The family Platypodidae (Coleoptera) of Nigeria,West Africa—A faunal list

Summary

Three species of Trichomycetes were found in New Zealand Austrosimulium (Austrosimulium) Tonnoir larvae; Harpella melusinae Léger &; Duboscq, Smittium sp. and an unidentified genistellacean. All three are new Southern Hemisphere records. The commonest species, H. melusinae, was found in seven species of Austrosimulium being particularly abundant in A. (A.) tillyardianum Dumbleton. In a sample of A. (A.) tillyardianum examined from the Wainui Valley Stream, Canterbury, it was found that H. melusinae was able to infect and produce trichospores in second instar larvae, and that the number of thalli and trichospores per larva increased in each subsequent instar.     

Spatial–temporal composition of Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) communities in southern Brazil

We examined the Chrysomelidae communities from representative sites of different ecosystems in Paraná State, Brazil, comparing their spatial and temporal changes. Sampling was undertaken using malaise traps at eight sites during a 2-year period. Chrysomelidae represented 19.1% of all the Coleoptera sampled, with a total of 7611 specimens and 465 species. Galerucinae was the most abundant and richest subfamily. Ponta Grossa was the most abundant site, São José dos Pinhais the richest, Fênix the poorest, Jundiaí do Sul the most uniform, and Antonina had the highest dominance of just a single species. Approximately 79% of the species were represented by fewer than 10 specimens and the 10 most abundant species represented 44.7% of all chrysomelids collected. None of the species were collected at all of the sites, but 325 were unique, reflecting the low similarity among sites. Sites with similar phytophysiognomies were more similar in terms of their Chrysomelidae species compositions. Similarities between years were slightly higher than similarities between sites.     

XV.—List of Coleoptera received from Old Calabar,on the West Coast of Africa

Zusammenfassung

Nebalia marerubri sp. nov. aus dem Roten Meer wird beschrieben. Der Sexualdimorphismus dieser Art wird mit dem anderer Arten der Gattung Nebalia Leach, 1814 verglichen und daraufhin die Gattung Epinebalia Clark, 1932 als Synonym von Nebalia vorgeschlagen. N. marerubri sp. nov. gehört zum südlichen Formenkreis der Nebaliiden (‘longicornis’—Gruppe sensu Thiele 1905), hat jedoch einige Gemeinsamkeiten mit N. pugettensis (Clark, 1932) von Labrador. Lebendbeobachtungen ergaben, daß N. marerubri sp. nov. Aas fressen kann und wie andere Malacostraca auch eine Fluchtreaktion besitzt, bei der durch Schlag des Pleons und der Pleopoden das Tier nach vorn durchs Wasser springt.     

The aedeagus,its musculature,and ‘retournement’ in Aspidomorpha miliaris F. (Coleoptera,Phytophaga, Chrysomelidae)

Summary

The aedeagus and its musculature in Aspidomorpha miliaris have been described in detail. They have been found to be closely comparable to those in the Chrysomelid Galerucella birmanica, which has been studied earlier from this standpoint by one of the present authors. In A. miliaris, however, the spiculum has shortened, and consequently the protractors of the aedeagus have been brought close to the proximal retractors of the aedeagus to form a basal muscular bulb for the aedeagus. The muscular bulb seems to help in maintaining the fluid pressure necessary for eversion of the internal sac of the aedeagus during copulation over a long period without strain on the general abdominal musculature. Shortening of the spiculum on the other hand has taken away the function of retraction from the proximal retractors of the aedeagus. The aedeagus is retracted after copulation by repeatedly stroking the protruding aedeagus with the hind legs and by pressing it against the substratum. The aedeagus undergoes ‘retournement’ through 180° after the adult has ecloded from the pupal skin. The ‘retournement’ is due to degeneration of the left member of the pair of protractors of the spiculum, while the right member exerts a unilateral pull on the dorsal surface of the genital tube, bringing about turning of the genital tube, and then survives as an apparently median muscle. In a small percentage of cases the left protractor survives to become the functional and the apparently median protractor of the spiculum, while the right member of the pair degenerates, and the consequent ‘retournement’ of the aedeagus is anti-clockwise.