Entomology in Ecuador Edited by Olivier Dangles 2009, 45 (4) ANNALES DE LA SOCIÉTÉ ENTOMOLOGIQUE DE FRANCE (Nouvelle série) DIRECTRICE DE LA PUBLICATION : B. Frérot (INRA) RÉDACTEURS : A. M. Aytekin (Hacettepe, Ankara), RÉDACTEUR EN CHEF : P. Rasmont (UMons) Y. Barbier (MRW), Y. Carton (INRA), G. Duvallet (Univ. Paul Valéry, Montpellier), A. Faille (CNRS), R. Garrouste SECRÉTAIRE : A. Nel (MNHN) (MNHN), J.-M. Jallon (CNRS), C. Kerdelhué (INRA), TRÉSORIER : O. Montreuil (MNHN) P. Le Gall (IRD), A. Mantilleri (MNHN), J. Pierre CONSEILLER DE LA RÉDACTION : M. Speight (SEF) (MNHN), J.-F. Silvain (IRD), J.-F. Voisin (MNHN) COMITÉ DE RÉDACTION : INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE : (en cours de renouvellement) R. Allemand (Univ., Lyon I) J.-P. Lumaret (Univ., Montpellier) Kiyoshi Ando (Osaka, Japon - Shanghai, China) J.-M. Betsch (MNHN) F. Rodhain (Institut Pasteur) P. H. Arnaud Jr. (San Francisco, USA) J. Bitsch (Univ. de Toulouse) J. Mouchet (IRD) Cl. Besuchet (Genève, Suisse) T. Deuve (MNHN) H. Piguet (secrétaire de la SEF) G. Boivin (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada) C. Dupuis (MNHN) B. Pintureau (INRA) L. Sømme (Oslo, Norvège) Le Président de la Société Entomologique de France R. I. Vane-Wright (London, UK) Le Secrétaire Général de la Société entomologique de France TARIF 2010 PRICES Volume 46 2010 Abonnements / Subscriptions (Depuis 2001, notre revue n’est plus soumise à la TVA) FRANCE, DOM, TOM ÉTRANGER / OTHER COUNTRIES Abonné / Subscriber 150,00 € Abonné / Subscriber 170,00 € Libraire / Agency 140,00 € Libraire / Agency 155,00 € Membres SEF / SEF members 100,00 € Membres SEF / SEF members 115,00 € Le PDF (accès illimité) est gratuit pour les abonnés / Th e PDF unlimited access is free of charges for subscribers Charge par page couleur / Colour page charge: variable en fonction de la mise en page / depending on the layout Adresse commande et réglement (par chèque, virement postal) à Address order and payment (by check, giro) to Annales de la Société entomologique de France 45 rue Buff on F-75005 Paris, France CCP 4424-45 Z PARIS IBAN: FR 75 30041 00001 0442445Z020 67 BIC: PSSTFRPPPAR Plus de renseignements sur le site Internet / More on the website http://ann.sef.free.fr/ En couverture. Dynastes hercules (L. 1758) (Scarabaeidae : Dynastinae), Choco Forest, Equateur. C’est un des plus grands coléoptères connus. Certains males atteignent une longueur de 170 mm. Cover. Dynastes hercules (L. 1758) (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae), Choco Forest, Ecuador. It is one of the largest beetle known. Some males reach 170 mm length. Photo Olivier Dangles (www.naturexpose.com). Ann. soc. entomol. Fr. (n.s.), 2009, 45 (4) : 409 ARTICLE Entomology in Ecuador Olivier Dangles Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, PUCE, Quito, Ecuador IRD-LEGS, CNRS et Université Paris-Sud 11, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France he Western Amazonian basin has long been recognized logical research performed in Ecuador but also foster interest Tas supporting one of the highest levels of biological from entomologists worldwide to come and perform research diversity in the world. Insects are particularly abundant and in this country which shelters one of the most species-rich species rich in this region, yet the task of describing new but also most endangered insect fauna on Earth. species, discovering their range, understanding the factors Acknowledgements. I am grateful to Brigitte Frérot, Pierre that govern their distribution and the degree of alteration in Rasmont, and Yves Carton for their enthusiasm in this special their community structure as a result of habitat degradation issue project and their support for making it a reality. I also is still in its early stages. Th e wide diversity of habitats that thank all the members of the QCAZ Museum, Invertebrates Ecuador possesses in a small area makes it an ideal location for Section for their dedicated contribution to this issue. Special biodiversity and ecological research. Although the diversity of thanks to Raphael Cárdenas, for his help in the coordination many groups (e.g. plants, birds, and frogs) has been the focus of the issue. Financial supports from the Pontifi cia Universidad of numerous publications data on the entomological fauna in Católica del Ecuador (Donación de Impuesto a la Renta), the Ecuador are scarce, mostly limited to the response of insect IRD (UR-072) and the University of Delaware (Department diversity to altitudinal gradients. During the past decades, the of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology) for the publication of this Ecuadorian research in Entomology has been dominated by special issue are greatly acknowledged. taxonomic studies. Face to the acute environmental awareness and called attention to the pressing problem of biodiversity References conservation, this taxonomic knowledge has recently been refocused in an ecological perspective. Bahder B. W., Scheff rahn R. H., Krecek J., Keil C., Whitney-King S. Th e nine contributions to this special issue aim to present 2009. Termites (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Termiti- some of the major lines of research developed in ecological dae) of Ecuador. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) entomology in Ecuador, mainly at the Museum of Zoology 45(4): 529-536. of the Catholic University of Quito (QCAZ), Invertebrate Barragán A. R., Dangles O., Cárdenas R. E., Onore G. 2009. Th e history Section. Th e studies concern diff erent ecosystems of Ecuador of entomology in Ecuador. Annales de la Société Entomologique de such as lowland Amazonian rainforests (Carpio et al. 2009, France (N. S.) 45(4): 410-423. Checa et al. 2009), Montane cloud forest (Donoso & Ra- Cárdenas R. E., Buestán J., Dangles O. 2009. Diversity and distribution mon 2009) and Andean páramos (Moret 2009). Most studies models of horse fl ies (Diptera: Tabanidae) from Ecuador. Annales de la however cover a wide range of biogeographic regions (Badher Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) 45(4): 511-528. et al. 2009, Barragan et al. 2009, Donoso et al. 2009, Dan- Carpio C, Donoso D. A., Ramón G., Dangles O. 2009. Short term re- gles et al. 2009) including comparisons with other regions sponse of dung beetle communities to disturbance by road construc- from Latin America (Cárdenas et al. 2009). Th e coverage of tion in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Annales de la Société Entomologique de taxa (e.g. Diptera, Isoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Co- France (N. S.) 45(4): 455-469. leoptera), thematic (e.g. taxonomy, biogeography, commu- Checa M. F., Barragán A., Rodríguez J., Christman M. 2009. Temporal nity ecology, conservation biology) and methodologies (e.g. abundance patterns of butterfl y communities (Lepidoptera: multi-dimensional analysis, spatial statistics, niche modeling) Nymphalidae) in the Ecuadorian Amazonia and their relationship was designed to highlight the diverse areas on which QCAZ with climate. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) entomologists have focused during the last years, giving a 45(4): 470-486. broad view of some of their scientifi c achievements. Dangles O., Barragán A. R., Cárdenas R. E., Onore G., Keil C. 2009. In spite of their large topical range, the contributions to Entomology in Ecuador: Recent developments and future challenges. this special issue are united by a common theme: a focus on Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) 45(4): 424-436. how a good knowledge of species taxonomy plays a crucial Donoso D. A., Ramón G. 2009. Composition of a high diversity leaf litter role in fostering and underpinning ecological research in the ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from an Ecuadorian pre- fi eld of entomology. Th is is particularly important in tropical montane rainforest. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N. countries like Ecuador where the task of entomologists seems S.) 45(4): 487-499. to have a time limit with a clock ticking faster and faster as Donoso D. A., Salazar F., Maza F., Cárdenas R. E., Dangles O. 2009. human disturbance continues to increase. I hope that this Diversity and distribution of type specimens deposited in the special issue will not only provide a fresh view of entomo- Invertebrate section of the Museum of Zoology QCAZ, Quito, Ecuador. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) 45(4): 437-454. Moret P. 2009. Altitudinal distribution, diversity and endemicity of E-mail: [email protected] Carabidae (Coleoptera) in the páramos of Ecuadorian Andes. Annales Accepté le 19 novembre 2009 de la Société Entomologique de France (N. S.) 45(4): 500-510. 409 ARTICLE Ann. soc. entomol. Fr. (n.s.), 2009, 45 (4) : 410-423 Th e History of Entomology in Ecuador Álvaro R. Barragán 1, Olivier Dangles 1,2, Rafael E. Cárdenas 1 & Giovanni Onore 3 (1) Museo de Zoología QCAZ, Sección Invertebrados, Pontifi cia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Apartado 17-01-2184, Quito, Ecuador (2) IRD-LEGS, University Paris-Sud 11, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France (3) Fundación Otonga, Apartado 17-03-1514A, Quito, Ecuador Abstract. This work is not intended to be a complete review of all publications about entomology in Ecuador. It compiles the history of entomology in Ecuador in a chronological order. It fi rst provides observations about the infl uence of pre-Columbian cultures and the cultural heritage of indigenous populations. It then presents the contribution of the Spanish conquest and colonization chroniclers, the specialists that described American species during the Renaissance period and the great scientifi c expeditions. Finally the birth of Ecuadorian entomology as a science is described with the creation of institutes for applied research and the Ecuadorian museums of entomology. Résumé. Histoire de l’entomologie en Equateur. Cette étude n’a pas pour objectif de faire une révision complète de toutes les publications sur le thème en Equateur, mais de présenter les grandes étapes de l’évolution de l’entomologie dans ce pays dans un ordre chronologique. Il présente tout d’abord des informations sur l’infl uence des cultures pré-colombiennes et de l’héritage culturel légué par les populations indigènes.