DOCSLIB.ORG

Howdy, Bugfans, Caution – This Episode May Set a Record For

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Howdy, BugFans, Caution – This episode may set a record for unrequited Spell Check alerts (it also contains a chaste scientific word referring to reproductive structures). When BOTW was in its infancy, its 14th episode featured Scorpionflies, a weird and wonderful group belonging in the small Order Mecoptera (about 500 species, world-wide). Today the BugLady is revisiting Scorpionflies (family Panorpidae) because they have been revisiting her. The young lady in these portraits (Panorpa helenae (probably)) flew into the BugLady’s family room on a recent June night and cooperatively strutted her stuff on a piece of paper and on the BugLady’s finger. For some dynamite pictures of Scorpionflies (and of the astonishing Snow Scorpionfly) go to bugguide.net and type scorpionfly into the search box. Then do the same with Hangingflies. At any rate, the BugLady did not do them justice the first time around. Insufficient scholarship. So. Scorpionflies and their relatives the Hangingflies (crane fly look-alikes that eat crane flies and are the only insects known to catch their prey with their hind legs), and the Snow Scorpionflies (which resemble hi-gloss springtails), and Earwigflies (which have earwig-like claspers on their abdomen) (Mother Nature does, indeed, have a sense of humor) all belong to the Order Mecoptera. The Order is so varied that some entomologists are itching to carve it up into multiple Orders. “Mecoptera” means “long wings,” and except for some wingless species, Mecopterans have four of them, but are weak flyers. Crane flies and other true flies (Diptera) have two wings followed by two short-stalked knobs (haltares) which are vestigial wings used as balance organs. Scorpionflies get their name from the males of one family, which have on their abdomen an up-turned tip (a.k.a. enlarged, bulbous genitalia) that resembles a scorpion’s tail (but they neither sting nor bite and are “medically harmless”). Both genders sport long antennae, compound eyes, and a trunk-like snout that has chewing mouthparts at its end. Secretive scorpionflies are most often seen ducking under leaves in dense, shady, cool vegetation or near wetlands. Adults feed on ripe fruit, fruit juice, nectar, pollen, and on dead and dying insects, and they can snitch insects out of spider webs without getting stuck. The larvae are omnivores. Both stages are saprophagous (“feeding on dead, decaying organic material” - remember the carrion beetles). When a young scorpionfly’s thoughts turn to romance, he will exude a scent called a pheromone and quiver his wings at the girl of his dreams. He also presents her with a “nuptial meal” – in the case of the Panorpids, it is a dense wad of saliva which she eats during mating (hangingflies present their sweeties with dead insects, and female hangingflies judge their suitors by the quality of their gifts. There are accounts of males pretending to be females so they can get a meal). Gift-givers have higher success rates with the gals, and gift recipients lay more eggs. The BugLady is simply presenting scientific facts, here. Scorpionflies practice complete metamorphosis. Eggs are laid in the soil; the caterpillar-like larvae (which are unique in sporting compound eyes) live on the surface of the soil or under leaf litter; and they burrow back into the soil to pupate. Mecopterans have long been considered to be closely related to fleas, which are in their own Order, but fleas are now believed by some scientists to be highly specialized Mecopterans! Entomologists believe, based on fossil evidence, that extinct Scorpionfly ancestors - the Order was larger and more diverse in the olden days, 250 million years ago - are common ancestors of fleas, caddisflies, flies, and butterflies/moths. Quite a lineage for this odd and unassuming little insect. The Bug Lady P.S. Speaking of old episodes, more than 80 episodes of BOTW, plus some reruns, have “aired” since it’s humble beginnings. Old episodes are now being archived in random order by the UWM Field Station (http://www4.uwm.edu/fieldstation) (look in the “Natural History of the Bog” section and by Riveredge Nature Center (riveredgenaturecenter.org) (the link is usually easy to spot). Both are informative websites, so browse a bit while you’re there. The Riveredge archives may occasionally be “gently censored” in order to protect innocent maidens and kiddies. As always, the BugLady owns the typos. .
Recommended publications
  • The Ecology of British Upland Peatlands: Climate Change, Drainage, Keystone Insects and Breeding Birds

    The Ecology of British Upland Peatlands: Climate Change, Drainage, Keystone Insects and Breeding Birds

    The ecology of British upland peatlands: climate change, drainage, keystone insects and breeding birds Matthew John Carroll PhD University of York Department of Biology September 2012 Abstract Northern peatlands provide important ecosystem services and support species adapted to cold, wet conditions. However, drainage and climate change could cause peatlands to become drier, threatening ecosystem functions and biodiversity. British blanket bogs occur towards the southern extent of northern peatlands and have been extensively drained, so present an excellent opportunity to examine climate change and drainage impacts. Craneflies (Diptera: Tipulidae) are a major component of upland peatland invertebrate communities and provide a key food resource to breeding birds. However, larvae are highly susceptible to desiccation, so environmental changes that dry peat surfaces could harm cranefly populations and, in turn, bird populations. This thesis aims to examine effects of soil moisture, drainage and climate change on craneflies, and the relationship between craneflies and birds. A large-scale field experiment showed that adult cranefly abundance increased with soil moisture. Areas with blocked drainage ditches showed significantly higher soil moisture and cranefly abundance than areas with active drainage. A model of monthly peatland water tables driven by simple climate data was developed. The model accurately predicted water table position, and predicted up to two thirds of water table variation over time. Performance declined when modelling drained sites. The water table model was combined with empirical relationships to model cranefly abundance under climate change. Falling summer water tables were projected to drive cranefly population declines. Drain blocking would increase abundance and slow declines, thus aiding population persistence.
  • Biological Solutions for Chafer Grub and Leatherjacket Control in Turf Chafer Grubs and Leatherjackets Cause Extensive Damage by Feeding on Plant Roots in Turf

    Biological Solutions for Chafer Grub and Leatherjacket Control in Turf Chafer Grubs and Leatherjackets Cause Extensive Damage by Feeding on Plant Roots in Turf

    Biological solutions for Chafer Grub and Leatherjacket control in turf Chafer Grubs and Leatherjackets cause extensive damage by feeding on plant roots in turf. The secondary damage is just as desctructive when birds, badgers, foxes, moles and other small mammals rip up the already weakened turf in search of their protein rich larvae. Tell-tale signs of infestation include birds pecking at the grass, poor grass growth, the appearance of yellow patches and the ability to pull the turf up because there is little or no root growth. Beneficial nematodes are effective biological control agents that are safe to users and the environment. Key points Most turf specialists use chemical methods to control pest problems, however insects are known for their ability to develop resistance to synthetic chemicals and Nemasys G contains the insect parasitic some pesticides may be non-specific and kill beneficial nematode Heterohabditis bacteriophora for insects. That, added to the increasing legislation the control of Chafer Grubs and withdrawing of existing chemical controls, has increased the use of natural biological control agents Nemasys J contains Steinernema feltiae for as part of an integrated pest management programme the control of Leatherjackets for controlling pest populations. Kills larvae within 10–14 days Nemasys G (controls Chafer Grubs) and Nemasys J (controls Leatherjackets) contain nematodes that provide Safe for turf and wildlife the perfect biological control by entering the larvae, One tray contains 250 million nematodes which stops them feeding within three days of infection. and treats 500m2 The larvae then die within 10-14 days. The nematodes complete their life cycle within the larvae, then enter Follow application instructions and timings the soil seeking more hosts, so the pest control for optimum results continues naturally.
  • Insects Carolina Mantis Mayfly

    Insects Carolina Mantis Mayfly

    I l l i n o i s Insects Carolina mantis mayfly elephant stag beetle widow skimmer ichneumon wasp click beetle black locust borer birdwing grasshopper large milkweed bug (adults and nymphs) mantisfly walking stick lady beetle stink bug crane fly stonefly (nymph) horse fly wheel bug bot fly prairie cicada leafhopper robber fly katydid alderfly syrphid fly Order Ephemeroptera mayfly Species List Order Coleoptera black locust borer click beetle This poster was made possible by: nsects and their relatives (arthropods) make up nearly 80 percent of the known animal species. Scientists elephant stag beetle lady beetle Illinois Department of Natural Resources Order Plecoptera stonefly currently estimate that 5 to 15 million species of insects exist. In contrast, 5,000 species of mammals are Order Orthoptera birdwing grasshopper Carolina mantis Division of Education found on our planet. In Illinois, we have more than 20,000 species of insects, and many more likely katydid Illinois Natural History Survey I Order Hemiptera large milkweed bug Illinois State Museum occur, as yet undetected in our state! The scientific study of insects is known as entomology. Entomologists stink bug wheel bug Order Diptera bot fly study insects for many reasons, including their incredible number of species and their wide variety of sizes, crane fly horse fly colors, shapes, and lifestyles. The 24 species depicted on this poster were selected by Michael R. Jeffords of robber fly syrphid fly Order Homoptera leafhopper the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, to represent the variety of prairie cicada Order Phasmida walking stick insects occurring in our state.
  • Phylogeny of Endopterygote Insects, the Most Successful Lineage of Living Organisms*

    Phylogeny of Endopterygote Insects, the Most Successful Lineage of Living Organisms*

    REVIEW Eur. J. Entomol. 96: 237-253, 1999 ISSN 1210-5759 Phylogeny of endopterygote insects, the most successful lineage of living organisms* N iels P. KRISTENSEN Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen 0, Denmark; e-mail: [email protected] Key words. Insecta, Endopterygota, Holometabola, phylogeny, diversification modes, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, Coleóptera, Strepsiptera, Díptera, Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera Abstract. The monophyly of the Endopterygota is supported primarily by the specialized larva without external wing buds and with degradable eyes, as well as by the quiescence of the last immature (pupal) stage; a specialized morphology of the latter is not an en­ dopterygote groundplan trait. There is weak support for the basal endopterygote splitting event being between a Neuropterida + Co­ leóptera clade and a Mecopterida + Hymenoptera clade; a fully sclerotized sitophore plate in the adult is a newly recognized possible groundplan autapomorphy of the latter. The molecular evidence for a Strepsiptera + Díptera clade is differently interpreted by advo­ cates of parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of sequence data, and the morphological evidence for the monophyly of this clade is ambiguous. The basal diversification patterns within the principal endopterygote clades (“orders”) are succinctly reviewed. The truly species-rich clades are almost consistently quite subordinate. The identification of “key innovations” promoting evolution­
  • Ultrastructural Changes in Female Reproductive Organ of Chrotogonus Trachypterus Blanchard Induced by Deltamethrin

    Ultrastructural Changes in Female Reproductive Organ of Chrotogonus Trachypterus Blanchard Induced by Deltamethrin

    IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 7, Issue 5 Ver. II (May. 2014), PP 01-06 www.iosrjournals.org Ultrastructural changes in female reproductive organ of Chrotogonus trachypterus Blanchard induced by deltamethrin Shashi Meena1 & N. P. Singh2 Centre for Advanced Studies in Zoology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur-302055, Rajasthan, India Abstract: Acridid grasshopper, Chrotogonus trachypterus Blanchard is known as surface grasshopper and is a most common polyphagous pest occurring throughout year causing significant damage to seedlings of crops and vegetables. Ultrastructural changes in the ovarian follicles of C. trachypterus Blanchard induced by deltamethrin one day after treatment were observed. Orthopteran insects have panoistic ovarioles and each of the paired ovary consists of tubular ovarioles along which are placed the oocytes in linear sequence that reflexes their progressive development. Each ovariole is divided into a terminal filament, germarium and a vitellarium. In the present study electron micrographs of ovarian follicle cells of females treated with deltamethrin showed prominent histopathological changes leading to vacuolization of cytoplasm, degeneration of the cell components of follicular epithelium and most obvious signs were observed of yolk damage and mitochondrial disintegration, when examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The present study indicates a profound effect on reproduction of the pest by deltamethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid and suggests alternative of more hazardous synthetic organic insecticides. Key Words: Chrotogonus trachypterus Blanchard, ovarian follicle, synthetic pyrethroid, deltamethrin histopathological changes, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) I. Introduction The surface grasshopper, Chrotogonus trachypterus Blanchard (Orthoptera: Acrididae) has been recognized as a threat to agricultural in semi arid zone of Rajasthan, India.
  • A Seasonal Guide to New York City's Invertebrates

    A Seasonal Guide to New York City's Invertebrates

    CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION A Seasonal Guide to New York City’s Invertebrates Elizabeth A. Johnson with illustrations by Patricia J. Wynne CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION A Seasonal Guide to New York City’s Invertebrates Elizabeth A. Johnson with illustrations by Patricia J. Wynne Ellen V. Futter, President Lewis W. Bernard, Chairman, Board of Trustees Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice-President and Provost of Science TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.................................................................................2-3 Rules for Exploring When to Look Where to Look Spring.........................................................................................4-11 Summer ...................................................................................12-19 Fall ............................................................................................20-27 Winter ......................................................................................28-35 What You Can Do to Protect Invertebrates.............................36 Learn More About Invertebrates..............................................37 Map of Places Mentioned in the Text ......................................38 Thanks to all those naturalists who contributed information and to our many helpful reviewers: John Ascher, Allen Barlow, James Carpenter, Kefyn Catley, Rick Cech, Mickey Maxwell Cohen, Robert Daniels, Mike Feller, Steven Glenn, David Grimaldi, Jay Holmes, Michael May, E.J. McAdams, Timothy McCabe, Bonnie McGuire, Ellen Pehek, Don
  • European Crane

    European Crane

    x x x x x x xxxxx xx xx xxxxx xxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x xxx x x xxx x x xxxx A Washington Toxics Coalition Fact Sheet xxxx xxxx AlternativesAlternatives xxxxx xx x x AlternativesAlternatives x x xxx x x xx xxxxx x xxx xxx x xx x xxxx x x x x x x xxxxx xx xx xxxxx xxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x xxx x x xxx x x xxxx European Crane Fly: Lawn Pest or Bird Food? by Philip Dickey t is often said that the European crane fly is the only serious insect pest of lawns in the Maritime Northwest. That’s great news! It means that insecticide I treatments should not be needed for any other insects on home lawns in our region. More good news is that insecticide treatments are rarely needed for crane flies either. The bad news is that many people don’t know about the good news and so they treat the lawn anyway. According to one estimate (http://whatcom.wsu.edu/cranefly/ CFquickfacts.htm), homeowners in the Puget Sound area spent about $13 million to buy pesticides for crane fly control in 1999. As we will see, most of them could have saved their money. The state of knowledge about crane flies has increased over time, and the latest information confirms the idea that crane flies are rarely numerous enough to cause damage meriting insecticide treatment. In recent years crane flies are becoming even less common than in the past.
  • Habitat Management for Bats a Guide for Land Managers, Land Owners and Their Advisors

    Habitat Management for Bats a Guide for Land Managers, Land Owners and Their Advisors

    Habitat management for bats A guide for land managers, land owners and their advisors Habitat management for bats Cover cartoon by Neil Bennett Other cartoons by Neil Bennett and illustrations by Barry Larking © JNCC 2001 Habitat management for bats A guide for land managers, land owners and their advisors Abigail C Entwistle, Stephen Harris, Anthony M Hutson, Paul A Racey, Allyson Walsh, Stephen D Gibson, Ian Hepburn and Jacklyn Johnston Illustrations by Barry Larking, cartoons by Neil Bennett Joint Nature Conservation Committee Monkstone House City Road Peterborough PE1 1JY UK ISBN 1 86107 528 6 © JNCC 2001 Contents Acknowledgements 6 1 Introduction 7 Key threats to foraging bats 7 Why do bats need our help? 7 Bat biology 9 2 Managing habitats for bats 11 Key habitats for bats 11 Freshwater 15 Woodland 17 Grassland 19 Linear 20 Other habitats 21 Additional features valuable to foraging bats 23 Management decision tree 24 3 Habitat management for individual bat species 25 Greater horseshoe bat 26 Lesser horseshoe bat 27 Daubenton’s bat 28 Brandt’s bat 29 Whiskered bat 30 Natterer’s bat 31 Bechstein’s bat 32 Pipistrelle 33 Nathusius’ pipistrelle 34 Serotine 35 Noctule 36 Leisler’s bat 37 Barbastelle 38 Brown long-eared bat 39 Grey long-eared bat 40 4 References 41 5 Further reading 42 Annexes I Legislation protecting bats 43 II Financial support for habitat management 45 III Key contacts 46 5 Acknowledgements JNCC would like to thank all those who provided Phil Richardson. Tony Mitchell-Jones and Peter information about the habitat use of individual Spencer of English Nature and Jessa Battersby of species including Gareth Jones, Laurent Duvergé JNCC provided invaluable comments on the (of the Vincent Wildlife Trust), Roger Ransome, manuscript.
  • The Gloucester Mecopteran

    The Gloucester Mecopteran

    The Gloucester Mecopteran Vol 1, No 4: April 2015 Editorial: Journals and newsletters generally try to provide their readers with up to date content, but on this occasion The Gloucester Mecopteran makes no apology for stepping back through a few hundred million years. Any sensitive mecopterist must surely regret the sticky fate of the ancient scorpionfly relative in our front page image. However, this individual misfortune has preserved for us a glimpse into the long, significant history of a noble hexapod clan. * * * The editor’s thanks go to The Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society for reproducing the first two issues of The Gloucester Mecopteran in The Gloucestershire Naturalist No. 26 (2014), and also to Worcestershire Biological Records Centre and Worcestershire Recorders for their continuing interest and support. Hylobittacus fossilis? in Baltic Eocene amber A brief history of scorpionflies © Marius Veta (Lithuania) Quite recently, but before a climate change triggered placental mammals were also alive. Taxonomists the Ice Ages that shaped our modern world, a warm place Mecoptera close to the roots of a group of forest stretched across Northern Europe. Resin ooz- insect orders including caddisflies, butterflies and ing from the trees trapped many insects, creating a moths, fleas and true flies that first appeared in the legacy of fossils in amber. The stunning portrait above Mesozoic. It was probably creatures very like our is a reminder that delightful species of Mecoptera familiar scorpionflies that gave rise to this diverse were scavenging for food through a succession of range of descendants. geological ages, all very different from our own times. The last Mesozoic period, the Cretaceous, is most The first known Mecoptera lived much earlier, in the famous for its catastrophic end, marked by the Permian, the last period of the Palaeozoic era which extinction of the dinosaurs, but it also saw the first ended with a massive extinction event.
  • Taxonomy, Species Richness and Biogeography of Finnish Crane Flies (Diptera, Tipuloidea)

    Taxonomy, Species Richness and Biogeography of Finnish Crane Flies (Diptera, Tipuloidea)

    TURUN YLIOPISTON JULKAISUJA ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS TURKUENSIS SARJA - SER. AII OSA - TOM. 276 BIOLOGICA - GEOGRAPHICA - GEOLOGICA TAXONOMY, SPECIES RICHNESS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF FINNISH CRANE FLIES (DIPtERA, TIPULOIDEA) JUKKA SALMELA TURUN YLIOPISTO UNIVERSITY OF TURKU Turku 2013 From the Zoological Museum, Section of Biodiversity and Environmental Science, Department of Biology, University of Turku, FI-20014, Finland Supervised by Docent Jukka Suhonen University of Turku Finland Docent Ilari E. Sääksjärvi University of Turku Finland Reviewed by Docent Juhani Itämies University of Oulu Finland Prof. Heikki Roininen University of Eastern Finland Finland Examined by Prof. Jari Niemelä University of Helsinki Finland ISBN 978-951-29-5238-0 (PRINT) ISBN 978-951-29-5239-7 (PDF) ISSN 0082- 6979 Painosalama Oy – Turku, Finland 2013 Dedicated to the memory of Professor Carl Lundström (1844–1914), the first student of Finnish crane flies 4 Contents CONtENtS LISt OF ORIGINAL PAPERS...................................................................................................5 ABStRACt..........................................................................................................................6 1. INtRODUCtION..............................................................................................................7 1.1. Taxonomists never die..........................................................................................7 1.2. Natural history of crane flies................................................................................9
  • Fleas Are Parasitic Scorpionflies

    Fleas Are Parasitic Scorpionflies

    Palaeoentomology 003 (6): 641–653 ISSN 2624-2826 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/pe/ PALAEOENTOMOLOGY PE Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Press Article ISSN 2624-2834 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.3.6.16 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9B7B23CF-5A1E-44EB-A1D4-59DDBF321938 Fleas are parasitic scorpionflies ERIK TIHELKA1, MATTIA GIACOMELLI1, 2, DI-YING HUANG3, DAVIDE PISANI1, 2, PHILIP C. J. DONOGHUE1 & CHEN-YANG CAI3, 1, * 1School of Earth Sciences University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK 2School of Life Sciences University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK 3State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5048-5355 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0554-3704 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-4867 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0949-6682 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3116-7463 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9283-8323 *Corresponding author Abstract bizarre bodyplans and modes of life among insects (Lewis, 1998). Flea monophyly is strongly supported by siphonate Fleas (Siphonaptera) are medically important blood-feeding mouthparts formed from the laciniae and labrum, strongly insects responsible for spreading pathogens such as plague, murine typhus, and myxomatosis. The peculiar morphology reduced eyes, laterally compressed wingless body, of fleas resulting from their specialised ectoparasitic and hind legs adapted for jumping (Beutel et al., 2013; lifestyle has meant that the phylogenetic position of this Medvedev, 2017).
  • The New York Forest Owner a Publication of the New York Forest Owners Association for People Caring About New York’S Trees and Forests May/June 2014

    The New York Forest Owner a Publication of the New York Forest Owners Association for People Caring About New York’S Trees and Forests May/June 2014

    The New York Forest Owner A PUBLICATION OF THE NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION For people caring about New York’s trees and forests May/June 2014 Member Profile: Gary Goff Volume 52 Number 3 www.nyfoa.org THE NEW YORK In This Issue . FOREST OWNERS FROM THE PRESIDENT JIM MINOR ..................................................................................................... 3 ASSOCIATION UPDATE ON RNYW 2014 Officers & Directors JERRY MICHAEL ............................................................................................ 5 Jim Minor, President 22 Bryn Mawr Rd ASK A PROFESSIONAL Rochester, NY 14624; (585) 247-7069 PETER SMALLIDGE ......................................................................................... 6 [email protected] Ron Pedersen, Vice President NEW YORK STATE TREE FARM NEWS 22 Vandenburg Lane ERIN O’NEILL ............................................................................................. 8 Latham, NY 12110; (518) 785-6061 [email protected] KIDS CORNER DEREK J. CONANT ....................................................................................... 9 Sarah Stackhouse, Secretary/Treasurer 3010 Esperanza Rd Bluff Point, NY 14478; (315) 536-9482 WILD THINGS IN YOUR WOODLANDS [email protected] KRISTI SULLIVAN ........................................................................................... 10 Renee Bouplon, Cambridge, (518) 692-7285. 2016 EQIP COST-SHARING AVAILABLE FOR FOREST STEWARDSHIP Bob Glidden, Niagara Frontier, (716) 795-3305 JERRY MICHAEL ...........................................................................................