Hank Guarisco

Aspects of the ecology of an introduced anole: Anolis cristatellus in the Dominican Republic

Anolis cristatellus, a medium-large brown anole native to Puerto Rico, its satellite islands and the Virgin Islands group, has been introduced at La Romana on the south coast of the Dominican Republic. The time and circumstances of introduction are unknown, but it is thought to have occurred before 1920 in the port area southeast of the town. The species has become well established and phenomenally abundant, occupying an area of about 12 km 2 and 13 km long. However, it is closely confined to the town of La Romana and adjacent altered areas with parks, gardens and evergreen trees, more mesic in aspect than adjacent relatively natural areas that are characterized by exposed limestone surfaces and chaparral-like formation of thorny shrubs and low, gnarled trees. The introduced A. cristatellus is closely associated with at least three species of native anoles. Anolis distichus is abundant both in the area invaded by A. cristatellus and in the relatively undisturbed habitat where cristatellus is absent. The two species often occur together on the same tree, and their height preferences coincide. Their food habits are similar, but with difference in average size of prey. Ants are a major food source for both. The smaller A. distichus may avoid predation by A. cristatellus through its greater agility. Anolis chlorocyanus is similar in size to A. cristatellus, but where the two co-occur, it is almost confined to trees with smooth and slippery trunks that are avoided by cristatellus; A. cybotes, a large, aggressive, predatory species, similar in habitat preference to A. cristatellus was found only outside the cristatellus area or on its edges. It seems that A. cristatellus is limiting to cybotes perhaps by preying on its hatchlings and outproducing it with shorter generation time and more frequent egg production.

Spiders of the Kansas Ecological Reserves

Spiders are a conspicuous and ecologically important group of predators although they may serve as prey for other species. Despite their importance, research in araneology has been hampered by the difficulty of making accurate identifications and the lack of natural history information for even many common species. Information concerning the spider fauna of Kansas is limited. The only surveys of this group within the state are those by Cragin (1886), Scheffer (1904, 1905), Fitch (1963, 1965), Fitch and Fitch (1966), Guarisco and Kinman (1990), Guarisco and Mott (1990), and Guarisco and Fitch (1991). Although a thorough knowledge of the Kansas spider fauna is a distant goal, intensive study in the relatively small area of the Kansas Ecological Reserves (KER) has provided a working knowledge of the identity and habits of the local fauna. The KER consists of 1625 acres of land in several locations in Douglas and Jefferson Counties in northeastern Kansas. This land, which is used for education and environmental research at the University of Kansas, contains examples of tallgrass prairie, eastern deciduous forest, climax oak-hickory forest, and areas under agricultural management (Fitch and Kettle, 1988). This checklist is based on earlier work at the Fitch Natural History Reservation (FNHR) and Rockefeller Experimental Tract (Fitch, 1963), collections by the first author, primarily from the FNHR and Nelson Environmental Study Area, from 1972 to the present, and recent pitfall trap samples taken during a study of the effect of habitat fragmentation upon species diversity (Robinson and others, 1992). Only limited collecting has been done in the Baldwin Woods area. More field work, especially in the Baldwin

New additions to the spider fauna of Kansas discovered near black-tailed prairie dog towns in shortgrass prairie

Abstract A one-month pitfall trap survey in early summer of 2000 in the vicinity of prairie dog towns in the shortgrass prairie of western Kansas revealed the presence of seven species of spiders not previously recorded in Kansas. These species (Xysticus robinsoni, Castianeira alteranda, Schizocosa mimula, Cesonia sincera, Drassyllus mumai, Gnaphosa clara, and Steatoda albomaculata) occur predominantly in arid habitats in the southwestern United States. The discovery of seven new state records during this brief survey emphasizes the need for further field work in the shortgrass prairie biome.

Distributional Status and Natural History Observations of the Genus Argyrodes (Araneae: Theridiidae) in Kansas

Members of the genus Argyrodes Simon (Theridiidae) are small, cryptic spiders that usually occur in the webs of other spiders. Although most species in the genus are tropical, 15 occur within the continental United States (Exline and Levi, 1962). The western or northwestern range limits of four species extend into eastern Kansas. The occurrence of the genus Argyrodes in Kansas was reported first in a checklist of spiders of the University of Kansas Kansas Ecological Reserves, in Douglas and Jefferson counties (Guarisco and Fitch 1995). Careful examination of the funnelwebs produced by members of the genus Agelenopsis (Agelenidae) revealed the presence of both Argyrodes trigonum (Hentz) and A. cancellatus (Hentz). Further field work led to the discovery of Argyrodes elevatus Taczanowski and A. pluto Banks in the southeastern part of the state. The currently known distributions of these four species in Kansas are: A. trigonum: Cherokee, Douglas, Jefferson, Labette, Montgomery A. cancellatus: Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Douglas, Jefferson, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage A. elevatus: Bourbon, Cherokee, Douglas, Labette, Montgomery, Woodson A. pluto: Cherokee, Labette Members of the genus Argyrodes may be difficult to locate because of their cryptic coloration, form, and behavior. Field and laboratory studies have uncovered fascinating aspects of their biology. Although occasionally building their own webs, these spiders routinely invade and reside in the webs of other spiders, where they function as commensals, competitors, kleptoparasites, scavengers, and predators (Vollrath, 1987).

The Funnelweb Spider Genus Agelenopsis (Araneae: Agelenidae) in Kansas

Cragin (1886) mentions Agelenopsis naevia (Walckenaer 1841) (listed as Agelena naevia Bosc.), as being “the commonest of spiders, building its geometric web in corners of houses and outbuildings” in Shawnee County. Although this species was reported as being common statewide by Scheffer (1904), this name was also applied to spiders that were subsequently described as separate species in the genus by later workers. A revision that became the standard taxonomic reference of the genus Agelenopsis contains Kansas records of several species, including Agelenopsis oklahoma (Gertsch 1936), Agelenopsis spatula Chamberlin and Ivie 1935, and A. naevia (Chamberlin and Ivie 1941). Fitch (1963) recorded aspects of the biology of the three species of Agelenopsis found on the University of Kansas Fitch Natural History Reservation (FNHR) in northeastern Kansas, namely Agelenopsis pennsylvanica (C. Koch 1843), A. naevia, and A. oklahoma. A synopsis of the spiders of Meade County reported observations of juvenile Agelenopsis presumed to be A. oklahoma in the short grass prairie ecosystem in the southwestern corner of the state (Fitch and Fitch 1966). More recent investigations by Ayoub et al. (2005) and Paison (1997) provided information concerning the biogeography, phylogeny, and speciation history of the genus, and included new Kansas records of Agelenopsis aleenae Chamberlin and Ivie1935, Agelenopsis emertoni Chamberlin and Ivie 1935, A. oklahoma and A. pennsylvanica. A range map of Agelenopsis aperta (Gertsch 1934) includes the extreme southwestern corner of the state, although no Kansas records are provided (Ayoub et al. 2005). Therefore, based on published accounts, Kansas is the home of 6 or possibly 7 species of funnelweb spiders of the genus Agelenopsis.

The purse-web spiders of Kansas (Araneae: Atypidae)

Abstract There are three purse-web spider species in Kansas, all in the genus Sphodros. Two of these species, S. niger (Hentz) and S. rufipes (Latreille), are known only from the eastern edge of the state, while the range of S. fitchi Gertsch and Platnick extends into western Kansas which is the westernmost distribution record for the family in the New World.

Discovery of the Federally Endangered American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) in the Chautauqua Hills of Southeastern Kansas

to Texas and the panhandle of Florida (Raithel 1991). However, it has disappeared over most of its historic range (Lomolino and others, 1995) and is known currently from only six states: on Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island, southern South Dakota, the Sand Hills in north-central Nebraska, eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas (Ratcliffe, 1996), and the Chautauqua Hills in southeastern Kansas (Miller and McDonald, in press). Although the American Burying Beetle historically ranged throughout most of eastern Kansas (Lingafelter, 1995) recent intensive surveys failed to locate current populations (Cohen and Busby, 1996, Lingafelter and Busby, 1992, 1993), until three individuals were discovered during the summer of 1996 in Wilson County, Kansas (Miller and McDonald, in press). The present survey revealed the existence of populations in Montgomery and Elk counties when a total of five individuals were discovered from 24-26 August 1996. Interestingly, all three extant Kansas populations of the American Burying Beetle lie within the Chautauqua Hills physiographic province. Interesting aspects of the natural history of species belonging to the genus Nicrophorus have been presented by Ratcliffe (1996) and Scott and Traniello (1989). On locating a recently dead small animal, a pair of burying beetles excavates an underground chamber beneath it, removes skin or feathers from

The spider genus Arachosia (Araneae: Anyphaenidae): A new addition to the Kansas fauna

The hunting spider genus Arachosia O.P. Cambridge 1882 (Araneae: Anyphaenidae) is represented in the United States by one species, A. cubana (Banks 1909; Fig. 1), which formerly resided in the genus Oxysoma Nicolet 1849 (Ramirez 2003). The fifteen other species in the genus occur in Central and South America (Platnick 2007). A. cubana was originally described by Banks (1909) from specimens collected in Cuba. In the United States, it has been reported from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Massachusetts (Platnick 1974), Pennsylvania (NatureServe 2006), Virginia (Young and Edwards 1990), Illinois, Ohio and Michigan (Sierwald et al. 2005). Field work by the author in northeastern Kansas has uncovered the presence of A. cubana in Douglas County.

The wolf spider genus Gladicosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in Kansas and egg sac predation by the mantisfly, Mantispa interrupta (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) and the wasp, Idiolispa aestivalis (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) upon Gladicosa bellamyi, a new state record

The genus Gladicosa was erected in 1986 by Allen Brady to encompass 5 nearctic species of medium to large wolf spiders based upon similarity of genitalic characters and dorsal patterns. The type species, Gladicosa gulosa (Walckenaer 1837), is a common leaf litter inhabitant of deciduous forests throughout the eastern half of the United States and westward into the High Plains of eastern Colorado (Brady, 1986). In Kansas, it has a wide distribution, occurring in the eastern forested region, the Flint Hills and the Great Plains. Gladicosa pulchra (Keyserling 1877), a closely related forest species which occurs on tree trunks as well as in litter, ranges throughout the southeastern states as far west as eastern Kansas and Texas (Brady, 1986).

Description of the Egg Sac of Mimetus epeiroides (Araneae: Mimetidae) and Egg Parasitism by Baeus sp. (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)

Members of the family Mimetidae are specialized spider predators which have earned their appellations of ‘‘pirate’’ and ‘‘assassin’’ spiders. Although some may feed upon insect prey captured by other spiders and, rarely, on nonsnared insects, mimetids routinely invade spider webs, especially those of comb-footed (Theridiidae) and orb weaving spiders (Araneidae), and prey upon the host (Cutler, 1972; Gertsch, 1979; Jackson and Whitehouse, 1986). They possess a unique set of long macrosetae on the prolateral surfaces of the metatarsi and tibiae of the first two pairs of legs (Heimer, 1986; Platnick and Shadab, 1993). In addition to forming a trapping basket in drawing the prey’s leg to the chelicerae, these macrosetae may have a tactile sensory function (Cutler, Guarisco, and Mott, 1999). Pirate spiders are not usually encountered and little is known concerning their natural history. Mimetus epeiroides Emerton (Araneae: Mimetidae) is a light-colored species that occurs in scattered localities throughout the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, and Utah. There are no publications on the biology of this species except for the habitat notes on collection labels (Mott, 1989). The present note describes the egg sac of M. epeiroides and an incident of egg parasitism by a member of the scelionid wasp genus Baeus sp. During a field trip of the 21st Annual Meeting of the American Arachnological Society at Dickinson State University, Dickinson, in southwestern North Dakota, four mimetid egg sacs were collected from the undersides of rocks in short grass prairie in the vicinity of Medora, Billings County, ND on 22 July 1997. The egg sacs were spherical, bright orange, 5 to 6 mm in diameter and appeared identical to the egg sacs of Mimetus puritanus Chamberlin (Guarisco and Mott, 1990). During early August, tiny, parasitic wasps, later identified asBaeus sp., emerged from all four egg sacs. Luckily, one egg sac produced eight live spiderlings in addition to fourteen wasps. One was reared successfully to adulthood and was identified later as M. epeiroides. Because the egg sacs of M. epeiroides, M. puritanus, andM. hesperus Chamberlin (Icenogle, 1972) are virtually indistiguishable from one another, the identity of the three other parasitized egg sacs cannot be determined.