Geographical distribution ofAphidiidae [Hym.] imported to California for biological control ofAcyrthosiphon kondoi andAcyrthosiphon pisum [Hom.: Aphididae]

A survey forAcyrthosiphon kondoi Shinji and its insect enemies was conducted in 1976–1977 in Afghanistan, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Iran, Israel and Maroc. The search was concentrated in areas having cultivated species ofMedicago. A. kondoi was found only in Afghanistan, and in Iran. It was not found inMedicago-growing areas west from Iran, but it has been reported from India and Japan. Aphidius ervi Haliday,Aphidius urticae group,Praon barbatum Mackauer andAphidius smithi Sharma & Rao, were reared fromA. kondoi constituting new parasite records. New parasite and locality records were also found forA. urticae group,A. smithi andP. barbatum onAcyrthosiphum pisum (Harris). In laboratory trials, all cultures of parasitesA. ervi andP. barbatum readily parasitized and reproduced onA. kondoi onLens esculenta Moench. Cultures ofA. urticae group andA. smithi oviposited on, but did not complete development of immatures in,A. kondoi onL. esculenta. Hyperparasites identified as species includedAsaphes suspensus (Nees),Asaphes vulgaris Walker,Aphidencyrtus aphidivorus (Mayr),Dendrocerus breadalbimensis (Kieffer),Dendrocerus carpenteri (Curtis), andPachyneuron aphidis (Bouche). Available data suggest the origin of distribution ofA. kondoi may be Central Asia, and that populations ofA. ervi may be most suitable for colonization programs againstA. kondoi.     

Cytotaxonomic study ofTragopogon L. in czechoslovakia

Karyotypes ofTragopogon orientalis L. subsp.orientalis, T orientalis L. subsp.leiocarpos (Sauter)Trnka,T. pratensis L.,T. minor Miller,T. dubius Scop. subsp.dubius andT. dubius Scop. subsp.major (Jacq.)Vollmann were studied. The occurrence in Slovakia ofT. pratensis was karyologically proved.     

New fig insects [Hym.: Chalcidoidea] from India: Three torymids parasitic on agaonids

Two new species of fig wasps (Sycoscapter punctatus Abdurahiman & Joseph andSycobiella amplissima Abdurahiman & Joseph) parasitic onManiella delhiensis Abdurahiman & Joseph fromFicus amplissima Smith, and the female of a known species (Philotrypesis anguliceps Westwood) parasitic onBlastophaga quadraticeps Mayr fromFicus religiosa L. are described.     

Nomenklatorische Anmerkungen zur GattungPotentilla

Für folgende inkorrekte Epitheta schlägt der Autor richtige Namen vor, die in Klammern angeführt sind:Potentilla opizii Dom. (=P. lindackeri Tausch),P. dealbata Bunge (=P. virgata Lehm.),P. poterioides Franch. (=P. limprichtii J. Krause),P. fulgens Wall. exHook. (=P. siemersiana Lehm.),P. labradorica Lehm. (=P. flexuosa Raf.),P. ambigua Camb. (=P. cuneifolia Bertol.),P. anserina ssp.egedii (Wormsk.) Hitt. (=P. anserina ssp.groenlandica Tratt.),P. raddeana (Wolf) Juz. (=P. bertramii Aznav.) undP. bipinnatifida Dougl. exHook. (=P. normalis Bess. exSpreng.). FürP. nudicaulis Boiss. etBal.,P. eremica Wolf undP. sericata Wolf werden nomina nova veröffentlicht. Es werden einige neue Kombinationen angeführt:P. supina L. ssp.paradoxa (Nutt. exTorr. etGray) c.n.,P. hispanica Zimm. ssp.oreodoxa (Soják) c. n. undP. h. ssp.ibrahimiana (Maire) c. n. Strauchige Arten, oft in die GattungPotentilla eingereiht, betrachtet der Autor als eine selbständige GattungPentaphylloides und in dieser Gattung führt er einige neue Kombinationen (5 für Arten, 4 für Hybriden) an.     

Inoceramids from Kreibitz-Zittauer area (Saxony and northern Bohemia): revision ofAndert’s (1911) descriptions

Andert’s (1911) inoceramids (Bivalvia) from the topmost Turonian and Lower and lowermost Middle Coniacian (Cretaceous) of the Kreibitz-Zittauer area (Saxony and northern Bohemia) are revised, partially redescribed and newly illustrated. Ten species are discussed. Of the forms described as new byAndert,Inoceramus weiset is shown to represent deformed representatives ofCremnoceramus crassus (Petrascheck), andI. winkholdioides Andert should probably be synonymized withC. brongniarti (Mantell).Andert’s interpretation ofFlegel’s (1904) species, i.e.I. frechi andI. glaziae, is not correct; the former should be referred toMytiloides scupini (Heinz), while the latter includesC. inconstans (Woods),I. vistulensis Walaszczyk,C. rotundatus (Tröger nonFiege), andM. cf.turonicus Walaszczyk. The speciesI. subquadratus Andert representsC. rotundatus (Tröger nonFiege), and hisI. cuvieri var.planus is referred toC. inconstans (Woods) and toC. cf.transilvanicus (Simionescu). The speciesI. protractus Scupin is referred toC. waltersdorfensis (Andert). The main source localities toAndert (1911), i. e. Sonnenberg near Waltersdorf and “Dachsloch” quarry near Innozenzidorf (Czech: Lesne), are of latest Late Turonian/Early Coniacian (theMytiloides scupini andCremnoceramus rotundatus Zones) and late Early Coniacian (C. deformis- C. crassus Zone) age respectively. The third locality, i. e. railway cutting at Tannenberg station (Czech: Jedlová), is probably or late Early Coniacian or early Middle Coniacian age.     

Petrodavisia,a new genus inCentaureinae (Asteraceae)

A new monotypic genus based onPtosimopappus bracteatus Boiss. =Centaurea ptosimopappa Hayek is described. The history of its classification and relationships toCheirolophus Cass. andMicrolophus Cass. are discussed.     

Studien über dieJungermannioideae (Hepaticae) 2. Jungermannia Subg.Jungermannia

Die zweite Studie aus der Serie der vorbereiteten Studien über die Subfam.Jungermannioideae (Jungermanniaceae, Hepaticae) enthält eine taxonomische Bearbeitung des Subg.Jungermannia. Nach dem Verfasser gehören zu diesem Subg. nur 7 Arten:J. atrovirens Dum. (identisch mitJ. tristis Nees),J. exsertifolia Steph.,J. gollanii Steph.,J. karl-muelleri Grolle,J. ovato-trigona (Steph. inHerz.) Grolle,J. polaris Lindb. undJ. pumila With. Die anderen, zu diesem Subg. gestellten Arten gehören teilweise zu den anderen Subgenera (J. grossitexta sensuAmak.,J. kuwaharae Amak., undJ. laetevirens (Spruce) K. Müll. inGrolle), teilweise als Synonyma nova zu den obenerwähnten Arten (J. nipponica (Sak. etTakah.) Hatt.,J. tenerrima Steph. (hom. illeg.) undJ. towadensis (Okam.) Hatt., sowie auchJ. tristis Nees).     

Mass breeding of two species ofSaissetia [Hom.: Coccidae] for propagation of their parasitoids

Potato sprouts detached from soil are most suitable for mass rearingSaissetia oleae (Olivier),S. coffeae (Walker) and their parasitoids, since the duration of development of the coccids is short, and they can be grown easily with their natural enemies in closed containers under controlled conditions.S. oleae served for propagation ofMetaphycus affinisstanleyi Compere,M. helvolus (Compere),M. bartletti Annecke & Mynhardt,M. lounsburyi (Howard), whilstS. coffeae was better suited forScutellista cyanea Motschulsky. The ornamental plantAdhatoda vasica Nees, citron melon and squash fruits served for rearingS. coffeae, while oleander was used for breedingS. oleae and its parasitoids during the ebb of the culture on potato sprouts.     

Genistella Léger etGauthier vs.Genistella Ortega; a nomenclatural note

The nameLegeriomyces Pouz. is proposed forGenistella Léger etGauthier (Trichomycetes), which is a later homonym ofGenistella Ortega (Papilionaceae). Simultaneously the family nameLegeriomycetaceae Pouz. is proposed to replace the family nameGenistellaceae Léger etGauthier.     

New chromosome numbers inTaraxacum with reference to SAT-chromosomes

Chromosome numbers of eight agamospermousTaraxacum microspecies are reported for the first time:T hypanicum Tzvel. [sect.Dioszegia (Heuff.) Heuff.,T. neosivaschicum Tzvel. [sect.Palustria (Lindb, fil.)Dahlst.],T. pseudohoppeanum Kirschner et?těpánek (sect.Erythrocarpa Dahlst.),T. schroeterianum H.-M. (sect.Rhodocarpa Van Soest),T. marmottae C.E. Sonck,T. lambinonii Van Soest [sect.Erythrosperma (Lindb. fil.)Dahlst.],T. zermattense Dahlst, andT. magnoobliquum Van Soest (taxa of uncertain classification). All these polyploid microspecies have satellite chromosomes in their karyotypes. Advanced karyological characters were found in sect.Dioszegia, hitherto regarded as a primitive section ofTaraxacum: triploidy in agamospermousT. hypanicum Tzvel. and satellite chromosomes as in this taxon, as in two diploid sexualsT. serotinum (W. et K.)Poiret andT. haussknechtii Uechtr. The results presented are compared to the literature data.     

d-Amino Acid-Induced Expression of d-Amino Acid Oxidase in the Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

We investigated d-amino acid oxidase (DAO) induction in the popular model yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The product of the putative DAO gene of the yeast expressed in E.?coli displayed oxidase activity to neutral and basic d-amino acids, but not to an l-amino acid or acidic d-amino acids, showing that the putative DAO gene encodes catalytically active DAO. DAO activity was weakly detected in yeast cells grown on a culture medium without d-amino acid, and was approximately doubled by adding d-alanine. The elimination of ammonium chloride from culture medium induced activity by up to eight-fold. l-Alanine also induced the activity, but only by about half of that induced by d-alanine. The induction by d-alanine reached a maximum level at 2?h cultivation; it remained roughly constant until cell growth reached a stationary phase. The best inducer was d-alanine, followed by d-proline and then d-serine. Not effective were N-carbamoyl-d,l-alanine (a better inducer of DAO than d-alanine in the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis), and both basic and acidic d-amino acids. These results showed that S. pombe DAO could be a suitable model for analyzing the regulation of DAO expression in eukaryotic organisms.     

Notes on some African hepatic genera 1–5

The present study deals with five genera of hepatics in Africa, Isotachis Mitt., Anastrophyllum (Spruce) Steph., Tritomaria Schiffn. ex Loeske, Gymnocoleopsis (Schust.) Schust. and Lophozia (Dum.) Dum. All African populations of the genus Isotachis Mitt. are considered to be one species, I. aubertii (Schwaegr.) Mitt. Four species of Anastrophyllum (Spruce) Steph. (s.l.), A. auritum (Lehm.) Steph., A. piligerum (Nees) Spruce, A. subcomplicatum (Lehm. et Lindenb.) Steph. and A. minutum (Schreb.) Schust., and two species of Tritomaria Schiffn. et Loeske, T. camerunensis S. Arnell and T. exsecta (Schrad.) Schiffn. ex Loeske occur in Africa. Gymmocoleopsis multiflora (Steph.) Schust. represents a genus and species hitherto unreported for the African flora. Finally, five Lophozia (Dum.) Dum. species, L. argentina (Steph.) Schust., L. capensis S. Arnell, L. decolorans (Limpr.) Steph., L. hedbergii S. Arnell and L. tristaniana (S. Arnell) Váňa, are reported from central and southern Africa; two of these (L. argentina (Steph.) Schust. and L. decolorans (Limpr.) Steph.) represent the first reports from Africa.     

Parasites of rice stemborers in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo)

Observations on parasites were made during a study of the following rice stem-borers in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo):Tryporyza incertulas (Walker),T. innotata (Walker),Chilo suppressalis (Walker)C. auricilia (Dudgeon), andSeamia inferens (Walker). Egg-parasitism was often high, but that of the larval and pupal stages generally very low. Between 40–80% of theTryporyza eggs were parasitised byTelenomus rowani (Gahan), while 30–50% were attacked byTetrastichus schoenobii Ferrière. About 40–90% of the eggs ofChilo were parasitised byTrichogramma? japonicum Ashmead and 5–26% byTelenomus dignus (Gahan). Only 0.4–3% of theTryporyza larvae were parasitised by a Braconid,Rhaconotus schoenobivorus (Rohwer), whileBracon chinensis Szepligeti attacked 0.2–0.7% of the larvae ofC. suppressalis. Parasitism ofSesamia larvae byApanteles flavipes Cameron was equally low, never exceeding 2%. Pupal parasitism was somewhat higher.Tetrastichus israeli (Mani & Kurian) attacked 8% and 18% of the pupae ofC. suppressalis andS. inferens, respectively, while the Ichneumonid,Xanthopimpla stemmator (Thunberg) attacked up to 3% of the pupae of the former species. The immature stages of some of these parasites are described.     

Parasites of bark beetles [Col.: Scolytidae] on pine and cypress in Israel

Ten species of hymenopterous parasites were reared from logs of pine and cypress, naturally infested with 5 species of bark beetles,viz., Orthotomicus erosus Woll.,Pityogenes calcaratus Eichh., andTomicus destruens Woll. — on pine;Phloeosinus armatus Reitt. andP. aubei Perris — on cypress, in Israel. The parasites were:Dendrosoter chaenopachoides Rusch,D. hartigii (Ratz.),D. middendorfi (Ratz.),D. protuberans Nees (Braconidae), Eurytoma morio Boheman (Eurytomidae), Cerocephala eccoptogastri Masi,Heydenia pretiosa F?rster,Metacolus unifasciatus F?rster,Rhaphitelus maculatus Walker andRoptrocerus xylophagorum (Ratz.) (Pteromalidae). The most common wereM. unifasciatus on pine and cypress,D. chaenopachoides andR. xylophagorum on pine, andD. protuberans on cypress, occurring in samples collected during most seasons. Less common wasE. morio, which was reared from both conifers.D. middendorfi was found on pine, and only during winter. The other species were found only occasionally.     

The effects of various aphids as larval prey on the development ofMetasyrphus corollae [Dipt.: Syrphidae]

The suitability of thirteen aphid species for the polyphagous larvae ofMetasyrphus corollae (Fabr.) was investigated in laboratory tests. The length of larval and pupal development, weight of puparia, mortality during larval and pupal stages were compared. Cannibalism was not observed in the larvae reared in groups on suitable food.Aphis sambuci Linneaus was not a suitable prey for the larvae.Cavariella theobaldi (Gillette Bragg) collected fromPastinaca sativa L. was toxic to larvae ofM. corollae, although it was possible to rear the larvae onAphis fabae Scopoli orAnuraphis subterranea (Walker) from the same host plant.     

Parasites ofSpodoptera exigua,S. eridania [Lep.: Noctuidae] andHerpetogramma bipunctalis [Lep.: Pyralidae] collected fromAmaranthus hybridus in field corn

Three species of lepidopterous larvae were collected fromAmaranthus hybridus L. growing in field corn during 1975 and 1976 at Hastings, Florida.Spodoptera exigua (Hubner) was the predominant species in May.Spodoptera eridania (Cramer) was predominant in June andHerpetogramma bipunctalis (F.) in July and August. Nine native species of parasites, representing theBraconidae, Eulophidae, Ichneumonidae andTachinidae, emerged from these larvae.Meteorus autographae Muesebeck emerged from bothS. exigua andS. eridania. TheTachinidae, Winthemia rufopicta (Bigot),Eucelatori rubentis (Coquillett) andLespensia sp., emerged from mixtures ofS. exigua andS. eridania. Apanteles marginiventris (Cresson),Temelucha sp., andChelonus texanus Cresson emerged from bothS. exigua andH. bipunctalis larvae, andEuplectrus platyhypenae Howard andOphion sp. emerged fromS. eridania. All the species of parasites from the lepidopterous larvae that feed onAmaranthus hybridus are also reported as parasites ofS. frugiperda, a serious pest of corn. Therefore these larvae onA. hybridus may be a source of the parasites found attackingS. frugiperda.     

Dianthus crinitus undD. orientalis,zwei polymorphe Arten und ihre geographischen Rassen im Gebiet der Flora Iranica

The taxonomic position ofDianthus crinitus Sm. andD. orientalis Adam is discussed and a new subdivision of these two highly polymorphic species into subspecies (geographical races) is presented.     

Mortality factors of satin moth,Leucoma salicis [Lep.: Lymantriidae], in aspen forests in Maine

Natural control agents of the satin moth,Leucoma salicis (L.) were examined in 2Populus grandidentata Michaux stands. Highest mortality occurred in overwintering larvae, with the causal agents 2 fungi,Paecilomyces sp. andHirsutella gigantea Petch, a factor causing death symptomatic of a pathogen, the parasiteEupteromalis hemipterus (Walker) and death from unknown causes. Mortality fromPaecilomyces sp. andE. hemipterus was reduced where overwintering sites were covered with burlap cloth. Parasites recovered from larvae and pupae included the braconidsApanteles melanoscelus (Ratzeburg) andMeteorus versicolor (Wesmeal), the ichneumonidCoccygomimus pedalis (Cresson), the tachinidsCompsilura concinnata (Meigen),Carcelia laxifrons Villeneuve,Tachinomyia variata Curran, and the sarcophagidsSarcophaga aldrichi Parker andAgria housei Shewell. Larval and pupal predators included the carabidCalosoma frigidum Kirby, pentatomids, and birds, particularly black-billed cuckoos,Coccyzus erythrophthaimus (Wilson). Eggs were parasitized by the scelionidTelenomus prob.californicus Ashmead and the trichogrammidTrichogramma minutum (Riley). Predators of adult satin moths included the hermit thrush,Hylocichla guttata (Pallas), and pentatomid bugs.