R. Wills Flowers

RESPONSE OF THE PREDATORY MITE PHYTOSEIULUS MACROPILIS (ACARI: PHYTOSEIIDAE) TO PESTICIDES AND KAIROMONES OF THREE SPIDER MITE SPECIES (ACARI: TETRANYCHIDAE), AND NON-PREY FOOD

ABSTRACT The predatory mite Phytoseiulus macropilis Banks (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is native to Florida. Some biology and ecology of this phytoseiid have been documented, but its potential as a biological control agent of phytophagous mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) has received less attention. The response of P. macropilis to 12 acaricides, 3 tetranychid mite species and 5 potential alternate foods was evaluated in laboratory bioassays. Pesticide residual effects on P. macropilis were evaluated by a double-disk leaf residue method. The synthetic pyrethroids Tame (fenpropathrin), Cymbush (Cypermethrin) and Mavrik (fluvalinate) were highly toxic. Tolerance was observed to the acaricides, Omite (propargite), and Avid (abamectin), while Vendex (hexakis), Pentac (dienochlor), and Kelthane (dicofol) were highly toxic. The insecticides Orthene (acephate) and Diazinon and the fungicides, Domain (thiophanatemethyl) and Cleary (thiophanate) were not toxic to P. macropilis. Field efficacy tests of fenpropathrin and dicofol indicated that these chemicals lose toxicity to P. macropilis 21 and 7 d after application, respectively. In olfactometer bioassays, female predators were attracted to kairomones produced by their rearing host Tetranychus urticae Koch on bean leaves but not to kairomones of the tetranychids Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi) and T. evansi Baker and Pitchard on their respective host plants. Predators did not respond significantly to selected alternate foods: pollen from the hybrid daylily Hemerocallis spp., Phylloxera spp. larvae, eggs of false oleander scale Pseudaulacaspis cockerelli (Cooley), a sugar-water solution and water. This study identified several pesticides that could be integrated with use of P. macropilis as a biological control. Results also indicate that the predator may have a narrow prey range and require specific species of mite prey for survival and oviposition.

Life history of five small minnow mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) in a small tropical stream on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica

Life history characteristics of five species of Baetidae were investigated over a one-year period at Quebrada González, a warmwater stream in Braulio Carrillo National Park. Larvae of three species of Baetodes and two species of Camelobaetidius were collected at monthly intervals. Measurements of head capsules show a wide size range within each species throughout the year. For all species studied, mature larvae with black wings pads were found during all months. Fecundity averaged less than 1000 eggs per female for all species. The asynchronous development, multiple overlapping cohorts, and long emergence period with reproduction occurring throughout the year suggest a multivoltine life history for all five species. The high water temperatures (annual mean 21.4°C, ranging from 20.6°C to 22.1°C) throughout the year undoubtedly contribute to these life history patterns. The multivoltinism of these mayflies conforms to a general pattern of multivoltinism for aquatic insects in tropical regions.

Life was a beach: a panbiogeographic analysis of the cosmopolitan mayfly genus Choroterpes (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae)

Mayflies of the cosmopolitan genus Choroterpes have been a systematic and biogeographical puzzle for many years. Currently, the genus is divided into three subgenera (Choroterpes s.s., Euthraulus, and Cryptopenella) distributed from North America to China, South America, Africa and New Guinea. Most extant species inhabit small lowland coastal streams, often temporary ones. They are generally absent from the diverse mayfly faunas of mid- and high-elevation tropical streams. A panbiogeographic analysis of the distribution of all known species, and a review of published life history observations, suggest that the ancestors of these genera were distributed along both sides of the Tethys Sea during the Mesozoic Era. Their combined distribution is a terrestrial analogue of a shallow water marine biota traversing the Tethys during the late Mesozoic. Ancestors of extant Choroterpes and related genera could have spread along the borders of epicontinental seas to reach the current distribution of the group.

REDISCOVERY OF A SPRINGTAIL AND A GRASSHOPPER IN FLORIDA

Micco, C., M. GROSSI, M. MIRAGLIA, AND C. BRERA. 1989. A study of the contamination of ochratoxin A of green and roasted coffee beans. Food Add. Contam. 6: 333-339. MILANEZ, T. V., M. SABINO, AND L. C. A. LAMARDO. 1995. Comparison of two methods for the determination of ochratoxin A in green coffee beans. Rev. Microbiol. 26: 79-82. PATEL, S., C. M. HAZEL, A. G. M. WINTERTON, AND A. E. GLEADLE. 1997. Survey of ochratoxin A in UK retail coffees. Food Add. Contam. 3: 217-222. STUDER-ROHR, I., D. R. DIETRICH, J. SCHLATTER, AND C. SCHLATTER 1994. The occurrence of ochratoxin A in coffee. Food Chem. Toxicol. 33: 341-355. TSUBOCHI, H., K. YAMAMOTO, K. HISADA, AND Y. SAKABE. 1984. A survey of occurrence of mycotoxins and toxicogenic fungi in imported green coffee beans. Proc. Jpn. Assoc. Mycotoxicol. 19: 14-21.

Description of the imago of Traverella longifrons Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty, 1996 (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae)

In 1996, Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty described the species Traverella longifrons from Costa Rica based on nymphs previously known under the informal epithet Traverella sp. B Allen (1973) from Honduras and Mexico. Here the imago of T. longifrons Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty (1996) is described based on reared material from Panamá and additional material from Honduras.

Mayfly communities in two Neotropical lowland forests

In 2006, the Stroud Water Research Center conducted inventories of stream macroinvertebrates in the Peninsula de Osa in Costa Rica and the Madre de Dios watershed in eastern Peru. Both areas have extensive lowland tropical rainforests under threat from road development, tourism, poaching and gold mining. The mayfly communities of the two regions were substantially different in family relative abundances. In Osa the mayfly community was more or less evenly divided among Baetidae, Leptohyphidae, and Leptophlebiidae. In streams where one group was clearly dominant, this was most often Leptohyphidae. By contrast, in the Madre de Dios watershed Leptophlebiidae was often 75% or more of the mayfly fauna while Leptohyphidae was 20% or less. In both Osa and Madre de Dios, EPT indices were calculated for impacted streams and relatively undisturbed streams. However, physical characteristics such as stream size and substrate diversity were often a better predictor of community composition than human activity.

The Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Florida: A Guide to References for their Identification

A list of identification guides is presented, including keys, descriptions, and other information, many with attached annotations. We have found these manuscripts useful in the determination of the freshwater macroinvertebrates of Florida.

Intersexuality and Homeotic Manifestation of Secondary Sexual Characters in Baetodes (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae: Baetinae)

Several specimens of an undescribed species of Baetodes from a single locality in Panama exhibit teratologies of secondary sexual characteristics. Seven specimens display the morphological characteristics of intersexes. One specimen, a male imago, displays a supernumerary clasper on the eighth abdominal segment.