Revision of the Indo‐African Pachycerus Schoenherr, 1823, with a description of four new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae)

The Indo‐African species of the genus Pachycerus (Curculionidae: Lixinae: Cleonini) are revised. The identification of Cleonus senegalensis Gyllenhal, 1834 is discussed, its holotype rediscovered and the synonymy between C. senegalensis and Ammocleonus hieroglyphicus (Olivier, 1807) is confirmed. A neotype is established for Pachycerus opimus (Gyllenhal, 1834). Lectotypes for Pachycerus vestitus (Fåhraeus, 1834), Pachycerus badeni (Faust, 1888), and Pachycerus sellatus Faust, 1904 are designated. Pachycerus sahelicus sp. nov. (type locality: Senegal, Bambey), Pachycerus hippali sp. nov. (type locality: Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Taif), Pachycerus barclayi sp. nov. (type locality: southern India: Manapparai), and Pachycerus simonae sp. nov. (type locality: Morocco, Western Sahara, Cap Boujdour) are described. Some remarks on taxonomy and biogeography of the species are added.     

Lixus petiolicola n. sp. from Northeastern Turkey and Lixus furcatus Olivier: Comparative systematic and ecological study (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae)

Lixus petiolicola n. sp. is described from Northeastern Turkey. Ecological data and morphological characters are presented in comparison with closely related species Lixus furcatus Olivier from the Palaearctic subgenus Callistolixus Reitter. Host plant of the new species is Prangos sp. (Apiaceae). Female lays eggs in the petiole where immature stages then develop; one generation is produced per year. Lectotypes of Lixus sitta Sahlberg 1823; L. parallelus Boheman 1842; L. eversmanni Hochhuth 1847; L. ferulaginis Apfelbeck 1899, and L. furcatus longicollis Petri 1905 are designated. A new synonymy is established: L. furcatus Olivier 1807 [=L. eversmanni Hochhuth 1847, n. syn.]. The name of L. recurvus Olivier 1807 is resurrected, excluded from synonyms of L. furcatus and attributed to the L. iridis group.     

Track analysis of the North and Central American species of the Pantomorus–Naupactus complex (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

We undertook a panbiogeographic analysis of the broad‐nosed weevils of the genera Naupactus Dejean, 1821, Pantomorus Schönherr, 1840 and Phacepholis Horn, 1876 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from North and Central America to propose a biogeographic scenario to explain their biotic diversification. Based on individual tracks of 30 species, we obtained six generalized tracks: Mesoamerican, Chiapas, Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexican Pacific Coast, Southern Great Plains and Northern Great Plains tracks. The Sierra Madre del Sur generalized track is the best supported, based on 10 species of the three genera. We found two nodes, one at the intersection of the Mesoamerican and Chiapas tracks, and another at the intersection of the Chiapas and Sierra Madre del Sur tracks. Species of Naupactus are primarily distributed in lowlands, associated mostly with dry forests and xeric environments. Species of Pantomorus and Phacepholis would have diversified from South American Naupactus‐like ancestors, mainly in montane habitats and lowlands of North and Central America, between sea level to about 2500 m of altitude.     

Phyllonorycter medicaginella (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) and its parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) in the Middle Volga River basin

Fifteen species of parasitoids, Chrysocharis idyia (Walker, 1983), Ch. laricinellae (Ratzeburg, 1848), Ch. submutica Graham, 1963, Ch. viridis (Nees, 1834), Hemiptarsenus ornatus (Nees, 1834), Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood, 1833), Pediobius cassidae Erd?s, 1958, P. metallicus (Nees, 1834), Pnigalio nemati (Westwood, 1838), P. mediterraneus Ferriére & Delucchi, 1957, P. pectinicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), P. soemius (Walker, 1839), Rhicnopelte crassicornis (Nees, 1834), Sympiesis gordius (Walker, 1839), and Hyssopus sp. n., were reared from Phyllonorycter medicaginella on Melilotius offlcinalis for the first time. Hyssopus simbirskiensis sp. n. reared from Ph. medicaginella is described. Eight ectoparasitoid species (Hyssopus ornatus, H. simbirskiensis sp. n., Rh. crassicornis, P. mediterraneus, P. nemati, P. pectinicornis, P. soemius, and S. gordius) attack all the larval instars of Ph. medicaginella. Seven endoparasitoids (P. cassidae, P. metallicus, Ch. idyia, Ch. laricinellae, Ch. submutica, Ch. viridis, and N. formosa) attack only the 4-5th-instar larvae.     

Could research in the native range, and non-target host range in Australia, have helped predict host range of the parasitoid Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a biological control agent introduced for Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in New Zealand?

It is generally accepted that knowledge of the natural and novel host range of proposed biological control agents can help to inform predictions of potential host range in new areas of introduction. To test this hypothesis, this paper describes a retrospective study conducted to contrast and compare the natural host range of Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with its novel host range found in Australia and New Zealand, where it has been introduced to control the adult stage of the weevil Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a pest of lucerne. Surveys carried out in and near lucerne crops in Morocco and Australia each resulted in collections of over 3,000 weevils, of which respectively 84?% and 93?% were S. discoideus. The host ranges determined from these surveys for each M. aethiopoides population were then compared with information already available for field host range in New Zealand. In Morocco, species in the genera Sitona and Charagmus (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Sitonini) and Hypera (Curculionidae: Hyperinae: Hyperini) were found to be parasitised by M. aethiopoides. In Australia, an earlier record of non-target parasitism of ‘Prosayleus’ sp. 2 (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Leptopiini) is still the only known instance of non-target parasitism by M. aethiopoides. The known non-target field host range in New Zealand is much greater, comprising 19 native and introduced weevil species mainly in the subfamily Entiminae (tribe Leptopiini) but also in Curculioninae, Cyclominae and Lixinae. This is discussed in the context of predictions that could have been made at the time of introduction 30?years ago had the Moroccan and Australian data, modern molecular technologies and current understanding of weevil classification been available. The absence of Leptopiini in Morocco and the record of a native Australian leptopiine host could have indicated that native weevils in this tribe in New Zealand might be at risk of attack by M. aethiopoides.     

Moroccan specimens of Microctonus aethiopoides spice our understanding of genetic variation in this internationally important braconid parasitoid of adult weevils

Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was introduced from Morocco to Australia and New Zealand for biological control of the lucerne pest, Sitona discoideus. Previous research has indicated that M. aethiopoides intraspecific genetic variation is more strongly associated with weevil host species than geographic origin. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences from parasitoids dissected from weevils collected during a survey of lucerne-growing areas in Morocco allowed us to further test this hypothesis. As found previously, there were two strong clades in M. aethiopoides with no geographical basis to this structure. Earlier research suggested that intraspecific variability within M. aethiopoides was related to weevil host genus (Sitona vs. Hypera), and the analysis confirmed that one of the clades corresponded strongly with the host Sitona discoideus. The other clade, however, previously characterised by parasitoids from Hypera postica also included parasitoids dissected from Charagmus spp., which is a sister genus to Sitona. It is suggested that food plant associations of the host weevils might have had an influence on the evolutionary history of the parasitoid.     

SEM morphological survey on the egg shell in the italian Anostracans (Crustacea,Branchiopoda)

The screening of the egg shell morphology of all italian species of Anostracans (14) by means of SEM, as well as the analysis of preliminary data on electrophoretical patterns of the adults, concerning the genus Chirocephalus (five species), suggest the need for a reconsideration, from a taxonomical point of view, especially as far as the species of the diaphanus group (Ch. diaphanus, Ch. ruffoi, Ch. salinus, Ch. sibyllae) are concerned.In this light, within the above mentioned group remarkable differences have been observed for Ch. ruffoi, whilst for other species like Ch. diaphanus and Ch. sibyllae, conspecificity is suspected. Electrophoretical and reproductive isolation studies, in progress, will provide a clearer understanding of the actual situation.Research carried out with M.P.I. (60%) and C.N.R. (chBr. 83.02549.04 Gruppo di Biologia Naturalistica) financial support.Research carried out with M.P.I. (60%) and C.N.R. (chBr. 83.02549.04 Gruppo di Biologia Naturalistica) financial support.     

The introduction and recovery in the United States ofAnaphes diana [Hym.: Mymaridae], an egg parasite ofSitona weevils [Col.: Curculionidae]

Anaphes diana (Girault) (=Patasson lameerei Debauche), a mymarid egg parasite ofSitona spp., was introduced from Europe beginning in 1976 and is now tentatively established in the United States. Techniques are described for the separation of eggs ofSitona spp. from soil, using a series of fine-mesh sieves, water, and a saturated salt solution. Data from 9 years of sampling in an alfalfa field at Newark, Del. (>19,300 host eggs extracted), showed that the mean peak density of viable overwintering eggs ofSitona hispidulus (F.) was 14.6 per 100 cm³ of 1 cm deep surface soil. At the study site,Sitona egg densities consistently increased during the fall as a result of oviposition, peaked during January and February and decreased during the spring as a result of egg hatch. Although the incidence of parasitism byA. diana remained surprisingly low (0.29%), the fact that the species was recovered during 3 years and up to 7 years after the last release, indicates that it has colonized at the Delaware release site.      

A new species of the weevil genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Otiorhynchus</Emphasis> germ., subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dibredus</Emphasis> Rtt. (Coleoptera,Curculionidae: Entiminae), from Southeastern Turkey

Otiorhynchus schuberti sp. n. (subgenus Dibredus Reitter, 1912) is described from Kahramanmara? Province in Southeastern Turkey. It is closely related to O. nudiformis Reitter, 1914 and, less closely, to O. rufimanus Hochhuth, 1847, but differs from both in a small bidentate tooth on the fore femur.     

A new gnetalean pollen genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chomsiipites</Emphasis> from cretaceous deposits of the eastern mediterranean

Four species of a new genus, Chomsiipites—Ch. libanicus sp. nov., Ch. pyriformis sp. nov., Ch. dzyubae sp. nov., and Ch. zaklinskaiae (Azèma et Boltenhagen) comb. nov.—are described from the Albian-Cenomanian of western part of Central Lebanon, Eastern Caspian Region, Albian-Turonian of Gabon, and Albian-Senonian of Angola (Equatorial Africa).     

New data for a revision of the genus Ctenolepisma (Zygentoma: Lepismatidae): redescription of Ctenolepisma lineata and new status for Ctenolepisma nicoletii

As a starting point for the revision of the genus Ctenolepisma Escherich 1905, the status of its type-species, Ctenolepisma lineata (Fabricius 1775), is clarified. In the present study, this species (originally described from Switzerland) is redescribed by means of many samples from several European countries and a neotype is designated. The constant presence of a third pair of abdominal styli in adult C. lineata s. str. leads to abandon the obsolete name C. lineata var. pilifera (Lucas 1840) for referring to a presumed non-typical variety of this species. The status of Lepisma pilifera Lucas 1840 is discussed, concluding that this name must be treated as a new synonym of Thermobia aegyptiaca (Lucas 1840). After our redefinition of the characters of C. lineata, an examination of many specimens of Ctenolepisma that were previously identified as C. lineata reveals that some of them are actually members of different taxa. This is the case for a species occurring in the Canary Islands, Northwest Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. In this work this species is ascribed to Lepisma nicoletii Lucas 1846, which was described from Algeria and regarded as a synonym of Ctenolepisma lineata by Escherich; this species is now redescribed as Ctenolepisma nicoletii stat. res. This species differs from C. lineata in that it bears only two pairs of abdominal styli, and it also differs in the shape of the prosternum and femoral scales. Lepisma eatoni Ridley 1881, which was described from Morocco and the Canary Islands and subsequently regarded as synonym of C. lineata, is now synonymised with C. nicoletii.     

C4 gene polymorphism in primates: evolution,generation, and Chido and Rodgers antigenicity

Eleven new C4d genomic primate sequences of the fourth complement factor (C4) have been obtained. Seven of them belong to five species not yet explored for this gene: Pan paniscus (pygmy chimpanzee), Cercopithecus aethiops (green monkey), Macaca mulatta (rhesus monkey), Macaca fascicularis (cynomolgus), and Saguinus oedipus (cotton top tamarin). The New World monkeys (tamarins, four individuals) sequenced for C4 have a single C4d sequence only, which shows a B isotypic specificity and a Rodgers 3 (Rg3), Chido 1 (Ch1) antigenicity. Rg3 and Ch1 could thus be the oldest Rg/Ch specificity (at least 50 million years old) and Rg1, Rg2, Ch3, and Ch6 could be more recent human-specific antigens. Mechanisms of C4d polymorphism generation were analyzed by compiling all the presently available sequences. Examples of both point mutations and crossing-over events among C4d primate sequences could be detected. The problem of a possible trans-species inheritance of C4d polymorphism was addressed and two apparently contradicting dendrograms were obtained. One of them, constructed by using both exon and intron sequences, does not support trans-species evolution, but supports the proposed theory of extensive homogenization of the C4 genes occurring within each species, because alleles from each primate species cluster together. Another completely different dendrogram, obtained by using exon sequences only, suggests the existence of trans-species evolution for C4d polymorphism, because alleles belonging to different species cluster together in a way similar to that found for HLA class I or II alleles. However, orangutan sequences group together in both kinds of C4d sequence dendrograms and seem to have arisen from an ancestor different from that of chimpanzee, gorilla and man C4d sequences. Finally, further data have been obtained that support trans-species conservation of A-ness and B-ness and the existence of trans-specifically conserved allelic motifs, both in intronic and exonic sequences.     

The oldest Cenozoic passandrid (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Passandridae) from the Paleocene of Menat (France)

The new oldest representative of the subfamily Passandrinae (Passandridae) was found in materials from Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France). It was preliminarily assigned to the genus Passandra Dalman in Schönherr, 1817, although the new species (?) Passandra plenaria sp. n., in contrast to other congeners, demonstrates an exposed labrum and an absence of preapical groove or impression on the hypopygidum. Some notes on fossil records and classification of the family Passandridae are made. The distinctiveness of the families Passandridae and Laemophloeidae in light of the new data on fossils is considered, and the attribution of Mesopassandra Jin, Ślipiński, Zhou and Pang, 2019 (type genus of Mesopassandrinae) to the family Passandridae is regarded as problematic.     

Anabolia anatolica sp. n., a New Species of Genus Anabolia Stephens (Trichoptera,Limnephilidae) from Southern Anatolia

In the present study a new species of the genus Anabolia, A. anatolica sp. n. from the Taurus Mountains in southern Anatolia is described and illustrated. The new species is related to A. laevis Zetterstedt, 1840 from northern Europe and is a glacial relict species of Pleistocene origin.     

Temperature‐dependent development of the parasitoid Tachinaephagus zealandicus on five forensically important carrion fly species

The influences of temperature and host species on the development of the forensically important parasitoid Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) were studied at six constant temperatures in the range of 15–30°C. T. zealandicus completed development successfully between 15°C and 27°C on five species of Calliphoridae, Calliphora albifrontalis Malloch, Calliphora dubia Macquart, Lucilia sericata Meigen, Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart and Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius. No adult parasitoids emerged from any of the host species reared at 30°C. Temperature and host species significantly influenced development time, emergence success and progeny size. Development was significantly longer on Ch. megacephala and Ch. rufifacies at 18–24°C and significantly longer on Ch. rufifacies and C. albifrontalis at 15°C and 27°C. Parasitoid emergence success was greatest at 21°C, declined at the temperature extremes (15°C and 27°C) and was significantly lower on Ch. megacephala and Ch. rufifacies than on the three other host species. Progeny numbers per host pupa were highest at 21–24°C, declined on either side of this temperature range and were significantly lower on L. sericata, Ch. rufifacies and Ch. megacephala than on either C. dubia or C. albifrontalis. An effect of host species on sex ratio was only observed at 27°C, at which a higher proportion of T. zealandicus females emerged from Ch. megacephala and Ch. rufifacies than from the other host species. The thermal requirements for development (developmental thresholds, thermal constant, optimum temperature) of T. zealandicus in each host species were estimated using linear and non‐linear models. Upper and lower developmental thresholds ranged between 29.90°C and 31.73°C, and 9.73°C and 10.08°C, respectively. The optimum temperature for development was estimated at between 25.81°C and 27.05°C. Given the significant effect of host species on development time, the use of parasitoid–host‐specific developmental data in forensic application is recommended.     

Revision of the genus Amadotrogus Reitter, 1902 (n. stat.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae)

In this paper, the subgenus Amadotrogus Reitter, 1902 and its taxonomic status as a subordinate taxon of genus Amphimallon are reviewed. Two kinds of character sets are discussed; those relative to the external morphology of the adult and those of the male and female genitalia. Subgenus Amadotrogus is compared with its recognized allied genera in the same clade (Coca-Abia 1995) Amphimallon Berthold, 1827; Geotrogus Guérin, 1842; Monotropus Erichson, 1847; Pseudoapeterogyna Escalera, 1914 and Rhizotrogus Berthold, 1827 to asses the realtionships of these taxa. Phylogenetic analysis discloses that Amadotrogus, considered to be a subgenus of Amphimallon, has synapomorphic characters which justify its elevation to generic rank. Thus, genus Amadotrogus includes seven species distributed across the Northern Mediterranean basin. The type species, Amadotrogus quercanus (Burmeister, 1855), and six others, transferred from genus Rhizotrogus: Amadotrogus grassii (Mainardi, 1902), Amadotrogus insubricus (Burmeister, 1855), Amadotrogus oertzeni (Brenske, 1886), Amadotrogus patru- elis (Reiche, 1862), Amadotrougs truncatus (Brenske, 1886) and Amadotrogus vicinus (Mulsant, 1842) (Coca-Abia & Martín-Piera 1998). In addition, Rhizotrogus rugifrons Burmeister, 1855 is considered a new synonym of Amadotrogus vicinus. Rhizotrogus bolivari Martínez y Sáez, 1873, Amphimallon cata- launicum Báguena, 1956 and Rhizotrogus lajonquierei Baraud, 1970 are synonymized with Amadotrogus patruelis.