Investigation of Bartonella acquisition and transmission in Xenopsylla ramesis fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)

Bartonella are emerging and re-emerging pathogens affecting humans and a wide variety of animals including rodents. Horizontal transmission of Bartonella species by different hematophagous vectors is well acknowledged but vertical transmission (from mother to offspring) is questionable and was never explored in fleas. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the rodent flea, Xenopsylla ramesis, can acquire native Bartonella from wild rodents and transmit it transovarially. For this aim, Bartonella-free laboratory-reared X. ramesis fleas were placed on six naturally Bartonella-infected rodents and six species-matched Bartonella-negative rodents (three Meriones crassus jirds, two Gerbillus nanus gerbils and one Gerbillus dasyurus gerbil) for 7 days, 12-14h per day. The fleas that were placed on the Bartonella-positive rodents acquired four different Bartonella genotypes. Eggs and larvae laid and developed, respectively, by fleas from both rodent groups were collected daily for 7 days and molecularly screened for Bartonella. All eggs and larvae from both groups were found to be negative for Bartonella DNA. Interestingly, two of five gut voids regurgitated by Bartonella-positive fleas contained Bartonella DNA. The naturally infected rodents remained persistently infected with Bartonella for at least 89 days suggesting their capability to serve as competent reservoirs for Bartonella species. The findings in this study indicate that X. ramesis fleas can acquire several Bartonella strains from wild rodents but cannot transmit Bartonella transovarially.     

Pupation site selection of cat fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) in various carpet types and its influence on insecticide efficacy

Pupation sites of cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché), larvae were determined in three styles of nylon and one style of wool carpet. Nylon saxony carpet had 59.3% of pupae at the top of the pile and 40% at the base of the pile. In nylon contract carpet, 55.2% of pupae were found at the top, 42.6% in the middle, and only 2.2% at the base of the pile. Nylon loop carpet contained 59.2% of pupae at the base, 25.5% in the middle, and 15.3% in the top of the pile. Wool loop carpet had 92.4% at the base and 3.8% both in the middle and top of the pile. Bioassays comparing the control of pupae manually placed at the base of carpets to that in carpets with natural pupation showed that control of pupae in the latter was 39-68% higher. Pupal control after natural pupation was greatest in nylon saxony and nylon contract carpets and lowest in nylon loop and wool loop carpets. Additional studies demonstrated that vacuuming provided the same level of pupal control on nylon saxony carpet as a spray application of permethrin to the carpet surface. Therefore, pupae that survived chemical and mechanical control treatments in nylon saxony carpet probably pupated away from the surface of the pile. Application of permethrin to the base of nylon saxony carpet did not significantly increase control. Future bioassays with cat flea pupae in carpet should be performed after natural pupation and consider carpet make and style.     

Phylogeny and biogeography of the parrot genus Prioniturus (Aves: Psittaciformes)

The parrot genus Prioniturus occurs in the oceanic Philippines, Palawan and Wallacea, a geologically dynamic region with a complex history of land and sea. The described taxa of Prioniturus have been variously placed in different assemblages, and different numbers of species have been recognized. However, a phylogenetic framework is so far lacking. This would be the prerequisite to reconstructing dispersal and colonization patterns of Prioniturus across and within Wallacea and the Philippines. Following our robustly supported phylogenetic hypothesis based on two mitochondrial genes, we propose to treat Prioniturus mindorensis comb. nov. as well as Prioniturus montanus and Prioniturus waterstradti as separate species. In Prioniturus discurus discurus and Prioniturus discurus whiteheadi, further studies using additional data and specimens are necessary to clarify their taxonomic status. This result is congruent with other studies demonstrating that alpha diversity of the Philippine avifauna is strongly underestimated. According to our biogeographic reconstruction, Prioniturus has diversified by a complex combination of colonization of islands and subsequent divergence in allopatry among and within island groups. Dispersal between Sulawesi/Wallacea and the Philippines occurred twice and documents a rare case of faunal exchange between these two regions.     

The genus Cyrtomium (Pteridophyta: Dryopteridaceae) in Africa and Madagascar

The fern genus Cyrtomium (Dryopteridaceae) in Africa and Madagascar is reviewed. Until now, a single Cyrtomium species ascribed to either C. caryotideum or C. micropterum (the latter often considered to be a variety of the former) was recognized for the region. This study shows that three Cyrtomium species occur in the region. One, C. falcatum, is not native to the African or Madagascan region, but has become naturalized in various parts of South Africa and Réunion. Two, formerly considered as a single taxon and confused with C. caryotideum and Indian forms thereof, are described as new – C. luctuosum from Madagascar, East, West and South Africa and C. pseudocaryotideum from South Africa. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 167 , 449–465.     

Leptojacobus dorci n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Diplogastridae), an Associate of Dorcus Stag Beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

A new species of diplogastrid nematode, Leptojacobus dorci n. gen., n. sp., was isolated from adults of the stag beetle Dorcus ritsemae (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) that were purchased from a pet shop in Japan. Leptojacobus n. gen. is circumscribed by a very thin, delicate body and by a small stoma with minute armature. A combination of other stomatal characters, namely the division of the cheilostom into adradial plates, the symmetry of the subventral stegostomatal sectors, and the presence of a thin, conical dorsal tooth, further distinguishes Leptojacobus n. gen. from other genera of Diplogastridae. Phylogenetic analysis of nearly full-length SSU rRNA sequences support the new species, together with an isolate identified previously as Koerneria luziae, to be excluded from a clade including all other molecularly characterized diplogastrids with teeth and stomatal dimorphism. Therefore, the new species will be of importance for reconstruction of ancestral character histories in Diplogastridae, a family circumscribed by a suite of feeding-related novelties.     

Description of Tunga bonneti n. sp. from Chile (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) with notes on specificity, chorology, dermecos and phenology

Smit (1968) misreported Tunga libis from Chile. Here we describe this flea as a new species. We analyzed free life females, male and embedded females. Moreover, we include data about its natural history and biology. These data will allow a better understanding about other Tunga fleas, and particularly for collecting males, which remain unknown to date.     

Systematics and evolution of the genus Paraceroglyphus and related taxa (Acari: Acaridae) associated with fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera)

Collections of fleas from terrestrial Sciuridae from New Mexico and Montana yielded 2 species of acarid mites: Acarus monopsyllus from Ceratophyllus ciliatus and Paraceroglyphus cynomydis n. sp. from 4 species of Oropsylla. The genera Acarus, Paraceroglyphus, and Trichopsyllopus form a clade distinct from other genera of flea-associated mites, with Paraceroglyphus the sister group of the other 2 genera. Paraceroglyphus cynomydis is the sister group of a clade comprising P. xenopsylla and possibly P. californicus, with P. meles as the nearest outgroup.     

Notes on the fleas Xenopsylla vexabilis Jordan, 1925 (Pulicidae: Siphonaptera) in Vietnam as related to the problem of anthropogenic plague foci

In the first half of the XX century, the flea Xenopsylla vexabilis, the main vector of the plague agent in the “natural plague foci” of the Hawaii, was shown to be a specific parasite of the small white-toothed rat Berylmys berdmorei, inhabiting the tropical forests and grasslands of Indochina, including Vietnam. X. vexabilis was not recorded in Vietnamese settlements. This flea was found in the fields bordering natural landscapes and agricultural areas as a parasite of the greater bandicoot rat Bandicota indica, Savile’s bandicoot rat B. savilei, and the rat Rattus koratensis. It was assumed that bandicoot rats may have played an important role in the introduction of the flea to the Pacific islands where X. vexabilis was then established on synanthropic rats. The new data do not support the concept of coevolution of the recent epizootic association Rattus exulans-Xenopsylla vexabilis-Yersinia pestis.     

Systematics and biogeography of the New World species of Trichadenotecnum Enderlein (Insecta: Psocodea: 'Psocoptera': Psocidae)

The taxonomy of the New World species of the genus Trichadenotecnum is revised. A total of 44 species, including 29 new species, were treated. These species are classified into 12 monophyletic species groups, eight of them newly proposed here. Two species previously assigned to Trichadenotecnum , T. pichincha New & Thornton and T. sylvaticum Turner, are recognized as not belonging to this genus. Phylogenetic relationships among 16 previously and presently proposed species groups are estimated based on a data matrix of 58 morphological characters. Trees from these analyses support monophyly of Trichadenotecnum and the proposed species groups. The New World species were divided into three major clades. Based on the phylogenetic hypothesis and distributional pattern of the species groups, the biogeographical history of the New World Trichadenotecnum is discussed.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 153 , 651–723.     

Fungus gnats of the genera Anatella,Allodia and Cordyla in Japan (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)†

Six new mycetophilid species from three genera belonging to the tribe Exechiini are described: Anatella prominens on a fungus of the Polyporaceae, Allodia bipexa and Allodia conifera on fungi of the Russulaceae, Allodia quadrata on fungi of the Hygrophoraceae, Tricholomataceae, Rhodophyllaceae, Russulaceae and Fistulinaceae, Allodia laccariae on a fungus of the Tricholomataceae, and Cordyla bidenticulata on a fungus of the Boletaceae. Their characteristic male genitalia are illustrated. Cordyla flaviceps Staeger, Cordyla fusca Meigen and Cordyla pusilla Edwards are newly recorded from Japan.     

A 'living fossil' eel (Anguilliformes: Protanguillidae, fam. nov.) from an undersea cave in Palau

We report the discovery of an enigmatic, small eel-like fish from a 35 m-deep fringing-reef cave in the western Pacific Ocean Republic of Palau that exhibits an unusual suite of morphological characters. Many of these uniquely characterize the Recent members of the 19 families comprising the elopomorph order Anguilliformes, the true eels. Others are found among anguilliforms only in the Cretaceous fossils, and still others are primitive with respect to both Recent and fossil eels. Thus, morphological evidence explicitly places it as the most basal lineage (i.e. the sister group of extant anguilliforms). Phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation based on whole mitogenome sequences from various actinopterygians, including representatives of all eel families, demonstrate that this fish represents one of the most basal, independent lineages of the true eels, with a long evolutionary history comparable to that of the entire Anguilliformes (approx. 200 Myr). Such a long, independent evolutionary history dating back to the early Mesozoic and a retention of primitive morphological features (e.g. the presence of a premaxilla, metapterygoid, free symplectic, gill rakers, pseudobranch and distinct caudal fin rays) warrant recognition of this species as a 'living fossil' of the true eels, herein described as Protanguilla palau genus et species nov. in the new family Protanguillidae.     

Chromosomal Analysis of Neohydrocoptus jaechi (Wewalka) and Canthydrus diophthalmus (Reiche & Saulcy) (Coleoptera: Noteridae)

Neohydrocoptus jaechi (Wewalka) is recorded for the first time in Egypt. It is very similar to N. angolensis (Peschet), but there are aedeagal differences. The karyotype consists of 6 pairs of autosomes and sex chromosomes which are neo-XY (♂) and neo-XX (♀). C-banding shows that the sex chromosomes of Canthydrus diophthalmus (Reiche & Saulcy) are not the small pair suggested by Bilton (1992), but are one of the largest pairs, with the Y-chromosome totally heterochromatic. The implications of these findings are considered in the light of Belkaceme's (1991) work on the phylogeny of Noteridae. Neohydrocoptus is placed among the group of more primitive genera, outside the closely-knit group of higher Noteridae, while Canthydrus is placed right at the top of the higher Noteridae. The neo-XY sex chromosomes of Neohydrocoptus could be a primitive condition for the family, while the system found in Canthydrus is derivable from that of Synchortus Sharp (Saleh Ahmed et al., 1997) (one of Belkaceme's basal genera of the higher Noteridae) by loss of the mainly heterochromatic X₂-chromosome, leaving the more normal X₁-chromosome and the Y, which is almost entirely heterochromatic in Synchortus and completely so in Canthydrus.     

Review of subtribe Pterellina Rohdendorf, 1967 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) of Middle East with descriptions of twelve new species

Summary

Based on a revision of large recent collections housed at the Natural History Museum (London), Tel Aviv University and in the private collection of Yu. Verves and L. Khrokalo (Kyiv, Ukraine), new distributional data and an updated list with comments of 28 species of Middle Eastern Sarcophagidae of the subtribe Pterellina are presented. Seventeen of them are recorded for Israel, 11 for Egypt, four for Iran, two each for the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and one each for Jordan and the UAE. No data are known for the territories of Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and Yemen. Twelve species new to science are described, including nine from Israel (Chaetapodacra montana n. sp., Eremasiomyia bicolor n. sp., E. deserta n. sp., E. fuscata n. sp., Protomiltogramma bidentata n. sp., P. serrata n. sp., Pterella hermonica n. sp., P. indigens n. sp., P. zefatica n. sp.), two from Egypt (Chaetapodacra griseola n. sp., Eremasiomyia alba n. sp.) and one from Saudi Arabia (Protomiltogramma arabica n. sp.). The male of Eremasiomyia nigra Rohdendorf, 1935 is described for the first time. One new combination of specific name is proposed ? Protomiltogramma immunita (Villeneuve, 1923), n. comb. Original keys for the identification of genera and species are proposed. An annotated list of all world genera and species and compiled data on larval habits of Pterellina are included.     

Molecular detection and identification of Bartonella species in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) collected from Rattus norvegicus rats in Los Angeles, California

Of 200 individual Xenopsylla cheopis fleas removed from Rattus norvegicus rats trapped in downtown Los Angeles, CA, 190 (95%) were positive for the presence of Bartonella DNA. Ninety-one amplicons were sequenced: Bartonella rochalimae-like DNA was detected in 66 examined fleas, and Bartonella tribocorum-like DNA was identified in 25 fleas. The data obtained from this study demonstrate an extremely high prevalence of Bartonella DNA in rat-associated fleas.     

Biology and ecology of the Northern walkingstick,Diapheromera femorata (Say) (Phasmatodea: Diapheromerinae): A review

The northern walkingstick, Diapheromera femorata (Say), is the only stick insect of economic importance native to the United States. Young nymphs feed on various understory shrubs and trees whereas older nymphs and adults prefer oaks and cherries. Occasionally, field populations reach outbreak levels and cause complete tree defoliation. Widespread damage rarely occurs except those reported from Michigan (1930–1960), Wisconsin (1950–1960) and Arkansas and Oklahoma (1960–1975) where thousands to tens of thousands of hectares of trees were affected. The most recent infestations were detected in Arkansas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania with severe damage observed in localized areas. The morphology, life stages, host species, damage, biology, life history, natural enemies and management of this insect were reviewed. Host preference and insect predation were confirmed in Pennsylvania. Other notable stick insects in the United States and economically important species around the world are discussed to raise awareness about the ecological impacts of this understudied group of mostly nocturnal herbivores.