Nesting behaviour and provisioning in Bembix merceti and Bembix zonata (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)

We studied the nesting behaviour and provisioning of Bembix merceti Parker and Bembix zonata Klug during three flight seasons (1993–1995). The females of B. merceti capture Diptera from seven different families to feed their larvae. Provisioning is progressive. The females provide a greater number of prey over subsequent days during larval growth. This activity begins increasingly earlier and lasts for longer, and prey capture is increasingly faster. Although the activity of the females is greater during the middle hours of the day, towards the end of each day the number of prey per wasp increases slightly and the duration of provisioning flights is reduced. Regarding Bembix merceti, we also report on nest structure and excavation as well as about the different natural enemies of these wasps. The data recorded for B. zonata refer to nest digging and structure, the wasps' natural enemies and their provisioning strategies, which in general are similar to those seen for the females of B. merceti.     

Natural history and behaviour of the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata (Hymenoptera: Vespidae): a comparison of the two sexes

We report the natural history and behaviour of the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata with a special reference to the males. We found that just as nests of this species are found throughout the year, so are the males. Females spend all their life in their nests but males stay in their natal nests only for 1–12 days and leave to lead a nomadic life. Males maintained in the laboratory can live for up to 140 days. Like all eusocial hymenopteran males, R. marginata males also do not perform any colony maintenance activities. We found that males did not forage or feed larvae. Compared with females, males showed fewer dominance and subordinate behaviours and being solicited behaviour and more feeding self and soliciting behaviours. By comparing males with young females, we found similar differences, except that the males showed similar rates of feeding self and higher rates of subordinate behaviour.     

The Indo-Australian and E. Palaearctic braconine wasp genus Euurobracon (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

An illustrated key to the females of Euurobracon is provided. Three new species and two new subspecies are described: E. interstitialis sp. nov. from Malaysia; E. denticephalus sp. nov. from Dutch New Guinea; E. latitempus sp. nov. from New Guinea; E. cephalotes sumatranus ssp. nov. from Sumatra; impossibilis curticaudis ssp. nov. from Papua New Guinea. E. quadriceps var. apicalis Roman is raised to specific status. The following new synonyms are proposed: Euurobracon maculipennis (Cameron, 1910) (= E. triplagiata (Cameron, 1900)); E. melanospilus (Cameron, 1910) (= E. yokahamae (Dalla Torre, 1898)); E. merinotoides (Enderlein, 1920) (= E. forticornis (Cameron, 1905)); E. montivagus (Cameron, 1910) (= E. cephalotes cephalotes (Smith, 1858); stat. nov.); Collastes nigropectus (Cameron, 1911) (= E. yokahamae (Dalla Torre, 1898)). Two species are excluded from Euurobracon for the first time: E. nitidulus Brues, 1922 and E. mandibularis Brues, 1924. Each species of Euurobracon is fully described.     

Conservation of European environments: The Spheciformes wasps as biodiversity indicators (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Ampulicidae,Sphecidae and Crabronidae)

The aim of this work is to propose the use of the Spheciformes wasps (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Ampulicidae, Sphecidae and Crabronidae) as indicators of European biodiversity. One advantage of studying this group of insects lies in the regulating effects that such wasps have on other insect populations. We discuss the applicability of seven criteria, taken from the literature, to use the Spheciformes wasps as an indicator group, with respect to which parameters this group offers guarantees of being good indicators of biodiversity, both for predicting the diversity of other groups of animals and for all the species of a given area.     

Indirect and direct acoustic aggression in cicadas: first observations in the Palaearctic genus Tibicina Amyot (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadidae)

Tibicina Amyot is a cicada genus of the Palaearctic biogeographical region with seven taxa (species and subspecies) distributed in France. As in other cicadas, the sound production by tymbal vibration is restricted to males. In Tibicina, males are attracted by conspecific calling songs and tend to form groups of several individuals which maintain a minimal distance between each other. Observations based upon male–male interactions in such aggregations and on some preliminary experiments conducted with males kept in captivity revealed for the first time both indirect and direct aggression. Spacing and chorusing are interpreted as a by-product of indirect aggression mediated through the calling song. Direct aggression occurred when spacing is not respected. It is achieved through a ritualistic sequence that involves mainly the production of the rivalry song, an acoustic signal previously reported in the literature for two cicada species only. In addition, satellite males and male–male courting are reported. These preliminary results suggest that the sound social organization in the genus Tibicina is more elaborate than first suspected and should be reconsidered in terms of lek behaviour and sexual selection.     

First record of a non-pollinating fig wasp (Hymenoptera: Sycophaginae) from Dominican amber,with estimation of the size of its host figs

Fig trees and their pollinating fig wasps arose about 75 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. Several other groups of chalcid wasps also utilize figs for larval development, including sycophagines, the putative sister group to pollinating fig wasps. Whereas stone and amber fossil pollinators are known, no fossils representing non-pollinating fig wasp groups have been confirmed previously. Here, we describe the first Sycophaginae from the c.15–20 Ma Dominican amber, Idarnes thanatos sp. nov. Farache, Rasplus, Pereira and Compton, and discuss its relationships within the Idarnes carme species group. Additionally, we use linear regression to compare body size, ovipositor sheaths length, and host fig size data from extant Idarnes species to estimate the size of its host figs. Idarnes thanatos was most likely associated with small to medium sized figs (diameter ≤1.0 cm), that were likely to have been dispersed by birds and primates. The discovery of this close relative of extant non-pollinating fig wasps suggests that early Miocene and modern fig wasp communities may share similar ecological and functional features.     

Interactions between the sexually deceptive orchid Spiculaea ciliata and its wasp pollinator Thynnoturneria sp. (Hymenoptera: Thynninae)

Males of the thynnine wasp Thynnoturneria sp. attempt to mate with female decoys in the flowers of the elbow orchid Spiculaea ciliata. Experimentally shifted orchids usually attract male wasps quickly, often within 2 minutes of presentation of the ‘bait’ orchids in appropriate habitat. Although the orchid effectively exploits the scramble competition mating system of the wasp, the insect is not totally at the mercy of the deceptive orchid. Fewer than half of all arriving males contact the column of the orchid flower, as required for orchid pollination. Moreover, the number of deceived visitors falls sharply over a short period and the number of wasp visitors does not rebound with the replacement of one bait orchid by another at that location. These observations suggest that patrolling wasp pollinators can discriminate to some extent between orchid decoys and female wasps, especially by learning to avoid particular locations that are associated with unrewarding flower decoys.     

Polymorphism in the deutonymph and adult of Sennertia alfkeni (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) associated with the large carpenter bee,Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Phoretic deutonymphs of Sennertia alfkeni and S. japonica, both associated with the Japanese large carpenter bee, Xylocopa appendiculata, were distinguished by Fain (1974 Fain, A. 1974. The hypopi of the genus Sennertia Oudemans, 1905, described by Oudemans (Acarina, Sarcoptiformes).. Zool Meded., 48: 219–231.  [Google Scholar]) by body size and the presence or absence of a spine proximal to the pretarsal claw. Despite these morphological differences, rearing of iso‐female lines yielded both morphological forms, thus revealing that both were the same species but functionally different during phoresy. Adults also expressed variation in the form of the dorsal setae, ranging from narrow to broad. We hypothesized that deutonymphal morphology was controlled environmentally, but that the adult setal morphology was at least partially controlled genetically. Both types of deutonymphs disembarked from a female bee during the host tunnelling through provisioning of nests in spring, but there seemed to be no behavioural difference between the two morphs at the time of disembarkation.     

Qualitative relations of egg size,egg production and colony size in some ponerine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The sizes of eggs and reproductives of 13 species of ponerine ant were measured, and information about the mature colony sizes, ovarial anatomy and individual fecundities of a selection of ponerine species was assembled. Inter-specific variation in the size of colonies was found to be poorly related to aspects of individual fecundity, and although the few cases of polygyny were associated with larger colony sizes, monogynous species often attained even larger sizes. Within the subfamily individual fecundity may be increased primarily by a decrease in the maternal investment in individual eggs, and perhaps to a lesser extent by an increase in the number of ovarioles in each ovary or an increase in the length of each ovariole. The diet of a species and the longevity of adult worker ants relative to the duration of their larval development are suggested as factors besides reproductive characteristics that might also contribute to differences in colony size.     

A review of the encyrtid wasp tribe Aenasiini,with descriptions of new Afrotropical taxa (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

The tetracnemine tribe Aenasiini is discussed and a key is provided for the separation of the nine genera that can be attributed to this tribe. Neodiscodes is synonymized with Aenasius and the following seven species, which were originally assigned to the former genus, are transferred to Aenasius as new combinations: abengouroui (Risbec), comperei (Kerrich), lepelleyi (Kerrich), martinii (Compere), indicus (Narayanan & Subba Rao), parvus (Kerrich) and subbaraoi (Kerrich). A key is given for the separation of the four Afrotropical species of Aenasius and the male of A. comperei is described for the first time. Incisencyrtus gen. n. is described for the following three new Afrotropical species: secus (the type-species), sirus and afer. Cladiscodes incisius sp. n. is described from South Africa and it represents the first species of this genus from Africa. New distribution records are given for three Alfrotropical species of Metaphaenodiscus.     

Geographic variation in body size and sexual size dimorphism in the giant spiny frog Paa spinosa (David, 1875) (Anura: Ranoidae)

We describe the spatial pattern of variation in body size and sexual size dimorphism in the giant spiny frog, Paa spinosa (David, 1875). The study also aims to identify potential factors responsible for geographic morphological variation in the frog. The results indicate that primary production, which positively correlates with precipitation and summer temperature in China, had an important effect on body size of P. spinosa, whereas Bergmann's rule was more efficient to explain the influence of average minimum temperature in January. The species was sexually dimorphic for body size and body shape: the body size, jaw length and forelimb length of males were significantly larger than those of females. Furthermore, the degree of sexual size dimorphism varied geographically, but the relationship between the geographic variation of sexual size dimorphism and the climate was complex. Specifically, absolute sexual size dimorphism was positively correlated with the increased ambient temperature and decreased precipitation.     

Antennae and the role of olfaction and contact stimulation in mate recognition by males of the pollinating fig wasp Ceratosolen gravelyi (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae)

Finding a mate is a crucial step in sexual reproduction. The mutualism between figs and their pollinators is exploited by many figwasps that develop within their galls and attain sexual maturity simultaneously. Male pollinators carry the specific burden of detecting and opening mating holes in galls containing conspecific females before mating with them. The mating behaviourand antennal sensilla of male pollinators associated with Ficus semicordata was investigated to understand mate recognition. Male Ceratosolen gravelyi located female-containing galls from a distance, but only attempted to chew a mating hole after antennal contact with the gall surface was made. They showed similar responses to females and body extracts but failed to respond to washed female bodies. This behaviour indicates that unidentified chemicals present on the body surfaces of females are sufficient to elicit olfactory attraction and tactile confirmation. Multiporous plate sensilla are candidates for olfactory reception from a distance while basiconic sensilla may be involved in contact chemoreceptor. All of the sensilla are highly localised, on the distal part of the terminal flagellomere, suggesting a response to selection for strong directionality in the complex odour environment of the fig in which messages produced by hundreds of females may confuse precise mate localisation.     

Larval instars of the ant Strumigenys solifontis Brown (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): the fallacy of size distribution

Larval instars of the myrmicine ant Strumigenys solifontis Brown were determined by measuring the head width under a stereomicroscope and examining the morphology, especially chaetotaxy, by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This study found that the larval stage consisted of four instars, but the first and second instars were not distinguishable by their head widths. However, the four instars could be discriminated clearly by a combination of size measurement and observations on the chaetotaxy. Within a population, there are few larvae in the first instar because of its short period (only 1–2 days before moulting into the second instar) and the low oviposition rate of the queen. Therefore, the first-instar larva needs to be collected separately from other instars so that it is not missed.     

Trolling for water striders: active searching for prey and the evolution of reduced webs in the spider Wendilgarda sp. (Araneae,Theridiosomatidae)

Wendilgarda sp. builds unusually simple webs attached to the surface of water. The simplest design consists of a single vertical line with sticky material near the bottom that is attached at the top to a single horizontal line and at the bottom to the water surface. The spider usually sits immobile waiting for prey as the sticky line skates erratically across the surface of the water, but some spiders actively dragged their webs back and forth across the water. The web's simplicity is apparently derived with respect to the webs of other Wendilgarda species, as spiders sometimes made more complex webs similar to typical Wendilgarda webs. The simplicity of W. sp. webs may be causally related to two other unusual traits: extreme variability in web design and construction behaviour and web manipulation behaviour; and construction of prey capture webs with sticky lines by mature males, confirmed here for the first time in a confirmed member of an orb-weaving family. Some behavioural innovations in Wendilgarda, such as the attachment of a short segment of non-sticky silk to the water surface just prior to laying each segment of sticky line, may represent blocks of behaviour that have been shifted temporally in the web construction sequence.     

Revision of the Indo-Australian braconine wasp genus Ischnobracon Baltazar (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with description of six new species from Thailand,Laos and Sri Lanka

The uncommon Asian braconine wasp genus Ischnobracon Baltazar is revised. Eleven species are recognized of which six are described as new, namely I. albitarsus Butcher and Quicke from mainland Malaysia, I. baltazarae Butcher and Quicke from the Philippines, I. hannongbuai Butcher and Quicke from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia (Sulawesi), I. morleyi Butcher and Quicke from Sri Lanka, I. feliciae Butcher and Quicke from Thailand, I. xanthoflagellaris Butcher and Quicke from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Ischnobracon rhyssides (Enderlein) is a new junior subjective synonym of I. laboriosus (Smith).     

Natural history of the Lined Seedeater Sporophila lineola (Aves: Thraupidae) in southeastern Brazil

The Lined Seedeater (Sporophila lineola) is a migratory species that inhabits a variety of open habitats in South America. We studied the breeding biology and territorial behaviour of a colour-banded population of the species in the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Florestal (1–19,8808ºS, –44,4136ºW), during two breeding seasons (2014/2015 and 2015/2016), which spans from December to April. We monitored 74 nests of this species. The nest is a low cup supported between a fork. Nests are mainly built with grass stems and rootlets, with spider-web used to hold the material together and to bind the nest to its supporting plant. Females are solely responsible for nest building and incubation, which is synchronic, and also for feeding nestlings to a large extent. Males are responsible for defending the territory, which corresponds to a small portion of the home range restricted to the nest environs, and also feed the nestlings. Mean clutch size is two eggs (78% of nests monitored), with clutches of three (20.3%) and four (1.7%) eggs also observed. Eggs are whitish, covered with dark brown blotches and spots to a variable extent. Mean incubation period, considered as the period between the onset of incubation and hatching of the first egg, is 11 days. Nestling period, considered as the period between hatching of the first egg and fledging of the last young, is 10 days. During the first breeding season, the simple percentage of successful nests was 34.1%, while the Mayfield success was 29.8%, with slightly higher values observed during the second breeding season, with 39.4% and 35.7%, respectively. We recorded, for the first time, three cases of polygamy in the species. We also recorded breeding site fidelity for the first time in the species, with males returning to the same territory owned in a previous breeding season.     

First described fossil representatives of the parasitoid wasp taxa Asaphesinae n. n. and Eunotinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae sensu lato) from Eocene Baltic amber

ABSTRACT

New Baltic amber species of Pteromalidae sensu lato are described, from two different subfamilies, Asaphesinae n. n. and Eunotinae. Asaphesinae is provided as a replacement name for Asaphinae Ashmead 1904, which is a junior homonym of the trilobite family Asaphidae Burmeister 1843. Coriotela lasallei gen. n., sp. n.. and Butiokeras costae gen. n., sp. n.. are described as the first known fossil species of Asaphesinae and Eunotinae, respectively. These species establish the minimum known age of both groups in the Eocene. Taxonomic changes are also proposed for some extant species. The genus Desantisiana Neder de Román syn. n.. is found to be a junior synonym of Notoglyptus, and its only described species is transferred as Notoglyptus jujuyensis (Neder de Román) comb. n.. The tribe Calyconotiscini, previously classified in Eunotinae, is abolished and Calyconotiscus Narendran & Saleem is transferred to Pireninae.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7A107FF9-28E7-40AA-8A9B-71321E476C07     

Partial revision of the Indo-Australian braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of new species from Indonesia (Mollucas), Malaysia,Philippines and Thailand

Ten distinctive new species of the taxonomically difficult braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke, 1984 are described: G. apicoluteus sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri); G. curticornis sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri); G. philippinensis sp. nov. from the Philippines; G. siamensis sp. nov. from Thailand; G. striatus sp. nov. from West Malaysia; G. strandorum sp. nov. from Indonesia (Java), G. subvena sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri and Sabah); G. townesorum sp. nov. from the Philippines; G. variipennis sp. nov. from Thailand; and G. wegeneri sp. nov. from Indonesia. Myosoma forticarinata Cameron, 1902 is transferred to Gammabracon, hence Gammabracon forticarinata comb. nov. A lectotype is designated for Gammabracon erythroura (Cameron). The status of Cratobracon strandiellus (Cameron) is discussed and a new combination proposed, Shelfordia strandiellus Cameron, 1910 comb. nov. (=Bracon strandiellus Cameron). Paucity of discrete morphological variation makes separation of most of the species with orange-red mesosoma, black metasoma and conspicuous back setae currently unrealistic and it may be that there is a single widespread and morphologically variable species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:56B8884E-99C8-4B53-9747-D011F552312D     

Cladistics and tribal classification of the Agathidinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Five tribes of the braconid subfamily Agathidinae are recognized, viz. Agathidini (Blanchard), Cremnoptini (new tribe), Disophrini (new tribe), Earinini (new tribe), and Microdini (Ashmead). Phylogenetic relationships of the tribes are proposed and the phylogenetic placement of the Agathidinae within the Braconidae is discussed. Keys to, and diagnoses of, the tribes are presented.     

Age,body size and growth pattern of Argenteohyla siemersi pederseni (Anura: Hylidae) in northeastern Argentina

In this study we analysed the body size, age structure, age at maturity, longevity and growth pattern of Argenteohyla siemersi pederseni in north-eastern Argentina using skeletochronological methods. Body size was sexually dimorphic; females were significantly larger and heavier than males, regardless of age. As A. s. pederseni is an explosive breeder with only one reproductive episode per year, we assumed that each Line of Arrested Growth (LAG) observed was equivalent to one period of decreasing growth, LAGs reflecting a direct estimation of individual age. The minimum number of LAGs counted was two for males and three for females, but there was no sexual difference in longevity. The von Bertalanffy's growth coefficients (K) were higher in males than in females for both size and body mass. Females had a lower growth rate than males, took longer to reach the minimum maturation size, and were older and larger at reproduction.