Villu Soon

On the vertical distribution of bees in a temperate deciduous forest

Abstract.  1. Despite a growing interest in forest canopy biology, very few studies have examined the vertical distribution of forest bees. In this study, bees were sampled using 12 pairs of flight‐intercept traps suspended in the canopy (≥15 m) and near the ground (0.5 m) in a bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States.

An illustrated key to the cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) of the Nordic and Baltic countries, with description of a new species.

Abstract The Chrysididae are a group of cleptoparasitic and parasitoid aculeate wasps with a large number of rare and endangered species. The taxonomy of this group has long been confusing due to the similarity of species and extensive intraspecific variation. We present for the first time a comprehensive dichotomous key for all 74 species found in the Nordic and Baltic countries. In addition to diagnostic characters, information on the distribution and biology of each species is also presented. A new species, Chrysis borealis Paukkunen, Ødegaard & Soon, sp. n. is described on the basis of specimens collected from Fennoscandia. Chrysis gracillima Förster, 1853 is recorded as new to the Nordic and Baltic countries.

Vertical Distribution and Seasonality of Predatory Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a Temperate Deciduous Forest

Efforts to investigate the vertical dimension of forests continue to refine our thinking on issues of biodiversity and ecology. Arthropod communities exhibit a high degree of vertical stratification in forests worldwide but the vertical distribution patterns of most taxa remain largely unexplored or poorly understood. For example, only 2 studies provide information on the vertical distribution patterns of predatory wasps in temperate deciduous forests. In Canada, Vance et al. (2007) found Sphecidae to be more abundant in flight intercept traps suspended 18 m or more above the ground than in traps suspended near ground level. Similarly, in Germany, Sobek et al. (2009) found Sphecidae and Vespidae (Eumeninae) to produce more brood cells in artificial cavities placed in tree crowns than in those placed near the forest floor.

Review of the sawfly genus Empria (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) in Japan

Abstract The following eleven Empria species are reported from Japan: Empria candidata (Fallén, 1808), Empria japonica Heidemaa & Prous, 2011, Empria liturata (Gmelin, 1790), Empria loktini Ermolenko, 1971, Empria plana (Jakowlew, 1891), Empria quadrimaculata Takeuchi, 1952, Empria rubicola Ermolenko, 1971, Empria tridens (Konow, 1896), Empria tridentis Lee & Ryu, 1996, Empria honshuana Prous & Heidemaa, sp. n., and Empria takeuchii Prous & Heidemaa, sp. n. The lectotypes of Poecilosoma pallipes Matsumura, 1912, Empria itelmena Malaise, 1931, Tenthredo candidata Fallén, 1808, and Tenthredo (Poecilostoma) hybrida Erichson, 1851 are designated. Empria itelmena Malaise, 1931, syn. n. is synonymized with Empria plana (Jakowlew, 1891). Poecilosoma pallipes Matsumura, 1912, previously assigned to Empria, is transferred to Monsoma, creating Monsoma pallipes (Matsumura, 1912), comb. n. Results of phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (ITS1 and ITS2) sequences are also provided.