Metastable Markov chains: from the convergence of the trace to the convergence of the finite-dimensional distributions

We consider continuous-time Markov chains which display a family of wells at the same depth. We provide sufficient conditions which entail the convergence of the finite-dimensional distributions of the order parameter to the ones of a finite state Markov chain. We also show that the state of the process can be represented as a time-dependent convex combination of metastable states, each of which is supported on one well

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

First Record of a Native Heteropteran Preying on the Introduced Eucalyptus Pest, Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae), in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Paracrias pluteus (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) in Brazil: new distribution and host records, and with a new host group for Paracrias

Bruchines damage agricultural crops and trees, reducing the quantity and quality of the seeds. The aim of this study is to record, for the first time, Paracrias pluteus as a parasitoid on the immature stages of Sennius spodiogaster and Sennius cupreatus on seeds of Melanoxylon brauna in Teixeiras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Paracrias pluteus is a parasitoid without previous host records and known only from Costa Rica. Specimens obtained in this study add to knowledge of the biology of Paracrias species with a new host group (Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), and the first host record and a new distribution for Paracrias pluteus

Three new species of Horismenus Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) associated with seed pods of Pithecellobium dulce (Fabaceae)

Horismenus abnormicaulis sp. nov., H. patensis sp. nov. and H. zuleidae sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), all authored by Pikart, Costa & Hansson, are described from material obtained from seed pods of Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. (Fabaceae) collected in Northeastern Brazil. The seed pods were infested with larvae of Coleoptera (Chrysomelidae (Bruchinae) and Curculionidae). The associations of the Horismenus species and the beetle larvae have not been established. Morphological similarities between these new species and previously described species with host known suggest that H. patensis and H. zuleidae are primary parasitoids of Bruchinae, whereas H. abnormicaulis may act as a hyperparasitoid on other Horismenus species. The three species are compared with similar species of Horismenus

A survey for potential biological control agents of Pereskia aculeata Miller (Cactaceae) in Brazil reveals two new species of Horismenus Walker (Hymenoptera : Eulophidae)

This paper deals with the description of two new species of Horismenus Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from Brazil, parasitoids of larvae of Adetus analis (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Both species are similar to Horismenus steirastomae (Girault), a species that also parasitizes cerambycids. Adetus analis is a pest of Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz (Cucurbitaceae), a minor crop in Brazil, Argentina and U.S.A., but also feeds in stems of Pereskia aculeata Miller (Cac-Taceae), an ornamental plant that has become a problematic weed species in Africa, where it was introduced. The two new Horismenus species are described, diagnosed, and compared to H. steirastomae

New record of grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae & Romaleidae) defoliators and population dynamics of insects on crops of Heliconia spp in the Amazon

Despite the expansion of floriculture, little is known about insects associated to this crop in northern Brazil. The objective was to identify the main species of defoliator grasshoppers, associated to crops of Heliconia spp. in the northeastern region of State of Pará, Brazil , in the municipalities of Castanhal, Belém and Benevides, from Aug 2004 to Mar 2005. Representatives with higher abundances in these municipalities were the orders Coleoptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera and Orthoptera. The collected species of Orthoptera were Cornops frenatum frenatum (Marshall) and Eutropidacris cristata L. (Orthoptera: Acrididae), Prionolopha serrata L. and Chromacris speciosa Thunberg (Orthoptera: Romaleidae), which present a substantial potential to damage heliconias crop in northeastern Pará, Brazil

Antrocephalus mitys (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) in laboratory cultures of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and possible role in biological control of Ephestia cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Ephestia cautella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a cosmopolitan pest of stored products. It was found abundantly in a yellow mealworm mass rearing facility in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil feeding on wheat flour and associated with a chalcid parasitoid. This wasp was identified as Antrocephalus mitys (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), a pupal parasitoid of moth stored products pests. In the laboratory, E. cautella pupae were successfully parasitized by A. mitys and fertile offspring were obtained. The presence of A. mitys in the mealworm colony suggests that this chalcid is adapted to artificial environments and has the potential to be deployed as a biological control agent in postharvest stored product facilities.Ephestia cautella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) é uma praga cosmopolita de produtos armazenados. Esta foi encontrada em abundância em uma criação massal de tenébrio em Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil alimentando-se em farelo de trigo associado com um parasitoide chalcidídeo. Esta vespa foi identificada como Antrocephalus mitys (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), parasitoide de pupas de mariposas praga de produtos armazenados. Em laboratório, pupas de E. cautella foram parasitadas com sucesso por A. mitys e descendentes férteis foram obtidos. A ocorrência de A. mitys na criação de tenébrio sugere que este chalcidídeo está adaptado a ambientes artificiais e possui potencial para ser utilizado como controlador biológico