Jonathan R. Mawdsley

Landscape-scale surveys reveal patterns of floral visitation by species of Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Insect visitors were sampled from flowers of nine sympatric tree and shrub species in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, using a landscape-scale survey approach. Two species of Terminalia L., Terminalia prunioides Lawson and Terminalia sericea Burchell (Combretaceae) together comprised 53% of the flowering trees and shrubs sampled. Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) comprised a majority of visitors to flowers of the two Terminalia species (90% and 88%, respectively). Statistical comparisons indicate that both the composition and abundance of scarab floral visitors differ between T. prunioides and T. sericea, and between these species and sympatric flowering tree and shrub species. Individual species of Scarabaeidae show markedly different patterns of abundance: 42% were found on flowers of one tree species, 45% were found on flowers of two or three tree species, and the remaining four scarab species were common and occurred on four or more of the tree species sampled.

Natural history of the African riverine tiger beetle Chaetodera regalis (Dejean) (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae)

The tiger beetle Chaetodera regalis (Dejean) (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. We studied activity patterns, ecological interactions, and behaviour of this species along four major rivers in Kruger National Park, South Africa. During the dry season, small numbers of adult beetles are found on sand bars along perennial rivers. In the rainy season, adults are found in large numbers on a broad spectrum of substrates (including clays, coarse and fine sands and gravels, and black organic soils) and geomorphological features (sand flats, mud flats, sand bars, beaches, riverbanks, and dry and wet sandy streambeds) in riverine areas. Predatory, defensive, thermoregulatory, and reproductive behaviours are described. This species may prove to be a useful indicator of the health of African riverine systems: adults are abundant in high-quality riverine areas; adults and larvae may be adversely affected by human activities; and adults are easily detected, even by novice surveyors.

Natural history of a South African insect pollinator assemblage (Insecta: Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera): diagnostic notes, food web analysis and conservation recommendations

ABSTRACT We describe activity patterns, relative abundances and pollen transport by insect floral visitors in the Skukuza Ranger District, Kruger National Park, Republic of South Africa, based on field surveys conducted during the early rainy seasons of years 2006 to 2012 (inclusive). Diagnostic notes, illustrations and natural history observations are provided for species in the families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Cleridae, Lycidae and Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera), Muscidae, Platystomatidae and Tabanidae (Diptera), Apidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, Sphecidae and Vespidae (Hymenoptera), and Pieridae and Thyrididae (Lepidoptera) that transported pollen of tree or shrub species. Observations on floral phenology and pollination syndrome are presented for 27 flowering tree or shrub species. To provide a foundation for studies of the effects of drought and climate change on pollination services in the Kruger National Park, we applied methods of food web analysis to characterise this plant-pollinator assemblage. The food web analysis shows moderate levels of redundancy in plant-pollinator interactions (with connectance values averaging 0.19 for plant species and 0.20 for pollinator species), suggesting that pollination services in this system may exhibit some resilience to environmental perturbations. Possible conservation strategies for maintaining pollination services in this ecological system are discussed, including habitat management to conserve larval or nesting areas for social and solitary bees and scarab beetles, as well as further inventories and long-term monitoring of pollinator species.

Taxonomy of the Goliath beetle Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae)

The 16 names proposed for the central and eastern African Goliath beetle Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909, are reviewed and a complete synonymy is presented for the species. The earliest published name is Goliathus giganteus orientalis Moser, 1909, type locality Lindi, Deutsch-Ostafrika, and so the correct name for the species is Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909. Goliathus meleagris Sjöstedt, 1927a, type locality Katanga, Congo Belge, is a synonym of G. orientalis. Populations of G. orientalis in the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, may represent a distinct subspecies. The correct subspecific name for this form would be G. orientalis usambarensis Preiss, 1933; the widely used name G. orientalis preissi Endrödi, 1951, is a junior subjective synonym of G. o. usambarensis Preiss. Goliathus orientalis is re-described and characters are presented for separation of adults of G. orientalis from adults of the partially sympatric species Goliathus goliatus (L.), 1771 and Goliathus albosignatus Boheman, 1857.

Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management

Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management. Artelle et al. (2018) conclude that “hallmarks of science” are largely missing from North American wildlife management based on a desk review of selected hunting management plans and related documents found through Internet searches and email requests to state and provincial wildlife agencies. We highlight three fundamental problems that compromise the validity of the conclusions posited: missing information to support selection of “hallmarks of science,” confusion about the roles and nature of science and management, and failure to engage effectively with the scientists and managers actively managing wildlife populations in North America.

The blue carpenter bees: a synopsis of the “Cyaneoderes group” of genus Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract A review is presented of the species included within the “Cyaneoderes group” of the genus Xylocopa Latreille, 1802, subgenus Koptortosoma Gribodo, 1894. The 14 names applied to members of this group by previous authors represent six valid species. Females of five species in this group have bright blue and black pubescence on the dorsal surface: X. abbotti (Cockerell, 1909); X. bangkaensis Friese, 1903; X. caerulea (Fabricius, 1804); X. insularis Smith, 1857; and X. tumida, Friese, 1903. A key, diagnostic table, and set of illustrations is presented to facilitate the identification of females of all five species. The known males of species in this group (X. caerulea and X. insularis) are illustrated. Xylocopa dormeyeri Enderlein, 1909, is placed as a synonym of X. insularis Smith, while X. meade-waldoi Hurd, 1959, is placed as a synonym of X. caerulea (Fabricius), New Synonymies. Diagnostic notes are presented for X. incompleta Ritsema, 1880, a species with bright orange (rather than blue) pubescence, which was included in the “Cyaneoderes group” by previous workers.

An annotated checklist of the large carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), from the Philippine Islands

Abstract An annotated checklist is presented for the 37 valid species-level taxa of the genus Xylocopa Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) recorded from the Philippine Islands. A key is provided to the four subgenera of Xylocopa represented in the Philippine fauna: Xylocopa subgenus Biluna Maa, Xylocopa subgenus Koptortosoma Gribodo, Xylocopa subgenus Platynopoda Westwood and Xylocopa subgenus Zonohirsuta Maa. For each species and subspecies, the following information is provided: original combination, type locality, available information about primary types, a list of synonyms described from the Philippines, a brief synopsis of the principal external diagnostic features and a summary of the known geographic distribution of the species in the Philippine Islands.

A synopsis of the genus Cypholoba Chaudoir (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anthiini) known to occur in the Republic of South Africa

Abstract Nearly one third of the described species of Cypholoba Chaudoir (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are known to inhabit the Republic of South Africa. A key and diagnostic notes are provided for their identification, as well as notes about way of life for some of the species based on observations in the Kruger National Park. Fifteen species and subspecies of the genus are recorded from the Republic of South Africa; adult specimens of each species and subspecies are illustrated and information about the distribution of each species in the Republic of South Africa is summarized and mapped: Cypholoba alstoni (Péringuey), Cypholoba alveolata (Brême), Cypholoba amatonga Péringuey, Cypholoba fritschi (Chaudoir), Cypholoba gracilis gracilis (Dejean), Cypholoba gracilis scrobiculata (Bertoloni), Cypholoba gracilis zuluana Basilewsky, Cypholoba graphipteroides graphipteroides (Guérin-Méneville), Cypholoba leucospilota semilaevis (Chaudoir), Cypholoba macilenta (Olivier), Cypholoba notata (Perroud), Cypholoba oberthueri seruana Strohmeyer, Cypholoba opulenta (Boheman), Cypholoba rutata (Péringuey), and Cypholoba tenuicollis aenigma (Dohrn).

The genus Anthia Weber in the Republic of South Africa, Identification, distribution, biogeography, and behavior (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Abstract A key is presented for the identification of the four species of Anthia Weber (Coleoptera: Carabidae) recorded from the Republic of South Africa: Anthia cinctipennis Lequien, Anthia circumscripta Klug, Anthia maxillosa (Fabricius), and Anthia thoracica (Thunberg). For each of these species, illustrations are provided of adult beetles of both sexes as well as illustrations of male reproductive structures, morphological redescriptions, discussions of morphological variation, annual activity histograms, and maps of occurrence localities in the Republic of South Africa. Maps of occurrence localities for these species are compared against ecoregional and vegetation maps of southern Africa; each species of Anthia shows a different pattern of occupancy across the suite of ecoregions and vegetation types in the Republic of South Africa. Information about predatory and foraging behaviors, Müllerian mimicry, and small-scale vegetation community associations is presented for Anthia thoracica based on field and laboratory studies in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Multiple origins of sexual dichromatism and aposematism within large carpenter bees: SEXUAL DICHROMATISM AND APOSEMATISM IN XYLOCOPA

The evolution of reversed sexual dichromatism and aposematic coloration has long been of interest to both theoreticians and empiricists. Yet despite the potential connections between these phenomena, they have seldom been jointly studied. Large carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) are a promising group for such comparative investigations as they are a diverse clade in which both aposematism and reversed sexual dichromatism can occur either together or separately. We investigated the evolutionary history of dichromatism and aposematism and a potential correlation of these traits with diversification rates within Xylocopa, using a newly generated phylogeny for 179 Xylocopa species based on ultraconserved elements (UCEs). A monochromatic, inconspicuous ancestor is indicated for the genus, with subsequent convergent evolution of sexual dichromatism and aposematism in multiple lineages. Aposematism is found to covary with reversed sexual dichromatism in many species; however, reversed dichromatism also evolved in non‐aposematic species. Bayesian Analysis of Macroevolutionary Models (BAMM) did not show increased diversification in any specific clade in Xylocopa, whereas support from Hidden State Speciation and Extinction (HiSSE) models remained inconclusive regarding an association of increased diversification rates with dichromatism or aposematism. We discuss the evolution of color patterns and diversification in Xylocopa by considering potential drivers of dichromatism and aposematism.