Roy J. Beckemeyer

New data on Homocladus grandis , a Permian stem-mantodean (Polyneoptera: Dictyoptera)

Abstract Representatives of the family Strephocladidae have been considered as fossil relatives (i.e., stem-group) of Mantodea (mantises) based on characters of the forewing morphology. Here we describe new specimens from the Wellington Formation that we assign to the strephocladid species Homocladus grandis Carpenter, 1966. The range of morphological variation exhibited by the new material, in addition to wing morphology variability documented in extant mantises and roaches, suggest that H. ornatus Carpenter, 1966 and Paracladus retardatus Carpenter, 1966, reported from the same formation, are new junior subjective synonyms of H. grandis. We describe the first hind wing for this species based on a well-preserved specimen. It exhibits a combination of character states unique to dictyopteran insects.

An Enigmatic New Genus of Biarmohymenid from the Early Permian Wellington Formation of Noble County, Oklahoma (Palaeodictyopterida: Diaphanopterodea)

A new genus and species of the extinct Paleozoic insect order Diaphanopterodea (Palaeodictyopterida) is described and figured from the Early Permian (Artinskian) Wellington Formation of Noble County, Oklahoma. Anomalohymen dochmus, new genus and species, is most similar to Biarmohymen bardense Zalessky from the Early Permian (Kungurian) of Tshekarda in Russia. The two genera share the proximal coalescence of M and CuA along with a generally reduced venation. Rather than erect another monogeneric family, we here include Anomalohymen in the Biarmohymenidae, emending the diagnosis of the family, providing a key to the constituent genera, and extending the biogeographic and temporal range of the lineage.

Permopanorpa inaequalis Tillyard, 1926 (Insecta: Holometabola: Panorpida: Permopanorpidae): A fossil mecopteroid newly reported for the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Noble County, Oklahoma

Abstract Eight species of mecopteroid Panorpida are known from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Elmo (Dickinson County), Kansas; one of those species, Permopanorpa inaequalis Tillyard, 1926, is documented for the first time from the Wellington Formation fossil insect beds of Noble County, Oklahoma. The holometabolous species (insects with complete metamorphosis) of the Wellington Formation Lower Permian fauna, which comprise 7% of the total of nearly 200 species, are listed and briefly reviewed.

A New Genus and Species of Orthoptera from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Noble County, Oklahoma, USA

Loxoedischia drewi new genus and new species from Oklahoma, is described as the latest addition to the Orthoptera fauna of the Lower Permian Wellington Formation, bringing the total to eleven species, eight of which are known from Kansas, and three from Oklahoma. Family assignment is uncertain, but the taxon is closely related to the Oedischiidae.

Charles D. Michener - Recipient of 2010 Hamilton Award

The Kansas Entomological Society’s own Dr. Charles D. Michener, Curator Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Watkins Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Systematics & Ecology, received the Hamilton Award, given quadriennially by the International Union for the Study of Social Insects to a senior research scientist in recognition of accomplishments in the area of social insect research. The Award was presented at the XVI International Congress in Copenhagen in August 2010. While Dr. Michener needs no introduction to the majority of readers of this journal, a brief account of some aspects of his long and distinguished career are appropriate. Dr. Michener has been associated with the University of Kansas since 1948, when he became an Associate Professor in Entomology, reaching the rank of full Professor in 1950. He was chair of the Entomology Department from 1949 to 1961 and from 1972 to 1975, Acting Chair of Systematics & Ecology from 1968 to 1969, and Director of the Snow Entomological Museum from 1974 to 1983. He received John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowships in 1955 and 1966 for work on the bees of South America and Africa, respectively, as well as a Fullbright in 1957 to study the bees of Australia. In 1965 he was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, and has also been honored by memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Linnean Society of London (Foreign Member), the Academia Brasileira de Ciencias, and the Royal Entomological Society, among many others. Dr. Michener trained over 80 MS and Ph.D. students, many of whom have also gone on to have distinguished careers in entomology, sociobiology, ecology, and taxonomy. While Dr. Michener retired in 1989, he has continued to actively conduct research and publish work on bee systematics and biology. His publications include several major books and monographs such as, The Social Behavior of the Bees: A Comparative Study (1974, Harvard University Press, xii + 404 pp.) and The Bees of the World (2000, Johns Hopkins University Press, xiv + [i] + 913 pp., +16 pls.), the latter of which has just been published in an expanded 2 edition (2007, xvi + [i] + 953 pp., +20 pls.). Dr. Michener has long been an active member and supporter of the Kansas Entomological Society (having served as President in 1950 and as an active member of the Publications Committee since 1995), and he very generously donated the cash prize associated with the Hamilton Award to the Society for use in promoting the publication of research related to social insects. We are indebted to him for his consideration and thoughtfulness.

Artinska ovata (Sellards) 1909 and Paraprisca fragilis (Sellards) 1909 (Insecta: Polyneoptera: Lemmatophoridae) Newly Reported from the Lower Permian of Noble County, Oklahoma, with Notes on Wellington Formation Lemmatophoridae

The extinct polyneopterous family Lemmatophoridae Sellards, 1909 includes eight species found in the Wellington Formation of Kansas. Tasch and Zimmerman (1962) had previously reported the presence of Lemmatophora typa Sellards, 1909, Artinska clara Sellards, 1909, and Lisca minuta Sellards, 1909, from the Oklahoma Wellington Formation. One specimen each of the species Artinska ovata (Sellards, 1909) and Paraprisca fragilis (Sellards, 1909) have been found in the Wellington Formation deposits of Noble County Oklahoma, bringing to five the number of known species of lemmatophorids common to the Oklahoma and Kansas Permian deposits.

First Record of the Dragonfly Miathyria marcella (Selys) for Kansas (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae)

Miathyria marcella (Selys, 1857) (Libellulidae) is a Neotropical dragonfly species found throughout Mexico, Central America, the Antilles, and South America as far south as Argentina (Needham et al., 2000). In the United States, the species first occurred in southern Florida in 1934 (Dunkle, 1989). In 1955, Needham and Westfall reported M. marcella present in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. It was first reported in Virginia, at its northeastern range limit in the United States, by Roble (1995).

A new look and new editors for the Transactions

As noted by Dan Merriam (this issue), a former editor of this journal, the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science has been published since 1872. Many editors have toiled over the previous 108 volumes and all of them have left their mark in some way on the Transactions. In the spring of 2002, James S. Aber and David K. Saunders (Emporia State University) took over for Dan Merriam and brought the Transactions into the age of electronic publishing. They enlarged the size of the journal from 6 x 9 inches to 7 x 10 inches, changed the format from a single column to two columns, and brought color printing to the Transactions for the first time. In the short space of three years, they edited and published 85 articles covering more than 575 pages. We thank James and David, and also Dan Merriam, for turning the Transactions over to us in excellent condition as we go into our 134th year of publication.

A New Genus and Species of Blattogryllidae from Kansas with Notes on Stereopterum rotundum Carpenter, 1950 (Euryptilonidae) in Oklahoma (Insecta: Polyneoptera: Eoblattida; Lower Permian)

Order Eoblattida Handlirsch, 1906, sensu Aristov, 2015, comprises 16 extinct families and a single extant one, Grylloblattidae Walker, 1914. Three species of the genus Stereopterum Carpenter, 1950 (Euryptilonidae) from the Elmo, Kansas and Midco, Oklahoma Lower Permian were the only Wellington Formation taxa attributed by Aristov (2015) to the Eoblattida. This assignment was based on work by Carpenter (1950, 1966), for the Kansas records and Beckemeyer and Hall (2007), for the Oklahoma record. In this paper, a new eoblattid genus and species is described based on a specimen collected by Paul Tasch in the 1960′s from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Marion County, Kansas and is assigned to family Blattogryllidae Rasnitsyn, 1976.

A Brief Personal Appreciation of Professor George William Byers (1923–2018), Emeritus Professor of Entomology, University of Kansas

George attended Purdue University, and enlisted in the Army in 1942 while a student there. He attended Officer Candidate School and was a first lieutenant by the end of the war. He received his undergraduate degree from Purdue in 1947, graduating with highest distinction. He then attended the University of Michigan, where he received his Ph.D. in 1952. He was recalled to active duty when the Korean War broke out, and eventually retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel.