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Sphecos: a Forum for Aculeate Wasp Researchers JANUARY 1990 SPHECOS A FORUM FOR ACULEATE WASP RESEARCHERS EDITORIAL As promised in Sphacos 18, some ARNOLDS. MENKE, Editor of the humor from the past 10 years of Terry Nunn, Editorial Assistant PROFUNDITIES the newsletter is reprinted in this Systemat~ Entomology Labra\Ory Agncultural Research Service, USDA number, along with some new stuff. I Here we are, still going strong t 0 c/o National Museum of Natural Hs\Ory want to thank Fernando Fernandez C. years later! This issue was supposed Smithonian Institution, Washington, DC 2!l5SO of Bogota Colombia. for the 1Oth to appear last October, but Terry's work FAX: (202) 786-9422 Phone: (202) 382-1803 anniversary cartoons included in this schedule kept getting pushed back and issue. I didn1 get his services until the end of November. Better late than never, but to quaiHy as a ·newsletter· Sphecos whole sentences clumped together as should appear every 6 months. Other­ one word, YoYo!) all serve to confuse wise, the news is no longer current. our modest scanning program and We now have a FAX machine (our should be avoided in future sub­ number is (202) 786-9422), and mate­ missions. rial for future issues can be sent to me This issue contains qufte a few book via that device by those of you having reviews, a large array of Scientific the capabilijy to do so. We can return Notes, some interesting Collectirlg RESEARCH NEWS edijed copy to you via FAX for your Reports, and the usual Forum fun. Of approval providing you give us your particular interest is Jim Carpenter's Herman Dollfuss (Franz Hoglgasse FAX number. reanalysis of Brothers' classic 1975 4, A-31 00 St. Patten, Austria) reports: Some people have sent material for work on aculeate phylogeny followed "My revision of Pemphredon is pro­ this issue on diskettes, and those of by a companion piece by Dave Wahl. gressing well. There will be many new you wfth computers handy may want to Robin Edwards has provided another synonymies for the species described consider using this mode of trans­ lijerature supplement on the Vespinae. by MERISUO and VALKEILA 1972. I mitting copy for future issues of Most of the material submitted to have seen all types but I need more Sphecos. We use a Macintosh for Sphecos is still generated by a few material from Central Asia. Maybe the producing Sphacos so copy written on "regulars". We need to hear from more variation is greater than we thought a Mac in McWrije, Microsoft Word or of you! before. In the Nearctic material two ASCII text and sent on a 3 1/2" diskette Coming up in the next issue will be a new species are included." is our first choice. H you use an IBM list of the aculeate type material of or compatible computer, copy in Juan Brethes (mostly in Buenos Aires) Allan Hook (Division of Biological Wordperfect, Microsoft Word or by Jorge Genise. I am also trying to Sciences, St. Edward's Universijy, (preferably) ASCII on a 5 1/4" diskette persuade Mick Day and Jim Carpenter 3001 South Congress Ave., Austin, can be used since we can convert to submit a piece on wing venation Texas 78704) wrijes that Dave these formats for use on the Mac. terminology for Sphecos 20. Peckham came to Austin in late May Also, please be sure to indicate what There has been a decline in research for a 3 week visft to study Oxybelus. format (or software) you used. news the past few issues. Most of Then in early June, Allan was in In our last issue we hailed the use of what I present in the current number Alberta and Saskatchewan for a 3 a scanning system to copy material was captured from my correspondence. week stay to visij 2 expansive dune onto the Mac, but in actual practice this How about bringing the readership sites and look for sphecids. Next he did not save much time nor was it error up-to-date on your current activities. spent July in CaiHornia, primarily doing free. ttalics, underlining, single spacing, FAX me a paragraph or two on your field studies at Jasper Ridge and closely-spaced words (leading to current research for Sphecos 20. (Stanford's field station). 2 SPHECOS19 Rolf R. Kohring (Institute of switching and oocy1e development in Arnold Manka is well into his .Paleontology, FU Berlin, Schwan· · Cerceris echo and several Philanthus. revision· of the New World species of denarstr. 8, 1000 Berlin 33, F. R. I will also be doing some protein the sphecid genus Larra. Atthough Germany) writes: "My Interest is electrophoresis on these philanthines there are over 20 names available, only :Palaoantomology, and I am working to look at levels of heterozygosity, 6 species appear to be present in this with insects from Sicilian Amber population structure and hopefully fauna, one of which, ana/is, oocurs only (Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and phylogenetic relationships.· in North America. Males of ana/is and Hymenoptera), presumably Upper tWo closely related tropical species are Miocene age.• frustratingly similar although their fe­ · Sulena Norlko Shima • (Departa­ males are distinct. ··Anyone · 'having • 1..8ch Krzysztoflak (Stac:ja mento de Zoologia, I.B. UNESP - Neotropical Larra is urged to send it on Doswiadczalna IBL, Krzywe 82, 16-400 Campus de Rio Claro, C.P. 178, . loan to Menka·for usa in the revision. .Suwalki, Poland) tells us: "I am 13.500 -Rio Claro (SP), Brasij) reports: Arnold is also dabbling with Pison in working at the newest experiment "My research is about casta differ­ the Australasian area,- particularly spe­ station of the Forest Research Institute entiation in social WaSps of the tribe cies in which the mandible is obliquely in Warsaw. Our Station is located in · Polybiini. My objective is to study the truncate apically in both sexes. New the north of Poland. We are interested variability and degree of differentiation Guinea and Australia contain a number in social insects (ants, wasps, bees), of the castes from a morphological and of species in this complex, mostly their ecology, ethology and diversity." ethological point of view. I have undescribed. fan Naumann is working studied the morphological distinction on the Australian fonms while Arnold David McCorquodale (Department of between queens and workers of eight is concerned with the New Guinea Biological Sciences, University of species through measurements of 23 species. The genus Aulacophifinus Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4 characters and by a detailed analysis Lomholdt, described from the Soloman Canada) writes: ."1 am now doing an of the internal and external morphol­ Islands, has the same mandible and NSERC ·post-<loc here in Calgary. I ogy. The morphometric data have perhaps all species sharing it should have retumed to Writing-On-Stone been analysed by the Canonical Dis­ be placed in the genus (or else Park in southern Alberta, where I did criminant and Mahalanobi's General­ AulaaJphilinus is a synonym of Pison). my masters fieldwork, to look at nest ized Distance." ___, __ ,, , ___ B3 JANUARY90 3 NECROLOGY 1987 when he had to retire due to the 149). This was the first record of fatal disease which was preying upon Pterocheilus as the host of this peculiar Dr. Martin Hoop, of Kiel, Federal him. During 1971-1973 he was elected sapygid. He collected extensively in Republic of Germany, died in February, Dean of the Facutty, and during the Hymenoptera and helped bring the 1987, at the age of 80. In his same years appcinted as President of Davis collection to ~s pos~ion as one of publications Hoop mainly treated the the Chilean Society of Entomology, in the best among univers~ies. He will be fauna of Symphyta and Aculeata in which capac~y he presided over the long remembered by local friends and northern Germany. celebration of the 50th anniversary of associates as well as many former the Society. students who contributed to the Dr. Stellan Erlandsson, of During his Univers~ years he showed Museum. Stockholm, Sweden, died on June 15, a real interest in the Chrysididae, and 1989, at the age of 86. he developed a good representative R.M. Bohart collection of ChNean species. In I 960 Department of Entomology he published a revision of the genus Univers~ of Calffornia Omalus with R.M. Bohart, his major Davis, CA 95616 professor at Davis. He made several vis~s to the U.S., including Calffornia, the U.S. National Museum in Washington and Gainesville, Fla., where he took a pest-doctorate leave during I 980. OBITUARIES He published several papers in Chile and elsewhere, yet his last contri­ NEW ADDRESSES Luciano E. campos butions were mostly on economic problems caused by insects to Chilean John T. Burn: 1 Sycamore Avenue, Professor Dr. Luciano E.(liot) Campos, fru~ crops. Armthorpe, nr, Doncaster, S. Yorks., an outstanding and well known Chilean He will be remembered as a kind, England DN3 3HQ. entomologist, died of cancer at his friendly person always perpared to help Lloyd E. Elghme: P.O. Box 1366, home on January 1st, 1989, at mid­ and to listen when his advice and Lyman, WA 98263, day. Born in Sao Paulo (Brazil) on authority were consutted. To the old Larry French: 664 Mandana Blvd., February 19, 1927, while his father was Professor that introduced him to Oakland, CA 94610. Chilean Consul in that c~y. Luciano insects and nurtured his early formative Josef Gusenleltner: P1itznerstr. 31, was short of 62 when he died after years, his untimely death is an A-4020 Linz!Donau, Austria. bravely fighting the terminal disease for irreparable bitter loss. Ralmond V.
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