of IL-1β by monocytes and an increased serum expression of the cytokine correlated with the severity of the disease, since it was significantly higher in DCL patients heavily infected with Leishmania mexicana. The distribution of IL-1β in lesions also varied according to the number of parasites harbored in the tissues: in heavily infected LCL patients and in all DCL patients, the cytokine was scattered diffusely throughout the lesion. In contrast, in LCL patients with lower numbers of parasites in the lesions, IL-1β was confined to the cells. These data suggest that IL-1β possibly is a key player determining the severity of the disease in DCL patients. The analysis of polymorphisms in CXCL8 and IL-1RA showed no differences between patients with different disease severities or between patients and controls

Farmland biodiversity and agricultural management on 237 farms in 13 European and two African regions

Farmland is a major land cover type in Europe and Africa and provides habitat for numerous species. The severe decline in farmland biodiversity of the last decades has been attributed to changes in farming practices, and organic and low-input farming are assumed to mitigate detrimental effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity. Since the farm enterprise is the primary unit of agricultural decision making, management-related effects at the field scale need to be assessed at the farm level. Therefore, in this study, data were collected on habitat characteristics, vascular plant, earthworm, spider, and bee communities and on the corresponding agricultural management in 237 farms in 13 European and two African regions. In 15 environmental and agricultural homogeneous regions, 6–20 farms with the same farm type (e.g., arable crops, grassland, or specific permanent crops) were selected. If available, an equal number of organic and non-organic farms were randomly selected. Alternatively, farms were sampled along a gradient of management intensity. For all selected farms, the entire farmed area was mapped, which resulted in total in the mapping of 11 338 units attributed to 194 standardized habitat types, provided together with additional descriptors. On each farm, one site per available habitat type was randomly selected for species diversity investigations. Species were sampled on 2115 sites and identified to the species level by expert taxonomists. Species lists and abundance estimates are provided for each site and sampling date (one date for plants and earthworms, three dates for spiders and bees). In addition, farmers provided information about their management practices in face-to-face interviews following a standardized questionnaire. Farm management indicators for each farm are available (e.g., nitrogen input, pesticide applications, or energy input). Analyses revealed a positive effect of unproductive areas and a negative effect of intensive management on biodiversity. Communities of the four taxonomic groups strongly differed in their response to habitat characteristics, agricultural management, and regional circumstances. The data has potential for further insights into interactions of farmland biodiversity and agricultural management at site, farm, and regional scale

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Paradettmeria clavicornis Kieffer 1908, n. comb.

Paradettmeria clavicornis (Kieffer, 1908) n. comb. (Figs. 1–7) Trisseucoela clavicornis Kieffer, 1908: 39 Tropideucoila clavicornis; Weld, 1952: 196 Paradettmeria clavicornis; new combination Tropideucoila weldi Costa Lima, 1940: 17; Loiácono & Díaz, 1977: 101; Guimarães et al., 2003: 5; new synonymy Redescription. Female. Total length (in lateral view) 1.85–1.94 mm. Head, mesosoma and metasoma smooth, shiny and reddish brown. Antennae, wing veins and legs yellowish brown. Setae sparse, short and white. Antennae (Fig. 2) stout, total length 1.35 mm, relative length of antennal articles 1.5: 1: 1.5: 1: 1: 1: 2.5: 2.5: 2.5: 2.5: 2.5: 2.5: 4. Ratio of length to width of mesoscutum in dorsal view 9: 13; length-width of scutellum, 8: 7; length-width of scutellar plate, 5.5 - 3, wide of sacutellar plate- wide of scutellum 3: 7. Total length of fore wings (Fig. 6) 1.67 mm, ratio of length-width of marginal cell, 6: 4.5. FIGURES 1–7. Paradettmeria clavicornis . Female: 1, head (in frontal view) (228 x, 100 u m); 2, flagellum (179 x, 100 u m); 3, pronotal plate (391 x, 20 u m); 4, mesosoma and base of metasoma (in lateral view) (168 x, 100 u m); 5, mesoscutum and scutellum (in dorsal view) (215 x, 100 u m); 6, forewing (Scale: 0.25 mm); 7, metacoxa (261 x, 100 u m). Male. Unknown. Distribution. Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina (Kieffer, 1908; Costa Lima, 1940; Loiácono & Díaz, 1977). Hosts. Diptera Lonchaeidae: Neosilba pendula (in Costa Lima, 1940). The larvae bore mature fruits and tubers hastening its decomposition (Artigas, 1994). Material examined. NICARAGUA. Chinandega. Holotype female of Trisseucoela clavicornis, without date, Baker col. (CAS ﹟ 10521). BRAZIL. Distrito Federal. Campo Grande , Holotype female of Tropideucoila weldi, 14 -X- 1937, Gomes col. (UFRJ). Other material examined. BRAZIL. Goiás. 1 female, 25 -X- 1998; 1 female, 21 -X- 1998 (mounted for electron microscope); 1 female, 22 -XI- 1998; 1 female, 6 -V- 2000, Marchiori col. (Malaise trap) (MLP).Published as part of Gallardo, Fabiana E. & Díaz, Norma B., 2011, A new genus of Zaeucoilini (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae, Eucoilinae) from Neotropical Region, pp. 59-63 in Zootaxa 2830 on pages 61-63, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20775

Abejorros sociales de la región Neotropical (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

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