Chemically Mediated Arrestment of the Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, by Volatiles Associated with Exuviae of Conspecifics.

Extracts of the exuviae (cast skins) of nymphal bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) were analyzed for volatile compounds that might contribute to arrestment of adult bed bugs. Four volatile aldehydes, (E)-2-hexenal, 4-oxo-(E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-octenal, and 4-oxo-(E)-2-octenal were consistently detected in the headspace of freshly shed exuviae regardless of the developmental stages from which the exuviae were obtained. Quantification of the aldehydes in the solvent extracts of homogenized fresh, 45- or 99-d aged 5th instar exuviae indicated that the aldehydes are present in the exuviae and dissipate over time, through evaporation or degradation. Microscopic observation of the fifth instar exuviae indicated that the dorsal abdominal glands on the exuviae maintained their pocket-like structures with gland reservoirs, within which the aldehydes might be retained. Two-choice olfactometer studies with the volatiles from exuviae or a synthetic blend mimicking the volatiles indicated that adult bed bugs tend to settle close to sources of the aldehydes. Our results imply that the presence and accumulation of bed bug exuviae and the aldehydes volatilizing from the exuviae might mediate bed bugs' interaction with their microhabitats

Systematic Research on Minute Litter Bugs Dipsocoromorpha With Emphasis on Schizopteridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Dipsocoromorpha, or the minute litter bugs, are a poorly studied and minuscule group of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) with uncertain phylogenetic position, often bizarre morphology, and substantial undescribed biodiversity. A combination of taxonomic revisions, comparative morphological studies, and phylogenetic analyses based on both morphological and molecular data is employed to advance our knowledge of the group. The first chapter taxonomically revises the New World genus Chinannus and describes 26 new species. The second chapter develops and tests a cost-efficient DNA sequencing method for archival specimens. The third chapter uses and refines this method to conduct a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of a very diverse group of dipsocoromorphans, the Corixidea genus group. The fourth chapter taxonomically revises the genus Voragocoris that belongs to the Corixidea genus group, building on the phylogeny inferred in chapter three, and describing seven new species. The fifth chapter conducts a comparative study of abdominal morphology in Dipsocoromorpha, and both standardizes the terminology and proposes primary homology hypotheses, that could be used for a phylogenetic reconstruction. The sixth, and last, chapter presents a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Dipsocoromorpha based on both morphological and molecular data

Data matrix for ingroup analysis

Data matrix for ingroup analysis, representing concatenated nuclear ribosomal and mitochondrial genes and comprising 60 taxa and 18543 position

Data matrix for outgroup analysis

Data matrix for outgroup analysis, representing concatenated nuclear ribosomal and 2 mitochondrial genes and comprising 198 taxa and 6051 position

Hoplonannus australis sp. nov. (Hemiptera, Schizopteridae): amended diagnosis of the genus and first record from South America

Silveira, Diego Dutra, Barcellos, Aline, Knyshov, Alexander (2019): Hoplonannus australis sp. nov. (Hemiptera, Schizopteridae): amended diagnosis of the genus and first record from South America. Zootaxa 4568 (2): 394-400, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4568.2.1

Partitioning scheme for ingroup analysis

Partitioning scheme optimized by PartitionFinder 2.1.

Partitioning scheme for outgroup analysis

Partitioning scheme for outgroup analysi

Synopsis of Schizopteridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Dipsocoromorpha) from the United States, with description of seven new species from the US and Mexico

Because species diversity of the small true bug family Schizopteridae is greatest in tropical and subtropical areas, it is not surprising that only four species have been described from the United States. As part of a larger project on the taxonomy and phylogenetics of Schizopteridae, 178 specimens from the United States were examined. This material contained representatives of the previously described species Glyptocombus saltator Heidemann, 1906, Corixidea major McAtee & Malloch, 1925, Nannocoris arenarius Blatchley, 1926, and Schizoptera bispina McAtee & Malloch, 1925, but also six undescribed species. These new taxa are described as Glyptocombus halbertae sp. n., Glyptocombus suteri sp. n., Nannocoris anophorus sp. n., Nannocoris brevipilus sp. n., Schizoptera (Cantharocoris) rileyisp. n., and Schizoptera (Schizoptera) henryisp. n. Habitus images and genitalic illustrations of the previously described and the new species are provided as well as a map showing distribution ranges of these species in the United States and Mexico. To provide a comprehensive treatment of the small genus Glyptocombus Heidemann, 1906, Glyptocombus mexicanus sp. n. is also described that, to our knowledge, occurs only in Mexico, and the female of one additional undescribed Glyptocombus species is documented from Mexico

Data from: Cost-efficient high throughput capture of museum arthropod specimen DNA using PCR-generated baits

Gathering genetic data for rare species is one of the biggest remaining obstacles in modern phylogenetics, particularly for megadiverse groups such as arthropods. Next generation sequencing techniques allow for sequencing of short DNA fragments contained in preserved specimens >20 years old, but approaches such as whole genome sequencing are often too expensive for projects including many taxa. Several methods of reduced representation sequencing have been proposed that lower the cost of sequencing per specimen, but many remain costly because they involve synthesizing nucleotide probes and target hundreds of loci. These datasets are also frequently unique for each project and thus generally incompatible with other similar datasets. Here, we explore utilization of in‐house generated DNA baits to capture commonly utilized mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA loci from insect museum specimens of various age and preservation types without the a priori need to know the sequence of the target loci. Both within species and cross‐species capture are explored, on preserved specimens ranging in age from one to 54 years old. We found most samples produced sufficient amounts of data to assemble the nuclear ribosomal rRNA genes and near complete mitochondrial genomes and produce well‐resolved phylogenies in line with expected results. The dataset obtained can be straightforwardly combined with the large cache of existing Sanger‐sequencing‐generated data built up over the past 30 years and targeted loci can be easily modified to those commonly used in different taxa. Furthermore, the protocol we describe allows for inexpensive data generation (as low as ~$35/sample), of at least 20 kilobases per specimen, for specimens at least as old as ~1965, and can be easily conducted in most laboratories. If widely applied, this technique will accelerate the accurate resolution of the Tree of Life especially on non‐model organisms with limited existing genomic resources