Spatiotemporal variation in the competitive environment, with implications for how climate change may affect a species with parental care.

Burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus have become a model for studying the evolution of complex parental care in laboratory studies. Nicrophorus species depend on small vertebrate carcasses to breed, which they process and provision to their begging offspring. However, vertebrate carcasses are highly sought after by a wide variety of species and so competition is expected to be critical to the evolution of parental care. Despite this, the competitive environment for Nicrophorus is rarely characterized in the wild and remains a missing factor in laboratory studies. Here, we performed a systematic sampling of Nicrophorus orbicollis living near the southern extent of their range at Whitehall Forest in Clarke County, Georgia, USA. We determined the density of N. orbicollis and other necrophilous species that may affect the availability of this breeding resource through interference or exploitation competition. In addition, we characterize body size, a key trait involved in competitive ability, for all Nicrophorus species at Whitehall Forest throughout the season. Finally, we compare our findings to other published natural history data for Nicrophorines. We document a significantly longer active season than was observed 20 years previously at Whitehall Forest for both N. orbicollis and Nicrophorus tomentosus, potentially due to climate change. As expected, the adult body size of N. orbicollis was larger than N. tomentosus, the only other Nicrophorus species that was captured in 2022 at Whitehall Forest. The other most prevalent insects captured included species in the families Staphylinidae, Histeridae, Scarabaeidae, and Elateridae, which may act as competitors or predators of Nicrophorus young. Together, our results indicate significant variation in intra- and interspecific competition relative to populations within the N. orbicollis range. These findings suggest that the competitive environment shows extensive spatiotemporal variation, providing the basis to make predictions for how ecology may influence parenting in this species.

First Documented Wild Population of the "Hunter Fly", Coenosia attenuata Stein (Diptera: Muscidae) in North America.

Coenosia attenuata is a member of the tigrina-group of Coenosia (sensu Hennig 1964) and is a capable generalist predator in its larval and adult stages. C. attenuata is common in greenhouses worldwide, however, there are few documented cases of its presence in the wild. Here, we estimated C. attenuata presence in the southeastern USA peach orchards using pan traps. Over two years, a total of 717 specimens were collected from both commercially managed and fungicide-only managed peach orchards. C. attenuata is a known biological control agent in artificial greenhouse settings, but its impact on pest species in the wild is still unknown. For the first time in North America, we document an established wild population of C. attenuata, provide an overview of basic identification, and review potential benefits for biological control.

Carpophiline-ID: an interactive matrix-based key to the carpophiline sap beetles (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae) of Eastern North America.

Carpophiline-ID is presented, a matrix-based LucidTM key, for the adult stage of the known species of Carpophilinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) of North America, east of the Mississippi River. An overview of the features and technical specifications used to build the key is provided. The list of terminal taxa used in the key represents the most current regional account for Carpophilinae, a beetle subfamily of agricultural and ecological importance. The value of matrix-based, free access keys for the identification of difficult taxa is discussed.

Documenting museum records of West African Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) in Benin and Senegal.

BACKGROUND: This work provides a preliminary inventory of West African Coccinellidae.This was based on the West African Coccinellidae (WAC) specimens in the holdings of insect collections at the Laboratoire de Zoologie des Invertébrés Terrestres at the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop (IFAN), Senegal and the Biodiversity Center at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITAB), Benin. NEW INFORMATION: A total of 129 species representing 11 tribes and 40 genera is reported, including one species of the subfamily Microweiseinae and 128 species of the subfamily Coccinellinae. The geographic distribution of collection localities is presented for these species. Cheilomenes lunata (Fabricius, 1775), Cheilomenes propinqua (Mulsant, 1850), Cheilomenes sulphurea (Olivier, 1791), Chnootriba elaterii (Rossi, 1794), Chnootriba similis (Thunberg, 1781), Exochomus laeviusculus Weise, 1909, Hyperaspis delicatula (Mulsant, 1850) and Hyperaspis pumila Mulsant, 1850 are the best represented species in these collections.

Neotype designation for Rodolia iceryae Janson in Ormerod, 1887 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

The primary type of Rodolia iceryae Janson in Ormerod, 1887, a species commonly found in the Afrotropical region, is lost. In an effort to stabilize the specific epithet and to fix the taxonomic status and type locality of this economically important species, a neotype is here designated. A species diagnosis, illustrations of the male terminalia, and photographs of the neotype specimen and labels are provided.

Undocumented beetle diversity in the Southeastern United States: a case study of the minute clubbed beetles (Coleoptera: Monotomidae).

Studies of the saproxylic and predatory beetle family Monotomidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) in the southeastern USA increased the known diversity for the family in the state of Georgia by one genus and nine species. Online records of Monotomidae from Georgia increased from 0 to 885. This work highlights the lack of basic diversity information about small beetles that inhabit wood, leaf litter, and other decaying plant matter in this region.

Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru, a survey of the families: Sphindidae Jacquelin du Val, 1860, Corylophidae LeConte, 1852, and Latridiidae Erichson, 1842

Three beetle families, Sphindidae Jacquelin du Val, Corylophidae LeConte and Latridiidae Erichson, are documented as part of the "Beetles of Peru" project. The checklists are based on fieldwork in Peru, museum specimens, and published literature. Three sphindid genera are indicated as new country records.

Tres familias de escarabajos, Sphindidae Jacquelin du Val, Corylophidae LeConte y Latridiidae Erichson, estan documentado como parte del proyecto "Escarabajos del Perú". Los checklists se basan en trabajo de campo en Perú, especimenes en museos, y literatura publicada. Se indican tres géneros de Sphindidae registros nuevos para el país.

Congeneric Predaceous Diving Beetle Species Fail to Segregate in a Floodplain System: A Case of Amplified Sympatry.

Coexistence of closely related species has long been a focus of biologists in their efforts to explain mechanisms that drive community assembly. Dytiscidae (predaceous diving beetles) are a group that shows a particularly high affinity for sympatry despite their relatedness. Our objective was to investigate the degree of overlap among Neoporus (Guignot) species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in floodplains of the southeastern United States. We sampled two floodplain habitats (permanent oxbow lakes and temporarily flooded pools) of the Altamaha River (Georgia, USA) for Neoporus species over three years. Six species of Neoporus were collected during our study, and a significant amount of overlap (spatial and temporal) was documented. Analysis suggested that none of the species exhibited a preference toward one habitat type or the other. Temporally, no striking patterns of segregation emerged. No negative correlations between species were documented, but neither were significant positive correlations found. This absence of distinct patterns suggests a lack of segregation among Neoporus species in floodplains of the Altamaha River. While Dytiscidae in general appears to be a particularly sympatric group of organisms, overlap among congeneric species within the family has been documented less frequently. Our study provides new insight into the degree to which dytiscids are capable of coexisting in space and time.

LepNet: The Lepidoptera of North America Network.

The Lepidoptera of North America Network, or LepNet, is a digitization effort recently launched to mobilize biodiversity data from 3 million specimens of butterflies and moths in United States natural history collections (http://www.lep-net.org/). LepNet was initially conceived as a North American effort but the project seeks collaborations with museums and other organizations worldwide. The overall goal is to transform Lepidoptera specimen data into readily available digital formats to foster global research in taxonomy, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Antibothrus morimotoi Sasaji, an Old World cocoon-forming beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea: Bothrideridae) newly established in North America.

Antibothrus morimotoi Sasaji, a cocoon-forming beetle (Coccinelloidea: Bothrideridae) native to the Palearctic region, is newly reported from North America. In 2013 and 2015, several series of specimens were collected during an ongoing USDA/APHIS/PPQ exotic bark beetle survey in Franklin County, Ohio, U.S.A. This is the first confirmed record of the species and genus in the New World. The capture of these specimens suggests that the beetle is established in the greater Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan  area.

MonotomidGen - A matrix-based interactive key to the New World genera of Monotomidae (Coleoptera, Cucujoidea).

A matrix-based LucidTM key is presented for the twelve genera of Monotomidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) represented in the New World. A general overview is given for the features and technical specifications of an original interactive key for the identification of these genera. The list of terminal taxa included with the key provides a current summary of monotomid generic diversity for the Nearctic and Neotropical regions.

Searching for natural lineages within the Cerylonid Series (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea).

Phylogenetic relationships within the diverse beetle superfamily Cucujoidea are poorly known. The Cerylonid Series (C.S.) is the largest of all proposed superfamilial cucujoid groups, comprising eight families and representing most of the known cucujoid species diversity. The monophyly of the C.S., however, has never been formally tested and the higher-level relationships among and within the constituent families remain equivocal. Here we present a phylogenetic study based on 18S and 28S rDNA for 16 outgroup taxa and 61 C.S. ingroup taxa, representing seven of the eight C.S. families and 20 of 39 subfamilies. We test the monophyly of the C.S., investigate the relationships among the C.S. families, and test the monophyly of the constituent families and subfamilies. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the combined data was achieved via standard static alignment parsimony analyses, Direct Optimization using parsimony, and partitioned Bayesian analysis. All three analyses support the paraphyly of Cucujoidea with respect to Tenebrionoidea and confirm the monophyly of the C.S. The C.S. families Bothrideridae, Cerylonidae, Discolomatidae, Coccinellidae and Corylophidae are supported as monophyletic in all analyses. Only the Bayesian analysis recovers a monophyletic Latridiidae. Endomychidae is recovered as polyphyletic in all analyses. Of the 14 subfamilies with multiple terminals in this study, 11 were supported as monophyletic. The corylophid subfamily Corylophinae and the coccinellid subfamilies Chilocorinae and Scymninae are recovered as paraphyletic. A sister grouping of Anamorphinae+Corylophidae is supported in all analyses. Other taxonomic implications are discussed in light of our results.

The beetle gut: a hyperdiverse source of novel yeasts.

We isolated over 650 yeasts over a three year period from the gut of a variety of beetles and characterized them on the basis of LSU rDNA sequences and morphological and metabolic traits. Of these, at least 200 were undescribed taxa, a number equivalent to almost 30% of all currently recognized yeast species. A Bayesian analysis of species discovery rates predicts further sampling of previously sampled habitats could easily produce another 100 species. The sampled habitat is, thereby, estimated to contain well over half as many more species as are currently known worldwide. The beetle gut yeasts occur in 45 independent lineages scattered across the yeast phylogenetic tree, often in clusters. The distribution suggests that the some of the yeasts diversified by a process of horizontal transmission in the habitats and subsequent specialization in association with insect hosts. Evidence of specialization comes from consistent associations over time and broad geographical ranges of certain yeast and beetle species. The discovery of high yeast diversity in a previously unexplored habitat is a first step toward investigating the basis of the interactions and their impact in relation to ecology and evolution.

Expansion of the Candida tanzawaensis yeast clade: 16 novel Candida species from basidiocarp-feeding beetles.

A major clade of new yeast taxa from the digestive tract of basidiocarp-feeding beetles is recognized based on rRNA gene sequence analyses. Almost 30 % of 650 gut isolates formed a statistically well-supported clade that included Candida tanzawaensis. The yeasts in the clade were isolated from 11 families of beetles, of which Tenebrionidae and Erotylidae were most commonly sampled. Repeated isolation of certain yeasts from the same beetle species at different times and places indicated strong host associations. Sexual reproduction was never observed in the yeasts. Based on comparisons of small- and large-subunit rRNA gene sequences and morphological and physiological traits, the yeasts were placed in Candida ambrosiae and in 16 other undescribed taxa. In this report, the novel species in the genus Candida are described and their relationships with other taxa in the Saccharomycetes are discussed. The novel species and their type strains are as follows: Candida guaymorum (NRRL Y-27568(T)=CBS 9823(T)), Candida bokatorum (NRRL Y-27571(T)=CBS 9824(T)), Candida kunorum (NRRL Y-27580(T)=CBS 9825(T)), Candida terraborum (NRRL Y-27573(T)=CBS 9826(T)), Candida emberorum (NRRL Y-27606(T)=CBS 9827(T)), Candida wounanorum (NRRL Y-27574(T)=CBS 9828(T)), Candida yuchorum (NRRL Y-27569(T)=CBS 9829(T)), Candida chickasaworum (NRRL Y-27566(T)=CBS 9830(T)), Candida choctaworum (NRRL Y-27584(T)=CBS 9831(T)), Candida bolitotheri (NRRL Y-27587(T)=CBS 9832(T)), Candida atakaporum (NRRL Y-27570(T)=CBS 9833(T)), Candida panamericana (NRRL Y-27567(T)=CBS 9834(T)), Candida bribrorum (NRRL Y-27572(T)=CBS 9835(T)), Candida maxii (NRRL Y-27588(T)=CBS 9836(T)), Candida anneliseae (NRRL Y-27563(T)=CBS 9837(T)) and Candida taliae (NRRL Y-27589(T)=CBS 9838(T)).

Wood ingestion by passalid beetles in the presence of xylose-fermenting gut yeasts.

During a survey of insect gut micro-organisms, we consistently isolated Pichia stipitis-like yeasts (Fungi: Ascomycota, Saccharomycetes) from the wood-ingesting beetles, Odontotaenius disjunctus and Verres sternbergianus (Coleoptera: Passalidae). The yeasts were isolated from passalid beetles over a wide area, including the eastern and midwestern USA and Panama. Phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear encoded small and large subunit rRNA gene (rDNA) sequences distinguished a well-supported clade consisting of the passalid yeasts and Pichia stipitis, P. segobiensis, Candida shehatae and C. ergatensis. Members of this clade have the ability to ferment and assimilate xylose or to hydrolyse xylan, major components of the polysaccharide, hemicellulose. Sexual reproduction was present in the passalid isolates but was rare among the gut yeasts of other beetles to which they were compared. Minor genetic and phenotypic variation among some of the passalid yeasts was detected using markers from the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA repeat unit, morphology, and in vitro metabolic tests. The consistent association of xylose-fermenting yeasts of almost identical genotypes with passalid beetles across a broad geographical distribution, suggests a significant symbiotic association.