Is the ESA Proposed Bylaws Change a Good Idea? | Entomology Today

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An emeritus professor of entomology and past board member of ESA questions the wisdom of a proposed amendment to the Society's Bylaws.

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The Fate of Oligochiton

Chitons are one of the most distinctive and evolutionarily divergent groups of molluscs alive today. But compared to other groups of molluscs, the fossil record of chitons is rather sparse—or at least sparsely studied. It's not hard to see why. The multi-plated nature of the chiton shell means that it tends to fall apart after death, and the structure of the plates is such that critical features are easily abraded.

(Clockwise from top left) head, intermediate and tail valves of Lepidochitona lioplax, from Dell'Angelo et al. (2011).

Lepidochitona lioplax is one example of a fossil chiton. It was originally described from Oligocene rocks belonging to the Sooke Formation of southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Only four moderate-sized valves were initially identified: one head valve, one intermediate, and two tails (so at least two individuals were involved). The valves had a smooth outer surface without a strong distinction in appearance between the central and lateral areas. The insertion plates (lateral projections of the lower surface of the valves that in life anchor them into the surrounding girdle) were very short. The sutural laminae (anterior projections of the lower surface of the intermediate and tail valves that articulate with the valve in front) were low, wide, and divided in the middle by a broad shallow surface. Slits in the lateral insertion plates were numerous, with several in the tail valves and probably two or three on each side in the intermediate valves (Smith 1960). When first described, this species was thought distinct enough to belong in its own genus Oligochiton.

Oligochiton lioplax would then go little reported on until 2011 when Dell'Angelo et al. described an assemblage of chiton fossil from the latest Eocene or early Oligocene of the Lincoln Creek Formation in Washington State. Specimens of lioplax were relatively numerous in this collection and Dell'Angelo et al. were able to examine close to a hundred valves. Their observations would lead to something of a downgrade in the species status. Rather than deserving its own extinct genus, Dell'Angelo et al. felt that lioplax could be comfortably accommodated in the living genus Lepidochitona. Its smooth valves are unusual within Lepidochitona but not unique. The supposed multiple slits in the sides of the valves did not stand up to scrutiny. Instead, intermediate valves of L. lioplax bore only a single slit on each side, in line with other Lepidochitona species. The original inference of multiple slits was an error due to the original specimen being still partially embedded in the surrounding matrix.

Lepidochitona lioplax is one of the earliest known representatives of its genus but its exact significance is obscure. It has been suggested as a direct ancestor of the modern subgenus Spongioradsia but this, again, was based on the supposed slits in the intermediate valves that Dell'Angelo et al. refuted. To know how L. lioplax connects to the big picture of Lepidochitona evolution, we would probably need a better picture of Lepidochitona evolution overall.

REFERENCES

Dell'Angelo, B., A. Bonfitto & M. Taviani. 2011. Chitons (Polyplacophora) from Paleogene strata in western Washington State, U.S.A. Journal of Paleontology 85 (5): 936–954.

Smith, A. G. 1960. Amphineura. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt I. Mollusca 1: Mollusca—General Features, Scaphopoda, Amphineura, Monoplacophora, Gastropoda—General Features, Archaeogastropoda and some (mainly Paleozoic) Caenogastropoda and Opisthobranchia pp. I41–I76. Geological Society of America, and University of Kansas Press.

source http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2021/08/the-fate-of-oligochiton.html

Probably Trapdoor Spider from Machu Picchu, Peru

Subject:  What kind of spider is this?
Geographic location of the bug:  Peru-Machu Picchu
Date: 08/29/2021
Time: 05:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! I saw the spider pictured in my photo on a rock at Machu Picchu in late August.
How you want your letter signed:  Melinda

Trapdoor Spider we believe

Dear Melinda,
This is a primitive spider in the Infraorder Mygalomorphae, a group that includes Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders.  Your individual does not look hairy enough to be a Tarantula, so we suspect it is a Trapdoor Spider.  We did try to locate matching images online with no luck, though we searched for both Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders in Peru.

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Mango Stem Borer from Israel

Subject:  Bug from Israel
Geographic location of the bug:  Kfar Saba, IL
Date: 08/29/2021
Time: 03:04 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  What is it?
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks in advance

Mango Stem Borer

The Mango Stem Borer was likely to have been introduced to Israel from Sri Lanka in the 1950’s.  It uses figs, mangos and Papayas as host trees.

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Sowbugs

Subject:  Mystery Bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Mid Michigan
Date: 08/23/2021
Time: 01:55 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  These bugs were found on tree limbs that had been cut. I can’t find anything that says what they are.
How you want your letter signed:  unsure what this means

Sowbugs

Dear Unsure,
These are Sowbugs, Terrestrial Crustaceans that help break down decaying vegetable matter in the woods and garden.

 

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The Feared Mosquito

It's one of those standard pub-quiz "trick" questions. What animal kills the most people? The hope is that contestants will nominate the 'obvious'—snakes, sharks, bears, whatever—before being blind-sided by the revelation that mosquitoes kill over a million people. They don't kill them directly, of course; their victims die from the diseases they spread*. The statistic also glosses over the point that there are many hundreds of species of mosquito that vary significantly in the nature and severity of their role as disease vectors. Nevertheless, for this post I'm considering the group that includes some of the most notorious vectors: the genus Anopheles.

*For the record, if the question was confined to active killings, the most dangerous animal to humans is other humans. Dogs come a distant second.

Anopheles punctipennis feeding, with the long palps extended in front of the head, copyright Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena/University of Florida.

Anopheles is one of the most divergent genera of mosquitoes, being placed in a distinct subfamily Anophelinae (along with a couple of small related genera) from the bulk of mosquitoes in the subfamily Culicinae. Adult Anopheles can be readily distinguished from culicine mosquitoes by their palps which are about as long as the proboscis (in other mosquitoes, the palps are distinctly shorter). Larvae of Anopheles lack the long respiratory siphons at the end of the abdomen found in other mosquito larvae so they rest parallel with the water surface rather than hanging below it. The genus is found around the world; over 450 named species are currently known (Harbach 2013) with many more waiting to be described. The genus is currently divided between seven subgenera though one of the largest of these, the cosmopolitan subgenus Anopheles, is not monophyletic. The remaining subgenera are better supported with the largest of these, Cellia, being found in the Old World. Between them, the subgenera Anopheles and Cellia account for over 400 of the known Anopheles species. The remaining small subgenera are mostly Neotropical with a single Oriental species being awarded its own subgenus.

Anopheles maculipennis, copyright Ryszard.

Anopheles is of most concern to humans, of course, for its role as a disease vector. As with other mosquitoes, the transmission of disease is done entirely by females taking blood meals to provide nutrients for their developing eggs. Males are not blood feeders, instead feeding entirely on sugar sources such as nectar (females also feed on nectar for their own nutrition). The main disease spread by Anopheles is malaria, but they may also spread malaises such as filariasis and arboviruses (Krzywinski & Besansky 2003). As noted above, species may vary significantly in their importance as disease vectors, even between quite closely related taxa. Many historically recognised vector "species" have proved, on close inspection, to represent species complexes of which some may be vectors and others not. For instance, one of the most important transmitters of malaria, the African A. gambiae, has been divided between at least eight different species (Coetzee et al. 2013). Misidentification of vectors can be a significant issue. For instance, mosquito control regimes in central Vietnam during the 1990s focused on two species, A. dirus and A. minimus, that were each active at different times of year. However, Van Bortel et al. (2001) found that A. minimus was in fact very rare in this area, with specimens previously thought to be A. minimus proving to be another species, A. varuna. Anopheles varuna is not a significant malaria vector, feeding almost entirely on animals such as cattle rather than on humans. Large amounts of resources would have been wasted trying to control a mosquito that was of little concern. What is more, the fact that malaria was not being transmitted by A. minimus raises the possibility that it was being spread by yet another species, one that had managed to escape attention. Remember, kids: bad taxonomy kills.

REFERENCES

Coetzee, M., R. H. Hunt, R. Wilkerson, A. Della Torre, M. B. Coulibaly & N. J. Besansky. 2013. Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles amharicus, new members of the Anopheles gambiae complex. Zootaxa 3619 (3): 246–274.

Harbach, R. E. 2013. The phylogeny and classification of Anopheles. In: S. Manguin (ed.) Anopheles Mosquitoes: New insights into malaria vectors. InTechOpen.

Krzywinski, J., & N. J. Besansky. 2003. Molecular systematics of Anopheles: from subgenera to subpopulations. Annual Review of Entomology 48: 111–139.

Van Bortel, W., R. E. Harbach, H. D. Trung, P. Roelants, T. Backeljau & M. Coosemans. 2001. Confirmation of Anopheles varuna in Vietnam, previously misidentified and mistargeted as the malaria vector Anopheles minimus. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 65 (6): 729–732.

source http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2021/08/the-feared-mosquito.html

Unknown Spider from Austria

Subject:  Spider
Geographic location of the bug:  Austria (in house next to a forest)
Date: 08/26/2021
Time: 01:21 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I see them often at night, someone takes them outside for me when I see one but they keep reappearing…1. What are they? 2. Are they babies? 3. Do I have to be scared of a full nest? If not, why do they keep reappearing? What can I do to make them go away? (I am very sorry that I ask so many questions but I am really scared if them and just want them to go away)
How you want your letter signed:  I don’t know what that means but I really don’t care

Spider

Dear I don’t know …,
There is not enough detail in your image to be certain, but upon enlarging the tiny spider in the purple circle, we believe this might be a harmless Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae.

Possibly Jumping Spider

Possibly Jumping Spider

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Mediterranean Banded Centipede from Corfu

Subject:  Centiped
Geographic location of the bug:  Corfu
Date: 08/24/2021
Time: 06:06 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  What sort of bug is this and can i keep it as a pet ?
How you want your letter signed:  Mr.markus

Mediterranean Banded Centipede

Dear Mr. Markus,
We believe this is a Mediterranean Banded Centipede, Scolopendra cingulata, a species that is known for much individual variation, but we have located two online images that show individuals with blue legs and an orange head.  One is on Encyclopedia of Life and the other on Shutterstock. 

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Unknown Arizona Caterpillar

Subject:  Unidentified caterpillar
Geographic location of the bug:  Sahuarita AZ
Date: 08/25/2021
Time: 05:29 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  After searching I cannot identify this caterpillar. Would you be able to tell me what it is?
How you want your letter signed :  Luanne

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Luanne,
Daniel has a vague memory of seeing this caterpillar before, but maybe that is because it resembles the Hooded Owlet Caterpillars in the genus Cuculia, which are pictured on BugGuide.  We will continue to attempt an identification and perhaps one of our readers will recognize this distinctive looking Caterpillar.  Are you able to provide us with the name of the plant upon which it was found?

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Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Subject:  What is this
Geographic location of the bug:  Southwest Florida
Date: 08/27/2021
Time: 07:07 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this crawling around on rocks today in my landscaping
How you want your letter signed:  Bugman

Prepupal Imperial Moth Caterpillar

To Whom it may Concern,
You are not the Bugman.  You have requested information from the Bugman.  This is a prepupal Imperial Moth Caterpillar which has finished feeding, left the tree upon which it was feeding, and it is now looking for a place to dig so it can pupate underground.  The adult Imperial Moth is a gorgeous creature.

Lol! I am certainly not the bugman! I thought that space was for how I wanted the letter to me signed; I was very concerned! Thanks for the information!
Crysta aka NOT the bugman

Thanks Crysta.

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Tachinid Fly

Subject:  Found a Belvosia
Geographic location of the bug:  Burnham Maine, Waldo County
Date: 08/28/2021
Time: 01:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Finally I was pruning one of my flowering bushes and my daughter and I came across this huge fly but it looks like a bee I’m like it looks like a crossbreed between a fly and a bee and she said yeah it does so I looked it up because I have Google lens on my phone and it said it was a Belvosia and then I found some articles stating that they’ve also been sighted in Clinton and Fairfield Maine which I lived in Clinton too so I wanted to submit a few pictures that I took to you
How you want your letter signed:  Bobbie Jean

Tachinid Fly

Dear Bobbie Jean,
Congratulations on successfully identifying your Tachinid Fly in the genus Belvosia.  Thank you also for submitting your excellent images.  According to BugGuide they feed on Lepidoptera.  The female Tachinid lays her eggs on a caterpillar and the fly larvae parasitize the caterpillar.

Tachinid Fly

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Spider Wasp with Prey

Subject:  Identify this wasp
Geographic location of the bug:  Greensboro,NC
Date: 08/27/2021
Time: 09:27 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I was hiking a trail at battleground park with my fiance in Greensboro and we came across this wasp dragging a spider twice it size on the trailer were walking. Would you let us know what it is.
How you want your letter signed:  Jrp

Spider Wasp with Wolf Spider Prey

Dear Jrp,
This is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae, and though your image lacks the necessary detail for a definite identification, we believe your individual is Tachypompilus ferrugineus.  This species preys upon Wolf Spiders, not to eat, but to feed to her brood.

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Clown Beetle

Subject:  flat black beetle w large jaws
Geographic location of the bug:  Northeastern Washington State, USA
Date: 08/27/2021
Time: 09:23 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Anyone know what this beetle is? Very strange because it is so flat. With the big jaws, I would guess it might be some kind of underbark tree eater, but I’ve never seen one like this and can’t find it in any bug book or online. Invasive species? It is about the size of the tip of my pinkie. Was on the garage door in the backyard. There are various trees around: large ponderosa pines, Chinese elms, crabapple, mock orange bushes, lilacs, wisteria vines, fruit trees, poplar, cottonwood, mountain ash, birch, ash, and maples. Was found in late July. Weather has been record hot in the upper 90s-110 F and very dry and smoky from wildfires. It also had a tiny stowaway on its back (parasite?). Weird.
How you want your letter signed:  Jen Childress

Clown Beetle

Dear Jen,
Thanks so much for including a lateral view so our readership can see how flat a Clown Beetle really is.  We believe your Clown Beetle is in the genus Hololepta.  Your habitat suspicions are confirmed on BugGuide where it states:  “Members of the nominate subgenus under bark of decaying hardwoods; members of the subgenus Iliotona in rotting vegetation incl. cactus, agave, and palms.”

Clown Beetle

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Female Dobsonfly

Subject:  mud bug
Geographic location of the bug:  texas hill country
Date: 08/25/2021
Time: 01:55 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  an odd bug in the mud! probably about 3 inches long! it was very dark out, sorry the picture isn’t great. thank you for your help!
How you want your letter signed:  curious, again

Female Dobsonfly

Dear curious, again,
This is a female Dobsonfly.  She is not dangerous, but stay away from those mandibles.  She is prepared to defend herself and she may deliver a painful nip if you don’t handle with respect. 

The post Female Dobsonfly appeared first on What's That Bug?.

P.M. Pollinators: Study Shines Light on Nocturnal Insects’ Role in Apple Production | Entomology Today

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A study on apple pollination highlights the valuable role that moths and other nocturnal insects play in pollinating crops and other plants.

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Cicada Exuvia from Japan

Subject:  Beetle mania
Geographic location of the bug:  Okinawa Japan
Date: 08/26/2021
Time: 11:02 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This looks like a type of scarab, but due to its near solid light brown color, I’m not able to pin point it. Its about 1.5-2 inches long. Was hanging out under the overhang of the house.
How you want your letter signed:  Mike

Cicada Exuvia

Dear Mike,
This is not a Beetle.  It is the exuvia or cast off exoskeleton of a Cicada.

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Stink Bug Exuvia

Subject:  Weird Bug!
Geographic location of the bug:  Connecticut
Date: 08/25/2021
Time: 04:36 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman :  What is this bug? I can usually identify bugs after some searching but this one has me stumped.
How you want your letter signed:  Kat

Stink Bug Exuvia

Dear Kat,
This isn’t really a bug.  It is the shed exoskeleton or exuvia of a Stink Bug.  Here is a similar image from BugGuide.

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Gossamer Wing Caterpillar on Buckwheat

Subject:  caterpillar id?
Geographic location of the bug:  oakland california
Date: 08/23/2021
Time: 07:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  my red buckwheat in the oakland hills has these small caterpillars on them.  Any idea what they are?
How you want your letter signed:  Alex

Unknown Gossamer Wing Caterpillar

Dear Alex,
This is the Caterpillar of a Gossamer Winged Butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, but we are not certain of the species.  It might be one of the Hairstreaks like this BugGuide image of a Gray Hairstreak Caterpillar on Buckwheat, or it might be one of the Blues, like this BugGuide image of a Square Spotted Blue Caterpillar also on BuckWheat.

Unknown Gossamer Wing Caterpillar

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