Notes on the Vanhorniidae (Hymenoptera)

The biology and taxonomy of Vanhornia eucnemidarum Crawford, a rare and specialized parasitoid of Eucnemidae, is reviewed. The position of the genus Vanhornia as a separate family is reaffirmed

Annotated List of Indiana Scolytidae (Coleoptera)

A list of 80 species of Indiana Scolytidae (bark and ambrosia beetles) is presented. Notes on known Indiana hosts and distribution in the state are included for each species

Review of Adaptations of Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)

Mutillid wasps are active and conspicuous insects, but their interactions with each other and with other animals are seldom observed. Mostly indirect evidence is used to postulate that an array of traits represents adaptations to exploit ground-nesting, aggressive, often highly dispersed hosts. The massive exoskeleton protects the parasitoid invading nests of biting and stinging hosts; certain unrelated parasitoids attacking the same hosts are similarly armored. Female aptery occurs in mutillids and in many other wasps attacking soil-dwelling hosts. In at least two mutillid lineages, female aptery apparently led to phoretic copulation, which led in turn to selection for large size in males. Hosts are often highly dispersed and vulnerable for only a short time; this mandates prolonged searching in exposed habitats, which may have selected for a long life span and a remarkable defensive repertoire, including a powerful sting, warning squeaking, membership in mimetic complexes of warning coloration, chemical deterrents, and a variety of evasive tactics

A Maple Wood Wasp, \u3ci\u3eXiphydria Maculata,\u3c/i\u3e and its Insect Enemies (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriiade)

A xiphydriid wood wasp, Xiphydria mandata, is very common in branches ofAeer spp. in Indiana. and is frequently the proximate cause of branches falling from shade trees. X. maculata is attacked by seven parasitoids: Alliaells bllrquei (Aulacidae), A. digitalis, Rhyssella nitida (Ichneumonidae), Xiphydriophagus meyerinckii (Pteromalidae), Coeloides rossicus betulae (Braconidae), Spathills elegans (Braconidae), and Orussus sp. (Orussidae). The latter three parasitoids prior to this study had no confirmed hosts; Xiphydriophagus is new to N. America. This parasitoid complex is compared with that of the Palaearctic Xiphydria camelus, showing a series of pairs of closely related Palaearctic and Nearctic forms

Comparative Biology of Temperate and Subtropical Bark and Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae, Platypodidae) in Indiana and Florida

Bark and ambrosia beetles were compared from two intensively studied sites. The Indiana site produced 58 species, the Florida site 57 species; 17 species occurred at both sites. Much greater plant host diversity at the Indiana site seems balanced by more favorable climate at the Florida site. There are more exotic species at the Florida site. Different patterns in feeding habits and mating habits of the beetles are related to the climate and history of the sites in complex ways. A list of the and their habits is included

New Distribution Records of Scolytidae From Indiana and Florida

Twenty-three new state records are provided for Florida and Indiana Scolytidae; 92 species are now known from Indiana, 112 from Florida

The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)

A list is provided of 113 species of bees and their 157 known floral hosts at the Archbold Biological Station(ABS), a 2105 ha site on the Lake Wales Ridge in Highlands County in south-central Florida. This is more species than might be expected at a single site so far south in Florida, based on previous studies in the Miami area and Everglades National Park, but fewer species than would be expected in an upland area of similar size with open habitats in north Florida, the mid-Atlantic states, or the upper Midwest. The small size of the fauna might be correlated with the absence of species that require a cold period in their life cycle, those that require clay or other heavy soils, those that require mesic woodlands and those that require abundant host plants in certain groups that are poorly represented on the ABS, such as Rosaceae. The natural history of southeastern bees is not known in enough detail to ascribe these causes to the individual species that are missing from the ABS fauna. In terms of bee taxa, the relatively small diversity at this site can be mainly attributed to a very poor representation of the genus Andrena (3 species), a poor representation of the genus Lasioglossum (13 species), and a poor representation of the entire family Apidae (22 species). The bee fauna of the ABS is mostly composed of species that occur (or may be expected to occur) through much of the southeastern Coastal Plain, combined with species that are widely distributed in eastern North America. In addition to these elements, there appear to be at least a few species or populations that may be relics of the dry savannahs that stretched across southern North America in parts of the Pleistocene or in the late Pliocene. There is only one species that appears to have come up from tropical Florida or the West Indies. There is no evidence that there are plants that are dependent on single bee species at the ABS, but certain buzz-pollinated plants may rely on only a few species of Bombus. A few species of bees appear to be oligolectic; their host plants, however, are visited by a wide variety of bees and other insects. Bees at the ABS belong to four conspicuous mimetic complexes: metallic green; black with a red abdomen; black with red bands and spots; black with yellow bands and spots. Most ABS bees do not have any warning coloration that is conspicuous to human eyes. There is only one exotic bee on the site, the European honey bee. This lack of a large exotic component in the fauna contrasts with the situation in the ants, of which about one fourth are introduced. Honey bees are often extremely abundant, and possibly dominate nectar and pollen resources in ways that are disruptive to native bees. Although it is easy to observe individual honey bees displacing individual native bees on flowers, there are no data on the ecological effects of honey bees on native pollinators at the ABS. About one quarter ofthe bee species (26) are parasitic species that depend on other species to gather nectar and pollen. This proportion of parasitic species is similar to some other well-studied sites in temperate North America, and is higher than the proportion found in tropical areas

Allochares Azureus: An Unusual Wasp Exploits Unusual Prey (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae; Arachnida: Filistatidae)

Volume: 95Start Page: 265End Page: 28

The insect community of dead and dying Douglas-fir. I, The Hymenoptera

The insects that invade a dying or dead tree are the immediate cause of death and the principle mediators of early stages of decomposition of the tree. These insects form a large and complex community, the species components of which are restricted to particular habitats. A study of the insect community associated with dead Douglas-fir has revealed an intricate assemblage of species; in this publication only the 70+ species of the order Hymenoptera are discussed. Keys are provided for identification of all taxa, and there are discussions of the families, genera, and species represented. The known biology of each species is described, and an attempt is made to suggest the ecological role of each species within the dead tree. Table 1 and the appendix deal with the extent of tree-host specificity of the species of Hymenoptera