NCSU Insect Museum

NC insect of the week – number 10

March 5th, 2010 by Trish Mullins

Merope tuber, male specimen in NCSU Insect Collection

Mecoptera: Meropeidae: Merope tuber Newman, 1838

Merope tuber is the only representative of the family Meropeidae in North America. The Australian earwigfly, Austromerope poultoni Killington and the extinct species Boreomerope antiqua Novokschonov, known from the Middle Jurassic in Siberia, are the only other known species in the family (1). The first specimen of Merope tuber was collected in 1837 by Edward Doubleday in Trenton Falls, New York. In 1838, a contemporary of Charles Darwin, Edward Newman, described the species. The holotype is currently held in the Natural History Museum in London (1).

“Meropia” is a Latin modification of the Greek combination “meros” and “opia” essentially meaning “part” of the “eye”. Somma and Dunford (2007) have concluded that Newman named the genus Merope after the dullest of the Pleiades sisters. Its common name, the “earwigfly” is derived from the male genital claspers which resemble the pinching cerci of dermapterans (earwigs). It’s currently unknown how these claspers are involved in the mating process. Females look very similar to males but lack the forceps-like claspers.

Merope tuber is native to the eastern deciduous forests in North America and occurs from southeastern Canada (Ontario) south to Florida, west to Iowa and Kansas (1, 3). The Florida Natural Areas Inventory lists the species as very rare and vulnerable to extinction. Very little is known of its life history and the larvae have not yet been recognized. The larvae of the earwigfly could provide important information about the evolutionary relationships in holometabolous insects (4). The undergraduate Entomology club at Cornell has established the species as their mascot and have made it their goal to find and describe the larval stage! The disjunct ranges of Merope tuber and Austromerope poultoni might have once overlapped in South America and Antarctica but this tie was likely severed over 60 million years ago (5).

The jugum, located posteriorly at the base of the fore wing, is serrated and rubs against the serrated thorax producing sound. The stridulating sounds may be used for defense or to communicate with the opposite sex in mating. Earwigflies are weak fliers, and their flattened bodies may suggest that they live under rocks and in cracks and crevices (4). Adults are active at night (1).

NCSU specimens:

The NCSU Insect Museum has 10 specimens of Merope tuber from North Carolina: 2 specimens from Orange County in 1999, 1 from Henderson Co. and 1 from Duplin Co. in 1984, 1 from Wake Co. in 1987, 1 from Macon Co. in 2007, 1 from Avery Co. in 1936, and 2 specimens from Swain Co. in 1998 and 2001. There are also 2 specimens with label data from “Davenport, WVa” (likely Davenport, Virginia) collected in 1920. Our records extend the range of the species into the Piedmont of North Carolina (the middle 35% of the state)! Since collecting techniques have been greatly improved in the recent past (though Merope is often collected simply by turning over rocks!) the apparent range of the species has been expanded quite a bit.

Collection methods and preservation:

The specimens in the NCSU Insect Museum were collected either in Malaise traps, yellow pan traps, or at light traps. The specimens should be preserved in 95% ethanol or pointed. Spring and summer are around the corner, so start flipping logs and searching through leaf litter around streams for the larvae!!

For more information:

1. Somma, L.A. and J.C. Dunford. 2007. Etymology of the earwigfly, Merope tuber Newman (Mecoptera: Meropeidae): Simply dull or just inscrutable? Insect Mundi 0013: 1-5.

2. Somma & Dunford 2008

3. World checklist of Extant Mecoptera species

4. Earwigflies in the Great Smokies (ATBI)

5. Byers, G. W. 1973. Zoogeography of the Meropeidae (Mecoptera). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 46: 511-516.

6. Dunford, J. C., P. W. Kovarik, L. A. Somma, and D. Serrano. 2007a. First state records for Merope tuber (Mecoptera: Meropeidae) in Florida and biogeographical implications. Florida Entomologist 90: 581-584.

BugGuide

EOL

GBIF — 50 occurrence records, none from North Carolina

Tags: Earwigfly, Mecoptera, Meropeidae
Posted in NC insects, desired taxa, fun, insects | 1 Comment »

national specimen digitization effort

March 3rd, 2010 by ardeans

Imagine if you were put in charge of a giant warehouse full of money, and you had to devise a plan to earmark and distribute the funds in such a way that enables the digitization of ALL (or very nearly all) specimens in natural history collections in the USA:

What would that plan look like? Well, Brian Wiegmann and I were invited last month to a meeting at NESCent (Brian co-organized the meeting), where our charge was exactly that: devise a large-scale, national plan to digitize natural history collections over a 10-year period. The money doesn’t exist yet (nor do we know how much is required or how much we’ll get as a community), but the need for these data is very real.

The first summary of the plan is now out for comments, and there is an active campaign to rally the collections communities behind the idea. Feedback can be provided as a group email to the original participants (wg-digitization – AT – nescent.org), as individual emails to one or more participants listed on the meeting website, or as comments on the blog post summary.

What would your strategy be? Which components of the specimen digitization process should be prioritized – technology, data standards, crowd-sourcing, imaging, labor force, technology transfer, training, or _____? How would you involve federal agencies and international organizations? Note that the new program likely will not fund infrastructure (new cabinets, etc.), nor will it fund the collection of new specimens.

It’ll be fun to hear input from experts with diverse approaches and different issues (botanists vs. entomologists, database specialists vs. ecologists). As the director of an active natural history collection engaged in specimen-level databasing I’m very excited that this initiative is being pushed. We’re anxious for your input!

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hexapod haiku of old

March 2nd, 2010 by ardeans

I haven’t been able to post many of my lame attempts at one-breath poems this year, but that doesn’t mean I’m not obsessing about them. The Insect Museum team has been bogged down by research endeavors lately, which is, I must say, a highly desirable way to invest our energy. Between meetings, sorting, describing, (scientific) writing, (scientific) reading, etc., though, I’ve been brushing up on the masters: Bashō, Buson, Issa, and other giants of haiku. Emerging masters—i.e, the talented contestants in this year’s Hexapod Haiku Challenge—have been teaching me a thing or two about the medium, as well! [note: there's still plenty of time to submit your hexapod haiku to the HHC!]

My recent foray into the haiku literature began with the four volume set by R. H. Blyth, published in 1949, which arguably introduced the medium to the western world. It’s an amazing series if you can get a hold of it (currently out of print), and it’s inspired me to start a rather involved side project. More on that later…..MUCH later. Anyway, here’s a few fun insect haiku written by (well, translated from) the masters:

By daylight,
The nape of the neck of the firefly
Is red.

Bashō (1644-1694)

My colleague facetiously referred to this as a poem about “them redneck fireflies.”

Happiness,
At the white face of the child
In the small mosquito net.

Buson (1716-1783)

Blyth refers to this poem as an example of how Buson’s descriptions are “so pictorial as to be unsuitable for poetry” (vol. 1, p. 338). I don’t know…when August rolls around and Aedes albopictus saturate the summer air, that’ll be my happy face in the mosquito net!

Some other delightful poems:

For you fleas too,
The night must be long,
It must be lonely.

Issa (1763-1828)

The dragonfly,
Swift to the distant mountain,
Swift to return.

Akinobō (?-1718)

The butterfly,
Even when pursued,
Never appears in a hurry.

Garaku (unknown)

For this last haiku Blyth writes (vol. 2, pg. 261): “This is a fact which every child and entomologist has experienced with chagrin. The pursuer dances about madly striking here and there, but the butterfly follows the uneven tenor of its way quite oblivious of the frantic, blundering, wingless biped who seeks its life.”

What a great image!

Tags: haiku
Posted in fun, insects | 5 Comments »

homemade gummy insects!

February 27th, 2010 by ardeans

I just saw this report on a kit you can buy (only in Japan? the article has a link to Amazon Japan) to make your own gummi insects! I love it. Check out the commercial:

I love that the legs are affixed to the body later – sounds like a great lab exercise for an Insect Morphology class – and that they have Oniscidea in different states of rolledness. Though it’s a stag beetle pushing that “dung” roll, rather than a dung beetle (as far as I know, all dung rollers are classified Scarabaeidae), I think that’s a forgivable misidentification – same superfamily at least! But why aren’t there any cockroach molds?!

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Sticky traps

February 26th, 2010 by bblinn

During my monthly examination of 6 sticky traps scattered around the collection rooms revealed virtually no insect pests. I found 2 brownbanded cockroach (Supella longipalpa) nymphs in one of the traps and 1 Liposcelis booklouse in another trap. Given the old building we are in this is pretty good news. I will keep monitoring.

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NC insect of the week – number 9

February 26th, 2010 by Trish Mullins

Nemocapnia female, captured by Bill Stark

Plecoptera: Capniidae: Nemocapnia carolina Banks, 1938

Adult stoneflies are relatively flat, soft-bodied, poor-flying insects found near streams and rocky lake shores. Nymphs are normally found under stones in streams and lakes, hence their common name “stoneflies”. Larvae of some species are predaceous, while others are omnivores or plant feeders.

There are about 3,500 known species of Plecoptera in the world with species found on all continents except Antarctica. Of the 650 known species in North America, 24% are in the family Capniidae (1). There are 17 genera of Capniidae in the world and 10 in North America with one species of Nemocapnia: Nemocapnia carolina. In North America, Nemocapnia carolina is distributed throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Quebec.

Several species of stoneflies emerge as adults, feed, and mate during the summer months, but since members of the family Capniidae do not emerge until the coldest parts of winter, they are known as “small winter stoneflies” or “snowflies”. The common name of Nemocapnia carolina is the Southern Snowfly. Capniidae adults are usually dark, have long cerci with 4 or more segments, and have small, wedge-shaped mid-tarsal segments. Nemocapnia nymphs have cerci with a dorsal and ventral fringe of long hairs on the apical segments (2).

Nymphs of Nemocarpia carolina dwell beneath rocks, gravel and other debris in lakes and streams. Stoneflies live most of their lives as immatures underwater, and after their final molt they emerge to live only a very short time as adults. The presence of stoneflies is suspected to be an indicator of good water quality and the insects are a significant ecological component to many water systems (2). Delaware even adopted Plecoptera as the state macroinvertebrate in 2005 because it’s an indicator of the excellent water quality in the state!

Nemocarpia carolina mates very soon after emerging as an adult. Males drum on a substrate, such as a branch, with the tip of their abdomen and females respond and answer with a special drumming of their own (3). (See John Sandberg’s page on drumming)

Adults can frequently be seen walking on snow but are often found resting on bridges, rocks, fence posts, and other objects near streams where the nymphs develop. Many can be collected by sweeping the vegetation along banks of streams and a beating sheet is also a great method of collection. Both adults and nymphs should be preserved in alcohol (larvae should first be fixed by boiling) since pinned specimens often shrivel and shrink resulting in diagnostic characters becoming impossible to distinguish. The NCSU Insect Museum has 43 specimens in alcohol from Wake County (collected March, 1958) and Person County (collected January, 1973) North Carolina. In addition, there are 18 species of Allocapnia in the collection.

For more information:

1. Fochetti, R., and J. M. T. de Figueroa. 2008. Global diversity of stoneflies (Plecoptera; Insecta) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia. 595:365–377

2. Pescador M. L., A. K. Rasumussen, and B. A. Richard. 2000. A guide to the stoneflies (Plecoptera) of Florida. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resource Management, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A. 93 pp + data appendix

3. Hynes, H.B.N. 1976. Biology of Plecoptera. Ann. Rev. Entomology. 2 1 : 1 35-53

4. Bill P. Stark, Stanley W. Szczytko, C. Riley Nelson. 1998. American Stoneflies: A photographic guide to the Plecoptera. Columbus, OH. Caddis Press, 126 pp.

5. Plecoptera species file

6. BugGuide

7. GBIF records (28 occurrence records in North America, only 1 from NC near Marion in Haywood County, no date)

Tags: Plecoptera, Stonefly
Posted in NC insects, fun, insects | No Comments »

NC insect of the week – number 8

February 19th, 2010 by ardeans

Image of Labidura riparia by Fabian Haas.

Dermaptera: Labiduridae: Labidura riparia (Pallas, 1773)

(written by Jessica Houle)

Labidura riparia (Pallas, 1773) is a species of earwig (Order: Dermaptera, Family: Labiduridae), first described by Peter Simon Pallas as Forficula riparia 1. Its common names are the giant earwig, striped earwig, or tawny earwig, and it can be found throughout Europe and the southeastern US: Florida, Arizona, California, and Texas. It is an introduced species in the US that lives in debris near aquatic environments like ponds, streams, and shorelines, as well as in agricultural fields (2, 3). It is light brown in color and if disturbed, it can release a strong odor which nauseates most people (3).

Morphology:
Like other earwigs, L. riparia undergoes gradual metamorphosis. The adult earwigs have highly reduced fore wings called tegmina that cover folded hind wings (4). They also have forceps-like cerci on the abdomen which can be used by males to fight each other or attract females, as well as serve as defense weapons (5).

Mating/Parental care:
It is typical to see parental care in Dermaptera. After spending winter together in the soil, the male and female build a brood chamber. Once the female has mated and laid her eggs, she usually kicks the male out of the nest. She then protects the eggs from predation, desiccation, and mold by watching over, turning, and cleaning them. As seen in several other species of earwigs, the mothers of L. riparia stay with the nymphs through several instars, providing food to the offspring (4).

Diet:
Dermapterans are considered omnivores and can also be found feeding on decaying matter (4). Most diet studies using L. riparia focus on their predatory habits. Due to their abundance in agricultural fields, they are studied for their potential as a biological control of major pests, including noctuids, aphids, coleopteran larvae, and cabbage loopers (2,7). In one study, L. riparia were shown to become abundant and effective predators in a field containing residues of cyclodine chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide, which killed off other major predators like ants (8).

Evolutionary Significance:
L. riparia represents an interesting case in evolution. This species falls into one of a few families of Dermaptera where the male has two penises. Dual penises are not unique to only Dermaptera and can be found in fairy shrimp, dragonflies and spiders. However, what is intriguing is the evolution of a preference for the right penis, which is kept in ready position by 90% of the population. Individuals without this preference or those with right-ablated penises are equally successful in mating. More derived species like Spongiphoridae, Forficulidae and Chelisochidae only have one penis, suggesting that the ancestor of all Dermapterans had two (9).

NC State Collection:
The museum contains no less than 135 specimens for L. riparia, with a majority from North Carolina but also specimens from Honduras, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and Georgia.

Find out more:

1. BugGuide. Labidura riparia.

2. Wadoill, VH (1978). Sexual differences in foraging on corn of adult Labidura riparia [Derm.: Labiduridae]. Entomophaga 23: 339-342.

3. Choate, PM. (modified from Hoffman, 1987) The Order Dermaptera (Earwigs) in Florida and the United States.

4. Ramel, G.

5. van Lieshout, E., M. A. Elgar. 2009. Armament under direct sexual selection does not exhibit positive allometry in an earwig. Behav. Ecol. 20(2): 258-264.

6. Shepard, M.,Waddill, V., Kloft, W. (1973). Biology of the Predaceous Earwig Labidura riparia (Dermaptera: Labiduridae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 66(4): 837-841.

7. Strandenberg, JO (1981). Activity and Abundance of the Earwig, Labidura riparia, in a Winter Cabbage Production Ecosystem. Environmental Entomology 10(5): 701-704.

8. Tryon, E.H. (1986) The Striped Earwig, and Ant Predators of Sugarcane Rootstock Borer, in Florida Citrus. The Florida Entomologist. 69(2): 336-343.

9. Palmer, A.R. (2006) Caught Right-Handed. Nature 444:689-691.

Tags: Dermaptera
Posted in NC insects, insects | 2 Comments »

image recognition for species determination

February 16th, 2010 by ardeans

Just a quick link to post before I head out on business (and mainly because I miss posting here, as my research has sucked me in lately!). Just read a Sydney Morning Herald article about using sophisticated hardware and image recognition software for determining species. I think this is VERY cool. Of course, my inclination was to focus on its shortcomings – what about color polymorphism? What about specimen imperfections, like broken wings, spines, or setae (you should see the condition of specimens we get to identify)? But the premise is fascinating, and it’s one I share an interest in. If you browsed our GigaPan drawer images (of beetles and cicadellids) you might be able to guess where we’re headed next…stay tuned.

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research computing associate position available

February 16th, 2010 by ardeans

We’re looking for a research computing associate! Details:

The Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology project (HAO) at North Carolina State University seeks an innovative and creative programmer to help build a foundational resource for a broad range of disciplines, including biodiversity research, systematics, genomics, and evolutionary biology. The programmer will work with a small but dynamic team of researchers to develop the informatics infrastructure for the HAO. All HAO products will be open source and we encourage active involvement in open source based communities.

As a vertex of North Carolina’s Research Triangle NCSU benefits from close proximity to a large community of programmers and biologists, including the communities at NCSU’s Centennial Campus, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as our affiliation with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent).

The position is available from April 1, 2010 (negotiable) and is offered for one year, with the possibility of reappointment for a second year.

Required experience:

Candidates should have a 4-year degree in Computer Science or related field, plus 2 years full time programming experience OR a graduate degree that required significant programming and was in the field of evolutionary (including genomic) or systematic biology, philosophy, math, computer science, physics, or related field. Other requirements include:

demonstrated experience in web-based API development
intimate familiarity with XML and structured data
some experience with ontologies or semantic-web technologies (e.g., OWL)
excellent written and oral communication skills
ability to work with a team of people with diverse backgrounds

Desirable experience (in order of preference):

intimate knowledge or development of the TDWG standards and/or familiarity with the field of biodiversity informatics
extensive programming experience with Ruby and Java
formal education in philosophy or logic
experience developing browser or web-page plugins or portable applications
experience with social network integration, particularly as it applies to research related questions (e.g., Mechanical Turk and other crowdsourcing approaches)
experience in morphological evolution, developmental genetics or other fields of evolutionary biology
experience with visualization and manipulation of large datasets
previous contributions to open source projects
remote server management or systems administration

This is a 1-year time-limited position, with the possibility to reappoint for another year.

To Apply

Applicants should submit a cover letter, a one-page statement of interest, and a CV with at least two references. Clearly highlight or link to your past or current programming contributions. Creative applications are a plus – e.g., surprise us with a useful patch or a code audit of our existing software. Review of applicants commences March 15th and continues until the position is filled.

HR contact information (for questions about applying): http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/hr/job_applicants/

Click on “apply here” then “search vacancies”. Search for position #101506

PI contact information (for questions about the project ONLY):
Andrew R. Deans
Department of Entomology
North Carolina State University
Campus Box 7613
2301 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC USA 27695-7613
email: andy_deans – AT – ncsu.edu

More information:
http://ncsu.edu/
http://hymao.org/
http://deanslab.org/
http://insectmuseum.org/
http://entomology.ncsu.edu/

//AA/EOE. ADA Accommodations: Dr. Andrew R. Deans andy_deans AT ncsu.edu 919-515-2833. NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation.//

Tags: HAO, ontology
Posted in news, phyloinformatics | No Comments »

NC insect of the week – number 7

February 12th, 2010 by ardeans

Image of Dryinus crawfordi, captured beautifully by Scott Justis.

Hymenoptera: Dryinidae: Dryinus crawfordi (Krombein, 1962)

(written by Nancy Maxwell, with input from Andy Deans)

Dryinids are wasps in the order Hymenoptera, superfamily Chrysidoidea (“Cuckoo wasps”), family Dryinidae. The genus and species of this particular insect is Dryinus crawfordi (Krombein, 1962).

Natural History: Dryinidae are distributed worldwide, for example in the Balearic Islands (Spain), Zimbabwe, Philippines, China, and the USA (Olmi and Virla, 2004; Olmi, 1987). They are usually about 4 mm in length, and the female resembles an ant (see Image 1 of a female D. crawfordi). Dryinids are parasitoids and usually also predators of Hemiptera, mainly of Cicadellidae, Delphacidae, and Flatidae. In the Neotropics, they are represented by about 450 species and 22 genera, belonging to 6 subfamilies (Olmi and Virla, 2004). Some Dryinidae are able to reproduce parthenogenetically (Krombein, et al., 1979). Krombein describes the ancestral form of Dryinidae as having a large, ovate stigma and only attacks Jassidae (now a synonym of Cicadellidae). Krombein also reported (using the language of the time) some of the morphological characters for Dryinus as previously stated by 1.) Latreille in 1809: mandibles 4-dentate, maxillary palpi 5-jointed, labial 3-jointed, 2.) Haliday, 1833: maxillary palpi 6-jointed, 3.) Marshall, 1868: parapsidal furrows distinct in figure and parallel, 4.) Ashmead, 1893: mandibles 3-dentate, maxillary palpi 6-jointed, labial palpi 2-jointed, and parallel parapsidal furrows figured on plate (Krombein, et. al., 1979, p. 491). The discrepancies between authors in the number of segments for various morphological features prompted Krombein to state, “I cannot fix these characters.”

Where can one find this species in NC? Because Dryinus crawfordi are known to be parasitoids of Hemiptera, it is possible they could be collected in agricultural fields where leaf hoppers are abundant in crops such as green beans, soybeans, etc. Or they could also possibly be found in a pasture/turf field where plant hoppers are prevalent.

NCSU Insect Museum specimens: There are 69 pinned specimens of Dryinidae in the North Carolina State University Insect Museum, none of which are identified to species. The collection dates range from 1930 to the most recent, collected on September 3, 2008 in Johnston County, North Carolina in a Malaise Trap. Other counties in North Carolina where Dryinidae was collected include: Wake (on an apple leaf), Mecklenburg, Wayne, Pitt, Orange, Onslow, Bladen, Brunswick, Johnston (on soybean) and Tyrrell. Three other locations in the NCSU Museum collection include Manhattan, Kansas, Costa Rica, and Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Collection and Preservation: The specimens in the NCSU Insect Museum were collected in either Malaise traps or yellow pan traps. The specimens could then be preserved in 95% ethanol or pointed.

Find out more:

Search Dryinus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Krombein, K.V., ed. 1979. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Vol. 1, 2 and 3.

Olmi, M. 1987. New species of Dryinidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea). Fragmenta Entomologica 19:371–456.

Olmi, M. and Virla, E. 2004. Description of two new species of Dryinidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea) from Argentina. Zootaxa 709: 1-7 (excerpt)

Family Dryinidae (Hymenoptera) on BugGuide.

Posted in NC insects, curation, fun, insects, taxonomy | No Comments »