Austral Entomology最新文献

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A new species of lycaenid butterfly, Paralucia crosbyi sp. nov. (Theclinae: Luciini), is described, diagnosed and illustrated from Namadgi National Park, ACT, and adjacent areas in New South Wales in the highlands of south-eastern Australia. It is most similar to Paralucia spinifera E.D. Edwards & Common, 1978, but comparative morphology of the adult and immature stages indicates fundamental differences between the two species. Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of all Paralucia species recovered P. crosbyi sp. nov. and P. spinifera as reciprocally monophyletic, with a mean uncorrected ‘p’ pairwise divergence of 0.93%. Paralucia crosbyi sp. nov. appears to be a narrow-range endemic, restricted to dry montane eucalypt open woodland or woodland between 920 and 1130 m asl, in which the mean annual rainfall varies from 700 to 800 mm and where an abundance of the larval food plant Bursaria spinosa Cav. subsp. lasiophylla (E.M.Benn.) L. Cayzer, Crisp & I. Telford (Pittosporaceae) and colonies of the attendant ant Anonychomyrma sp. (itinerans species group) (Dolichoderinae) are established. The immature stages are described, illustrated and compared with those of P. spinifera and P. aurifera (Blanchard, [1848]). Despite being limited to high altitudes, adults fly in late winter–early spring (late July to early October). The species is univoltine, with much of the year (~9 months) passed in the pupal stage. The ecology, biology and life cycle are discussed, and a likely mode of speciation is hypothesised.

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is an invasive pest of agricultural crops including sweet corn and maize. The moth was first recorded in Australia in January 2020 and is now considered established in most states and territories, and research is underway to develop management strategies. Extensive rearing of S. frugiperda larvae and eggs occurred from March 2020 to April 2023 to understand the parasitoid complex present in Australia and identify potential biological control agents. We report here on the hymenopteran parasitoids reared during this period, which were identified using a combination of morphology and COI DNA barcoding, and provide images, a key to species, and contextual information to facilitate future research. Twelve species of parasitoids from five families of Hymenoptera are formally reported as parasitising S. frugiperda in Australia. Five species are here described as new: Chelonus patbat Fagan-Jeffries, sp. nov. (Braconidae), Chelonus trojanus Fagan-Jeffries, sp. nov. (Braconidae), Coccygidium mellosiheroine Atkin-Zaldivar & Fagan-Jeffries, sp. nov. (Braconidae), Coccygidium necatrix Atkin-Zaldivar & Fagan-Jeffries, sp. nov. (Braconidae), and Euplectrus frugiperdata Fagan-Jeffries, sp. nov. (Eulophidae).

The rafting behaviour of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in response to flooding events is well documented, although studies generally have focussed on the mechanisms of raft assembly and the behaviour of the raft's occupants. Flooding as a means of dispersal of S. invicta is frequently mentioned in the literature, although there are few data on the distances travelled or how effective it is compared to natural flight. In Australia, S. invicta is a priority invasive species with a national eradication program operating for 23 years, focussed on the population in southeast Queensland, which currently encompasses more than 700 000 ha. Flooding presents a risk to the success of the program through extending the infestation area or recolonising successfully treated areas. We used the program's extensive spatiotemporal dataset of known fire ant colony locations to assess the effects of two significant flood events on the dispersal or displacement of S. invicta in Queensland. Results indicated that flooding did not spread S. invicta beyond the known boundaries of infestation but contributed to localised spread, particularly for sites with known polygyne infestations. This situation could change if the ant spreads to new river catchments. A novel method developed to assess the risk of S. invicta dispersal through flooding is presented, alongside program actions that can be applied to mitigate this risk.

The subgenus Anicla, commonly known as green cutworms, harbours some of the owlet moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuinae), whose larvae are notable for their economic importance. Knowledge of the immature stages for this group is available for three of the nine described species. Anicla infecta Ochsenheimer, 1816 is widely distributed in the Americas and is especially abundant in agricultural ecosystems. However, in the Neotropics, its economic damage can be confused with sympatric species, including Anicla ignicans (Guenée, 1852), whose distributions overlap in most parts of the American continent. In this sense, here, the identity of A. ignicans is investigated through its geographical distribution, based on molecular and morphological data. Additionally, the morphological and behavioural traits of immature stages were described in detail, information about its geographical distribution and larval host plants was gathered, and the species' biological parameters from larvae reared on an artificial diet were determined. Anicla ignicans is distributed throughout the Neotropical region, preferably in areas with xeric and/or grass-dominated ecosystems. The eggs present valuable characters to distinguish A. ignicans from other owlet moth species, such as the reduced number of ribs, the way the micropyle openings are arranged and the shape of the aeropyles. However, the larvae show very similar chromatic polymorphisms to other Anicla species. Although A. ignicans prefer to feed on grasses, it was observed that more than 85% of the larvae that were fed with a modified bean-based Greene diet survived. Additionally, the percentage of time for each phase of development obtained here is very similar for the different species of Anicla, regardless of the temperature or feeding of the larvae.

The Asian paper wasp (Polistes chinensis) is an invasive species in New Zealand and a voracious arthropod predator, incorporating a wide range of prey into its diet. We examined the colony survival and prey community composition of these wasps in a protected coastal habitat in New Zealand. Paper wasp colonies at this site were surveyed and monitored weekly over two summers. Our data showed that only ~20% of the monitored colonies each year survived until late summer, with high rates of colony mortality in late spring and early summer. We collected samples of wasp larval guts over a temporal gradient in one nesting season, and via DNA metabarcoding analysis, we identified the prey species consumed. The prey species most frequently identified in larval samples were endemic cicadas and several lepidopteran species. No native arthropod species of known conservation concern were identified in the analysis. However, 63% of the unique taxon sequences retrieved could not be identified by genus or species level, likely due to the absence of reference barcodes. These taxa may represent a group of understudied species, potentially highly endemic or localised. Our analysis indicates that these invasive wasps are opportunistic-generalist predators with the potential to exert high predation pressure on native arthropods. P. chinensis may be preying on a range of understudied species, especially in remote, natural habitats across New Zealand. We recommend future studies continue to barcode native New Zealand arthropods in order to improve the taxonomic assignments of dietary studies.

Within a fruit, fruit fly larvae can be subject to scramble competition, in which density-dependent effects can influence the fitness of subsequent adults. While there is significant research on tephritid interspecific larval competition, it has been conducted in invasive situations where the species are evolutionarily novel to each other. There has been no published research investigating larval competitive interactions between naturally coexisting, endemic species. We ran laboratory-based, intraspecific and interspecific larval competition trials involving three co-occurring Bactrocera species of differing genetic relatedness and also measured aspects of juvenile development rate to test possible mechanisms of competitive difference. Larval density had an influence on intraspecific competition in Bactrocera tryoni, Bactrocera neohumeralis and Bactrocera jarvisi, with a decreasing percentage of pupation with increasing larval density. Interspecific competition between B. tryoni and B. neohumeralis, and between B. tryoni and B. jarvisi was influenced by the interaction between species and density. The intensity of competition between B. tryoni and B. neohumeralis was minimal but high between B. tryoni and B. jarvisi. B. jarvisi produced larger eggs and had faster initial larval growth rates than the other two species, but it took the longest time for pupation to occur. Our results conflict with theory, as the greatest competition was observed between the two more distantly related species (B. tryoni and B. jarvisi) rather than between the two most closely related species (B. tryoni and B. neohumeralis). Further, and contrary to other studies, egg size, hatch rate and larval growth rate did not provide B. jarvisi with a competitive advantage; thus, larval size does not appear to be a mechanism of larval competition between B. tryoni and B. jarvisi.

Termites are resistant to fire, a common disturbance in the world's savannas, but most explanations for how termites resist fire are speculative. Some researchers have suggested that the mounds of some termite species can serve as a structural defence against direct fire mortality. Because mound structure is related to thermoregulation, and larger mounds have more stable internal temperatures, larger mounds may confer greater fire resistance. Fire also causes indirect mortality to termites by removing food sources, which may give an advantage to larger mounds as they have superior food provisioning and storage ability. Using natural fires, we measured mound size and colony survival of two southern African termite species (Trinervitermes trinervoides and Amitermes sp.) in plots recently burnt (<4 months after fire), recovering from fire (1–2 years after fire), or unburnt (>3 years after fire). Burn status and mound size were each significant factors in colony survival. Recent fire was associated with the lowest survival, and larger mounds with greater survival. There is some evidence that larger mounds are generally more resistant to fire, especially the long term, indirect effects, but sample sizes were not adequate to confirm this.

The leaf chafer tribe Alvarengiini Frey, a long-neglected taxon that has been overlooked in the biodiversity literature from its inception, is revised for the first time. As a result of this research, the tribe is composed of two species in two genera distributed from Bahia, Brazil (in the north), to Paraná, Brazil (in the south), and Paraguay. Two synonyms are proposed: Alvarengius silphoides Frey, syn. nov. for Ottokelleria dispar (Burmeister) and Alvarengius Frey, syn. nov. for Ottokelleria D'Andretta & Martínez. A new genus is described, Carinochilus, gen. nov., and includes one species: Carinochilus marginatus (Burmeister), comb. nov. The lectotype for O. dispar and a neotype for C. marginatus are designated. We provide an identification key to the tribes of Rutelinae (in English and Portuguese) and incorporate classification changes in the subfamily. A key for the identification of Alvarengiini genera and species is also provided. All taxa are circumscribed and illustrated, and distributional data are synthesised in maps.

Closely related species within termite genera often show extremely similar morphology, where morphological characteristics of soldiers alone or imagos (including alates and primary reproductives) alone are sometimes insufficient to establish new species. However, many original descriptions of termite species are based on soldier characteristics alone, because of the seasonal occurrence of alates and the difficulty in collecting primary reproductives. Importantly, primary reproductives of the family Kalotermitidae (so-called drywood termites) are relatively easy to collect from field colonies compared with those of the other termite families. Here, we describe a new kalotermitid species, Glyptotermes matsuurai sp. nov., from Australia by effective use of morphological characteristics of primary reproductives. Glyptotermes matsuurai is distinguished from the Australian species G. iridipennis Froggatt, 1896 by the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit II gene; however, it is not distinguishable from G. iridipennis based on the external morphology of soldiers. It therefore forms a species complex with G. iridipennis. Although we could collect alates of G. matsuurai from only one of the field-collected colonies kept in the laboratory, we conducted morphological analyses of imagos from multiple colonies by using primary reproductives collected from field colonies. As a result of our morphological analyses of imagos, we found that G. matsuurai is morphologically distinguishable from all other species of Australian Glyptotermes. Thus, when enough alates are unavailable, morphological characteristics of primary reproductives can be used to facilitate the discovery of undescribed cryptic species at least in the genus Glyptotermes and possibly in other genera within the family Kalotermitidae.