http://www.hindawi.com The latest articles from Hindawi Publishing Corporation © 2013 , Hindawi Publishing Corporation . All rights reserved. Mon, 20 May 2013 12:08:23 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/230601/ Microdontine syrphid flies are obligate social parasites of ants. Larvae prey on ant brood whereas adults live outside the nests. Knowledge of their interaction with their host is often scarce, as it is information about their natural enemies. Here we report the first case of parasitism of a species of microdontine fly by a myrmecophilous eurytomid wasp. This is also the first host record for Camponotophilus delvarei Gates, a recently described parasitic wasp discovered in Chiapas, Mexico, within the nests of the weaver ant, Camponotus sp. aff. textor Forel. Eleven pupal cases of a microdontine fly were found within a single nest of this ant, five of them being parasitized. Five adult C. delvarei females were reared from a puparium and 29 female and 2 male pupae were obtained from another one. The eurytomid is a gregarious, primary ectoparasitoid of larvae and pupae of Microdontinae, its immature stages developing within the protective puparium of the fly. The species is synovigenic. Adult females likely locate and parasitize their hosts within the ant nest. As some species of Microdontinae are considered endangered, their parasitoids are likewise threatened and in need of accurate and urgent surveys in the future. Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Michael W. Gates, and Jean-Paul Lachaud Copyright © 2013 Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 16 May 2013 18:53:03 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/736939/ We evaluated completeness, accuracy, and historical trend of the taxonomic knowledge on the myrmecophilous ground beetle tribe Paussini (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Paussinae). Accumulation curves for valid names and synonyms of species, subgenera, and genera were modelled using logistic functions. Analyses of trends in synonymies suggest that few currently accepted taxa will be recognized to be synonymous in the future. This may indicate that Paussini are a taxonomically relatively stable tribe of carabid beetles. However, this result might also be due to the lack of recent taxonomic work in some biogeographical regions. Simone Fattorini, Emanuela Maurizi, and Andrea Di Giulio Copyright © 2013 Simone Fattorini et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 16 May 2013 14:37:03 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/242037/ The rich myrmecofauna in Bulgaria, comprising about 170 species, constitutes favorable settings for a diverse associated fauna. An attempt to summarize the fragmented faunal data on this ecological group in Bulgaria, together with inclusion of new data, has resulted in a comprehensive list of 121 beetle species from 14 families, obligate or facultative ant related. The extent of current knowledge on the various beetle families, host specificity, the nature of relations between guests and their ant hosts, and the regional characteristics of the myrmecophilous fauna are discussed. Albena Lapeva-Gjonova Copyright © 2013 Albena Lapeva-Gjonova. All rights reserved. Tue, 14 May 2013 19:03:33 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/465108/ Big-eyed bugs (Geocoris spp. Fallén, Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) are ubiquitous, omnivorous insect predators whose plant feeding behavior raises the question of whether they benefit or harm plants. However, several studies have investigated both the potential of Geocoris spp. to serve as biological control agents in agriculture and their importance as agents of plant indirect defense in nature. These studies have demonstrated that Geocoris spp. effectively reduce herbivore populations and increase plant yield. Previous work has also indicated that Geocoris spp. respond to visual and olfactory cues when foraging and choosing their prey and that associative learning of prey and plant cues informs their foraging strategies. For these reasons, Geocoris spp. have become models for the study of tritrophic plant-herbivore-predator interactions. Here, we present detailed images and ecological observations of G. pallens Stål and G. punctipes (Say) native to the Great Basin Desert of southwestern Utah, including observations of their life histories and color morphs, dynamics of their predatory feeding behavior and prey choice over space and time, and novel aspects of Geocoris spp.’s relationships to their host plants. These observations open up new areas to be explored regarding the behavior of Geocoris spp. and their interactions with plant and herbivore populations. Meredith C. Schuman, Danny Kessler, and Ian T. Baldwin Copyright © 2013 Meredith C. Schuman et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:04:41 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/162964/ Our study investigated the fungistatic effects of the anal secretions of Nicrophorus nepalensis Hope on mouse carcasses. The diversity of fungi on carcasses was investigated in five different experimental conditions that corresponded to stages of the burial process. The inhibition of fungal growth on carcasses that were treated by mature beetles before burial was lost when identically treated carcasses were washed with distilled water. Compared with control carcasses, carcasses that were prepared, buried, and subsequently guarded by mature breeding pairs of beetles exhibited the greatest inhibition of fungal growth. No significant difference in fungistasis was observed between the 3.5 g and the 18 to 22 g guarded carcasses. We used the growth of the predominant species of fungi on the control carcasses, Trichoderma sp., as a biological indicator to examine differences in the fungistatic efficiency of anal secretions between sexually mature and immature adults and between genders. The anal secretions of sexually mature beetles inhibited the growth of Trichoderma sp., whereas the secretions of immature beetles did not. The secretions of sexually mature females displayed significantly greater inhibition of the growth of Trichoderma sp. than those of sexually mature males, possibly reflecting a division of labor in burying beetle reproduction. Wenbe Hwang and Hsiu-Mei Lin Copyright © 2013 Wenbe Hwang and Hsiu-Mei Lin. All rights reserved. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:04:40 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/696401/ The symbiotic associations between beetles and ants have been observed in at least 35 beetle families. Among myrmecophiles, beetles exhibit the most diverse behavioral and morphological adaptations to a life with ants. These various associations have historically been grouped into discrete but overlapping behavioral categories, many of which are still used in the modern literature. While these behavioral classifications provide a rich foundation for the study of ant-beetle symbioses, the application of these systems in future studies may be less than effective. Since morphological characteristics often provide the only information of myrmecophilous beetles, they should be studied in a species-by-species fashion, as behavioral data are often limited or unavailable. Similarly, behavioral studies should focus on the target species at hand, avoiding discrete classification schemes. I formally propose the rejection of any classification scheme, in order to promote future studies of myrmecophily in both taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Glené Mynhardt Copyright © 2013 Glené Mynhardt. All rights reserved. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:13:11 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/538316/ The immature stages of hoverflies of the subfamily Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) develop in ant nests, as predators of the ant brood. The present paper reviews published and unpublished records of associations of Microdontinae with ants, in order to discuss the following questions. (1) Are all Microdontinae associated with ants? (2) Are Microdontinae associated with all ants? (3) Are particular clades of Microdontinae associated with particular clades of ants? (4) Are Microdontinae associated with other insects? A total number of 109 associations between the groups are evaluated, relating to 43 species of Microdontinae belonging to 14 genera, and to at least 69 species of ants belonging to 24 genera and five subfamilies. The taxa of Microdontinae found in association with ants occur scattered throughout their phylogenetic tree. One of the supposedly most basal taxa (Mixogaster) is associated with ants, suggesting that associations with ants evolved early in the history of the subfamily and have remained a predominant feature of their lifestyle. Among ants, associations with Microdontinae are known from subfamilies Ponerinae, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, and Pseudomyrmecinae. These subfamilies comprise more than 95% of all ant species. Interestingly, no associations are known with “dorylomorph” ants (army ants and relatives). Menno Reemer Copyright © 2013 Menno Reemer. All rights reserved. Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:27:53 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/601073/ The beetle species Zyras collaris and Z. haworthi belong to the rove beetle tribe Myrmedoniini (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), which comprises many myrmecophilous species. Due to their rareness, it is unknown how the two species interact with their host ants. GC-MS analyses revealed that both species release α-pinene, β-pinene, myrcene and limonene from their defensive tergal glands. This composition of tergal gland secretion is unique within the subfamily Aleocharinae. In biotests, Lasius fuliginosus ants showed increased antennation towards filter paper balls treated with mixtures of these substances in natural concentrations. Because these monoterpenes are also present in some aphid species which are attended by ants, we hypothesize that Zyras beetles mimic the presence of aphids and thereby achieve acceptance by their host ants. Michael Stoeffler, Lea Boettinger, Till Tolasch, and Johannes L. M. Steidle Copyright © 2013 Michael Stoeffler et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 24 Mar 2013 11:08:40 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/320590/ We provide an overview of diapriid wasps associated with ants in Argentina and the diversity of interactions they have developed with their hosts. As a result, we report 16 species of nine genera of Diapriinae, two new geographic distributions, three new association records, illustrations, and photographs. We highlight myrmecophile symphylic species, with a high degree of integration with the host ants, adaptation being morphological and behavioral. A table with diapriid species and ant hosts is given. Marta S. Loiácono, Cecilia B. Margaría, and Daniel A. Aquino Copyright © 2013 Marta S. Loiácono et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:19:26 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/564528/ This study was conducted in 2006 in central Uganda to provide baseline data on relationships between bee community variables and local, climatic, landscape and regional drivers affecting bee community abundance and diversity in agricultural landscapes. Bee abundance and species richness increased significantly () with increase in percent cover of semi-natural habitats and the abundance of wild and cultivated floral resources in the landscape. There were strong linear declines () in bee species richness and abundance with cultivation intensity. Bee species richness declined very steeply with forest distance. Bee species richness and abundance were negatively affected by land-use intensity (). Bee species richness and abundance were strongly negatively correlated () with increase in mean annual temperatures in the previous years than in current years indicating potential vulnerability of local bee species to future climate changes. The percent cover of semi-natural habitats and natural in the farmland predicted best the occurrence and distribution in central Uganda. It is therefore recommended to policy-makers and to farmers to invest in the protection of forest fragments (and related semi-natural habitats) acting as buffer in the mitigation of negative effects of climate change on bee biodiversity and pollination services delivery. M. B. Théodore Munyuli Copyright © 2013 M. B. Théodore Munyuli. All rights reserved. Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:12:00 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/568536/ Myrmecophilus ant crickets (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) are typical ant guests. In Japan, about 10 species are recognized on the basis of morphological and molecular phylogenetic frameworks. Some of these species have restricted host ranges and behave intimately toward their host ant species (i.e., they are host specialist). We focused on one species, M. tetramorii, which uses the myrmicine ant Tetramorium tsushimae as its main host. All but one M. tetramorii individuals were collected specifically from nests of T. tsushimae in the field. However, behavioral observation showed that all individuals used in the experiment received hostile reactions from the host ants. There were no signs of intimate behaviors such as grooming of hosts or receipt of mouth-to-mouth feeding from hosts, which are seen in some host-specialist Myrmecophilus species among obligate host-ant species. Therefore, it may be that M. tetramorii is the species that is specialized to exploit the host by means other than chemical integration. Takashi Komatsu, Munetoshi Maruyama, and Takao Itino Copyright © 2013 Takashi Komatsu et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:16:48 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/865102/ Microcerotermes diversus Silvestri (Isoptera, Termitidae) is considered to be the most destructive termite in Khuzestan province (Iran), and its control by conventional methods is often difficult. Biological control using entomopathogenic fungi could be an alternative management strategy. Performance of a bait matrix treated with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin, Strain Saravan (DEMI 001), against M. diversus was evaluated in this paper. The highest rate of mortality occurred at concentrations of 3.7 × 107 and 3.5 × 108 (conidia per mL). There was no significant difference between treatments, in the rate of feeding on the bait. The fungal pathogen was not repellent to the target termite over the conidial concentrations used. The current results suggest potential of such bait system in controlling termite. However the effectiveness of M. anisopliae as a component of integrated pest management for M. diversus still needs to be proven under field conditions. Amir Cheraghi, Behzad Habibpour, and Mohammad Saied Mossadegh Copyright © 2013 Amir Cheraghi et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:49:11 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/319097/ We investigated the genetic diversification of the mountain ant, Myrmica kotokui, in the Japanese Alps by using molecular phylogenetic analyses. Myrmica kotokui is widely distributed in Japan, and in the central Japanese Alps it is found only between elevations of approximately 1000 to 2000 m. We hypothesized that genetically distinct clades of this ant species might inhabit different mountain ranges in central Japan. To test this hypothesis, we reconstructed a molecular phylogeny using the DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene and the nuclear long-wavelength rhodopsin gene of M. kotokui specimens collected from six mountain ranges in the Japanese Alps. The phylogeny showed four highly differentiated clades. However, the correspondence between the clades and morphological species was a little confusing. Two clades were composed only of M. kotokui specimens, whereas the other two clades were composed of multispecies, suggesting the possibility of multispecies composition of putative M. kotokui. The distribution pattern of these clades did not support our hypothesis of geographical differentiation, because two were distributed across all ranges, and a third was distributed in five of the six ranges. On the other hand, we found a pattern in the altitudinal distribution of the clades: one clade was distributed only at higher elevations, and the others were distributed at lower elevations. Thus, the ant clades do not show geographical segregation by mountain range, but they do show altitudinal differences. Shouhei Ueda, Taito Nozawa, Tetsuya Matsuzuki, Ryo-ichi Seki, Shinya Shimamoto, and Takao Itino Copyright © 2012 Shouhei Ueda et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/252961/ John A. Byers Copyright © 2012 John A. Byers. All rights reserved. Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:42:50 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/203208/ Kleber Del-Claro, Monique Johnson, and Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi Copyright © 2012 Kleber Del-Claro et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:44:40 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/167420/ Matilda Savopoulou-Soultani, Nikos T. Papadopoulos, Panagiotis Milonas, and Pascal Moyal Copyright © 2012 Matilda Savopoulou-Soultani et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 25 Dec 2012 10:52:24 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/516419/ We studied the temporal activity pattern of the spider wasp Pepsis montezuma Smith (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) in a disturbed lower montane rainforest, which is located in the city of Manizales, Colombia, at an altitude of 2,150 m. Females of this species are diurnal with two peaks of activity: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. During the morning, nectar foraging occurred at Baccharis latifolia. During the afternoon, females hunted for tarantulas of the genus Pamphobeteus (Araneae: Theraphosidae), which were dragged backwards to the nest by the wasp. The nest was excavated before hunting. This is the first description of the behavior of Pepsis montezuma. Carlos Restrepo-Giraldo, Juanita Rodriguez, and James P. Pitts Copyright © 2012 Carlos Restrepo-Giraldo et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:41:31 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/791395/ We carried out a research on the Palicourea rigida (Rubiaceae) inflorescences, a distylous shrub of Brazilian Cerrado. Our objective was to compare the inflorescence architectural complexity and its quality in the two floral morphs and search for any relationship with spider occurrence. In order to assess the quality of inflorescence resources, we quantified the nectar volume and its sugar concentration and the number of fruits and flowers (intact and aborted) for both inflorescence morphs with and without spiders. For the architectural heterogeneity, we quantified floral structures and inflorescence levels of branching. Spider occurrence was higher in longistylous inflorescences than in brevistylous ones. The sampled spiders were classified into the guilds ambushers, jumpers, or orb-weavers. Ambushers, jumpers, and total richness were much higher among longistylous inflorescences. We found no difference between morphs neither in volume or nectar concentration nor in amount of fruits and flowers. However, longistylous inflorescences presented greater architectural heterogeneity than brevistylous ones. Therefore, we suggested that architectural heterogeneity is an important factor underlying the occurrence of cursorial spiders on P. rigida inflorescences, which possibly arose from the relationship between refuge availability and inflorescence architecture. Suzana Diniz, Everton Tizo-Pedroso, Denise Lange, Andréa Andrade Vilela, Danielle G. Justino, Fernanda Alves Martins, Erika Germanos, Rafael Arruda, and Vanessa Stefani Copyright © 2012 Suzana Diniz et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:48:05 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/436898/ Kabkaew L. Sukontason, Mir S. Mulla, Siriwat Wongsiri, John T. Trumble, and Jittawadee R. Murphy Copyright © 2012 Kabkaew L. Sukontason et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:05:51 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/618701/ Dung from large mammalian herbivores provides a concentrated food resource, rich in bacteria, nitrogen, and many forms of carbon that support a diverse community of arthropods. Detrital communities, while essential to nutrient cycling, are poorly studied. From July 2010 to October 2010, we sampled these arthropod assemblages using pitfall traps baited with horse dung at five sites southeast of Boston, MA. A total of 396 samples were collected, resulting in 10,299 arthropod specimens. We found a highly diverse group of arthropods dominated by Coleoptera () and Diptera () and noted the absence of hymenopterans, a group that was dominant in previous studies on these communities. The community had a high level of evenness (0.93 Shannon evenness) and lacked a dominant species, with no one species obtaining more than 7% relative abundance. Species accumulation curves indicate near maximum diversity was reached for each site and the study as a whole (93% maximum calculated Shannon Diversity). A strong effect of seasonality was also observed on the community, as shown by a strong shift in community at the end of August. The community sampled displayed a high similarity to previous studies, indicating a cosmopolitan distribution as well as an opportunistic community. Patrick Kearns and Robert D. Stevenson Copyright © 2012 Patrick Kearns and Robert D. Stevenson. All rights reserved. Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:46:23 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/925823/ Jeffrey R. Aldrich, Jocelyn G. Millar, Antônio R. Panizzi, and Mark M. Feldlaufer Copyright © 2012 Jeffrey R. Aldrich et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:44:03 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/302409/ Zachary Y. Huang and Tugrul Giray Copyright © 2012 Zachary Y. Huang and Tugrul Giray. All rights reserved. Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:02:32 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/532768/ Fragments of Atlantic Rainforest and extensive eucalyptus plantations are part of the landscape in the southeast region of Brazil. Many studies have been conducted on litter ant diversity in these forests, but there are few reports on the nesting sites. In the present study, we characterized the ant communities that nest in twigs in the leaf litter of dense ombrophilous forests and eucalyptus trees. The colony demographics associated with the physical structure of the nest were recorded. In the eucalyptus forests, the study examined both managed and unmanaged plantations. During five months, all undecomposed twigs between 10 and 30 cm in length containing ants found within a 16-m2 area on the surface of the leaf litter were collected. A total of 307 nests and 44 species were recorded. Pheidole, Solenopsis, and Camponotus were the most represented genera. Pheidole sp.13, Pheidole sp.43 and Linepithema neotropicum were the most populous species. The dense ombrophilous forest and a eucalyptus plantation unmanaged contained the highest number of colonized twigs; these communities were the most similar and the most species rich. Our results indicate that the twigs are important resources as they help to maintain the litter diversity of dense rain forest and abandoned eucalypt crops. Debora R. de Souza, Tae T. Fernandes, José R. de Oliveira Nascimento, Silvia S. Suguituru, and M. Santina de C. Morini Copyright © 2012 Debora R. de Souza et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:50:37 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/928371/ Ant assemblages are almost all related with the vegetation composition and so can provide us important information for conservation strategies, which are especially relevant to an environmentally protected area. We sampled the ant fauna in three different phytophysionomies in order to verify if the composition of ant species is different among the areas, especially because one of the areas is a Rocky Field and there is little information about the ant fauna in this habitat. A total of 8730 individuals were registered and an NMDS analysis showed that the ant assemblies are different at the three phytophysionomies (Rocky Field, Riparian Forest, and Secondary Forest). This study shows that the species that compose the ant assemblies in different phytophysionomies are a reflex of the environment, supporting the hypothesis that the vegetational composition results in different compositions in the ant assembly. Vegetal composition is determinant in the formation of the litter and consequently in the occurrence of ant species that depend on this layer of organic matter for nesting and foraging. Juliane Floriano Santos Lopes, Noelle Martins dos Reis Hallack, Tatiane Archanjo de Sales, Mariana Silva Brugger, Laila Fieto Ribeiro, Isabel Neto Hastenreiter, and Roberto da Silva Camargo Copyright © 2012 Juliane Floriano Santos Lopes et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:29:43 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/898721/ Evarcha culicivora, an East African jumping spider, is known for feeding indirectly on vertebrate blood by actively choosing blood-carrying mosquitoes as prey. Using cold-anthrone tests to detect fructose, we demonstrate that E. culicivora also feeds on nectar. Field-collected individuals, found on the plant Lantana camara, tested positive for plant sugar (fructose). In the laboratory, E. culicivora tested positive for fructose after being kept with L. camara or one of another ten plant species (Aloe vera, Clerodendron magnifica, Hamelia patens, Lantana montevideo, Leonotis nepetaefolia, Parthenium hysterophorus, Ricinus communis, Senna didymobotrya, Striga asiatica, and Verbena trivernia). Our findings demonstrate that E. culicivora acquires fructose from its natural diet and can ingest fructose directly from plant nectaries. However, experiments in the laboratory also show that E. culicivora can obtain fructose indirectly by feeding on prey that have fed on fructose, implying a need to consider this possibility when field-collected spiders test positive for fructose. In laboratory tests, 53.5% of 1,215 small juveniles, but only 3.4% of 622 adult E. culicivora, left with plants for 24 hours, were positive for fructose. These findings, along with the field data, suggest that fructose is especially important for early-instar juveniles of E. culicivora. Josiah O. Kuja, Robert R. Jackson, Godfrey O. Sune, Rebecca N. H. Karanja, Zipporah O. Lagat, and Georgina E. Carvell Copyright © 2012 Josiah O. Kuja et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:36:40 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/290102/ The biology and the feeding habits of the subsocial species Omaspides pallidipennis were studied at the Floresta Nacional de Passa Quatro, MG, Brazil, during the period from October 2010 to April 2011. The species was bivoltine, beginning its reproductive and food cycle in October (spring) and seeking its diapause sites in April (autumn). The juveniles took 54.4 days on average to complete their development, a period in which the female remained close to offspring, only feeding during the larval stage of the juveniles. It is a monophagous species, feeding only on Ipomoea alba Linnaeus (Convolvulaceae). In the first cycle, the average number of eggs was eggs per egg cluster (,837 eggs in 33 clusters) and in the second it was eggs per egg cluster (,607 eggs in 91 clusters). Oviposition peaks were observed in the months of November and February. The average durations of the incubation period and the larval and the pupal development in the first cycle were ; ; days, respectively. In the second cycle they wrere ; ; days, respectively. Paula A. A. Gomes, Fábio Prezoto, and Fernando A. Frieiro-Costa Copyright © 2012 Paula A. A. Gomes et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:53:24 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/101767/ Among the mechanisms that influence herbivorous insects, fires, a very frequent historical phenomenon in the cerrado, appear to be an important modifying influence on lepidopteran communities. The purpose of this study was to compare the richness, abundance, frequency, and composition of species of caterpillars in two adjacent areas of cerrado sensu stricto, one recently burned and one unburned since 1994, on the experimental farm “Fazenda Água Limpa” (FAL) (15∘55′S and 47∘55′W), DF, Brazil. Caterpillars were surveyed on two plant species, genus Erythroxylum: E. deciduum A. St.-Hil. and E. tortuosum Mart. (Erythroxylaceae). We inspected a total of 4,196 plants in both areas, and 972 caterpillars were found on 13.3% of these plants. The number of plants with caterpillars (frequency) differed significantly between the areas. The results indicate that recent and accidental fires have a positive effect on the abundance of caterpillars up to one year postfire, increase the frequency of caterpillars associated with Erythroxylum species in the cerrado and do not affect the richness of caterpillars on these plants. Moreover, the fires change the species composition of caterpillars by promoting an increase in rare or opportunistic species. Cintia Lepesqueur, Helena C. Morais, and Ivone Rezende Diniz Copyright © 2012 Cintia Lepesqueur et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:59:12 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/646524/ The Neodiprion abietis Gammabaculovirus (Baculoviridae: NeabNPV) is virulent, highly contagious, and infects only midgut epithelial cells of balsam fir sawfly larvae, but infections can carry through to adult sawflies in the midgut. Larval infections are characterized by hypertrophy of midgut epithelial cell nuclei, where virogenic stromata develop to produce nucleocapsids that are singly enveloped before occlusion into occlusion bodies. Infected, occlusion body-laden cells slough from the midgut epithelium as a result of a dissolution of the basal lamina. Infected cells undergo lysis, and viral occlusion bodies exit affected larvae in a watery diarrhea to infect other balsam fir sawfly larvae. A budded virus stage was not observed, but nucleocapsid and occlusion body formation resembled the development of occlusion-derived virions and occlusion bodies in lepidopteran alphabaculoviruses. Christopher J. Lucarotti, Beatrixe H. Whittome-Waygood, Renée Lapointe, Benoit Morin, and David B. Levin Copyright © 2012 Christopher J. Lucarotti et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:38:56 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/459683/ The interaction of bees with the tristylous flowers of Oxalis cytisoides Mart. & Zucc. (Oxalidaceae) was evaluated. The study was conducted in a semideciduous forest at the Fritz Plaumann State Park in Concórdia, Santa Catarina state. Two Oxalis cytisoides aggregations were found and the flower visiting bees were observed. The 3 floral morphs were found at the following proportions: 16 long-, 37 mid-, and 34 shortstyled individuals (). Anthesis lasted one day (6:30 AM to 3 PM). No fruit was formed in the autogamy test; thus, pollination was dependent on the visitors. The pollen grain size varied between the stamens and morphs and formed subsets in accordance with the stigma height (long/mid/short). We collected 165 bees from 30 species visiting the flowers. Hypanthium divaricatum was the most abundant bee species (34%) and the males were often observed patrolling the flowers in search of females for mating. Analysis of the pollen loads from 34 females showed that 27 carried O. cytisoides pollen. The most frequent bees that carried O. cytisoides pollen grains on their bodies were considered pollinator agents, responsible for transferring pollen grains among the floral morphs. Cristiane Krug, Cláudia Inês Silva, and Isabel Alves-dos-Santos Copyright © 2012 Cristiane Krug et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:34:40 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/478431/ Network analysis as a tool for ecological interactions studies has been widely used since last decade. However, there are few studies on the factors that shape network patterns in communities. In this sense, we compared the topological properties of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants in two distinct phytophysiognomies in a Brazilian savanna (Riparian Forest and Rocky Grassland). Results showed that the landscapes differed in species richness and composition, and also the interaction networks between wasps and plants had different patterns. The network was more complex in the Riparian Forest, with a larger number of species and individuals and a greater amount of connections between them. The network specialization degree was more generalist in the Riparian Forest than in the Rocky Grassland. This result was corroborated by means of the nestedness index. In both networks was found asymmetry, with a large number of wasps per plant species. In general aspects, most wasps had low niche amplitude, visiting from one to three plant species. Our results suggest that differences in structural complexity of the environment directly influence the structure of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants. Mateus Aparecido Clemente, Denise Lange, Kleber Del-Claro, Fábio Prezoto, Núbia Ribeiro Campos, and Bruno Corrêa Barbosa Copyright © 2012 Mateus Aparecido Clemente et al. All rights reserved.