Diversification deep in the heart of Texas: seven new grasshopper species and establishment of the Melanoplusdiscolor species group (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae).

Melanoplusdiscolor and Melanopluskendalli were previously placed in the texanus species group. Here seven new species are described from central Texas and the combined nine species placed into the discolor group based on emergence time and shape of the male terminalia and genital structures. Six of these new species are from the Edwards Plateau, a known area of high endemism. Species of the discolor group are inhabitants of shortgrass or mixed-grass prairies, Ashe juniper or oak savannas.

A new species of Hypothyce (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) from Alabama, United States of America.

A new species, Hypothycerayi MacGown & Hill, sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini), is described from east central Alabama, USA. Three other species of Hypothyce, H.burnei Skelley, H.mixta Howden and H.osburni (Cartwright) are known to occur in the United States. We discuss differences between these species and provide an updated identification key to the genus.

First Report of Imported Fire Ants, Solenopsis invicta, S. richteri, and S. invicta X richteri (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Kentucky.

Since their introduction into the United States in the early 1900's, imported fire ants, namely Solenopsis invicta Buren (Red Imported Fire Ant), S. richteri Forel (Black Imported Fire Ant), and their hybrid form Solenopsis invicta X richteri have spread throughout portions of the USA, especially in the southeastern region. Imported fire ants are a serious invasive and economically significant species in the USA and elsewhere, and their spread into new parts of the country is of great concern. Although early models predicted that the fire ants would not be able to survive very far north into the USA, these ants have nonetheless successfully continued their spread into higher latitudes. Based on Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) samples, the Mississippi Entomological Museum Invasive Insect Screening Center, at Mississippi State University, has verified the presence of imported fire ants collected in Kentucky at multiple locations from 2014 to 2022.

Complete chromosome-level genome assembly data from the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has a native range that extends from northern Argentina to southern Brazil. In the U.S.A. this species has often been misidentified as Nylanderia (Paratrechina) pubens or N. cf. pubens and has likely been present in Florida and Texas for several decades [1]. In the early 2000's explosive population growth in Texas and neighboring states drew renewed taxonomic focus. Genetic analyses [2,3] aided in identifying the pest species as N. fulva. This species poses an invasive threat to native flora and fauna and human structures. In its invasive range it has been reported to displace another invasive species, the red imported fire ant. The specimens used for genome sequencing were obtained from the coastal region of Mississippi. DNA was extracted from pupae. The genome data set was deposited to the National Center for Biotechnology Information as submission ID: SUB10775679, Project ID: PRJNA796544, Accession IDs: SAMN24895442 and JAKFQQ000000000. The organism taxid is 613905, locus tag prefixes are L1K79. The assembly, USDA_Nfulva_1.0, was generated in collaboration with Dovetail Genomics (now Cantata Bio) to yield a chromosome-level assembly of 375 Mb with a 15.67 Mb N50 and 78X coverage and revealing 16 putative chromosomes. This high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly was released prior to publication as a public service to the research community.

Revision of Gymnoscirtetes (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae): a genus endemic to the grasslands of the southeastern North American Coastal Plain.

Gymnoscirtetes is endemic to the southeastern portion of the North American Coastal Plain and previously comprised two species: G.pusillus Scudder, 1897 and G.morsei Hebard, 1918. Here, this genus is revised based on male genital morphology and geographic data, and four new species are described: G.georgiaensis sp. nov., G.pageae sp. nov., G.rex sp. nov., and G.wadeorum sp. nov. Gymnoscirtetes is primarily associated with mesic grasslands such as pitcher plant bogs, flatwoods, and the edges of seasonal ponds, but can be found less commonly in a variety of other grasslands.

Habitat associations of ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a heterogeneous Mississippi landscape.

Community assembly and the factors that influence it have long been a topic of interest to ecologists, but theory has yet to produce unequivocal evidence that communities assemble in predictable ways. The goal of this study was to document the relationship between ant communities and environmental variation between four habitat types. To accomplish this, ant communities and 16 environmental variables were sampled across four different habitat types in the Black Belt Prairie and Flatwoods regions in Mississippi. Furthermore, ant species were placed into functional groups for an analysis of the relationship between the assembly of ecological communities and variation in ecosystem function. A total of 20,916 ants representing 68 species was collected across the four habitat types. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and analysis of covariance analyses both revealed three distinct ant communities, which can be characterized by habitat type: pasture, prairie, and woodland. Principle components analysis (PCA) simplified the 16 environmental variables into four principle components that explained 78% of the variation among sites. Results of multiple regression using the four PCA axes as predictor variables suggest that regional variation in soil structure, land cover type, and the presence of grazing have had major influences on ant community composition. Variation in flora and habitat architecture had smaller but significant effects on ant species diversity and functional group composition. Our results imply that restoration of native ant communities in disturbed habitats must consider how current disturbance regimens likely interact with the presence of Solenopsis to lower ant biodiversity.