VOLUME 101, NUMBER 2 459

TX, on unknown flowers. The slide label Sueo Nakahara, Systematic Entomology for a specimen from Hidalgo, Mexico, lists Laboratory, PSI, Agricultural Research Bidens, Eupatorium, and Salvia. A speci- Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, men from MichoacBn, Mexico was inter- 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD cepted on grass at agricultural quarantine, 20705-2350, U.S.A.(e-mail: snakahar@sel. San Ysidro, CA, in 1965. barc.usda.gov)

PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 101(2), 1999, pp. 459-460

Sialis vagans (Ross) (Megaloptera: Sialidae) and nigritta (Provancher) (: ) Trapped by Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) (Ericaceae) Flowers

While sampling a small impoundment in flies (Plecoptera) from the floral clusters. the Frederick City Municipal Forest along Dr. Oliver S. Flint, Jr. (Department of En- Little Fishing Creek (Frederick Co., Mary- tomology, Smithsonian Institution, Wash- land) on May 24, 1998, we observed moun- ington, D.C.) identified the alderflies as tain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) in full Sialis vagans (Ross) (Megaloptera: Siali- bloom around the pond. Closer examination dae). Ross (Ross. 1937. Bulletin of the 11- of the floral clusters revealed large numbers linois National History Survey 21(3): 57- of adult alderflies (Megaloptera: Sialidae). 78) first described this species from speci- Some alderflies appeared to be stuck to the mens collected from lakes and rivers. Dr. stems of the flowers by their tarsi; others Charles Nelson (Department of Biological were stuck to the corolla of the flowers by and Environmental Sciences, University of their wings. Although some of the speci- Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, mens were dead, many were alive. As we TN) determined the stoneflies to be Amphi- removed several alderflies, we noted that nemura nigritta (Provancher) (Plecoptera: the stalk, calyx, and corolla of the flowers Nemouridae). were sticky to the touch. Mountain laurel is a common shrub dis- We determined the number of floral clus- tributed from Maine to Mississippi and Al- ters on two bushes (approximately 1.3 m in abama. The inflorescence consists of ter- height) within 1-2 meters of the pond mar- minal convex flower clusters. Richard A. gin, and on a third bush along Little Fishing Jaynes (Jaynes, 1997. Kalmia: Mountain Creek exiting the pond. The two bushes Laurel and Related Species, Timber Press) along the margin of the pond had 25 and indicates that the stalk, calyx, and corolla 97 floral clusters; the one along the stream of K. latifolia flowers are covered with had 18. We also counted the adult alderflies glandular, sticky hairs. This sticky secretion on each bush. Those along the pond margin is believed to prevent access of crawling contained 22 and 27 adult alderflies. Simi- to pollen and nectar. lar numbers of alderflies were found on oth- The poisonous properties of mountain er bushes along the pond margin. The bush laurel sap are well documented (Jaynes, along the stream had not trapped any al- 1988. Kalmia: The Laurel Book 11, Timber derflies; however, we did recover 10 stone- Press). The sap contains a group of related 460 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON grayanotoxins (Mancini and Edwards. become stuck to the flowers as they 1979. Journal of Natural Products 42(5): climbed. 483-488), which occur in a number of spe- This novel observation may prove useful cies of Kalmia and other genera in the Er- to collectors, as more taxa may be collected icaceae. Nonetheless, it is not clear whether from mountain laurel flowers. the alderflies and stoneflies stuck to the Kevin Stewart is a recipient of an under- flowers actually died of poisoning or des- graduate fellowship from the Environmen- iccation. tal Protection Agency (U-9 15452-01-0). How both species moved to the Some of the optical equipment used for this mountain laurel flowers is not known. Sialis study was purchased with funds provided by the Fund for Academic Excellence vagans and A. nigritta in flight may have Grants Program, Howard University. selected the mountain laurel bushes along the pond and stream margins to rest or K. D. Stewart and R. M. Duffield, De- mate. They may also have emerged at or partment of Biology, Howard University, near the pond and stream margins, crawled Washington, DC 20059, U.S.A. (e-mail: up the bushes to expand their wings, and rduffieldafac. howard.edu)

PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 101(2), 1999, pp. 460-461

New Synonymies in Australia Psix Kozlov and LC (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae: Telenominae)

Johnson and Masner (1985. Systematic were a more difficult problem. Dodd, be- Entomology 10: 33-58) revised the world ginning in 1913, described 102 species of species of the telenomine genus Psix Koz- Telenominae, but because he had to rely lov and LC, recognizing 18 species. The ge- solely upon the vague, insufficient, and nus is primarily found in the Old World sometimes inaccurate descriptions available tropics, with at least one probable acciden- at the time, it was difficult to equate his tal introduction into the New World. In fact, generic concepts with those that developed several species had been described before and were accepted in later years. Johnson Kozlov and LC (1976. Zoologicheskii Zhur- and Masner (1985) were able to recognize nal 55: 143-145) first described the genus that Telenomus olyrnpus Dodd was, in fact, from Afghanistan. The varied placement of a species of Psix on the basis of a specimen these early species reflected the confused identified by Dodd in the Australian Na- surrounding the large genera Te- tional Insect Collection. Correct generic as- lenomus Haliday and Trissolcus Ashrnead. signment of the bulk of his species, how- The work of Nixon (1935. Transactions of ever, required first-hand examination of the the Royal Entomological Society of Lon- remaining type material. don 83: 73-103, and subsequent papers) al- Johnson (1988. Proceedings of the En- lowed us to recognize species of Psix tomological Society of Washington 90: among the Afrotropical and Oriental Tris- 229-243) reported on the types of Austra- solcus (then known as Microphanurus lian species of telenomines described by Kieffer). However, the Australian species Dodd and recognized that two further spe- Bibliography of the Neuropterida

Bibliography of the Neuropterida Reference number (r#): 9288

Reference Citation: Stewart, K. D.; Duffield, R. M. 1999 [1999.04.30]. Sialis vagans (Ross) (Megaloptera: Sialidae) and Amphinemura nigritta (Provancher) (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) trapped by Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) (Ericaceae) flowers. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 101:459-460.

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File: File produced for the Bibliography of the Neuropterida (BotN) component of the Global Lacewing Digital Library (GLDL) Project, 2005.