World Species of the Genus Chromoteleia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae, Scelioninae)

The genus Chromoteleia was originally described by William H. Ashmead (1893), based on the colorful type species Chromoteleia semicyanea from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. Currently, six species have been recorded from the New World and a single species from Africa. One fossil species, C. theobaldi Maneval, was reported from Baltic amber (from 40~60 mya), but the status of this species is not clear. These creatures are parasites of insect eggs, but which host they attack is still unclear. Since its original description Chromoteleia has never been comprehensively reviewed. In this study, a total of 27 species are recognized worldwide, of which 21 are new to science. All species are described and illustrated. Several important morphological characters are provided for the identification of the species of Chromoteleia and the geographical distribution records of the genus are expanded to 29 countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. The documentation of the species diversity is crucial to the understanding of the evolution and interrelationships in this genus, as well as informing conservation policies

A semantically enriched taxonomic revision of Gryonoides Dodd, 1920 (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), with a review of the hosts of Teleasinae

Teleasinae are commonly collected scelionids that are the only known egg parasitoids of carabid beetles and therefore play a crucial role in shaping carabid populations in natural and agricultural ecosystems. We review the available host information of Teleasinae, report a new host record, and revise Gryonoides Dodd, 1920, a morphologically distinct teleasine genus. We review the generic concept of Gryonoides and provide diagnoses and descriptions of thirteen Gryonoides species and two varieties: G. glabriceps Dodd, 1920, G. pulchellus Dodd, 1920 (= G. doddi Ogloblin, 1967, syn. nov. and G. pulchricornis Ogloblin, 1967, syn. nov.), G. brasiliensis Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. flaviclavus Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. fuscoclavatus Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. garciai Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. mexicali Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. mirabilicornis Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. obtusus Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. paraguayensis Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. rugosus Masner & Miko, sp. nov., G. uruguayensis Masner & Miko, sp. nov. We treat Gryonoides scutellaris Dodd, 1920, as status uncertain. Gryonoides mirabilicornis Masner & Miko, sp. nov. is the only known teleasine with tyloids on two consecutive flagellomeres, a well-known trait of Sparasionidae. An illustrated identification key to species of Gryonoides, a queryable semantic representation of species descriptions using PhenoScript, and a simple approach for making Darwin Core Archive files in taxonomic revisions accessible are provided.Peer reviewe

Optimization of MicroCT Imaging and Blood Vessel Diameter Quantitation of Preclinical Specimen Vasculature with Radiopaque Polymer Injection Medium

Vascular networks within a living organism are complex, multi-dimensional, and challenging to image capture. Radio-angiographic studies in live animals require a high level of infrastructure and technical investment in order to administer costly perfusion mediums whose signals metabolize and degrade relatively rapidly, diminishing within a few hours or days. Additionally, live animal specimens must not be subject to long duration scans, which can cause high levels of radiation exposure to the specimen, limiting the quality of images that can be captured. Lastly, despite technological advances in live-animal specimen imaging, it is quite difficult to minimize or prevent movement of a live animal, which can cause motion artifacts in the final data output. It is demonstrated here that through the use of postmortem perfusion protocols of radiopaque silicone polymer mediums and ex-vivo organ harvest, it is possible to acquire a high level of vascular signal in preclinical specimens through the use of micro-computed tomographic (microCT) imaging. Additionally, utilizing high-order rendering algorithms, it is possible to further derive vessel morphometrics for qualitative and quantitative analysis

A Molecular Phylogeny of the Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera)

Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) are extremely diverse with more than 23,000 species described and over 500,000 species estimated to exist. This is the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily based on a molecular analysis of 18S and 28S ribosomal gene regions for 19 families, 72 subfamilies, 343 genera and 649 species. The 56 outgroups are comprised of Ceraphronoidea and most proctotrupomorph families, including Mymarommatidae. Data alignment and the impact of ambiguous regions are explored using a secondary structure analysis and automated (MAFFT) alignments of the core and pairing regions and regions of ambiguous alignment. Both likelihood and parsimony approaches are used to analyze the data. Overall there is no impact of alignment method, and few but substantial differences between likelihood and parsimony approaches. Monophyly of Chalcidoidea and a sister group relationship between Mymaridae and the remaining Chalcidoidea is strongly supported in all analyses. Either Mymarommatoidea or Diaprioidea are the sister group of Chalcidoidea depending on the analysis. Likelihood analyses place Rotoitidae as the sister group of the remaining Chalcidoidea after Mymaridae, whereas parsimony nests them within Chalcidoidea. Some traditional family groups are supported as monophyletic (Agaonidae, Eucharitidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Leucospidae, Mymaridae, Ormyridae, Signiphoridae, Tanaostigmatidae and Trichogrammatidae). Several other families are paraphyletic (Perilampidae) or polyphyletic (Aphelinidae, Chalcididae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Tetracampidae and Torymidae). Evolutionary scenarios discussed for Chalcidoidea include the evolution of phytophagy, egg parasitism, sternorrhynchan parasitism, hypermetamorphic development and heteronomy

Skeletal Morphology of Opius dissitus and Biosteres carbonarius (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), with a Discussion of Terminology

The Braconidae, a family of parasitic wasps, constitute a major taxonomic challenge with an estimated diversity of 40,000 to 120,000 species worldwide, only 18,000 of which have been described to date. The skeletal morphology of braconids is still not adequately understood and the terminology is partly idiosyncratic, despite the fact that anatomical features form the basis for most taxonomic work on the group. To help address this problem, we describe the external skeletal morphology of Opius dissitus Muesebeck 1963 and Biosteres carbonarius Nees 1834, two diverse representatives of one of the least known and most diverse braconid subfamilies, the Opiinae. We review the terminology used to describe skeletal features in the Ichneumonoidea in general and the Opiinae in particular, and identify a list of recommend terms, which are linked to the online Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology. The morphology of the studied species is illustrated with SEM-micrographs, photos and line drawings. Based on the examined species, we discuss intraspecific and interspecific morphological variation in the Opiinae and point out character complexes that merit further study

Novel Approach for Creation, Storage and Presentation of Online Information Content

The paper provides an overview of a methodology for creation, storage and presentation of online information content (in World Wide Web environment). It is primarily intended to be utilized by open source content management systems and applications for publication of articles, news, papers etc. Open source software and, in particular, content management systems are broadly used in areas such as agriculture, rural development, public and non-profit sector. The methodology covers processes of content creation and updating in general, storage structure and presentation with consideration for sharing and exchanging possibilities. Authors can benefit from easier content creation process as well as consistent output visibility in real time. Structured and standardized storage structure can simplify development of modules, extensions or application libraries. Moreover, the process of CMS (or application) upgrade or transition to a different one which utilizes the methodology and its standards can be simplified and accelerated as well. Finally, the methodology can bring economic benefits by acceleration of CMS development and publication process

Spatial Data Monitoring and Mobile Applications – Comparison of Methods for Parsing JSON in Android Operating System

The paper generally addresses the issue of processing the JSON format for mobile devices on the Android operating system platform. Implementation has been tested and demonstrated using the processing of an extensive collection of spatial data generated from game movement monitoring (the Game Online application). The potential for use not only in the sphere of agriculture, rural development and environmental protection is in general practically unlimited, and with the growing number and availability of mobile devices the discussed issue gains further relevance. The ways of obtaining current data for the operation of the application are essential for the development of applications intended for mobile devices. As direct access to databases is not possible, it is necessary to transfer preselected data between the client and server using a suitable transfer format. This is catered for by data serialization, where one of the applied forms is the JSON format. Specifically, the paper compares methods of its parsing, i.e. transfer to objects, or, where applicable, collections, which may be utilised in the applications for further processing. The decisive factor here is namely the time which represents, in particular, the duration of the transfer proper

Cross-Platform User Interface of a Web Application in Agrarian Sector

The paper treats the process of the creation of a web application optimal output for mobile devices in the form of a responsive layout with focus on the agrarian web portal. The utilization and testing of user experience (UX) techniques in four steps - UX, research, design and testing - were of great benefit. Two groups of five people representing the task group were employed for the research and testing. The resulting responsive layout was developed with the emphasis on the ergonomic layout of control elements and content, a conservative design, the securing of content accessibility for disabled users and the possibility of fast and simple updating. The resulting knowledge is applicable to web information sources in the agrarian sector (agriculture, food industry, forestry, water supply and distribution) and the development of rural areas. In wider context, this knowledge is valid in general