Kjell Arne Johanson

Dichlorvos exposure impedes extraction and amplification of DNA from insects in museum collections

BackgroundThe insecticides dichlorvos, paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene have been commonly used to eradicate pest insects from natural history collections. However, it is not known how these chemicals affect the DNA of the specimens in the collections. We thus tested the effect of dichlorvos, paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene on DNA of insects (Musca domestica) by extracting and amplifying DNA from specimens exposed to insecticides in two different concentrations over increasing time intervals.ResultsThe results clearly show that dichlorvos impedes both extraction and amplification of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA after relatively short time, whereas paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene do not.ConclusionCollections treated with paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene, are better preserved concerning DNA, than those treated with dichlorvos. Non toxic pest control methods should, however, be preferred due to physical damage of specimens and putative health risks by chemicals.

Testing the monophyly of the New Zealand and Australian endemic family Conoesucidae Ross based on combined molecular and morphological data (Insecta: Trichoptera: Sericostomatoidea)

Conoesucidae (Trichoptera, Insecta) are restricted to SE Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The family includes 42 described species in 12 genera, and each genus is endemic to either New Zealand or Australia. Although monophyly has been previously assumed, no morphological characters have been proposed to represent synapomorphies for the group. We collected molecular data from two mitochondrial genes (16S and cytochrome oxidase I), one nuclear gene (elongation factor 1‐α) (2237–2277 bp in total), and 12 morphological characters to produce the first phylogeny of the family. We combined the molecular and morphological characters and performed both a maximum parsimony analysis and a Bayesian analysis to test the monophyly of the family, and to hypothesize the phylogeny among its genera. The parsimony analysis revealed a single most parsimonious tree with Conoesucidae being a monophyletic taxon and sistergroup to the Calocidae. The Bayesian inference produced a distribution of trees, the consensus of which is supported with posterior probabilities of 100% for 15 out of 22 possible ingroup clades including the most basal branch of the family, indicating strong support for a monophyletic Conoesucidae. The most parsimonious tree and the tree from the Bayesian analysis were identical except that the ingroup genus Pycnocentria changed position by jumping to a neighbouring clade. Based on the assumption that the ancestral conoesucid species was present on both New Zealand and Australia, a biogeographical analysis using the dispersal‐vicariance criteria demonstrated that one or two (depending on which of the two phylogenetic reconstructions were applied) sympatric speciation events took place on New Zealand prior to a single, late dispersal from New Zealand to Australia.

Revision of the New Zealand Helicopsyche (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae)

The New Zealand Helicopsyche are revised. The female of Helicopsyche zealandica Hudson, 1904, H. poutini McFarlane, 1964, H. albescens Tillyard, 1924 and H. howesi Tillyard, 1924 are described. Three new species, Helicopsyche cuvieri sp. n., H. haurapango sp. n. and H. torino sp. n. are described. Keys to the males and known females are given.

Are the African species of Helicopsyche von Siebold 1856 (Insecta Trichoptera Helicopsychidae) monophyletic

The 10 species of Helicopsyche from the African mainland have restricted distributions in the Eastern Arc mountains and the Ruwenzori Range. These species were compared with nine representatives of candidate sister groups from other biogeographic regions in cladistic analyses. The representatives of candidate sister groups included other Helicopsyche von Siebold 1856 as well as species from other genera within the family Helicopsychidae, i.e. Rakiura McFarlane 1973, Cochliophylax Schmid 1993 and Cochliopsyche Muller 1885. The analysis was based on 36 morphological characters in adult males (nine coded as multistates) and was performed with the exhaustive search option (implicit enumeration) for most parsimonious trees in the program Hennig86. Two alternative procedures for polarising the character transformations both indicated that the African species constitute a monophyletic group with the sister species found on the Seychelles. In the first procedure we used Sericostoma Latreille 1825 as the outgroup....

Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Helicopha Mosely (Trichoptera: Helicophidae), with description of five new species from New Caledonia

Five new Helicopha species are described from New Caledonia: H. paniensis sp.n., H. amieuensis sp.n., H. einap sp.n., H. ramea sp.n. and H. dognyensis sp.n. The new species are all endemic to New Caledonia and described herein. Distributional data is included on maps for all eight New Caledonian Helicopha species. A key to the males of New Caledonian Helicophidae is presented. Phylogenetic analyses performed on morphological characters of the males of Helicophidae species show that the New Caledonia Helicopha are monophyletic, but the relationship between the Australian and New Caledonian Helicopha species is at present not fully understood. Analyzing with equally weighted characters leaves the Australian Helicopha as the sistergroup to the New Caledonian Helicopha. When characters are weighted using implied weights and concavity constant of 2, the New Zealand Zelolessica split the New Caledonian and Australian Helicopha, leaving Helicopha paraphyletic. The monotypic New Caledonian genus Briama is closely related to Helicopha in all results.

Description of fourteen new Tinodes species from East Africa (Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae)

Fourteen new Tinodes species are described from East Africa. Tinodes guttatus sp. n., Tinodes rungweensis sp. n., Tinodes sanjea sp. n., Tinodes amani sp. n., Tinodes robustus sp. n., Tinodes zigzag sp. n., Tinodes uzungwa sp. n. and Tinodes bumbulii sp. n. are described from the Eastern Arc mountains in Tanzania and represent the first described species of this genus from Tanzania. Tinodes harawa sp. n., Tinodes dehadawate sp. n., Tinodes mohelia sp. n., Tinodes irwini , sp. n., and Tinodes schlingeri sp. n. are described from Madagascar and the Comoros Island, and represent the first described species of this genus from these islands. Tinodes giloensis sp. n. is described from Sudan, and is the first record of Tinodes from the country. With this report the number of known Tinodes species from the Afrotropical region is more than doubled, and the Eastern Arc is made the richest area in number of species of Tinodes in that biogeographical region.

Description of a New Helicopsyche Species from China (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae)

Helicopsyche zhejiangensis sp. n. from southeastern China is described and figured, representing the first record of this family in China. The species has a general resemblance with Helicopsyche species known from the Oriental Region, and the East Palaearctic species Helicopsyche coreana Mey from North Korea.

Helicopsyche trispina sp. n. (Trichoptera, Helicopsychidae) from New Caledonia

Helicopsyche trispina sp. n. is described from Grande Terre, New Caledonia, based on pharate males, larvae and pupae. The species appears to belong to the monophyletic New Caledonian Helicopsyche clade.

Taxonomic survey of the New Caledonian species of Helicopsyche described by H.H. Ross (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae)

Eleven out of twelve species of New Caledonian Helicopsyche described by H. H. Ross in 1975 were re-examined. Extended descriptions of the males include characters of the head, wing, leg and genitalia. The females of H. boularia, H. caledonia, H. edmundsi and H. hollowayi are described for the first time. Larvae of H. arenaria, H. boularia, H. caledonia, H. edmundsi, H. hollowayi, H. kariona and H. lapidaria are newly associated to species and described. Also the pupae of H. arenaria, H. caledonia, H. edmundsi, H. kariona, H. koumaca, H. lapidaria and H. starmuehlneri are described.

Revision of the European Helicopsyche (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae)

All nominal species of European Helicopsyche are critically assessed. A neotype for H. shuttleworthi Siebold, 1856, the type species of Helicopsyche, is designated which fixes the name as a valid senior synonym of H. revelieri McLachlan, 1884 and H. corsica Vaillant, 1953. The senior synonym Helicopsyche helicifex (Allen, 1857) is suggested to replace H. sericea Hagen, 1864 and H. lusitanica McLachlan, 1884, and the senior synonym Helicopsyche crispata (Benoit, 1857) to replace H. agglutinans (Tassinari, 1858) and H. sperata McLachlan, 1876. Helicopsyche fannii Rougemont, 1879 is a nomen nudum. The females of Helicopsyche helicifex and H. megalochari Malicky, 1974 are described for the first time. The first keys to males and females of the European Helicopsyche are presented.