New records of powder-post beetles (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae) from China.

Background: The Bostrichidae is a small family of Coleoptera, with up to 600 described species all over the world. Almost 90 species of the family have been recorded in China at present and several new species of powder-post beetles have been described in recent years. Since the 1940s, the family Bostrichidae has become a neglected group in the taxonomy research of the Chinese mainland compared with its extensive territorial and super complex ecological diversity. Thus, there is need for more field specimen collection and in-depth taxonomic study. New information: In this study, two powder-post beetles species Trogoxylonspinifrons (Lesne, 1910) and Mintheabivestita Lesne, 1937, are recorded for the first time from China. New provincial distribution records of another 18 Bostrichidae also listed.

First record of the genus Immanus Hulcr & Cognato (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) from China, with description of a new species.

Immanus Hulcr & Cognato, 2013 is reported from China for the first time, with the description and illustration of a new species, Immanus songi sp. nov., based on an adult female collected with a flight intercept trap from Yunnan province, China. A key to all known species of Immanus is given.

A review of the non-lyctine powder-post beetles of Yunnan (China) with a new genus and new species (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae).

The powder post beetles (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) (except Lyctinae) of Yunnan Province in Southwest China are reviewed for the first time. Keys to twenty-six genera and fifty-two species from the Yunnan region are provided. One new genus and seven new species are described: Dinoderus (Dinoderastes) hongheensis sp. nov., Dinoderus (Dinoderastes) nanxiheensis sp. nov., Gracilenta yingjiangensis gen. nov., sp. nov., Calonistes vittatus sp. nov., Calophagus colombiana sp. nov., Xylodrypta guochuanii sp. nov. and Xylodrypta zhenghei sp. nov.. Fourteen species are recorded in China for the first time. The bostrichid fauna of Yunnan is compared with those of the neighbouring bio-geographically related Southeast Asian and Himalayan regions. The fauna has a close affinity with that of tropical Southeast Asia and a much weaker relationship with the Palearctic region. The differences with the Himalayas may reflect the separate evolutionary and complex geological history of the two areas.

The patterns of co-occurrence variation are explained by the low dependence of bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) on hosts along altitude gradients.

BACKGROUND: Separation of biotic and abiotic impacts on species diversity distribution patterns across a significant climatic gradient is a challenge in the study of diversity maintenance mechanisms. The basic task is to reconcile scale-dependent effects of abiotic and biotic processes on species distribution models. Here, we used a hierarchical modeling method to detect the host specificities of bark beetles (Scolytinae and Platypodinae) with their dependent tree communities across a steep climatic gradient, which was embedded within a relatively homogenous spatial niche. RESULTS: Species turnover of both trees and bark beetles have an opposite pattern along the climatic proxy (represented by the elevation gradients) at the regional scale, but not at local spatial scales. This pattern confirmed the hypothesis wherein emphasis was on influences of macro-climate on local biotic interactions between trees and hosted bark beetle communities, whereas local biotic relations, represented by host specificity dependence, were regionally conserved. CONCLUSIONS: At a confined spatial scale, cross-taxa comparisons of ß-diversity highlighted the importance of simultaneous impacts from both extrinsic factors related to geography and environment, and intrinsic factors related to organism characteristics. The effects of tree abundance and phylogeny diversity on bark beetle diversity were, to a large extent, indirect, operating via changes in bark beetle abundance through spatial and temporal dynamics of resources distribution. Tree host dependence, which was considered and represented by host specificities, plays a minor role on the hosted beetle community in this concealed wood decomposing interacting system.

Scale-dependent contribution of host-specificity and environmental factors to wood-boring longhorn beetle community assemblage in SW China.

Longhorn beetles are extremely rich wood-boring insects possessing larvae that feed on the xylem of trees and/or lianas, which have detrimental effects on plants; in turn, the hosting plants may play a fundamental role in shaping the longhorn beetle community assemblage. However, factors determining the community assemblage of wood-boring longhorn beetles, particularly along the multiple spatial scales is still in need of further exploration. In this study, we designed an experiment across several spatial scales (from local to macro scales) from tropical to temperate climate gradients in Yunnan province, southwest China to examine to what extend the attributes of host-specificity is shaping the community assemblage along different spatial scales. This study concludes that (1) the wood-boring longhorn beetles showed attributes of host-specificity to a certain degree at the community level, (2) biotic (host plant specificity) and abiotic (climatic gradients) factors jointly shaped community composition of this species along the multiple spatial scales, (3) biotic interactions have a prominent effect on the community composition of this species at local-scale while macroclimatic gradients impose the major control on it at macro-scale. Thus, this study highlights the significance of host specificity in affecting the wood-boring longhorn beetle community assemblage, particularly at local scales.

Why Are There so Many Plant Species That Transiently Flush Young Leaves Red in the Tropics?

Delayed greening of young leaves is a ubiquitous and visually striking phenomenon in the tropics. Here, we investigated the potential ecological functions of red coloration patterns in young leaves. To detect any protective function of the red coloration on the young leaves, leaf damage by insect herbivores was recorded in the field. To determine capacity for chemical defense, the concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins were measured in both young and mature leaves. To test the hypothesis that anthocyanins function as photo-protective molecules, chlorophyll content, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F v /Fm ), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), and effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII ) were measured in the field. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed to test the relationary significance of the occurrence of redness in young leaves. Compared to the coloration in non-red leaves, young red leaves had significant higher anthocyanins and tannins content and lower herbivore damages. Young, red leaves had the lowest Fv /Fm values, which were significantly lower than those of non-red leaves. NPQ values in young red leaves were comparable to those of other groups. Although young red leaves had high ΦPSII , these values were significantly lower than those of the other three groups. The results suggest that the red coloration of young leaves protects them from insect herbivory primary by chemical defense through high concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins. Additionally, low Fv /Fm values in young red leaves indicate that anthocyanins might not be functioning as light attenuators to compensate for insufficient photo-protection mediated by NPQ. And finally, red coloration in young leaves is predominantly a result of adaptation to heavy herbivory stress but without significant intrinsic phylogenetic relationship of plant species.

Tree diversity mediates the distribution of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in a changing tropical landscape (southern Yunnan, SW China).

LONGHORN BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: Cerambycidae) have been used to identify sites of high biological diversity and conservation value in cultivated landscapes, but were rarely studied in changing landscapes of humid tropics. This study was conducted in a region of southern Yunnan, China, which was dominated by natural rainforest until 30 years ago, but is successively transformed into commercial rubber monoculture plantations since that time. The objectives were to investigate longhorn beetle species diversity and distribution in the major land use types of this landscape and to estimate the effects of an expected expansion of rubber plantations on the longhorn beetle assemblages. The results showed that tree species diversity (181 species in total) and longhorn beetle diversity (220 species in total) were closely related with no significant differences between the tree and longhorn beetles assemblages shown by similarity distance analysis. There was a highly positive relationship between the estimated species richness of longhorn beetles and the number of tree species. Individual numbers of longhorn beetles and trees were also highly positive related at the sampling sites. Non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed that the degree of canopy coverage, succession age and tree diversity explained 78.5% of the total variation in longhorn beetle assemblage composition. Natural forest sites had significantly higher numbers of species and individuals than any other type of habitat. Although young rubber plantations bear the highest longhorn beetle diversity outside forests (half of the total number of longhorn beetle species recorded in total), they can not provide permanent habitats for most of these species, because they develop into closed canopy plantations with less suitable habitat conditions. Therefore, along with an expected expansion of rubber cultivation which largely proceeds at the expense of forest areas, the habitat conditions for longhorn beetles in this region might decrease dramatically in future.