A revision of the Aleiodes bakeri (Brues) species subgroup of the A. seriatus species group with the descriptions of 18 new species from the Neotropical Region

The Aleiodes bakeri (Brues) species subgroup of the A. seriatus species group is defined based on two previously described species, A. bakeri and A. nigristemmaticum (Enderlein), and is greatly expanded in this paper with an identification key, descriptions, and illustrations of 18 new species from the Neotropical Region: A. andinus Shaw & Shimbori, sp. nov.; angustus Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; asenjoi Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; bahiensis Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; barrosi Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; brevicarina Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; coariensis Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; goiasensis Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; gonodontivorus Shaw & Shimbori, sp. nov.; hyalinus Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; inga Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; joaquimi Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; lidiae Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; mabelae Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; maculosus Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; ovatus Shimbori & Shaw, sp. nov.; santarosensis Shaw & Shimbori, sp. nov.; and taurus Shimbori & Penteado-Dias, sp. nov. It is hypothesized that the A. bakeri species subgroup is a monophyletic lineage within the larger and probably artificial A. seriatus species group (those Aleiodes with a comb of flat setae at the apex of the hind tibia), and can be distinguished from other members of the seriatus group by having the hind wing vein r present, although weakly indicated; the hind wing marginal cell suddenly widened at junction of veins RS and r; the subbasal cell of the fore wing mostly glabrous but often with two rows of short setae subapically; glabrous regions of the wings also commonly found in the first subdiscal, discal, and basal cells of the fore wing, and the basal cell of hind wing; ocelli quite large, with the width of a lateral ocellus being distinctly larger than the ocellar-ocular distance; and being relatively large Aleiodes species with body almost entirely brownish yellow or reddish brown. In addition, a new replacement name, Aleiodes buntikae Shimbori & Shaw, nom. nov., is proposed for the species formerly called Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) bakeri Butcher & Quicke, 2011.

A new species of Heredius Marsh 2002 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) from Brazil

A new species of Heredius Marsh, 2002 is described from Brazil. H. flavus n. sp. differs from the other known Heredius species by its yellow mesosoma and metasoma, acinose-carinate face, acinose temple, malar space length about 0.56 times eye height, ocello-ocular distance about 4.0 times diameter of the lateral ocellus; acinose-rugose mesoscutal lobes, sternaulus finely scrobiculate and almost complete, and first metasomal tergum with apical width almost equal its length.

The increase of oxygen consumption after a flash of light is tightly coupled to sodium pumping in the lateral ocellus of barnacle.

In the lateral ocellus of the barnacle, we have tested the hypothesis that the transient increase of oxygen consumption (delta QO2) induced by light results from an increase in the rate of Na+ pumping. With a Na(+)-sensitive microelectrode, we measured the intracellular concentration of Na+ (Nai) in the photoreceptor cells. Nai was 17.6 +/- 1.2 mM (SE; n = 18) in darkness and it increased transiently by 10-20 mM after an 80-ms flash of intense light. The increase of Nai recovered in about the same time as the delta QO2, and the Na+/O2 ratio was 19.2 +/- 3.8 (SE; n = 6). Removing Na+ from the bath caused the delta QO2 to decrease by 79 +/- 3% (SE; n = 5). Exposure to 25 microM ouabain inhibited Na+ pumping and abolished the delta QO2. Removal of K+ from the bathing solution inhibited Na+ pumping in darkness, but mostly shortened the duration of the delta QO2; with a K(+)-sensitive microelectrode, we measured pericellular [K+] and found that it increased after the flash for about the same time as the delta QO2. Increasing Na+ pumping in darkness by reintroducing K+ in the bath or by injecting Na+ into one of the photoreceptor cells induced a delta QO2. Finally, intracellular injection of adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate (ADP + Pi), the metabolic products of ATP splitting by the Na+ pump, also induced a delta QO2 in darkness. We conclude that all the results obtained are consistent with the formulated hypothesis.

Polarization of the honey bee gynandromorphic blastoderm

Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) gynandromorphs arise because one or more accessory sperms, which normally degenerate, develop into male tissue. Twenty-two external morphological structures were examined in 1555 gynandromorphs from 8 gynandromorph-producing queens. The frequency with which a structure was male (percent male) and its longitudinal position on the blastoderm fate map were examined for each structure. When grouped by body region, there were no significant differences between the head, thorax or abdomen in the frequency at which a structure was male. In the head region, a significant relationship was discovered between the frequency that a structure was male and its longitudinal location on the blastoderm (r = −0.884, F = 35.76, degrees of freedom (DF) = 1 and 10, p < 0.0001). A reasonable contour map of the blastoderm was prepared showing the regions with comparable frequency of structures being found male. The compound eye (73.9%) and lateral ocellus (63.9%) were the structures most frequently male. The mouthparts, for example the labial palp (24.5%), showed the least frequency of being male. A hypothesis based upon previous cytological observations was formulated to explain these results. The diploid zygotic nucleus, which will form the female tissue of a gynandromorph, is near the primordia for the mouthparts when it initiates cleavage. Most of the time the mouthparts primordia on the blastoderm are populated by female cells, and the adult structures are most often female. The compound eye and lateral ocellus primordia are near the cephalic pole where the haploid accessory sperm(s) begin division.

Ocellar Input to the Flight Motor System of the Locust: Structure and Function

1. This paper deals with the physiology, anatomy and function of the following classes of neurones in the locust Schistocerca: (a) neurones carrying ocellar information to the pterothorax (Descending Ocellar Neurones, DONs), (b) mesothoracic Flight Motor Neurones (FMNs), (c) a heterogenous class of inter- and intraganglionic thoracic interneurones which receive input from the DONs, here called Thoracic Ocellar Interneurones (TONs) without prejudice to their other possible inputs and functions. 2. The thoracic arborizations of five different DONs are characterized. All project unilaterally to the pterothorax, four out of five to the ipsilateral mesothoracic or meso- and metathoracic ganglia. All are phasic OFF units, responding to stimulation either of one lateral ocellus or of the medial ocellus or of both, but none responded to the cephalic wind-hairs. Four of the five DONs showed no response decrement at stimulus frequencies up to 80 Hz. One showed habituation, recovery during a rest interval, and dishabituation in response to mechanical stimulation of a leg. There are more than six DONs, probably more than ten, in each connective. 3. All types of recorded mesothoracic FMNs receive monosynaptic EPSPs from the DONs and/or delayed IPSPs (presumably via TONs) in at least some animals. The pattern of connection is compatible with the hypothesis that a roll or downward pitch deviation induces compensating movements of the wings to correct the deviation. Many of these DON/FMN connections were, however, only occasionally recorded. None of the ocellar EPSPs recorded in the FMNs elicited spikes. 4. Most TONs receive monosynaptic EPSPs from one or more DONs, sometimes causing them to spike. Two receive delayed IPSPs, presumably via other TONs. At least one third of the recorded TONs spike in phase with either elevator or depressor FMNs during stimulated flight. Intraganglionic TONs in the mesothorax are all unilateral. Their anatomy suggests that they distribute input from DONs to various combinations of ipsilateral FMNs. Interganglionic TONs can be either unilateral or bilateral in the mesothoracic ganglion, and project unilaterally to the metathoracic (or rarely the prothoracic) ganglion, where at least one makes inhibitory synapses with a FMN. 5. Phasic ocellar information reaches the FMNs by two routes. One produces fast subthreshold PSPs in the FMNs directly. The other produces spikes and PSPs in thoracic interneurones, at least some of which are phasically active during flight and are presynaptic to FMNs. The roles of the two pathways are discussed.