Austral Entomology最新文献

Native bee populations are generally in decline, and although their conservation needs are recognised, habitat requirements for the majority of species remain unknown. Many bee species construct nests underground, including the native Australian bee Lasioglossum (Homalictus) dotatum. However, like most ground-nesting bees, their nesting ecology, particularly their substrate preferences and soil surface requirements, remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, this study examined whether L. dotatum prefers nesting in bare sand or amid rock gravel and whether soil treatment influences nest-site selection. Experiments were conducted using 24-L pots of Bassendean sand, placed near active L. dotatum nesting aggregations. Ten pots had a layer of rock gravel, while the remaining 10 were left bare. Within each treatment, half of the pots contained untreated sand, and half contained steam-treated sand to remove potential contaminants. This design tested whether L. dotatum prefers certain soil conditions and surface features when selecting nest sites. Results showed that female L. dotatum preferentially nest in pots with rock gravel over those with bare sand, suggesting that rock cover may create a more favourable environment by moderating temperature, retaining moisture, or providing structural stability for nest entrances. Additionally, females preferred steam-treated sand over untreated sand, possibly indicating that factors associated with untreated soil, such as microbial presence or organic residues, may deter nesting. This study advances our understanding of L. dotatum nesting behaviour and provides a framework for creating pollinator-friendly spaces by identifying key soil and surface features that influence nest-site selection. However, the mechanisms driving their preference for steam-treated sand remain unknown, highlighting the need for further research to distinguish the roles of hygiene, soil properties and potential chemical cues in nest-site selection.

Traditionally, teaching entomology to undergraduate students has relied upon conventional laboratory-style practical classes—where students are taught how to collect, identify and curate specimens, as well as understand the form and function of key insect groups using unsophisticated but specialised equipment. Entomology educators had to promptly adapt their methods of teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the online delivery of courses that often largely relied on face-to-face teaching. This imposed limitations on what could be effectively taught outside of a lab setting, although in many cases these were mitigated through online technology that introduced opportunities to support entomology students. Here, we assess the learning objectives of a range of current entomology courses taught namely in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, the United States and Europe. We found that practical hands-on skills, such as identification and curation, and understanding of insect morphology and diversity, often taught via lab activities, are common across many courses. Given the perceived tension between current moves to online educational delivery and these common practical learning objectives in entomology, we present a series of four activities that can be taught via online or distance approaches. These exercises can be used to effectively teach key concepts and skills such as identification, form and function and ecological research skills related to insects. We also discuss some challenges and benefits associated with the online delivery of entomology courses, emphasising a number of equity and accessibility benefits that online approaches might deliver.

Flies of the family Tachinidae are parasitoids of a wide range of arthropods, and some tachinid lineages specialised and coevolved with distinct hosts. A few of these tachinids use social Hymenoptera as hosts. However, they are usually attacked by their hosts and present different strategies to avoid their aggressiveness. Here, we describe the first parasitoid fly that enters a wasp nest without being attacked, Brevialata deceptrix Dios & Gudin, gen. et sp. nov., reared from nests of Agelaia vicina (de Saussure, 1854) in Cajuru, São Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, it is the first tachinid fly with reduced wings, presenting a peculiar morphology, with reduced chaetotaxy, stout legs, and tarsi with digitiform extensions. Males of B. deceptrix Dios & Gudin, gen. et sp. nov. are fully described and illustrated, including detailed images of tarsal structures. We present a discussion on B. deceptrix Dios & Gudin, gen. et sp. nov. remarkable morphology, systematic positioning and curious life habits.

School-based citizen science projects facilitate authentic scientific interactions between research and educational institutions while exposing students to scientific processes. Evidence is accruing that citizen science participation and activities can have positive impacts on students' environmental awareness and intentions for pro-environmental behaviour changes. In addition, teachers benefit by expanding their knowledge and acquiring new skills, although the influence of participation on teaching practice requires investigation. Incorporating insects into school-based citizen science projects can challenge widespread human misconceptions about insects and their roles in ecosystems, and foster human–insect connections. Given global concerns of rapid insect declines and the overarching biodiversity crisis, insect focussed school-based citizen science projects can ultimately contribute towards equipping students with knowledge of, and actions to promote, insect conservation. In Australia, approximately 33% of insects are formally described, the remainder exist as ‘dark taxa’ to the detriment of environmental and biodiversity management initiatives. The citizen science project Insect Investigators documented insect biodiversity using Malaise traps operated by 50 regional schools across three Australian states. The project's aims were to increase the number of DNA barcodes of Australian arthropods on public databases while inspiring and educating students about entomology and their local biodiversity. Here we describe outcomes of the project based on student (n = 118) and teacher (n = 22) surveys. We explored whether participation in the project influenced (1) students' intention to engage more in 10 pro-environmental (insect–science–nature) activities and (2) teachers' inclusion of environment-related topics in their teaching practice. We also explored participants' attitudes to insects, conservation, and engagement and motivation for citizen science. We found that students' values for the insect–science–nature activities were positively associated with their intentions to engage more in pro-environmental behaviour after participating in the project. As a result of their involvement, students expressed intentions to further engage in insect–science–nature activities, including activities such as ‘acting to-’ and ‘encouraging others to protect nature’. In addition, teachers reported increased intentions to include insect-related topics in their teaching, which was positively associated with students' own intentions for pro-environmental behaviour change—suggesting ‘positive feedback’ between students' engagement and teachers' intentions. Finally, teacher surveys revealed unexpected benefits of collaboration for regional/remote schools including excitement and involvement of the broader school-community, regional recognition and the sense of contributing to something ‘bigger’.

Proteuxoa Hampson, 1903, became the largest Australian Noctuidae genus in 1996, when E.D. Edwards referred 77 species to it for the Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. However, the Noctuidae subfamily classifications in the Checklist are acknowledged to be problematic, and because the Australian fauna has received little scientific attention since it was published, the taxonomy of many species is yet to be clarified. As a step towards the assimilation of Australasian fauna into the modern classification of Noctuidae, the largest known Australian genus is here reviewed using a combination of morphological characters, COI data from 409 specimens representing 58 species of Proteuxoa Hampson, 1903 (sensu Edwards) and the outgroup Athetis tenuis (Butler, 1886) and data from five additional genes (CPS-CAD, EF-1a, GAPDH, RpS5, Wgl) representing 26 species of Proteuxoa (sensu Edwards) and A. tenuis. Peripyra Hampson, 1908 reinst. stat., and Androdes Turner, 1920 reinst. stat., are removed from synonymy with Proteuxoa and re-established as valid genera, each with two described species, based on phylogenetic analyses of those DNA-based data, as well as the morphological evidence. Adult morphological characters are described for distinguishing Proteuxoa sensu stricto from its closest known relatives in Australasia, that is, Peripyra, Androdes and Thoracolopha Turner, 1939, all of which are morphologically consistent with adult Noctuinae sensu lato from other parts of the world. To assist future studies of world Noctuidae, reference COI sequences are now available in BOLD for 55 described species, and data from three to five additional gene regions are available for a subset of 27 species via GenBank.

Carrion-breeding flies are diverse with over 70 species in the Australasian/Oceanian region, predominantly from the families Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. These flies play crucial roles in ecosystems as primary decomposers, pollinators and food sources for a variety of predators and parasites. Given their unique ecologies and exceptional diversity, they have also proven to be particularly useful for human purposes in agriculture, in medicinal maggot therapy and in forensic entomology. Despite this, to date, there have been no comprehensive diagnostic tools developed for carrion-breeding flies in the Australasian region, which has hindered their use by non-experts in these applied fields. Here, we provide an updated key for the identification of the adults of over 70 species of Australian and New Zealand flies known or suspected to breed in carrion. We also provide a review of the current state of knowledge regarding the biology and taxonomy of carrion-breeding flies in the Australasian region—summarising over a century of information regarding their distributions, available molecular data, biology, developmental data and the morphology of immature stages. Together, these resources will greatly improve the application of these species in forensics, agriculture, medicine and empirical research.

Grapevine (Parthenolecanium persicae (F.)) and frosted (Parthenolecanium pruinosum (Coq.)) scale insects may cause long-term physiological damage to grapevines. Although they persist in major grape-growing regions of Australia, the reproductive and population growth potential of these insect pests is poorly understood. The reproductive output of gravid adult females of grapevine and frosted scales was studied under lab and field conditions on Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc cultivars of European grapevine Vitis vinifera L. The intrinsic rate of increase of grapevine and frosted scales was also studied on Riesling and Chardonnay cultivars, respectively. Gravid adult females of grapevine scale have a larger body length and body mass and higher fecundity than those of frosted scale. Egg and first instar sizes were smaller for grapevine scale than for frosted scale. Egg incubation period, post-oviposition by adult females, was affected by grapevine cultivars, being 20 days on Chardonnay and 19 days on Riesling for grapevine scale and 18 days on Chardonnay and Riesling and 22 days on Sauvignon Blanc for frosted scale. Neither fertility nor fecundity was affected by grapevine cultivar. The intrinsic rate of increase (r_m) was 0.28 per month for grapevine scale on Riesling and 0.29 per month for frosted scale on Chardonnay. The finite rate of increase (λ) for grapevine and frosted scales was 1.28 and 1.33 months, respectively, and the population doubling time (DT) was 2.5 and 2.40 months for grapevine and frosted scales, respectively. Based on these observations, the population of grapevine and frosted scales is likely to persist in vineyards and may rise to outbreak levels that require management.

Two new species of gall midges are described whose larvae feed on the small morphotype of Guinea grass Megathyrsus maximus in Africa. Arabukodiplosis basalis Kolesik, gen. et sp. nov. causes galls at the base of plant's crown in Kenya and Arabukodiplosis vesicaria Kolesik, gen. et sp. nov. causes blister galls on the stems in South Africa and Kenya. Description of the morphology and the sequence of a fragment of the COI mitochondrial gene of the insects are provided. A new genus is erected to contain the two new species. Arabukodiplosis Kolesik, gen. nov. belongs to the supertribe Cecidomyiidi and its closest relative is Mitodiplosis Kieffer, 1914, an African genus containing a single species that induces stem thickening galls on pyp grass Ehrharta villosa (Poaceae) in South Africa. Like Mitodiplosis, Arabukodiplosis Kolesik, gen. nov. cannot be satisfactorily accommodated in any of the currently recognised tribes. The crown of the plant, where A. basalis Kolesik, gen. et sp. nov. forms galls, is where new tillers and shoots originate, so the galls develop where stems would usually form. Stems infested by A. vesicaria Kolesik, gen. et sp. nov. continue to develop above the galls, but the gall is expected to act as a resource sink, reducing the fitness of the host plant. Both species are possible candidates for biological control of M. maximus, which is a serious invasive alien pest outside of its native distribution.

No abstract is available for this article.

Two new species of Pseudasphondylia Monzen, 1955 are described and are the first records of this genus in Australia and for the plant families Myrtaceae and Chenopodiaceae. Pseudasphondylia melanopileus sp. nov. forms inconspicuous galls on the fruits of Melaleuca ericifolia (Myrtaceae) in southern Victoria. Pseudasphondylia nitrariaceia sp. nov. causes semi-woody galls on the inflorescences of Chenopodium nitrariaceum (Chenopodiaceae) and is widespread in low-rainfall regions of south-eastern Australia. Descriptions of adults and immature stages and DNA sequences of the cytochrome oxidase unit I mitochondrial gene segment are given for each of the new species.