The flat wasp family Bethylidae Haliday lacks global scale literature on their alpha taxonomy. The only world revision for the family was by Kieffer in 1914 and is fully out of date and somewhat ...useless; the only catalog for the family was made by Gordh Móczár in 1990 and does not include hundreds of changes made since then; and the most recent world genera keys were proposed by Terayama in 2003, but do not reflect the current knowledge we have for the family. Given this scenario, we present a global guide of Bethylidae with diagnoses, taxonomic evaluation, keys, and a checklist of all their extant genera and subfamilies. We visited the main collections around the world, analyzed about 2,000 holotypes, and examined at least 400,000 specimens. To eliminate homonymies, we add the prefix "neo" to the original specific epithet when possible. The family is now composed by 2,920 species allocated in 96 genera distributed in eight subfamilies: Bethylinae, Pristocerinae, Epyrinae, Mesitiinae, Scleroderminae, Lancepyrinae, Holopsenellinae and Protopristocerinae. The latter three are extinct. One new family-group synonym is proposed: Fushunochrysidae Hong syn. nov. of Bethylidae. Two incertae sedis genera are allocated into Bethylinae: Cretobethylellus Rasnytsyn and Omaloderus Walker. One new genus-group synonym is revalidated: Pristepyris Kieffer stat. rev. from Acrepyris Kieffer. Sixteen new genus-group synonyms are proposed: Fushunochrysites Hong syn. nov. and Sinibethylus Hong syn. nov. of Eupsenella Westwood; Messoria Meunier syn. nov. of Goniozus Förster; Acrepyris Kieffer syn. nov. of Pristepyris Kieffer; Apristocera Kieffer syn. nov. and Parapristocera Brues syn. nov. of Pristocera Klug; Usakosia Kieffer syn. nov. of Prosapenesia Kieffer; Isobrachium Förster syn. nov., Leptepyris Kieffer syn. nov., Neodisepyris Kurian syn. nov., Rhabdepyris Kieffer syn. nov. of Epyris Westwood; Codorcas Nagy syn. nov., Hamusmus Argaman syn. nov. and Ukayakos Argaman syn. nov. of Heterocoelia Dahlbom; Domonkos Argaman syn. nov. of Incertosulcus Móczár; Ateleopterus Förster syn. nov. of Sclerodermus Latreille. One new genus-group synonym is revalidated: Topcobius Nagy syn. rev. of Sulcomesitius Móczár. One new genus-group revalidation is proposed: Incertosulcus Móczár stat. rev. from Anaylax Móczár. The following species-group nomenclatural acts are established: 153 new or revalidated combinations, 16 new names to avoid secondary homonyms, 11 species with revalidated status, and one synonym. Keys to the subfamilies and genera are provided. The text is supported by 599 illustrations organized onto 92 plates.
Ornithonyssus bursa
, known as the “tropical fowl mite,” is a hematophagous mite of domestic and wild birds, which occasionally bites humans. Accidental bites on humans occur mainly when abandoned ...bird nests are close to homes or when people are handling parasitized birds. In the present study, we describe five case reports of bites on humans and new records of localities for this species. Based on the material examined, we provide morphological and molecular characterizations for this species herein.
The world species of Apenesia are revised. Twenty-seven previously described species of Pristocerinae are addressed to Apenesia: A. amoena Evans, A. bicolor Vargas Terayama, A. chontalica Westwood, ...A. conradti Kieffer, A. delicata Evans, A. dominica Evans, A. flavipes Cameron, A. formosa Vargas Terayama, A. laevigata (Evans), A. levis Kieffer, A. leytensis (Terayama), A. makiharai (Sawada, Terayama Mita), A. malaitensis Brues, A. miki (Terayama), A. modesta (Smith), A. nigra Kieffer, A. parasitica (Smith), A. perlonga Corrêa Azevedo, A. proxima Kieffer, A. punctata Kieffer, A. sahyadrica Azevedo Waichert, A. singularis Lanes Azevedo, A. sjostedti (Tullgren), A. substriata Kieffer, A. unicolor Kieffer, and A. vaurieorum Evans. Additionally, 21 new species are described and illustrated: Apenesia amenula sp. nov.; A. aniela sp. nov.; A. azeda sp. nov.; A. beliella sp. nov.; A. berela sp. nov.; A. bifiela sp. nov.; A. celiela sp. nov.; A. chandela sp. nov.; A. cila sp. nov.; A. colombela sp. nov.; A. elela sp. nov.; A. esila sp. nov.; A. eura sp. nov.; A. farela sp. nov.; A. gabela sp. nov.; A. girena sp. nov.; A. goela sp. nov.; A. itoiela sp. nov.; A. joela sp. nov.; A. juliela sp. nov. and A. kelsiela sp. nov. The sexual association of A. celiela and A. azeda was possible due to biological data information. A key to species based on males is presented. The genus Apenesia is a parasitiod of beetles that live in galleries in dead wood or seeds.
The main goal of this paper is to update the taxonomic information of the pairs of Pristocera Klug collected in Madagascar by A. Seyrig. Within this material twelve species are recognized, ten are ...new to science, all based on pairs collected in copulation, which are described and illustrated: P. melmani sp. nov., P. alexi sp. nov., P. martyi sp. nov., P. gloriae sp. nov., P. julieni sp. nov., P. morti sp. nov., P. mauricei sp. nov., P. makungai sp. nov., P. teetsii sp. nov. and P. zubai sp. nov.. Pristocera levicollis (Kieffer) had its female discovered, and P. cambouei Saussure stat. rev. had its lectotype designated. Sclerodermus hova Saussure is transferred back to Pristocera and considered as a junior synonym of P. cambouei. Keys for males and females to the species of Pristocera from Madagascar are provided. The Malagasy fauna of Pristocera is now represented by twelve species, all endemic to this island.
The flat wasp Apenesia Westwood is one of the largest genera in Pristocerinae with 190 species worldwide. The lack of a single diagnostic morphological character has resulted in many distinct ground ...plans within Apenesia. Some authors have suggested Apenesia as polyphyletic. Here we aimed to investigate and delimit the genus based on morphological and molecular data. We analysed 163 morphological characters on tnt using ‘traditional search’, whereas Bayesian (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) inferences were performed on 1553 concatenated nucleotide base pairs from COI and 28S sequences. Apenesia was recovered as polyphyletic in all analyses with up to 10 different lineages spread throughout the tree. We mapped female morphological characters onto the molecular tree to enlighten morphological evolution in the apterous females. Based on our morphological and molecular analyses, and on the taxonomic revision of holotypes and specimens, we propose six new genera in the Pristocerinae and revalidate the generic status of two: Acrenesia gen.n., Austranesia gen.n., Cleistepyris stat. rev., Dracunesia gen.n., Eleganesia gen.n., Epynesia gen.n., Pristonesia gen.n., and Propristocera stat. rev. We also propose four new generic synonymies: Neoapenesia syn.n. under Apenesia, Dipristocera syn.n. under Cleistepyris, Afrocera syn.n. and Neopristocera syn.n. under Propristocera. At the species level, we indicate Apenesia minor syn.n. under Propristocera tagala. In all, 162 new combinations, eight reinstated combinations and one new name to avoid homonymy are proposed. Apenesia is now defined as flat wasps having males with the mesoscutum gibbous, the genitalia with the paramere narrow and densely hairy, and the aedeagus with the ventral apical lobe elliptical and covered with lumps. Females of Apenesia can be distinguished from other Pristocerinae by having the head wider than the mesosoma, the antennae short, the mandible long, and the clypeus surpassing the toruli in the frons. This study reinforces the difficulties in defining Apenesia and other Pristocerinae genera.
This published work has been registered in ZooBank,
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:65FB3087‐0F30‐4851‐B1BA‐ED6E4518B958.
We reconstructed molecular and morphological phylogenies of Pristocerinae (Bethylidae) flat wasps with the emphasis on the genus Apenesia, proposing six new genera in Pristocerinae, revalidating two and synonymizing four.
We discuss the extreme sexual dimorphism in the subfamily, mapping the female's characters onto the molecular tree.
Our results reveal novel morphological characteristics to distinguish genera within Pristocerinae and reinforce the difficulties in defining Apenesia and the importance of an integrative taxonomy.
The main goal of this paper is to study the Dissomphalus material deposited at the Coleção Zoológica do Maranhão (Maranhão, Brazil). The material was collected in six parks: Parque Nacional Chapada ...das Mesas, Parque Estadual do Mirador and Reserva Ecológica do Inhamum in the state of Maranhão; Parque Nacional Serra das Confusões and Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades in the state of Piauí, and Parque Nacional de Ubajara in the state of Ceará. Forty species are recognized from these six parks. Twenty-two of them are previously described species, namely: D. bifurcatus Azevedo, D. cervoides Azevedo, D. conicus Azevedo, D. curvilongus Azevedo, D. geniculatus Azevedo, D. gilvipes Evans, D. infissus Evans, D. krombeini Azevedo, D. laminaris Redighieri Azevedo, D. latimerus Azevedo, D. linearis Azevedo, D. lobisserratus Azevedo, D. magnus Redighieri Azevedo, D. megomphalus Evans, D. microstictus Evans, D. napo Evans, D. plaumanni Evans, D. scamatus Azevedo, D. subpilosus Azevedo, D. tubulatus Redighieri Azevedo, D. ubracus Brito Azevedo and D. verrucosus Redighieri Azevedo. Eighteen species are newly described and illustrated: Dissomphalus acutipupu Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. boibumba Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. boitata Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. boiuna Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. boto Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. caipora Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. capelobo Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. cuca Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. curupira Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. iara Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. iracema Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. irupe Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. joaquinae Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. jurupari Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. mapinguari Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. matintaperera Colombo Azevedo sp. nov., D. saci Colombo Azevedo sp. nov. and D. torem Colombo Azevedo sp. nov.. A key for these species is provided. The genus is newly recorded from the state of Piauí, Brazil.
Epyrini (Epyrinae) are the largest and morphologically most diverse group within Bethylidae. Evans' conception of Epyrini induces misclassification of several taxa and their diagnostic features, such ...as median lobe of clypeus projected, and fovea in lateroposterior angle of propodeal disc, are insufficient to place species in the tribe. No previous comprehensive cladistic study has recovered Epyrini as a clade, and no synapomorphies are reported for the tribe, suggesting that the group is artificial. We infer a phylogeny based on 391 informative morphological characters for 42 terminal taxa (31 ingroup, 11 outgroup). Monophyly of Epyrini is supported by a petiole with fused root and body as an autapomorphy. Anisepyris Kieffer, Laelius Ashmead, Holepyris Kieffer, Formosiepyris Terayama, Disepyris Kieffer, Bakeriella Kieffer and Trachepyris Kieffer were retrieved as monophyletic. Epyris Westwood and Chlorepyris Kieffer are paraphyletic. The addition of new characters was essential to define Epyrini, and the ventral region of the mesosoma, petiole and male genitalia may help to better understand genera and species limits. All resulting trees indicate that Epyrinae are polyphyletic. Tribes Epyrini and Sclerodermini are revalidated to subfamily status.
It is difficult to make reliable sex associations in several species of Hymenoptera due to sexual dimorphism. Only a few species of the flat wasp genus Dissomphalus Ashmead, 1893 have had their sexes ...associated, since females are rarely collected and differ morphologically from their conspecific males. Collecting couples during their phoretic copula is difficult, but it is the most reliable way to associate the sexes in Dissomphalus. Herein, we associate the sexes and discuss the mating system based on couples of six Dissomphalus species collected during copulation: D. bisserratus Azevedo, 1999, D. connubialis Evans, 1966, D. rettenmeyeri Evans, 1964, D. simulatus (Evans, 1969), comb. nov., D. mendicus Evans, 1969, and D. firmus Redighieri & Azevedo, 2006. The females of the latter three are described for the first time. The distribution of two species is expanded. Apenesia simulata Evans, 1969 is transferred to Dissomphalus and is now D. simulatus comb. nov. Finally, we briefly discuss the genital structures used during phoretic copulation, analyzing the male and female genitalia in copulation. During copulation, the mating female is attached to the male only by the genitalia and is apparently grasped by muscles attached to the male's metasoma.
Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects biophysical systems and human well-being. The Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in ...2016 with the objective of strengthening the global response to climate change by keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. The agreement requires all Parties to submit their “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is an important strategy for mitigating climate change, particularly in developing countries with large forests. Extensive tropical forest loss and degradation have increased awareness at the international level of the need to undertake large-scale ecological restoration, highlighting the need to identify cases in which restoration strategies can contribute to mitigation and adaptation. Here we consider Brazil as a case study to evaluate the benefits and challenges of implementing large-scale restoration programs in developing countries. The Brazilian NDC included the target of restoring and reforesting 12 million hectares of forests for multiple uses by 2030. Restoration of native vegetation is one of the foundations of sustainable rural development in Brazil and should consider multiple purposes, from biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation to social and economic development. However, ecological restoration still presents substantial challenges for tropical and mega-diverse countries, including the need to develop plans that are technically and financially feasible, as well as public policies and monitoring instruments that can assess effectiveness. The planning, execution, and monitoring of restoration efforts strongly depend on the context and the diagnosis of the area with respect to reference ecosystems (e.g., forests, savannas, grasslands, wetlands). In addition, poor integration of climate change policies at the national and subnational levels and with other sectorial policies constrains the large-scale implementation of restoration programs. The case of Brazil shows that slowing deforestation is possible; however, this analysis highlights the need for increased national commitment and international support for actions that require large-scale transformations of the forest sector regarding ecosystem restoration efforts. Scaling up the ambitions and actions of the Paris Agreement implies the need for a global framework that recognizes landscape restoration as a cost-effective nature-based solution and that supports countries in addressing their remaining needs, challenges, and barriers.
Background:The evaluation of selective herbicides for weed control in winter cereals is extremely important. Simple methods to evaluate alterations caused by herbicides in the growth and development ...of winter cereals can be performed with vegetation indices.Objective:Evaluate the potential of different vegetation indices by optical sensors to detect phytotoxicity caused by herbicides in winter cereals.Methods:The experiment was conducted under field conditions, in a randomized block design with four replications. Herbicides were sprayed when the plants were at Z24. The phytotoxicity was evaluated at 7, 14 and 21 days after treatment (DAT) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the normalized difference red edge index (NDRE) at 16, 22 and 37 DAT.Results:The herbicide 2,4-D was less phytotoxic to winter cereals, while metribuzin and saflufenacil caused higher percentages (up to 50%) of visible injuries. The NDRE discriminated more precisely than NDVI the variations in winter cereals, showing alteration in the chlorophyll content due to the phytotoxicity caused by the herbicides. The canonical correlation analysis found an inverse relationship between phytotoxicity and vegetation indices.Conclusions:The winter cereals studied were tolerant to herbicides, enabling the recovery of growth and development. The NDRE index was the most sensitive and showed greater potential in identifying injuries caused by herbicides. The canonical correlation analysis confirmed the inverse relationship between phytotoxicity and the reduction of vegetation indices.
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