A catalogue of aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) from India

A catalogue of aphidiine parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) associated with various aphids species occurring in India was compiled. The present catalogue with 125 species under 22 genera has been further reinforced with not only all the latest taxonomic changes but also host names, host plants, distribution in India etc

Identification and description of Indian parasitic bee genus Sphecodes Latreille 1804, (Halictidae: Hymenoptera)

The present study provides an updated knowledge on taxonomy of three important species of Sphecodes Latreille, 1804 which were collected from different parts of India. Three species viz., Sphecodes iridipennis Smith 1879, S. gibbus Smith 1853, S. crassicornis Smith 1879 are redescribed with illustrations, genitalic features and measurements of their morphological features. An annotated checklist of species Sphecodes from India also provided

Mining bee Andrena (Agandrena) agilissima (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae): A new record from India with morphological and molecular notes

The mining bee Andrena agilissima (Scopoli, 1770), is recorded for the first time in India from the western agro-climatic zone of its Punjab state. This is the first account of morphological and molecular characteristics of A. agilissima. This new record now increases the number of mining bees known in India to 21. Taxonomic commentsand metric values of 40 morphological characters have been presented. The mean values for body length, head width, compound eye length, median ocellus diameter, forewing length and hamuli number were 14.04±0.04 mm, 4.26±0.003 mm, 2.327±0.008 mm, 0.255±0.005 mm, 12.75±0.022 mm and 17.00±0.00, respectively. Using thestandard barcoding protocols, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 marker (standard DNA barcode region) based 658 bp DNA barcode sequence of the species has been established, as a first step towards the DNA barcode library of solitary bees of Punjab. The barcode sequence generated for the species has been registered by Gen- Bank, National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under accession ‘KT960836’ and Barcode of Life Data (BOLD) Systems under Barcode Index Number ‘BOLD:AAY6909’. The floral sources for A. agilissima in Punjab are also provided. The results can be used to further study the races/ecotypes in different parts of country, habitat management studies, plant-pollinator interactions and in conservation programmes for the species. Further, the precise identification of A. agilissima and the inventory of its foraging plants would provide new opportunities for its potential use as pollinator of crops

Distribution, Host Range and Bionomics of Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (Linnaeus, 1761) a Polyphagous Aphid in Aquatic Vegetables

The present study records the occurrence of water lily aphid, Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (Linn, 1971) on different aquatic plants from Varanasi and adjoining regions, Uttar Pradesh, India for the fi rst time. Both nymphs and adults prefer to feed on petiole, leaf lamina and buds towards terminal portion of different aquatic plants. They suck the cell sap resulting in curling of leaves, stunted plant growth with lower number of fruits in water chestnut. Further, the honey dew deposited on the leaves favours the development of black sooty-mould and hinders the normal photosynthetic activity of the plants. Infestation of aphid started in the region on water chestnut during last week of October (1.35 aphids leaf-1) coinciding with the initiation of winter in the region and gradually increased with highest peak (21.95 aphids leaf-1) during fourth week of January. Amongst the different aquatic host plants under study in the region, olfactometer study showed significantly highest number of R. nymphaeae (28%) attraction towards lotus followed by of water chestnut (21.3%) and water lily (20%) and the least was with water hyacinth (4%). Amongst the biopesticides tested, L. lecanii @ 5 g lit-1was found most promising with lowest median lethal time (31.09 h) followed by neem oil (1%) (41.59 h) and M. anisopliae (43.95 h)

Dynamics of Hot QCD Matter -- Current Status and Developments

The discovery and characterization of hot and dense QCD matter, known as Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), remains the most international collaborative effort and synergy between theorists and experimentalists in modern nuclear physics to date. The experimentalists around the world not only collect an unprecedented amount of data in heavy-ion collisions, at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York, USA, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland but also analyze these data to unravel the mystery of this new phase of matter that filled a few microseconds old universe, just after the Big Bang. In the meantime, advancements in theoretical works and computing capability extend our wisdom about the hot-dense QCD matter and its dynamics through mathematical equations. The exchange of ideas between experimentalists and theoreticians is crucial for the progress of our knowledge. The motivation of this first conference named "HOT QCD Matter 2022" is to bring the community together to have a discourse on this topic. In this article, there are 36 sections discussing various topics in the field of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and related phenomena that cover a snapshot of the current experimental observations and theoretical progress. This article begins with the theoretical overview of relativistic spin-hydrodynamics in the presence of the external magnetic field, followed by the Lattice QCD results on heavy quarks in QGP, and finally, it ends with an overview of experiment results.Comment: Compilation of the contributions (148 pages) as presented in the `Hot QCD Matter 2022 conference', held from May 12 to 14, 2022, jointly organized by IIT Goa & Goa University, Goa, Indi

First record of subgenus Thao Tsuneki, 1982 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae Crabronini) from India: a new subspecies and a key to all subspecies of Crossocerus (Thao) nitidicorpus Tsuneki

Saini, Varun, Dey, Debjani (2022): First record of subgenus Thao Tsuneki, 1982 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae Crabronini) from India: a new subspecies and a key to all subspecies of Crossocerus (Thao) nitidicorpus Tsuneki. Zootaxa 5159 (1): 117-124, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5159.1.

Two new fig wasp species of genus Sycoscapter Saunders, 1883 (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae) with a key to species of the genus from India

Two new species of non-pollinating fig wasp genus Sycoscapter Saunders, 1883 namely Sycoscapter benghalensis Pramanik & Dey, sp. nov. collected from Ficus benghalensis and S. benjaminae Pramanik & Dey, sp. nov. collected from F. benjamina are described and illustrated. A diagnostic key is presented to distinguish both sexes of 11 known Sycoscapter species reported from India including the new species. Further the affinity of males and females of Sycoscapter species to closely related genera of subfamily Sycoryctinae is also discussed

FIGURES 21 – 30 in Redescription of the fig wasp genus Sycophilodes Joseph (Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Epichrysomallinae) with description of a new species from India

FIGURES 21 – 30. Sycophilodes uluberiaensis Pramanik & Dey sp. nov. ♀ paratype. 21, habitus, lateral view; 22, head, frontal view; 23, head, dorsal view; 24, antenna; 25, mandible; 26, mesosoma, lateral view; 27, mesosoma, dorsal view; 28, propodeum; 29, fore wing venation; 30, postmarginal and stigmal vein of fore wing (enlarged)

Fuzzy periodic review system with fuzzy random variable demand

In this paper, a periodic review inventory system has been analyzed in a mixed imprecise and uncertain environment where fuzziness and randomness appear simultaneously. A model has been developed with customer demand assumed to be a fuzzy random variable. The lead-time has been assumed to be a constant. The lead-time demand and the lead-time plus one period's demand have also been assumed to be fuzzy random variables. A methodology has been developed to determine the optimal inventory level and the optimal period of review such that the total expected annual cost in the fuzzy sense is minimized. A numerical example has been presented to illustrate the model.Fuzzy sets Periodic review system Fuzzy random variable Possibilistic mean value

A fuzzy random continuous review inventory system

A fuzzy random continuous review system has been presented in this paper with the annual customer demand assumed to be a uniformly distributed continuous fuzzy random variable. Besides the reorder point and the production lot size, the setup cost and the 'out of control' probability for a production process have been assumed to be control parameters in the model. Investments to reduce the setup cost and improve the process quality have been incorporated into the total cost in this regard. A methodology has been proposed to minimize this cost and it has been illustrated by way of a numerical example.Continuous review system Fuzzy random variable Uniform distribution Possibilistic mean