SEPTEMBER 1990 SPHECOSA FORUM FOR ACULEATE WASP RESEARCHERS THE MUD D'AUB SPEAKS Selected Studies has finally complet- ARNOLDS. MENKE, Editor ed all of the review process by Oxford Terry Nuhn, Assistant Editor In our last issue I promised an article Systematic Entomology Labratory University Press and we hope to see it on Brethes types by Jorge Genise and Agricultural Research Service, USDA published before the middle of 1991 (I an essay on aculeate wing venation by c/o National Museum of Natural History have been told by some not to be so Mick Day and Jim Carpenter. Well Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560 hopeful)". Also, he has collected two Jorge's article is here, but the wing FAX: (202) 786-9422 Phone: (202) 382-1803 species of Miscophus in Panama, and thing isn't. However, Mick and Jim hopes to publish a paper on them. promise to get the job done soon. The absence of a winger print essay Walter Borsato (Museo Civico di is more than compensated for by an in- Storia Naturale, Lung. Porta Vittoria, 9, triguing preliminary cladistic analysis of I 37129 Verona, Italy) writes: "I'm a the Sphecidae and Apidae by Byron Al- collaborator on the Verona Museum of exander - enjoy! Storia Naturals, and also a member of In Sphecos 19:19 we made refer- th A.I.S.A.S.P. (Associazione ltaliana ence to "disturbing news" at the Br ish per lo Studio degli Artropodi Sociali e Museum (N.H.). I have been promised Presociale) Italian section of the Inter- an official statement about what is hap- national Union for the study of social in- pening in Hymenoptera in particular, sects. I'm interested in the systematics and to the museum in general. So far it of palearctic Vespidae, Eumenidae and has not materialized. I can tell you that Sphecidae. At the present time I'm the name of the institution has been studying the systematics of palearctic changed to The Natural History Mu- Vespidae (particularly Polistes) with seum, and that research on aculeates, Prof. Giordani Soika of Venice, and the except the ants, is probably going to be systematics of Sphecidae with Prof. eliminated if hasn1 already. It is a Severiano F. Gayubo of Salmanca. I grim time for many in the museum. have the following papers in press: Hopefully we can present the full story 1989. Vespidae dei Monti Lessini. in the next Sphecos. __ Esfecidos palearticos de la co- leccion del Museo Civico de Historia Natural de Verona. (W h Prof. Gay- ubo S.F.) __ Esfecidos italianos de la colec- cion Museo do Verona. (With Prof. Gayubo S.F. and Prof. Osella G.). 1990. Prima segnalazione per l'ltalia RESEARCH NEWS del genre Alastorynerus (Hym. Eu- menidae)." Dlomedes Quintero Arias (Smithso- nian Tropical Research Institute, Tup- Rollin E. Coville (6201 Tehama per Building, APO Miami, Florida Ave., Richmond, Calif. 94804) has 34002-0011) reports: "The book In- been working in private industry as a ccmputer expert. sects of Panama and Mesoamerica: The Mud D'aub He says he is "termi- 2 SPHECOS20 nating all my systematic work. I simply provide a very interesting list. The (Sphecidae) of Sri Lanka. It will appear do not have the time, resources, or Ectemnius fauna seems to have been as number XX in Karl's on going series incentive to continue my work on fairly stable while the speed of ccloni- tttled "Biosystematic studies of Ceylo- Trypoxylon. I am pretty busy now witih zation of D. media is remarkable. The nese wasps" that have been published family life and my job of designing and diversity of the Zeeland, largely dune, in the Smithsonian Contributions to implementing mainframe ccmputer ap- fauna is reassuring from a conservation Zoology. Already in press is Karl's plications and systems for Pacific Bell. point of view but more studies are part XIX t�led "Natural History Notes in This is just working wtth a different kind needed to put tt in perspective. Overall, · Several Families (Hymenoptera: Eu- of bug. these studies illustrate a theme that menidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae and "A few things I found wtth Trypoxy/on, has been developed over a number of Crabronidae)" which treats 40 species, that may be useful to pass along to years: to seek to monitor changes in all but one of which are solitary nes- anyone who wishes to study this group distribution and relative abundance in tors. in the future are listed below: aculeates. This has a value both in 1. When examining Trypoxy/on johnsoni, demonstrating biological responses Arkady Lelej (lnstttute of Biology I found that it was ccmprised of two to environmental, including climatic, and Pedology, Vladivostok-22, 690022, broadly sympatric species. The materi- change as well as providing information USSR) reports: "Our laboratory is pre- al I am returning to the USNM has to develop management techniques. paring the first part of the fourth volume male and female specimens of both; of Key to the Insects of the Soviet one I labeled johnsoni and the other Ltterature Far East (In 6 volumes, 12 books). ade/phi (?). I haven, seen the type Allen, G. W. and J.C. Felton 1989. The The wasp groups and authors to be in- specimens of johnsoni, ade/phi, or occurrence of solttary wasps of the cluded in this book include: Dryinidae ornatipes, so I am uncertain as to their genus Ectemnius (Hymenoptera, (N. Ponomarenko), Embolemidae (S. taxonomic status. Someone else may Sphecidae) in Kent. Trans. Kent Fd. Belokobylsky), Bethylidae (V. Gorba- be able to resolve this problem. Club 11 :33-36. tovsky), Chrysididae (N. Kurzenko), Sa- 2. After looking at thousands of speci- Allen, G.W., A.N. Clements, et al. pygidae (N. Kurzenko), Scoliidae (A. mens, I have ccncluded that aldrichi 1990. A note on the tree wasp Lelej), Pompilidae (A. Lelej), Vespidae and frigidum are no more than gee• Dolichovespula media. Bull. Kent (N. Kurzenko), and Sphecidae (V. Kaz- graphic forms of the same thing. At Fd. Club 35:41-43. enas, P. Nemkov, A. Antropov, E. Bud- least, I could never get a handle on any Felton, J.C., V. Lefeber, et al. 1990. rys). Included are more than 600 spe- significant dffferences. Aculeates. In: C.J. Zwakhals Ed. cies of wasps not only from the Soviet 3. The situation with scul/eni and (Report of the 144th summer Far East but from neighboring terrtto- pennsylvanicum was more confusing. meeting of the Dutch Entomolo- ries (Yakutia, Transbaikalia, Irkutsk re- To be honest, I have no idea as to how gical Society in Haamstede). NEV gion and Siberia) and ccuntries (Japan, many species are involved (1 to Verenigingsnieuws, Special Issue Korea and China). I think that this many?). But I am tired of looking at March 1990 (In Dutch). book will be of interest not only to them. USSR entomologists but to specialists 4. There may be 3 or 4 species similar Jaboury Ghazoul (Dept. of Biology in other ccuntries, and may be translat- to Trypoxylon timberlakei. and Preclinical Medicine, University of ed into English. The book will be pub- 5. I am uncertain as to the status of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 lished in 1992. I will keep you informed Trypoxylon bridwelli. I needed more 9TS, Scotland, U.K.) tells us: "My about this book on a regular basis." specimens, especially of males. research concerns the nesting behavi- "That is about tt. I do have a lot of our and reproductive success of Linda McPheron (Dept. of Entomol- notes, etc., on Trypoxylon, and will be populations of Mel/inus arvensis and ogy, 218 Wellman, Univ. of California, willing to share that information with Ammophila sabulosa from different Berkeley, CA 94720) says: "I am a anyone who may decide to work on latitudes in Britain. I plan to study the graduate student presently working that group in the future." thermoregulatory abilities of these with Gordon Frankie and I'm beginning wasps and whether this has any to do research on the foraging behavior John Felton (Karel Doormanlaan influence on behaviour." of Mischocyttarus flavitarsus. If anyone 197, 2283AM Rijswijk, The Nether- else is working on this insect, I would lands) reports that little progress has Prof. S. F. Gayubo (Facultad de Bio- like to hear from them." been made on Mimumesa unico/orl logia, Dept. Zoologia, Universidad de fittorafis other than establishing that Salamanca, 37071 Salamanca, Michael Prentice (Dept. of Entomol- both species occur in southern Eng· Spain) has finished a revision of the ogy, 218 Wellman, Univ. of California. land: littoralis west of Dorset, unicolor Palearctic Pa/arus and is currently work- Berkeley, CA 94720) writes: "I am a from Dorset to the east. Recent work ing on a revision of Palearctic Nysson. beginning graduate student at U. C. has been collaborative: on Ectemnius Berkeley and am interested in doing spp. in Kent wtth Geoff Allen and on Karl Krombein (Dept. of Entomolo- my thesis on the relationships of the Dolichovespula media in the SE of gy, Smithsonian lnstttution, Washington families of sphecoid wasps and the ori- England also with Alan Clements DC, 20560) and Woj Pulawski (Calfor- gin of the Apoidea. I am planning to do among others, while a number of Dutch nia Academy of Sciences, San Francis- both a morphological and molecular Hymenopterists pooled their records co, Calif. 94118) have nearly complet- cladistic analysis of the tribes and am at the NEV weekend in Zeeland to ed their revision of the Tachysphex interested to know if you are aware of SEPTEMBER 90 3 other researchers currently working on Christopher K. Starr (Division of Hal C.