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Hybolabus amazonicus Voss, third instar larva. (A) habitus of larva (lateral view); (B) head capsule (frontal view); (C) head capsule (posterior view). Legends: cls = clypeal setae; des = dorsal epicranial setae; fs = frontal setae; les = lateral epicranial setae; pes = posterior epicranial setae; vs = ventral epicranial setae.
Source publication
The last instar larva and the pupa of Hybolabus amazonicus Voss, 1925 are described and illustrated, based upon adults and immatures collected in the Amazonian Region (Acre and Amazonas, Brazil). The larvae live and develop inside a leaf-roll made by the female weevil. Although the species has already been reported damaging leaves of the Brazil nut...
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Recent studies have explored how nut weevils (Curculio and Conotrachelus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) prey on the fruits (acorns) of oak (Quercus spp.). However, few, if any, have examined these interactions over both an extensive geographic area and over several years. Here, we observed patterns of infestation in acorns of both red oak (Quercu...
Citations
Animal constructions are the outcomes of complex evolutionary, behavioural, and ecological forces. A brief review of diverse animal builders, the materials used, and the functions they provide their builders is provided to develop approaches to studying faecal-based constructions and faecal-carrying in leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Field studies, rearing, dissections, photography, and films document shields constructed by larvae in two species in two tribes of the subfamily Cassidinae, Calyptocephala attenuata (Spaeth, 1919) (Spilophorini), and Cassida sphaerula Boheman, 1853 (Cassidini). Natural history notes on an undetermined Cassidini species and Stolas cucullata (Boheman, 1862) (Tribe Mesomphaliini) outline the life cycle of tortoise beetles and explain terms. Commonly, the cassidine shield comprises exuviae onto which faeces are daubed, producing a pyramidal-shaped shield that can cover most of the body (up to the pronotum). In Cal. attenuata the larval shield comprises only exuviae, while in Cass. sphaerula , instar 1 initiates the shield by extending its telescopic anus to apply its own faeces onto its paired caudal processes; at each moult the exuvia is pushed to the caudal process base but remains attached, then more faeces are applied over it. The larva’s telescopic anus is the only tool used to build and repair the shield, not mouthparts or legs, and it also applies chemicals to the shield. Pupae in Cal. attenuata retain part of the exuviae-only shield of instar VI, while pupae in Cass. sphaerula retain either the entire 5 th instar larval shield (faeces + all exuviae) or only the 5 th larval exuvia. The caudal processes are crucial to shield construction, shield retention on the body, and as materials of the central scaffold of the structure. They also move the shield, though the muscular mechanism is not known. Altogether the faecal + exuviae shields may represent a unique morpho-behavioural synapomorphy for the crown-clade Cassidinae (10 tribes, ~ 2669 species) and may have been a key innovation in subsequent radiation. Defensive shields and domiciles may help explain the uneven radiation of chrysomelid subfamilial and tribal clades.
A castanheira-da-amazônia, Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae), apresenta significativa relevância social e econômica para as comunidades locais, decorrente da comercialização de suas castanhas, o produto florestal não madeireiro mais importante da região. Apesar do alto consumo de castanha-da-amazônia no mercado
nacional e internacional, pouco se conhece sobre os insetos-praga associados, com apenas registros pontuais de ocorrência de determinada espécie de inseto e descrição dos danos causados, sem estudos aprofundados sobre distribuição geográfica, inimigos naturais e métodos de controle. Conhecer as espécies de insetos que causam prejuízos econômicos aos castanhais ou às próprias castanhas é o primeiro passo para o desenvolvimento de estratégias eficientes para controlá-los. Nesse sentido, neste capítulo, são brevemente apresentadas as principais espécies de insetos-praga relatadas em B. excelsa na Amazônia brasileira até o momento.
The distribution of functional abdominal spiracles in pupae of Coleoptera is reviewed based on published descriptions and original observations. Aquatic Coleoptera typically have strong modifications, generally including dramatic reductions in the number of functional spiracles and often their modification into either spiracular gills or snorkels, as a response to their environment. But pupae of the great majority of Coleoptera, which are terrestrial, show broad stability across higher taxa. Most terrestrial beetles have at least the first five pairs of abdominal spiracles functional, up to and including a full set of eight pairs. However, the number is unexpectedly low in Scarabaeoidea and within Staphyliniformia, where Histeridae and all Staphylinoidea have a confirmed maximum of four pairs of spiracles. The relation between pupal size and number of functional spiracles in terrestrial pupae is explored, and it is suggested that those groups with an unexpectedly small number of functional spiracles may have passed through a “small-size bottleneck” in their ancestry. However, this hypothesis does not explain why several families of very small beetles in other groups of Coleoptera do not show a similar reduction, and little evidence was found to support a strong relation between pupal size and number of functional spiracles at lower taxonomic levels (below family). Whether pupae are exarate or obtect apparently also has little correlation with the number of functional spiracles. However, the consistency and stability of spiracular reductions in the above groups suggests that deep historical factors are involved and thus the reductions may be of phylogenetic significance. It is urged that establishing the number of functional spiracles in beetle pupae become as standard a feature of pupal descriptions as chaetotaxy and whether they are exarate or obtect.
