Christopher J. Marshall

Wood ingestion by passalid beetles in the presence of xylose‐fermenting gut yeasts

During a survey of insect gut micro‐organisms, we consistently isolated Pichia stipitis‐like yeasts (Fungi: Ascomycota, Saccharomycetes) from the wood‐ingesting beetles, Odontotaenius disjunctus and Verres sternbergianus (Coleoptera: Passalidae). The yeasts were isolated from passalid beetles over a wide area, including the eastern and midwestern USA and Panama. Phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear encoded small and large subunit rRNA gene (rDNA) sequences distinguished a well‐supported clade consisting of the passalid yeasts and Pichia stipitis, P. segobiensis, Candida shehatae and C. ergatensis. Members of this clade have the ability to ferment and assimilate xylose or to hydrolyse xylan, major components of the polysaccharide, hemicellulose. Sexual reproduction was present in the passalid isolates but was rare among the gut yeasts of other beetles to which they were compared. Minor genetic and phenotypic variation among some of the passalid yeasts was detected using markers from the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA repeat unit, morphology, and in vitro metabolic tests. The consistent association of xylose‐fermenting yeasts of almost identical genotypes with passalid beetles across a broad geographical distribution, suggests a significant symbiotic association.

LepNet: The Lepidoptera of North America Network

The Lepidoptera of North America Network, or LepNet, is a digitization effort recently launched to mobilize biodiversity data from 3 million specimens of butterflies and moths in United States natural history collections (http://www.lep-net.org/). LepNet was initially conceived as a North American effort but the project seeks collaborations with museums and other organizations worldwide. The overall goal is to transform Lepidoptera specimen data into readily available digital formats to foster global research in taxonomy, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Natural History Collections: Teaching About Biodiversity Across Time, Space, and Digital Platforms

Abstract Natural history collections offer unique physical and virtual opportunities for formal and informal progressive learning. Collections are unique data in that they each represent a biological record at a single place and time that cannot be obtained by any other method. Collections-based experiences lead to an increased understanding of and substantive interaction with the living world. Global biological diversity and changes in that diversity are directly tracked through specimens in collections, regardless of whether changes are ancient or recent. We discuss how collections, specimens, and the data associated with them, can be critical components linking nature and scientific inquiry. Specimens are the basic tools for educating students and interested citizens through direct or virtual contact with the diversity of collections. Such interactions include instruction in a formal classroom setting, volunteering to gather and curate collections, and informal presentations at coffee shops. We emphasize how the recent surge in specimen-based digitization initiatives has resulted in unprecedented access to a wealth of biodiversity information and how this availability vastly expands the reach of natural history collections. The emergence of online databases enables scientists and the public to utilize the specimens and associated data contained in natural history collections to address global, regional, and local issues related to biodiversity in a way that was unachievable a decade ago.

External Morphology of Adult Libythea celtis (Laicharting [1782]) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Libytheinae is a morphologically unusual group of butterflies whose external anatomy has never been described in detail. The subfamily is considered basal within the diverse family Nymphalidae, and libytheines retain many plesiomorphic features, such as a functional female foreleg and smooth larva. In this paper, we describe and illustrate the adult morphology of Libythea celtis Laicharting, make comparisons to other nymphalid subfamilies, and homologize terms whenever possible. We describe major sclerites, sulci, and the presence of cranial and lateral pits on the tibia, the latter which appear to be previously unreported from the lepidopteran literature. When present, sexual dimorphism and geographic variation are noted. It is hoped that the present paper will help stabilize inconsistencies in morphological terms in nymphalid butterflies.

Two new species of Grylloblatta Walker, 1914 (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) from western North America, and a neotype designation for G. rothi Gurney 1953

Grylloblatta rothi Gurney, 1953 is redescribed and a neotype is designated from Cultus Mountain in the Oregon Cascades, U.S.A. Two new species of Grylloblatta are described, bringing the total number of Grylloblatta species to 15. Grylloblatta chintimini new species is described from Marys Peak in the Coast Range of Western Oregon, where it occurs on snowpack near the 1250 m summit. Grylloblatta newberryensis new species is described from Newberry Volcano in Central Oregon, where it is associated with snowfields overlying geologically-young lava flows. Morphological characters, primarily derived from male genitalia, are presented to diagnose these species and differentiate them from other Grylloblatta spp. in Oregon, Washington, and California. Molecular sequences from the cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene suggest that significant divergence has occurred among these species and provide a tool to aid identification of juvenile and female specimens.

Two new species of rain beetle (Coleoptera: Pleocomidae: Pleocoma Le Conte, 1856) in the Pacific Northwest of the United State of America

A newly discovered population of rain beetles from south central Washington, United States of America is described as Pleocoma laker Marshall, new species. The only other species known from Washington, P. crinita Linsley, 1938, is restricted to include only populations north of the Columbia River. Rain beetles from Oregon, previously considered as P. crinita, are recognized as a distinct species: Pleocoma callisto Marshall, new species. A key to the identification of all described rain beetles in Oregon and Washington is provided.