The Mating Behavior of an Undescribed Species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhamphomyia</Emphasis> (Diptera: Empididae)

An undescribed sex-role reversed species of an empidid fly in the genus Rhamphomyia exhibits several unusual behavioral features including the early morning and early evening formation of female swarms low in open woodlands, high in treetops, and over grassy hayfields. These swarms only last between 1 and 2 h each and are composed of females with highly ornamented legs that they hold around their narrow abdomens, which they do not inflate in the manner of R. longicauda and some other members of the genus. Males visit the swarms carrying small insects as nuptial gifts that they transfer to the partners they choose as do males of some other sex-role reversed empidids.     

Two New Species of the Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tshurtshurnella</Emphasis> Kusnezov (Hemiptera,Auchenorrhyncha, Fulgoroidea: Issidae) from Eastern Anatolia

Tshurtshurnella bicolorata sp. n. and T. curtulum sp. n. are described from Elaz?? and Malatya provinces of Turkey. T. bicolorata sp. n. is well distinguished from the other species of the genus by the presence of two color forms in males and females and T. curtulum sp. n., by darkly colored females and pale males. Also these new species differ from the other species of the genus in the characters of the structure of the male genitalia.     

New species of the bristletail genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allopsontus</Emphasis> Silv. (Microcoryphia,Machilidae) from Southeastern Kazakhstan and Abkhazia

Two new bristletail species, Allopsontus (Anisoptinus) nigrus sp. n. from Southeastern Kazakhstan and A. (Kaplinilis) abkhazicus sp. n. from Abkhazia, are described. A. nigrus sp. n. differs from the only other known species of the subgenus Anisoptinus, A. borgustani Kaplin 2015, in a number of characters, namely, in more rounded paired ocelli, an extended apical segment of the labial palpus, a long articulated ovipositor, and in the absence of short appressed pigmented setulae on the maxillary and labial palpi in males. A. abkhazicus sp. n. can be easily distinguished from all the other known species of the subgenus Kaplinilis by the absence of short appressed pigmented setulae on the maxillary and labial palpi in the males, the absence of a projection with numerous spiniform setae on the male fore femur, and in shorter male genital appendages. The ocellus of the male and female is 2.8-2.9 times as wide as long; the length to width ratio of the eye is 0.9-1.0; the ovipositor consists of 60 divisions.     

Detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rickettsia</Emphasis> spp. in ticks parasitizing toads (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhinella marina</Emphasis>) in the northern Brazilian Amazon

This study evaluated rickettsial infection in ticks collected on toads from the northern Brazilian Amazon (Amapá state), where to our knowledge there are neither records of ticks from amphibians nor rickettsial infections in ticks. During 2016–2017, a total of 22 free-living toads were captured and identified as Rhinella marina. Overall, 12 (54.5%) toads were parasitized by a total of 97 ticks (6 males, 39 females, 31 nymphs, 21 larvae), giving a mean intensity of 8.1 ticks per infested toad. Two tick species were morphologically identified: Amblyomma rotundatum Koch (31 females, 14 nymphs), and Amblyomma dissimile Koch (6 males, 8 females, 17 nymphs). The 21 larvae were morphologically denoted as Amblyomma sp. Five toads were co-infested by A. rotundatum and A. dissimile. Morphological identifications were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing of fragments of the mitochondrial genes 16S rDNA, 12S rDNA and/or COX1. A total of 54 ticks were analyzed for the presence of rickettsial DNA. Eleven (9 females and 2 nymphs) out of 14 A. rotundatum ticks contained Rickettsia bellii. None of the 25 specimens of A. dissimile (6 males, 6 females, 13 nymphs) contained amplifiable rickettsial DNA. From 15 Amblyomma sp. larvae, a pool of 10 individuals contained Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. Sequencing of the 16S rDNA amplicon derived from the positive pool yielded a sequence of A. dissimile. We detected Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi for the first time in Brazil. Prior records of this agent were restricted to Colombia and Honduras. In addition, we report the presence of A. rotundatum for the first time in the state of Amapá, where the only other record of A. dissimile was registered over 20 years ago.     

Description of a new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ixodes</Emphasis> Latreille, 1795 (Acari: Ixodidae) and redescription of <Emphasis Type="Italic">I. priscicollaris</Emphasis> Schulze, 1932, parasites of New Guinea rodents (Rodentia: Muridae)

Ixodes goliath n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae), is described based on females collected from the eastern hyomys, Hyomys goliath (Milne-Edwards) (Rodentia: Muridae) from Papua New Guinea. Females of I. goliath n. sp. are similar to those of I. priscicollaris Schulze, 1932 but can be distinguished by the overall size, porose areas sculpture and shape of palpal segment I ventrally. For comparative purposes, the female of I. priscicollaris is redescribed. Studied females of I. priscicollaris were found on murid rodents and Phascogale sp. (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae) from Indonesia (Papua Province) and Papua New Guinea.     

Descriptions of two new species of feather mites (Acarina: Psoroptidia: Pteronyssidae) from Ivory Coast

Two new feather mite species of the family Pteronyssidae Oudemans, 1941 collected from birds captured in Ivory Coast are described: Pteronyssoides cyanomitrae n. sp. from Cyanomitra obscura (Jardine) (Passeriformes: Nectariniidae) and Conomerus pygmaeus n. sp. from Hylia prasina (Cassin) (Passeriformes: Macrosphenidae). Pteronyssoides cyanomitrae n. sp. belongs to the nectariniae species group and differs from the closest species, P. garioui Gaud & Mouchet, 1959, in having, in males, the adanal shield present and setae f longer than setae d on the tarsus III; females of this species have the hysteronotal shield with two small median incisions on the anterior margin barely extending beyond the level of setae e2. Conomerus pygmaeus n. sp. is the first species of this genus found on a passerine host, and seems to be more similar to C. sclerosternus Gaud, 1990. This new species has the following distinctive characters: in females, the opisthosoma has small lobe-like extensions and the central sclerite is fused posteriorly with the lateral opisthosomal sclerites; in males, coxal fields I–IV lack large sclerotised areas.     

Field-based artificial crossings indicate partial compatibility of reciprocal crosses between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus mugo</Emphasis> and unexpected chloroplast DNA inheritance

Crossability relationships between Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and mountain dwarf pine (Pinus mugo Turra) was studied, using artificial pollination approach. Partial compatibility of the reciprocal crossings of these species was proved experimentally, validating the idea of a spontaneous formation of their hybrid swarms under natural conditions. The hybrids were validated using organellar DNA markers and nuclear DNA microsatellites. Based on the percentage of filled seeds, the interspecific crossings were less efficient than the intraspecific cross-pollinations of P. sylvestris and P. mugo individuals. Both species were found to intercross readily with individuals of their putative hybrid swarm, P. mugo exhibiting a higher hybridological affinity towards putatively hybrid individuals than P. sylvestris. Validation of the hybrids confirmed the paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) in the combination P. sylvestris × P. mugo only. Surprisingly, in the reciprocal crossing P. mugo × P. sylvestris, maternal inheritance of cpDNA was revealed. Obtained results offer a new insight into the direction and intensity of gene flow within the hybrid swarms of Scots pine and mountain dwarf pine.     

From Eastern Arc Mountains to extreme sexual dimorphism: systematics of the enigmatic assassin bug genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xenocaucus</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Tribelocephalinae)

The Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) have long been recognized as an area of extraordinary endemic biodiversity but have remained understudied compared to other biodiversity hotspots. The tribelocephaline assassin bug genus Xenocaucus China & Usinger, 1949, currently comprises two species known from the Uluguru Mountains of the EAM and Bioko Island in the Gulf of Guinea. Both species are based on single apterous and apparently eyeless female specimens. Based on collections resulting from extensive leaf litter sampling in Tanzania and Ethiopia, we here describe six new species, five based on females (Xenocaucus chomensis, n. sp., Xenocaucus kimbozensis, n. sp., Xenocaucus nguru, n. sp., Xenocaucus rubeho, n. sp., and Xenocaucus uluguru, n. sp.) and Xenocaucus ethiopiensis, n. sp., for which we discovered a macropterous male with well-developed eyes in addition to the apterous females. Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that Xenocaucus ethiopiensis, n. sp., is the sister taxon to the Tanzanian clade and support morphology-based species concepts. Divergence dating shows that diversification in the Tanzanian clade started ～15 mya, with the youngest species-level split occurring ～8 mya. Three species occur across multiple mountain ranges in the EAM or occur also on Mt. Hanang, and biogeographic analyses suggest a complex history of Xenocaucus in East Africa.     

Extractive foraging of toxic caterpillars in wild northern pig-tailed macaques (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca leonina</Emphasis>)

Extractive foraging in nonhuman primates may involve different levels of technical complexity in terms of the number of actions that must be performed and the manual dexterity involved. We describe the extractive foraging of caterpillars in wild northern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca leonina) at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. The study group, observed from May to December 2016 (n = 146 days), comprised 60–70 habituated individuals, including 3–4 adult males, 20–23 adult females, and 36–47 immatures. Four adult males and five adult females, observed from September to November 2016 for a total of 24 days, were selected for focal animal sampling. Northern pig-tailed macaques were observed eating at least two families (Erebidae and Limacodidae) and three genera (Macrobrochis sp., Phlossa sp. and Scopelodes sp.) of caterpillars. While the monkeys ate short and small caterpillars with stinging setae and non-setae caterpillars without processing, they performed extensive caterpillar-rubbing behavior on large and long caterpillars with stinging setae. Based on 61 extractive foraging bouts, we found that caterpillar rubbing was hierarchically organized into five stages and 12 elements. Five stages of behavior sequence started with picking the caterpillar up, transporting it to a substrate, rubbing it to remove stinging setae, ingesting it, and then cleaning hands and mouth. Only adult macaques were observed using a leaf to rub stinging caterpillars.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudodelphis eleginopsis</Emphasis> n. sp. (Nematoda: Guyanemidae), a new tissue-dwelling parasite of the Patagonian blennie <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eleginops maclovinus</Emphasis> (Cuvier) (Perciformes: Eleginopsidae) in Argentina,with notes on related forms

Based on light and scanning electron microscopical studies, a new nematode parasite, Pseudodelphis eleginopsis n. sp. (Dracunculoidea: Guyanemidae), is described from tissues behind the gills of the Patagonian blennie Eleginops maclovinus (Cuvier) (Perciformes: Eleginopsidae) off the Atlantic coast (San Matías and San José Gulfs) of Patagonia, Argentina. The new species is mainly characterised by the length of the body (males 10–13 mm, larvigerous females 31–59 mm), the number (14) and arrangement of cephalic papillae, the absence of a buccal capsule, the muscular to glandular oesophagus length ratio (1:3–4) of larvigerous females, the length of the spicules (48–63 µm) and the number (7 pairs) and arrangement of the caudal papillae in the male. Pseudodelphis eleginopsis n. sp. is the first species of this genus described from a marine fish in the Atlantic Ocean and the first known dracunculoid parasitising the fish host belonging to the family Eleginopsidae. As revealed by the examination of very young females of the new species, the female genital tract of Pseudodelphis spp. is monodelphic. The genus Syngnathinema Moravec, Spangenberg & Frasca, 2001 is considered a junior synonym of Pseudodelphis Adamson & Roth, 1990 and, consequently, S. californiense and S. chitwoodi are transferred to Pseudodelphis as P. californiensis (Moravec, Spangenberg & Frasca, 2001) n. comb. and P. chitwoodi (Moravec & Kuchta, 2013) n. comb., respectively. Two dracunculoid species, Pseudodelphis limnicola Brugni & Viozzi, 2006 and the previously established Philonema percichthydis Moravec, Urawa & Coria, 1997, both described from the same freshwater host species, Percichthys trucha (Valenciennes), in the same region (Patagonia), are considered to be identical; therefore, the valid name of this species is Pseudodelphis percichthydis n. comb. and P. limnicola becomes its junior synonym. A key to the species of Pseudodelphis is provided.     

Detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rickettsia</Emphasis> spp. in ticks associated to wild mammals in Northeastern Brazil,with notes on an undetermined <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ornithodoros</Emphasis> sp. collected from marsupials

We report tick infestations and rickettsial detection in ticks infesting free-living wild mammals (Monodelphis domestica, Tolypeutes tricinctus, Thrichomys inermis and Kerodon rupestris) captured in the Caatinga ecoregion of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil, during September to December 2016. Overall, 117 ticks (61 larvae, 25 nymphs, 25 males, 6 females) belonging to two genera, and at least three species were collected: Amblyomma auricularium, Amblyomma parvum, Amblyomma sp., Ornithodoros rietcorreai and an unidentified Ornithodoros sp. We provide new host records to the rodent T. inermis parasitized by larva and nymphs of A. auricularium and to the marsupial M. domestica infested by larvae of A. auricularium. Furthermore, we describe new tick-host association for larvae of O. rietcorreai on the rodents K. rupestris and T. inermis. Concerning tick-Rickettsia associations, we detected Rickettsia amblyommatis and an uncharacterized species of Rickettsia belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG) in both A. auricularium and A. parvum. Additionally, ‘Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae’ was detected in A. parvum as well.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Condyloderes kurilensis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida)—a new deep water species from the abyssal plain near the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

A new species of centroderid kinorhynchs, Condyloderes kurilensis sp. nov., collected from muddy sediment at the abyssal plain near the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, North-West Pacific, is described and illustrated using light and electron microscopy. Previously, members of the genus Condyloderes were found only in nearly shallow water enviroments—C. multispinosus (North Sea), C. paradoxus (Bengal Bay), C. setoensis (Tanabe Bay, Japan), C. storchi (Argentina coast), and C. megastigma (Korea Strait). The new species is characterized by the presence of lateroventral cuspidate spines only on trunk segment 8 in both sexes, paired ventromedial appendages (tubules) on trunk segments 7 and 8 in females only, and dorsolateral spines on trunk segment 10 in males only. Condyloderes kurilensis sp. nov. constitutes the sixth species of the genus Condyloderes described so far and the only second abyssal species of the Kinorhyncha described from the North-West Pacific. A key to the six species of the genus Condyloderes is proposed.     

New and little known species of the dance-fly subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthempis</Emphasis> Bezzi,genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Empis</Emphasis> L. (Diptera,Empididae), from the Caucasus

Five new species of the subgenus Xanthempis Bezzi are described from the Caucasus: Empis (Xanthempis) annae sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodar Territory), E. (X.) grichanovi sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodar Territory; Georgia), E. (X.) pseudoconcolor sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodar and Stavropol territories; Georgia: Abkhazia), E. (X.) teberdaensis sp. n. (Russia: Karachay-Cherkessia), and E. (X.) zamotajlovi sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodar Territory and Adygea). The females of E. (X.) alanica Shamshev and E. (X.) kovalevi Shamshev are described for the first time. New data on the distribution of some previously described species are reported. The geographical distribution of Xanthempis is discussed. A key to Xanthempis species from the Caucasus is compiled.     

An omnivorous arthropod, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nesidiocoris tenuis</Emphasis>, induces gender-specific plant volatiles to which conspecific males and females respond differently

Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae) is an omnivorous mirid bug that preys on diverse generalist herbivorous arthropods. N. tenuis adults are attracted to volatiles from plants induced by their prey, such as tobacco cutworms (CCW) (Spodoptera litura larvae) and two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae). N. tenuis adults also induce volatiles when they infest plants. In this study, we focused on olfactory responses of N. tenuis males and females to volatiles from eggplants and sesame plants induced by conspecifics of the same or different gender by using a Y-tube olfactometer. Males were attracted to volatiles from plants of both species induced by either males or females. The male preference was biased to volatiles from plants of both species induced by females, probably because the biased response would facilitate their mate-finding. Females were attracted only to volatiles from plants of both species induced by females. Mating occurs multiple times in this species. Thus, the responses would indirectly affect mating of males and females. Slight but significant qualitative and quantitative differences were detected between the volatiles of plants of both species induced by N. tenuis females and those of the plants induced by conspecific males. N. tenuis might use such differences in their gender-specific responses.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Neoascarophis sinensis</Emphasis> n. sp. (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), a parasite of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Conger myriaster</Emphasis> (Brevoort) (Anguilliformes: Congridae) in Chinese waters

Neoascarophis sinensis n. sp. collected from the whitespotted conger Conger myriaster (Brevoort) (Anguilliformes: Congridae) in the Yellow and East China Seas, is described using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The new species is characterised mainly by the body size (8.5–10.5 mm in the males, 9.5–14.0 mm in the females), the location of the vulva (near equatorial region of the body), the non-bifurcate deirids, the lengths of the vestibule (40–50 µm in the males, 30–60 µm in the females) and glandular oesophagus (2.5–3.1 mm in the males, 3.1–3.5 mm in the females) and the morphology and length of the spicules (left spicule 400–410 µm, right spicule 130–150 µm). Neoascarophis sinensis n. sp. is the first species of Neoascarophis Machida, 1976 reported from the anguilliform fish and is also the only species of this genus found in the Chinese waters.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Typhlophoros kwenae</Emphasis> n. sp. (Nematoda: Ascaridida: Heterocheilidae), a gastric parasite from the Nile crocodile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crocodylus niloticus</Emphasis> Laurenti (Reptilia: Crocodylidae) in South Africa

Based on light and scanning electron microscopical observations, Typhlophoros kwenae n. sp. (Heterocheilidae), a new nematode parasite, is described from the stomach of the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti in South Africa. In having three lips with well-developed posterior prolongations and prominent interlabial longitudinal cuticular ridges, four pairs of precloacal papillae and complex spicules divided into handle and broad alate blade in males, as well as the position of the vulva near mid-body in females, the specimens conform to the generic diagnosis of Typhlophoros von Linstow, 1906. They can, however, be distinguished from the two previously described congeners, T. lamellaris von Linstow, 1906 and T. spratti Sprent, 1999, by the number of complete interlabial ridges, the length of spicules in males and the position of the vulva as well as the length of the tail in females. This is the first record of the genus Typhlophoros from the Afrotropical Realm.     

Reproductive tables of predatory phytoseiid mites (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytoseiulus persimilis,Galendromus occidentalis</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neoseiulus cucumeris</Emphasis>)

Feeding of predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis, Galendromus occidentalis, and Neoseiulus cucumeris) on different life stages of Tetranychus atlanticus under optimal conditions was studied. Daily and total consumption of prey by predators and selection of prey of different life stages were studied for 5 days and for the entire feeding period. Average daily food consumption [number of individuals] for the entire life period of mature mite females constituted 0.43 females + 5.0 [nymphs and males] + 3.4 eggs of Tetranychus atlanticus in P. persimilis; 0.12 females + 3.70 [nymphs and males] + 3.10 eggs in G. occidentalis; and 0.19 females + 4.10 [nymphs and males] + 3.50 eggs in N. cucumeris. During the entire period of feeding, P. persimilis preferred large individuals and at the postembryonic stages selected prey to a greater extent than G. occidentalis and N. cucumeris (61.8 and 55.1%, respectively). The use of a 5-day express-method is possible for estimation of some biological characteristics of phytoseiids that previously consumed the same food for a long period. In other cases, analysis of characteristics for the entire life period is necessary.     

Non-random Mating in the Dance Fly Empis borealis: The Importance of Male Choice

In the dance-fly Empis borealis (Diptera, Empididae), females form swarms to which males, carrying a nuptial gift, come for mating. We examined whether males or females were choosy and/or competed for mates. First, measurements of the size relationships between copulating males and females, nuptial gifts and the swarming females from different swarms were assessed. Second, male visiting time in differently sized female swarms was recorded. Larger (wing-length) females participated disproportionately in copulations in each swarm, but not for the population at large. Female mating status (virgin/non-virgin) or proximity to oviposition (egg size) did not influence the likelihood of copulation. No assortative mating pattern was found: male size and size of nuptial gift did not correlate with size of the mating female. The time spent by males in swarms increased with the number of females present and it took longer when males left a swarm without copulation than when doing so. Male visiting time per female was negatively correlated with number of females in swarms. Males more often left smaller than larger swarms without mating. We conclude that E. borealis males discriminate among females but find no evidence for male competition or for female choice. It is still a question to what degree females compete for males.