Three New Reports of Subsocial Tortoise Beetles from South America (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae)

Subsociality is known in 35 species in 10 genera of the chrysomelid subfamilies Cassidinae and Chrysomelinae. In Cassidinae, the behavior is clustered in two tribes, Eugenysini and Mesomphaliini, but unknown biologies of many of these species limit fine-scaled resolution of the origins and diversity of this interesting behavior. We report three new records of subsocial Cassidinae, Eugenysa martae Borowiec in Colombia, Omaspides (Omaspides) clathrata L. in French Guiana, and Paraselenis (S.) aulica in Brazil. Females guard larvae and pupae; larvae retain exuvio-fecal shields in some stages. Longer-term study of P. (S.) aulica on the host Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) revealed that eggs, larvae, and pupae are gregarious and guarded by the female. Larvae lose the defensive exuvio-fecal shields in older instars. Females will mate despite being occupied with brood care. A wasp, Emersonella sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), and a tachinid fly (Diptera) were observed associated with and reared from juveniles. Our report increases the dataset of documented subsocial cassidines to 26 species, with 23 in Mesomphaliini and three in Eugenysini. Em Chrysomelidae a subsocialidade é conhecida para 35 espécies em 10 gêneros nas subfamílias Cassidinae e Chrysomelinae. Em Cassidinae o comportamento é restrito a duas tribos, Eugenysini e Mesomphaliini, mas o desconhecimento da biologia de muitas destas espécies limita uma definição precisa da origem e da diversidade deste comportamento. Neste trabalho apresentamos três novos registros de Cassidinae subsociais, Eugenysa martae Borowiec na Colômbia, Omaspides (Omaspides) clathrata L. na Guiana Francesa, e Paraselenis (S.) aulica no Brasil. As fêmeas cuidam das larvas e das pupas, e as larvas mantêm o escudo exúvio-fecal por alguns estádios. Observações mais prolongadas de P. (S.) aulica em sua planta hospedeira Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) revelaram que ovos, larvas e pupas são gregários e defendidos pela mãe, que as larvas perdem seu escudo exúvio-fecal em estádios mais adiantados e que as fêmeas podem copular durante o cuidado com a prole. Os parasitoides Emersonella sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) e uma espécie de Tachinidae (Diptera) foram obtidos de imaturos de P. (S.) aulica. Nossos registros aumentam para 26 o número de espécies de cassidíneos subsociais, sendo 23 de Mesomphaliini e três de Eugenysini

Variation in a Darwin Wasp (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) Community along an Elevation Gradient in a Tropical Biodiversity Hotspot: Implications for Ecology and Conservation

Understanding how biodiversity varies from place to place is a fundamental goal of ecology and an important tool for halting biodiversity loss. Parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera) are a diverse and functionally important animal group, but spatial variation in their diversity is poorly understood. We survey a community of parasitic wasps (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) using Malaise traps up a mountain in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, and relate the catch to biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics. We find high species richness compared with previous similar studies, with abundance, richness, and diversity peaking at low to intermediate elevation. There is a marked change in community composition with elevation. Habitat factors strongly correlated with elevation also strongly predict changes in the pimpline community, including temperature as well as the density of bamboo, lianas, epiphytes, small trees, and herbs. These results identify several possible surrogates of pimpline communities in tropical forests, which could be used as a tool in conservation. They also contribute to the growing evidence for a typical latitudinal gradient in ichneumonid species richness, and suggest that low to medium elevations in tropical regions will sometimes conserve the greatest number of species locally, but to conserve maximal biodiversity, a wider range of elevations should also be targeted

Assessment of standby power utilisation in New Zealand : a thesis submitted for the degree of Masters of Technology in Energy Management from Massey University

"Standby Power" refers to a product or appliance that is connected to a power source but does not produce any sound or picture, transmit or receive information or is waiting to be switched "on" by a direct or indirect signal from the consumer. This includes the "off" mode, even where there is no remote control. Standby Power is currently a global problem in the developed world and is estimated to be responsible for 1.5 % of total electricity consumption. It contributes 0.6 % (68 million tons) of CO2 emissions from the electricity sector. At the present time, standby power is a relatively new concept with very few statistics available on the standby power consumption in New Zealand. To date New Zealand has not considered standby power to be important. While almost all first world countries are introducing legislation and making active movements toward reducing standby power in new appliances, New Zealand has yet to take action. There is a growing awareness of standby power in New Zealand that has gained some media coverage. However from this study it is clear that although 89% of surveyed consumers had heard of standby power, the general consumer was unaware of the extent to which standby power is emitted through appliances and the amount of power and money it consumes nationally per year. In the midst of a power crisis (at the time of writing, June, 2003), New Zealand has the capability to reduce power consumption by 10%, by turning all appliances off onto standby. Unfortunately, the lack of consumer education in regard to the extent of wastage in standby power in the average New Zealand household inhibits this saving from being made. The possible future directions for New Zealand as a result of this study are as follows. - Legislation needs to be put into place in New Zealand to encourage manufacturers to reduce standby power consumption of new appliances. This will help to bring New Zealand manufacturers up to standard with places like the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan and China, who are already taking active steps to reduce standby power. Legislation in other countries has shown that mandatory legislation is hard to police. A campaign educating the consumer on energy labelling and the cost of standby power teamed with a voluntary manufacturers' scheme to lower standby power consumption (using the worldwide energy star label) would be potentially effective. Previous studies have called for a worldwide standardised standby power labelling scheme. This scheme is seen as being necessary as many New Zealand products are being manufactured overseas. The following changes need to take place to take an active approach to reducing standby power wastage: - Research into the standby consumption of the commercial and industrial sectors within New Zealand. - Improvements in energy labelling. Consumer education and awareness campaign with regard to energy labelling, needs to take place on a public arena. Energy labels need to be simplified so the average New Zealander can understand the energy emitted through standby power on market appliances and the amount that standby power costs both on a nation wide scale and to the individual consumer

Fig. 2 in Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae)

Fig. 2. Life cycle of F. monstrosa. A) Adults on host plant B. sericea; B) mating; C) female ovipositing; D) egg; E) newly hatched larva; F, G) immature larvae; H) mature larva; I) pupa. Scale ¼ 5 mm.Published as part of <i>Flinte, Vivian & de Macêdo, Margarete Valverde, 2004, Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae), pp. 457-465 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 58 (4)</i> on page 460, DOI: 10.1649/629, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104471">http://zenodo.org/record/10104471</a&gt

Fig. 3 in Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae)

Fig. 3. Frequency distribution of the larval instars of F. monstrosa showing four instars.Published as part of <i>Flinte, Vivian & de Macêdo, Margarete Valverde, 2004, Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae), pp. 457-465 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 58 (4)</i> on page 461, DOI: 10.1649/629, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104471">http://zenodo.org/record/10104471</a&gt

Fig. 4 in Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae)

Fig. 4. Climatic diagram for the study area (data from Estação Evaporimétrica Agropecuária Carapebus) showing annual variation of temperature and precipitation. The dotted areas represent dry periods and the black ones very moist periods.Published as part of <i>Flinte, Vivian & de Macêdo, Margarete Valverde, 2004, Biology and Seasonality of Fulcidax monstrosa (F.) (Chrysomelidae: Chlamisinae), pp. 457-465 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 58 (4)</i> on page 463, DOI: 10.1649/629, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104471">http://zenodo.org/record/10104471</a&gt