An annotated checklist of parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from the Galápagos Islands.

We list all described species and subspecies of parasitic lice from the Galápagos Islands, based on literature and specimen records. A total of eight families, 47 genera, and 104 species and subspecies of parasitic lice are listed, of which 26 are new species records and eight are new genus records. Also, we report 17 new host-louse associations. The checklist includes 17 endemic species (16 from birds, one from a mammal), 79 native species and subspecies (78 from birds, one from a mammal), and eight species and subspecies (five from birds, three from mammals) introduced by human agency. Nine species assigned in error to the Galápagos Islands in the literature are discussed and deleted from the fauna. For each valid species and subspecies we give information on its taxonomic history, type material, host associations, geographic distribution, biogeographical status, systematic relationships, and relevant literature references. We also give a brief summary of louse biology, and an account of the history of louse collecting, expeditions, collections, and research relating to Galápagos Islands lice. We include a host-parasite list, and a list of hosts which breed in the Galápagos Islands but without lice recorded from them. Also, we formally designate four lectotypes from the Kellogg Collection.

Phototransduction and clock gene expression in the troglobiont beetle Ptomaphagus hirtus of Mammoth cave.

Obligatory cave species exhibit dramatic trait modifications such as eye reduction, loss of pigmentation and an increase in touch receptors. As molecular studies of cave adaptation have largely concentrated on vertebrate models, it is not yet possible to probe for genetic universalities underlying cave adaptation. We have therefore begun to study the strongly cave-adapted small carrion beetle Ptomaphagus hirtus. For over 100 years, this flightless signature inhabitant of Mammoth Cave, the world's largest known cave system, has been considered blind despite the presence of residual lens structures. By deep sequencing of the adult head transcriptome, we discovered the transcripts of all core members of the phototransduction protein machinery. Combined with the absence of transcripts of select structural photoreceptor and eye pigmentation genes, these data suggest a reduced but functional visual system in P. hirtus. This conclusion was corroborated by a negative phototactic response of P. hirtus in light/dark choice tests. We further detected the expression of the complete circadian clock gene network in P. hirtus, raising the possibility of a role of light sensation in the regulation of oscillating processes. We speculate that P. hirtus is representative of a large number of animal species with highly reduced but persisting visual capacities in the twilight zone of the subterranean realm. These can now be studied on a broad comparative scale given the efficiency of transcript discovery by next-generation sequencing.

Updated catalog and generic keys of the Leiodidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) of the Neotropical region ("Latin America": Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America).

This paper presents an updated catalog of all taxa of Leiodidae (s.lat.) reported from the Neotropical Region. Keys are presented for the identification of all subfamilies, tribes, and 62 described genera. Three undescribed genera are included in the keys. A total of 600 valid named species are listed, with type localities, type depositories, synonyms, distributions, and biologies where known, and some unnamed species as recorded in the literature. Many species remain to be described. In this work we formally establish no new synonyms and no new combinations although we may indicate the existence of these; but we add new records for described species, and we make spelling corrections of scientific names, when appropriate. A brief review of distribution patterns is given. The fauna has been derived partly from some Nearctic elements that have penetrated as far south as Bolivia. A few genera in the Neotropical element have penetrated the Nearctic Region as far north as the northern U.S.A. or southeastern Canada. Most of the Neotropical genera are autochthonous. In southern South America there is a diverse Neo-Austral fauna with clear "Transantarctic" relationships to Australia and New Zealand and weakly to southern Africa. Some genera variously occur on other continents.

Polistes versicolor (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), an Introduced Wasp in the Galapagos Islands: Its Life Cycle and Ecological Impact.

The yellow paper wasp, Polistes versicolor (Olivier) was first recorded in the Galapagos archipelago in 1988. Its life cycle and ecological impacts were studied on two islands 11 yr after it was first discovered. This invasive wasp adapted quickly and was found in most environments. Colony counts and adult wasp monitoring showed a strong preference for drier habitats. Nest activities were seasonally synchronized, nest building followed the rains in the hot season (typically January-May), when insect prey increases, and peaked as temperature and rains started to decline. Next, the number of adult wasps peaked during the cool season when there is barely any rain in the drier zones. In Galapagos, almost half of the prey loads of P. versicolor were lepidopteran larvae, but wasps also carried spiders, beetles, and flies back to the colonies. An estimated average of 329 mg of fresh insect prey was consumed per day for an average colony of 120-150 wasp larvae. The wasps preyed upon native and introduced insects, but likely also affect insectivorous vertebrates as competitors for food. Wasps may also compete with native pollinators as they regularly visited flowers to collect nectar, and have been recorded visiting at least 93 plant species in Galapagos, including 66 endemic and native plants. Colonies were attacked by a predatory moth, Taygete sphecophila (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Autostichidae), but colony development was not arrested. High wasp numbers also affect the activities of residents and tourists. A management program for this invasive species in the archipelago is essential.

Redescription of the 'older Adelopsis' species (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae: Ptomaphagini) based on the analysis of type specimens.

As preparation for a revision of the Neotropical genera Adelopsis Portevin, 1907, Paulipalpina Gnaspini and Peck, 1996, and Parapaulipalpina Gnaspini, 1996, we review and redescribe the earlier named species and code characters of their genitalia. These characters are then used to redefine species groups. We review the following 22 "older" species: Adelopsis ascutellaris (Murray, 1856) (male lectotype here designated); Adelopsis aspera Jeannel, 1936; Adelopsis asperoides Szymczakowski, 1963; Adelopsis azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975 (here raised to specific status-previously as Adelopsis brunnea azzalii); Adelopsis bellator Szymczakowski, 1968; Adelopsis benardi (Portevin, 1923); Adelopsis brasiliensis Jeannel, 1936; Adelopsis brevicollis Szymczakowski, 1975 (here raised to specific status-previously as Adelopsis brunnea brevicollis); Adelopsis bruchi (Pic, 1926) (male lectotype here designated); Adelopsis darwini Jeannel, 1936; Adelopsis grouvellei Jeannel, 1936; Adelopsis heterocera Portevin, 1907 (the type species of Adelopsis, here considered a junior synonym of Adelopsis ruficollis (Portevin, 1903)); Adelopsis insolita Szymczakowski, 1961; Adelopsis luculenta Szymczakowski, 1963; Adelopsis orcina Szymczakowski, 1975 (here raised to specific status-previously as Adelopsis brunnea orcina); Adelopsis ovalis Jeannel, 1936; Adelopsis pteromoria Szymczakowski, 1975 (here raised to specific status-previously as Adelopsis brunnea pteromoria); Adelopsis ruficollis (Portevin, 1903) (male lectotype here designated) (here considered a senior synonym of Adelopsis heterocera Portevin, 1907); Adelopsis triangulifer Szymczakowski, 1961; Parapaulipalpina filicornis (Jeannel, 1936); Paulipalpina dispar (Portevin, 1903) (male lectotype here designated); and Paulipalpina simoni (Portevin, 1903). The status of Adelopsis brunnea Jeannel, 1936 is discussed, and is restricted to a single, nominal subspecies. Specific status is restablished for Adelopsis linaresi Szymczakowski, 1969 (previously as Adelopsis brunnea linaresi). The status of Paulipalpina claudicans (Szymczakowski, 1980) is discussed. To correct published misidentifications in museum collections, we also describe the following nine new species: Adelopsis claudina sp. n., Adelopsis mrazi sp. n., Adelopsis szymczakowskii sp. n., Adelopsis waclawi sp. n., and Paulipalpina jeanneli sp. n. (all from Brazil), Paulipalpina consuelo sp. n. from Peru, Adelopsis portevini sp. n. and Paulipalpina aragua sp. n. from Venezuela, and Paulipalpina coatepec sp. n. from Mexico. Iutururuca Gnaspini, 1993, described as a subgenus of Adelopsis, is here considered a junior synonym of Adelopsis Portevin, 1907, which is defined as having no subgenera.

Cyrtodesmus baerti, n. sp., a cryptic millipede from the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Cyrtodesmidae).

Cyrtodesmus baerti, n. sp., previously reported from the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, as Cyrtodesmus sp., is described, together with notes on the systematics, natural history and morphology of cyrotdesmid millipedes.

Two new synonymies at the generic level in Neotropical Ptomaphagini (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae).

We here recognize the genus Excelsiorella (s. str.) Salgado, 2008 as a junior synonym of the genus Adelopsis Portevin, 1907, and Viruana Salgado, 2013, a subgenus of Excelsiorella, as a junior synonym of the genus Parapaulipalpina Gnaspini, 1996. As a consequence, we propose the following new combinations: Adelopsis latissima (Salgado, 2008) n. comb. (from Excelsiorella (s. str.)) and Parapaulipalpina tambopata (Salgado, 2013) n. comb. (from Excelsiorella (Viruana)).

EVOLUTION OF ADULT MORPHOLOGY AND LIFE-HISTORY CHARACTERS IN CAVERNICOLOUS PTOMAPHAGUS BEETLES.

Morphological and life-history characters were determined for a series of six increasingly cavernicolous species of eastern United States Ptomaphagus beetles. Contrary to expectations, dimensions of only some adult structural characters uniformly covary as an overall measure of evolutionary adaptation for cave life. Adult reproductive characters that show adaptation for cave life are loss of reproductive seasonality and production of fewer and larger eggs. Significant change in pre-imaginal life-cycle stages was not found. This is in contrast to cavernicolous bathysciine beetles of Europe which show remarkable adaptive trends in pre-imaginal stages, but larval adaptations are not strongly coevolved with adult cave-adaptive characters. This suggests that evolution of cave adaptation in adult endopterygote insects occurs before and independently from that in larvae.