Thirteen new species of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from the United States, with new host and distribution records for 32 additional species.

We present novel rearing records of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from throughout the United States. We describe leaf mines or other larval habits for 27 species, plus five others whose identification is tentative, and another five that are identified only to genus due to the absence of male specimens. We review host and distribution data for the known species, reporting 26 new host species records (including the first rearing records for Phytomyza flexuosa Spencer, P. notopleuralis Spencer, and (tentatively identified) Ophiomyia frosti Spencer) and 25 new state records (including the first USA records for P. krygeri Hering, P. thermarum (Griffiths), and (tentatively identified) Liriomyza cracentis Lonsdale). We also describe and provide natural history information for the following 13 new species: Haplopeodes loprestii Eiseman Lonsdale, Liriomyza euphorbivora Eiseman Lonsdale, L. hypopolymnia Eiseman Lonsdale, Melanagromyza arnoglossi Eiseman Lonsdale, M. gentianivora Eiseman Lonsdale, M. hieracii Eiseman Lonsdale, M. rudbeckiae Eiseman Lonsdale, M. urticae Eiseman Lonsdale, M. verbenivora Eiseman Lonsdale, Ophiomyia nabali Eiseman Lonsdale, O. rugula Eiseman Lonsdale, Phytomyza flavilonicera Eiseman Lonsdale, and P. triostevena Eiseman Lonsdale.

New records of leaf-mining Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) in North America, with the description of a new species of Grapholita.

We discuss seven species of tortricid moths that are leafminers at least in early instars. These include Grapholita thermopsidis Eiseman Austin, new species, which feeds on Thermopsis rhombifolia (Pursh) Richardson (Fabaceae), along with two others for which larval hosts were previously unknown: Catastega triangulana Brown (Ericaceae: Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth) and Sparganothis xanthoides (Walker) (Polemoniaceae: Phlox divaricata L.). Parasitoids of G. thermopsidis include Dolichogenidea sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Zagrammosoma mirum Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). The female genitalia of Epinotia nigralbana (Walsingham), a species that mines leaves of Arctostaphylos throughout larval development, are illustrated for the first time. Rhopobota finitimana (Heinrich), which feeds on Ilex spp. (Aquifoliaceae), is confirmed to mine leaves as has been documented previously in R. dietziana (Kearfott). Talponia plummeriana (Busck), which is known to feed in the developing ovaries of pawpaw (Annonaceae: Asimina spp.), also feeds in leaves before boring in the twigs and stems. Cenopis lamberti (Franclemont), previously reported from Persea sp. (Lauraceae), was reared from Symplocos tinctoria (L.) L'Hér. (Symplocaceae). Apart from the two exceptions noted above, all of these species exit their mines in later instars to feed in leaf shelters.

Nine new species of Agromyzidae from North Carolina, USA, with new host and distribution records for additional species.

We present novel rearing records of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from three years of collecting in North Carolina, USA. These include the first reported host for Calycomyza novascotiensis Spencer (new to the USA) and new host records for Ophiomyia beckeri (Hendel) (new to North America), Liriomyza helianthi Spencer, L. schmidti (Aldrich), and Phytomyza plantaginis Robineau-Desvoidy, all of which are reported from North Carolina for the first time. We review host and distribution data for each of these species and describe their leaf mines. We describe the following nine new species: Agromyza arundinariae, A. indistincta, Calycomyza chrysopsidis, Cerodontha (Butomomyza) enigma, Cer. (Poemyza) arundinariella, Cer. (P.) saintandrewsensis, Liriomyza carphephori, L. polygalivora, and L. triodanidis. Seven host plant genera are new for world Agromyzidae: Carphephorus Cass., Chrysogonum L., Chrysopsis (Nutt.) Elliott, Krigia Schreb., Pyrrhopappus DC. (Asteraceae), Triodanis Raf. ex Greene (Campanulaceae), and Arundinaria Michx. s.s. (Poaceae). Host plants of the new species also include Bidens L., Mikania Willd. (Asteraceae), Dichanthelium (Hitchc. Chase) Gould (Poaceae), and Polygala L. (Polygalaceae).

A new species of Marmara (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Marmarinae), with an Annotated List of Known Hostplants for the Genus.

Larvae of the New World gracillariid moth genus Marmara are primarily stem/bark miners, with some species mining in leaves or fruits. We describe a new species, M. viburnella Eiseman & Davis, which feeds on Viburnum, initially mining the leaves but completing development as a stem miner. The type series is from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, with observations of leaf mines indicating the species is widespread in the eastern USA. Combining previously published data, our own observations, and other sources, we present a list of known Marmara hostplants, many of which represent undescribed species.

Are communities of microbial symbionts more diverse than communities of macrobial hosts?

In this study, fungal viruses (mycoviruses) of plant-associated fungi were used to test the general assertion that communities of parasitic and mutualistic symbionts may be more species-diverse than communities of their hosts. Mycoviruses are poorly studied in general, but can affect the fitness and ecology of the fungi and plants with which they associate. To date, mycovirus incidence and diversity in natural communities remain largely unaddressed. Here, we compared the incidence and diversity of fungi associated with tallgrass prairie plants to the diversity and incidence of mycoviruses within those fungi. Specifically, we sampled viruses from fungi associated with a parasitic plant (Cuscuta cuspidata) and its most frequent host plant (Ambrosia psilostachya) in a tallgrass prairie habitat in Oklahoma. For each plant sample we cultured fungal endophytes from surface-sterilized above-ground tissues. From the cultured fungi we extracted DNA to identify fungi, and extracted double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to detect mycoviruses. Mycoviruses were further characterized using reverse transcription-PCR and sequence analyses. We found at least 25 fungal taxa associated with the two plants, and 10 % of these fungi contained readily detectable viruses. Several mycovirus types were shared among fungal taxa, indicating that mycoviruses may be less specialized than originally thought. Although the virus community was not as diverse as the fungal endophyte community (16 taxa), species accumulation rates of mycoviruses (inferred from rescaled rarefaction curves) may be higher than those of their associated fungal hosts. Thus, mycoviruses represent a further layer of undocumented biodiversity in ecological communities.

Molecular characterization, ecology, and epidemiology of a novel Tymovirus in Asclepias viridis from Oklahoma.

Native virus-plant interactions require more understanding and their study will provide a basis from which to identify potential sources of emerging destructive viruses in crops. A novel tymovirus sequence was detected in Asclepias viridis (green milkweed), a perennial growing in a natural setting in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (TGPP) of Oklahoma. It was abundant within and frequent among A. viridis plants and, to varying extents, within other dicotyledonous and one grass (Panicum virgatum) species obtained from the TGPP. Extracts from A. viridis containing the sequence were infectious to a limited number of species. The virus genome was cloned and determined to be closely related to Kennedya yellow mosaic virus. The persistence of the virus within the Oklahoma A. viridis population was monitored for five successive years. Virus was present in a high percentage of plants within representative areas of the TGPP in all years and was spreading to additional plants. Virus was present in regions adjacent to the TGPP but not in plants sampled from central and south-central Oklahoma. Virus was present in the underground caudex of the plant during the winter, suggesting overwintering in this tissue. The RNA sequence encoding the virus coat protein varied considerably between individual plants (≈3%), likely due to drift rather than selection. An infectious clone was constructed and the virus was named Asclepias asymptomatic virus (AsAV) due to the absence of obvious symptoms on A. viridis.

Moths that vector a plant pathogen also transport endophytic fungi and mycoparasitic antagonists.

Claviceps paspali, a common fungal pathogen of Paspalum grasses, attracts moth vectors by producing sugary exudates in the grass florets it infects. These exudates also support mycoparasitic Fusarium species that may negatively influence C. paspali fitness. We examined the potential for moths on which C. paspali depends to also transmit mycoparasitic Fusarium and fungal endophytes, which inhabit asymptomatic plant tissue and may influence host susceptibility to pathogens. We quantified infections by C. paspali, Fusarium spp., and endophytic fungi associated with Paspalum spp. at focal sites in the southeastern USA and used data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) to compare communities of plant-associated and moth-borne fungi. ITS sequences of moth-borne fungi were identical to reference sequences of mycoparasitic Fusarium heterosporum and to three distinct endophytic fungi isolated from Paspalum species. Our results demonstrate an unexpected overlap of fungal communities between disparate locations and among plant species and plant tissues, and suggest an unexpected role of moths, which vector a plant pathogen, to transmit other guilds of fungi. In turn, the potential for insects to transmit plant pathogens as well as mycoparasites and endophytic fungi suggests complex interactions underlying a commonly observed grass-pathogen system.

The plot thickens: does low density affect visitation and reproductive success in a perennial herb, and are these effects altered in the presence of a co-flowering species?

Plants may experience reduced reproductive success at low densities, due to lower numbers of pollinator visits or reduced visit quality. Co-occurring plant species that share pollinators have the potential to facilitate pollination by either increasing numbers of pollinator visits or increasing the quality of visits, but also have the potential to reduce plant reproductive success through competition for pollination. I used a field experiment with a common distylous perennial (Piriqueta caroliniana) in the presence and absence of a co-flowering species (Coreopsis leavenworthii) in plots with one of four different distances between conspecific plants. I found strong negative effects of increasing interplant distance (related to conspecific density) on several components of P. caroliniana reproductive success: pollinator visits to plants per plot visit, visits received by individual plants, conspecific pollen grains on stigmas, outcross pollen grains on stigmas, and probability of fruit production. Although P. caroliniana and C. leavenworthii share pollinators, the co-flowering species did not affect visitation, pollen receipt or reproductive effort in P. caroliniana. Pollinators moved very infrequently between species in this experiment, so floral constancy might explain the lack of effect of the co-flowering species on P. caroliniana reproductive success at low densities. In co-occurring self-incompatible plants with floral rewards, reproductive success at low density may depend more on conspecific densities than on the presence of other species.