Boletín de la Asociación Mexicana de Sistemática de Artrópodos _0 PRESENTACIÓN CONTENIDO (da clic para ir a la página deseada) Por ALEJANDRO ZALDÍVAR RIVERÓN Presidente de la AMXSA [1] PRESENTACIÓN [email protected] stimados compañeros, [2] OBITUARIOS [2] Dr. Norman I. Platnick (1951– en esta presentación del 2020) por L. PRENDINI E primer número del año 2020 de nuestro Boletín de [4] Farewell to a good old friend! la AMXSA quiero hacerles saber nues- ¡Adiós a un gran viejo amigo! tro deseo por que todos ustedes y sus por O. F. FRANCKE seres queridos se encuentren bien de salud. Han sido meses difíciles por la [7] ARTÍCULOS pandemia del COVID-19 que azota al mundo, en los que nuestras labores y [7] Modificación de una trampa de luz UV para recolectar vida diaria se han visto afectadas. Los una nueva fecha para el segundo con- lepidópteros nocturnos por A. estudiantes de licenciatura y posgrado greso de la AMXSA, así como todas MERCADO-MARTÍNEZ, W. de algunas universidades han podido las situaciones relacionadas con la A. AGUILAR-GOYTIA Y M. M. concluir el semestre en línea, mien- presentación de trabajos y las confer- LUNA-REYES tras que desafortunadamente en otras encias magistrales que se realizarían. instituciones esto no ha sido posible También les comunico que debido a [11] En medio del desierto… Ex- llevar a cabo. Las salidas al campo, las la pandemia no ha sido posible aún pedición aracnológica LATLAX estancias de alumnos tanto nacionales realizar el cambio de mesa directiva, 2019 Baja California: buscando como en el extranjero, así como cual- incluyendo la presidencia. Esto tam- a las arañas violinistas por A. VALDEZ-MONDRAGÓN quier otro tipo de simposios, talleres bién será atendido cuando lo permitan y reuniones científicas también han las condiciones de salud pública del [17] Las avispas Vespa Linnaeus tenido que suspenderse o cancelarse país. (Vespidae: Vespinae) y su Goliat definitivamente. En el presente número del Boletín la Vespa mandarinia Smith por En particular, nuestro congreso bia- de la AMXSA contamos con temas M. L. ZURITA- GARCÍA ET AL nual de la AMXSA, que iba a llevarse variados, incluyendo la descripción [20] Proyecto “Luciérnagas de a cabo en marzo del presente año, de una trampa de luz novedosa para México” por S. ZARAGOZA- tuvo que ser postergado a una fecha recolectar lepidópteros nocturnos, la CABALLERO ET AL aún por definir en el 2021. Lamenta- emocionante reseña de una expedición mos mucho esta situación. Esperamos a Baja California para recolectar [23] Importancia de la Ilustración que existan en los próximos meses arácnidos, detalles sobre un curso de Científica en la enseñanza y la las condiciones necesarias para que ilustración científica en una institución investigación por A. MERCADO- las actividades en docencia e investi- de educación superior en la Ciudad de MARTÍNEZ gación se vayan normalizando en toda México, información actual sobre las la Republica Mexicana. Les haremos luciérnagas de México, así como datos [27] EDITORIAL saber en su momento la definición de importantes sobre la biología y dis- Volumen 4 (1) / Junio 2020 1 Boletín de la AMXSA tribución de la avispa asiática Vespa los invitamos a seguir colaborando con de investigación, así como reseñas de mandarinia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: trabajos en los próximos números del expediciones o de grupos taxonómicos Vespinae), una especie exótica que Boletín de la AMXSA. En especial, en este Boletín. ha sido objeto de noticias debido al queremos hacer un llamado a estudi- Les enviamos un cordial saludo, registro reciente de ejemplares de la antes de licenciatura y posgrado, inte- reiterando nuestro deseo de que se especie en el noroeste de EEUU y en resados en el estudio de la sistemática encuentren bien de salud tanto ust- la Columbia Británica en Canadá. Es- de artrópodos para que se animen a edes como sus familiares y personas peramos que disfruten estos trabajos, y presentar los avances de sus trabajos cercanas. Dr. Norman I. Platnick (1951–2020) Por LORENZO PRENDINI Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, U.S.A. [email protected] r. Norman Ira Platnick, that he lacked ‘a high school diploma, ing millipedes but collected spiders in Curator Emeritus at the having made it only through grade abundance and tried to identify them American Museum of 7’! The world authority on spiders, back at college. The rest is history. D Natural History (AMNH), Norm’s lifelong interest began ser- New York, passed on endipitously while a teenager, major- After graduating from Concord in April 8, 2020, in Philadelphia, PA, ing in Biology at Concord College, 1968, Norm moved to Michigan State after a tragic accident. He married the Athens, WV, as a direct consequence University, East Lansing, MI, where late Nancy Stewart Price in 1970 and of meeting his future wife, Nancy, ‘at he was advised by Richard Sauer and is survived by his son, William Durin Concord on October 12, 1967.’ Their graduated with a MS in Zoology in Platnick, and daughter-in-law, Rebec- son, Will, maintains that his father’s 1970, and finally to Harvard Univer- ca Ehrlich. passion for spiders started because he sity, Cambridge, MA, where he was ‘tried to impress a girl.’ Nancy, also advised by Herbert Levi, and gradu- Norm was born on December 30, pursuing a BS in Biology, had taken a ated with a PhD in Biology in 1973. 1951, in Bluefield, WV, where he course on arthropods and become fas- He was appointed Assistant Curator grew up. Getting what he called a cinated with millipedes. According to in the AMNH Department of Ento- ‘precocious start’, Norm became a Will, ‘my mom was an excellent col- mology the same year, received tenure college freshman at the tender age of lector and, when she went out, my dad and promotion to Associate Curator 12, receiving a BS degree at 16, MS would tag along to spend time with in 1977, and promotion to Curator in at 18, and PhD at 21. He has remarked her.’ Norm was less successful at find- 1982. He was awarded an endowed chair as Peter J. Solomon Family Curator of Spiders in 1998 and served in that capacity until retiring, where- upon he became Senior Scientist in Residence at the AMNH Division of Invertebrate Zoology (2010–2013). As an AMNH Curator, Norm took over stewardship of the Collections of Arachnida and Myriapoda from John Cooke, building on the legacy of Willis J. Gertsch to continue devel- oping the spider collection into the world’s largest and most taxonomical- ly comprehensive, a global resource with over a million specimens and 4,000 types. Norm’s arachnological expeditions to Chile, as well as Argen- tina, Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecua- Volumen 4 (1) / Junio 2020 2 Boletín de la AMXSA dor, New Caledonia, New Zealand, scanning electron microscopy, and and Panama, were supported by $4.3 character systems, such as spinneret million in research grants from the morphology, which forever changed National Science Foundation (NSF), the course of spider systematics. His the National Geographic Society, prodigious monographic revisions and other foundations. As Chairman and many smaller papers, on most of the Department of Entomology of which he was sole or lead author, (1987–1994), Norm secured two NSF added 158 new genera and 2,023 new grants that enhanced ongoing curation species of spiders (including many of the terrestrial arthropod collections, novelties such as Neato, Oreo, Queen- partially supporting construction of vic, Notnops, Nyetnops, Taintnops, the insect compactor, followed by Tisentnops, Paradysderina righty, and an instrumentation grant to acquire a Paradysderina lefty), vastly increasing scanning electron microscope for the knowledge of spider diversity on a AMNH. He also served as Chair of global scale, and especially the poorly and description, including programs the Scientific Senate (2006–2008). In known fauna of the Southern Hemi- such as Systematics Agenda 2000: addition to his position as Curator at sphere, to currently more than 48,000 Charting the Biosphere, and received the AMNH, Norm served as adjunct species. An authority on at least ten major grants implementing automat- professor at City College, City Uni- spider families, Norm described taxa ed methods of species identification versity of New York (1978–2014), and in some 50 of the 120 families cur- and description, and training the next Cornell University (1988–2014), and rently recognized, spanning all three generation of taxon specialists (e.g., as adjunct senior research scientist for suborders, as well as the arachnid the NSF Partnerships for Enhancing the Center of Environmental Research order Ricinulei (hooded tick-spiders), Expertise in Taxonomy). This vision and Conservation at Columbia Univer- in which he described a new genus and culminated in the Planetary Biodiver- sity (1999–2014). 12 new species. His contributions, to- sity Inventories (PBI) and Revisionary gether with the World Spider Catalog, Syntheses in Systematics programs Norm was a prolific scientist, which he created as a unified nomen- which he co-developed during his publishing almost 12,000 pages in clatural and taxonomic resource, and tenure as Program Director for Bio- 338 printed publications, including updated biannually over the course diversity Surveys and Inventories in 42 monographs, eight books and two of two decades, elevated spiders to the NSF Division of Environmental edited volumes over the course of his a unique position. Unlike most other Biology (2002–2003). In 2006, Norm four-decade career. This exceptional non-vertebrate taxa of comparable put these approaches into practice body of work fundamentally affected diversity, spiders now enjoy a com- on a global scale with his PBI grant several fields.