Alekxandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn - 75th birthday

Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn (Александр Павлович Расницын) is a well-known Russian zoologist and palaeontologist, one of the leaders of the Russian school of palaeoentomology. He was on born on 24th September 1936 in Moscow, where he has lived ever since. Even as a child he was fascinated by animals, especially insects. Such interests resulted in his attending the meetings of the Circle of Young Biologists, which was active at the Moscow Zoo. The Circle was a breeding ground for future scientists, including zoologists well-known both in Russia and worldwide. In all probability, it was then that Professor Rasnitsyn developed the character trait that allowed him to gain insight into the heart of biological processes, as well as his habit of planning and actively participating in field research projects. These invaluable characteristics he has retained until this day[...

Relationships within Aphidomorpha on the basis of thorax morphology

The aim of this monograph is to examine the skeleton of alate morphs of aphids. Drawings of 24 aphid species in dorsal, ventral and lateral view were prepared on the basis of three-dimensional preparations preserved in glycerol. The morphology of head and thorax of the representatives of all aphid families and most aphid tribes was studied. An attempt was made to reconstruct the phylogeny of aphids on the basis of thus obtained morphological data. An analysis of cladograms has shown that there is no phylogenetic relation between Adelgidae and Phylloxeridae. Within viviparous aphids, two developmental lines can be distinguished: Hormaphididae, Pemphigidae, and Phloeomyzidae on the one hand, and Mindaridae, Thelaxidae, Anoeciidae, Drepanosiphidae, Greenideidae, Lachnidae, and Aphididae on the other. An analysis of the direction of changes in the skeleton of Sternorrhyncha was undertaken. It has been established that, with regard to morphology, Aleyrodomorpha constitute a distinctly separate group. At the same times, a close relationship between Aphidomorpha and Coccomorpha has been confirmed. Psyllomorpha are a sister group of aphids and scale insects

An Early Jurassic insect fauna in the Holy Cross Mountains

This note reports on a new locality of Early Jurassic insects in Poland and offers a preliminary list of its entomofauna

In memoriam - Yuri Aleksandrovicz Popov

On 16th November 2016, Yuri Alexandrovich Popov, the world-renowned palaeontologist passed away. His specialisms were the morphology, taxonomy and phylogeny of insects, particularly Heteroptera and Coleorrhyncha. His work was devoted to both modern and fossil insects. [fragm. tekstu

The forewing of the Aphis fabae (Scopoli 1763) (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha): a morphological and histological study

Dorsal and ventral sides of the forewing of Aphis fabae (Scopoli 1763) (Sternorrhyncha, Hemiptera) were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Reinforcement elements on their surface as well as scale-like elements were described. Using histological methods, cross-sections of the material were done. They showed a two-layered membrane with a circular foramen inside. The course of veins and places of their bifurcation were followed. Common stem of radius (R), media (M), and cubitus anterior (CuA) veins were composed of separate tracheae, which ran separately at the beginning, then continued in a single tunnel, and finally disappeared. Nerves were not observed. Neither were tracheae visible on the further course of those veins. The presence of a devoid-of-trachea costal vein was confirmed. Under scanning electron microscope, convex reinforcements on dorsal side of the wing turned out to be more sclerotized parts of chitin, not giving a zigzag-like profile of the wing on sections. In this paper, we show for the first time a cross-section of a very delicate wing of an aphid representative

Wojciechaphis andrei gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aphidomorpha, Drepanosiphidae, Phyllaphidinae), a new aphid genus from Baltic amber

Here we describe a new aphid genus and species Wojciechaphis andrei gen. et sp. nov. belonging to the extant family Drepanosiphidae, also known from Baltic amber (Eocene). The first adult apterous viviparous female of Mengeaphis glandulosa (MENGE, 1856) is described too

Polyphyly of the extinct family Oviparosiphidae and its implications forinferring aphid evolution (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha)

Aphidoidea, the so-called "true aphids" are one of the most challenging groups in terms of solving the phylogenetic relationships. Morphology-based analyses were strongly affected by widespread homoplasy, while the molecular-based attempts struggled with the lack of sufficient phylogenetic signal. Despite significant improvements, the higher classification still remains unresolved and rather controversial. However, the use of the fossil record, one of the most valuable sources of information, was mainly limited to calibration of a phylogenetic tree, without a direct inclusion into the analysis. The extinct family Oviparosiphidae has long been considered as the common ancestor of all recent Aphidoidea and it was used as a calibration point in several analyses, but it has been never analyzed in a phylogenetic context. The family has been treated as a monophyletic group purely based on the simultaneous presence of two abdominal structures, ovipositor and siphunculi. However, it has been shown recently that at least one more extinct lineage, present at the same time, was characterized by the same features. For these reasons, we performed a maximum parsimony analysis using morphological data for extinct aphid taxa to prove the monophyly of Oviparosiphidae. Our analysis shows that the presumed ancestor lineage of recent aphids is a polyphyletic group. Our results support the hypothesis of an early Mesozoic rapid radiation of aphids, which led to several different lineages characterized by both ovipositor and siphunculi. The results indicate the necessity of examining the other extinct families, and shows that the diversity of aphids before the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution (KTR) was higher than expected. Even though there is not enough data to perform a formal analysis, fossils seem to suggest a significant impact of the KTR on aphid diversification. Additionally, we have made a redescription of two genera and description of a new species, Vitimaphis subridens sp. nov

Morphological and histological study of the forewing of Aleyrodes proletella (Linnaeus 1758) (Sternorrhyncha, Hemiptera) with a comparative analysis of forewings among Sternorrhyncha infraorders

Identification of whiteflies is based mainly on larval stages and generally very little is known about wings of these insects. Therefore, both sides of the forewings of Aleyrodes proletella were studied using histological methods, light and scanning electron microscopes. Studies confirm the occurrence of only three veins on forewings: the costal, radial and anal ones; only the anal vein lies under the anal fold. A campaniform and trichoid sensilla are present. The shape of wax secretions and wing margins is described. The comparative analysis of forewing structures contains new data for all Sternorrhyncha infraorders. The current results confirm the monophyly of the group, but place aphids closer to psyllids. The analysis of forewing base indicates that its general model is similar among Sternorrhyncha, but there occur some intergroup differences. Ways of wing folding depend on the structure of thorax

Revised concept of the fossil genus Oviparosiphum Shaposhnikov, 1979 with the description of a new genus (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha,Aphidomorpha)

This paper presents a revision of the aphid genus Oviparosiphum, which is known from the Cretaceous period. Redescriptions of two species: O. jakovlevi Shaposhnikov, 1979 and O. baissense Shaposhnikov & Wegierek, 1989 are made, and an updated diagnosis of this genus is provided. Oviparosiphum baissense is the type species of a newly described genus Archeoviparosiphum gen. n. Five other species of Oviparosiphum are also transferred to the new genus. The basis for their separation from Oviparosiphum is the structure of the siphunculi and ovipositor. A key is provided to the genera of Oviparosiphidae

An annotaded checklist of the Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidomorpha) of Poland

The paper presents a comprehensive compilation of 764 taxa (species and subspecies), distributed over 167 genera, belonging to 17 subfamilies, three families and three superfamilies of Aphidomorpha recorded to date from Poland. The systematic positions of 19 taxa have been revised in accordance with recent changes in nomenclature. The presence in the Polish aphidofauna of Drepanosiphum oregonensis and Coloradoa huculaki, previously included without any distribution data in checklists of Polish aphids, has been confirmed. One species Sitobion (Sitobion) alopecuri is recognized as being new to Poland. At least 44 species (6% of local fauna of Aphidomorpha) are alien to Poland; among them 11 species collected from plants imported or cultivated in indoor conditions are listed