Hat weaving withJipi, Carludovica Palmata (Cyclanthaceae) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Weaving hats withjipi,Carludovica palmata (Cyclanthaceae) has built the local economy and cultural identity for the people of Becal, in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. They obtain most material from cultivated sources, weave in man-made caves, and market the goods to commercial centers. BecauseJipi does not appear to deplete the soil, they do not need to clear more land for sustainable production. Although weaving traditionally served as the main source of income and social activity in Becal, interest in weaving is declining as the town modernizes. Although profits gained from weaving add to family earnings, because of the many hands through which the hat passes, this income remains low compared to the final selling prices. Thus, many who have the opportunity to pursue other careers are doing so. However, for rural communities, without other earning options, weaving may provide an economically and environmentally advantageous way to use the land.     

A food plant specialist in Sparganothini: A new genus and species from Costa Rica (Lepidoptera,Tortricidae)

Sparganocosma docsturnerorum Brown, new genus and new species, is described and illustrated from Área de Conservación (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. The new genus shares a long, crescent- or ribbon-shaped signum in the corpus bursae of the female genitalia with Aesiocopa Zeller, 1877, Amorbia Clemens, 1860, Amorbimorpha Kruse, 2011, Coelostathma Clemens, 1860, Lambertiodes Diakonoff, 1959, Paramorbia Powell & Lambert, 1986, Rhynchophyllus Meyrick, 1932, Sparganopseustis Powell & Lambert, 1986, Sparganothina Powell, 1986, and Sparganothoides Lambert & Powell, 1986. Putative autapomorphies for Sparganocosma include the extremely short uncus; the smooth (unspined) transtilla; and the upturned, free, distal rod of the sacculus. Adults of Sparganocosma docsturnerorum have been reared numerous times (>50) from larvae collected feeding on rain forest Asplundia utilis (Oerst.) Harling and Asplundia microphylla (Oerst.) Harling (Cyclanthaceae) at intermediate elevations (375–500 m) in ACG. Whereas most Sparganothini are generalists, typically feeding on two or more plant families, Sparganocosma docsturnerorum appears to be a specialist on Asplundia, at least in ACG. The solitary parasitoid wasp Sphelodon wardae Godoy & Gauld (Ichneumonidae; Banchinae) has been reared only from the larvae of Sparganocosma docsturnerorum.