CHRYSOMELA newsletter Dedicated to information about the Chrysomelidae Report No. 36 October 1998 Hanoi, VIETNAM: INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2-In Memoriam Institute of Ecology 2-Notes Up Front 3-Again, Bruchid Classification 4-Proposed Upper Classification Course 4-Green Algae & Chrysomelid Evolu- tion 5-Colombia Field Trip & Museum Tours 6-Fifth International Symposium on the Chrysomelids 6-ICE XXI Updates 7-The 1998 Mid-Atlantic States Field Trip 8-Far Eastern Entomology 10-The ICIPE WWW site 11-Literature on the Chrysomelidae 13-Book Notices 14-Literature (Available or Needed) Pierre and Siraj are hosted by our Vietnam collegues in Hanoi on his November ‘97 trip 14-Specimens(Available or Needed) to the Far East. from left: Siraj HASSAN (Phytopathologist), VU Quang Con (Director, 15-Member Directory, October ‘98 Inst. of Ecology), PHAM Van Lam (Entomologist), DANG Thi Dap (Deputy Director, Inst. of Ecology, Entomologist), and Pierre JOLIVET. (story, page 8) Research Activities and Interests Laurnet Amsellem (Bangkok, Pleurosticha; planning to revise subgen- outbreak of western corn rootworm, and Thailand) PhD student working in era Arctolina (Siberian and Arctic is interested in trying to develop an Thailand on the interactions between species), Ovosoma, Lithopteroides and identification guide or “key” that Rubus alceifolius and its associated Taeniosticha. Also finishing doctoral incorporates new world Diabrotica with pathogens: a rust and a chrysomelid... thesis, Biology of Palaearctic Donacii- the old world fauna. Anyone interested, The plant is actually a real weed in La nae (Chrysomelidae). please contact him (send an email note). Reunion Island, and in order to do Lech Borowiec (Wroclaw, Poland) Shawn M. Clark (Charleston, USA) biological control on it by releasing its current projects: world catalogue of the taxonomic studies of Chrysomelidae (all natural pathogens, we first must study Cassidinae; monograph of afrotropical groups) in America north of Mexico and the biology of these organisms. Looking Cassidinae, vol. 3; revision of Oriental in the West Indies. Also, taxonomic for information about rearing specimens Aspidimorphini (with Jola Swietojanos- studies of galerucines from anywhere in of Phaedon fulvescens (or related leaf ka); and a revision of Australian and the Western Hemisphere. beetles). Papuan Notosacantha. Willing to Elisabeth Geiser (Salsburg, Austria) Andrzej O. Bienkowski (Moscow, identify world Cassidinae. continues her work on chrysomelids and Russia) reviewed the systematics of Laurence Chandler (Brookings, is currently working on an 8,000 year Chrysolina and: revised subgenera USA) is working cooperatively with old specimen found in an alpine glacier Anopachys (two new species) and individuals in eastern Europe on an (paper in press). cont. page 14 In Memoriam Tiago Ramos We are all saddened to learn of the untimely work. Also, he was Treasurer of a São Paulo death of Tiago Ramos who died from a fall from based Entomological Society. a building in early June of this year. Another project of Tiago’s was Tree Gardin- Tiago was a masters student under Dr. er, an extremely useful program he wrote for Ubirajara Martins at Universidade Federal do IBM compatible computers in English and São Paulo. He did his undergraduate work on Portuguese for visualization of character state Hispinae (Clinocarispa) and was starting work data from phylogenetic analysis. on his PhD degree. In preparation, he went to Tiago’s quiet demeanor and friendly manner major European collections and photographed will be missed by friends and colleagues. all the necessary type material for his thesis —Catherine N. Duckett Pierre Jolivet (Paris & Gainesville) NOTES Meetings and Communications Is fully recovered and back to work after • U.S. Chrysomelidist 16th Annual breaking an upper arm bone while Up Front Meeting to be held in conjunction with the traveling near the Gobi Desert in Entomological Society of America and Mongolia. He was treated by the local American Phytopathological Society meet- shaman with plant extracts and then interest in a course in the upper classifi- ings at the Las Vegas Hilton and Las later underwent physical therapy at a cation of the Chrysomelidae, possibly to Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV hospital. He reports that he is fully be held about the time of the ICE in (8-12 November, 1998). recovered and back to work. 2000. Page 4 for more information. Ross Arnett (Gainesville) has been Also, Catherine has been updating • Brazil 2000—Updates from D. L. Gaz- spending quite a bit of time on the her molecular techniques; she studied zoni, President of the XXI International American Beetles manuscript despite with Karl Kjer at Rutgers University in Congress of Entomology—August 20-26, some health setbacks. We wish him Brunswick this summer. 2000 - Iguassu Falls. For more informa- well. tion, see http://www.embrapa.br/ice; e- Catherine Duckett and Lenice mail <[email protected]> or Medeiros want to know if there is any FAX: 55-43-371-6100 (see page 6). The Newsletter CHRYSOMELA–Founded 1979– is published semiannually in April and October by the California Department of Food & Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA 95832-1448. E-mail: [email protected]; telephone (916) 262-1160; FAX (916) 262-1190. This newsletter is sent to students of the Chrysomelidae to encourage the exchange of ideas and to disseminate information on these insects. Editor: Terry N. Seeno, Sacramento. Advisors: Catherine Duckett, San Juan; Brian D. Farrell, Cambridge; R. Wills Flowers, Tallahassee; Elizabeth Grobbelaar, Pretoria; Pierre Jolivet, Paris and Gainesville; Chris Reid, Townsville; Ed Riley, College Station; G. Al Samuelson, Honolulu; Eric H. Smith, Lynchburg; Charlie L. Staines, Edgewater; and Kunio Suzuki, Toyama. 2 CHRYSOMELA no. 36, October 1998 depends on ones understanding of solution (e.g., giving up Linnean ranks) science. Whether science is seen as might not always be the best, but it could THE isolated from real human behavior (as in be better than the most “logical” one. In Poppers’s Third World, 1972) or as a addition, it makes sense to keep in mind social process (Hull 1988) it makes a that “changes in ranks in a classification FORVM difference in the role of “taxonomic do not solve any phylogenetic problem” stability.” If science is a social process, (Schmitt 1996a). Consequently, it Again, then sharing and communicating would be appropriate to present phyloge- scientific information forms an integral netic hypotheses without changing ranks Bruchid part of it. For information exchange, and names. stability of terms and names is a Lingafelter & Pakaluk (1997) ask Classification necessary prerequisite. Therefore, “why maintain a classification that Michael Schmitt, Bonn changing established names should not obscures this relationship,” meaning the only be a matter of adjusting a classifica- sister-group relationship between Based on Hennig's (1950) sugges- tion to the most recent phylogenetic Sagrinae and Bruchidae. “This relation- tion that sister-groups should be given hypotheses, but should also take into ship” is far from being well substantiat- the same rank, Bruchidae should be account the requirements for unequivo- ed (as I hope to have shown in my treated as a subfamily or Sagrinae as a cal communication. contribution to the Pajni-Festschrift), no family. The former solution was Violating formal logic by ranking matter how many coleopterists agree on already suggested by Monrós (1960), sister-groups differently or including a it. Transforming a weakly supported but did not find many followers until “family” in another one is but one phylogenetic hypothesis into a classifi- very recently. Normally, the Bruchidae disadvantage of retaining “traditional” cation pretends that there is stronger were treated as a family, regardless of classifications in spite of more recent evidence than there is, in fact, at hand. the phylogenetic relationships assumed. phylogenetic hypotheses. This disad- Instead of obscuring the weakness of a However, Hennig's 1974 claim that vantage may well be compensated for by hypothesis by mere renaming taxa, I classification should reflect phylogeny the advantage of easier information would prefer an allegedly logical was a permanent demand to all system- exchange and retrieval. Phylogenetics, inconsistency (after all, keeping the atists. as a part of science, yields hypotheses names Bruchidae and Sagrinae only When Reid (1995) published his waiting for their falsification and violates formal logic as long as we stick cladistic analysis which revealed that rejection. to Linnean ranks). The only sound Sagrinae and Bruchidae are sister- Reflecting “phylogeny” (i.e. the best solution could be reached through groups, he consequently lowered the supported phylogenetic hypothesis) including additional independent rank of the latter and listed the seed immediately after a published classifica- characters into our phylogenetic analy- beetles as subfamily Bruchinae within tion change means changes can occur at ses. the Chrysomelidae. Lawrence & rather short intervals. A solution to the Alfred Kaestner (author of a famous Newton (1995) adopted this ranking in conflicting aims of naming taxa is zoology textbook in Germany) warned their extensive classification of families suggested in De Queiroz & Gauthier’s Günther Osche not to include anything and subfamilies of Coleoptera which (1992) “phylogenetic nomenclature.” more recent than five years in a hand-