Entomologist's Monthly Magazine - Vol. 160, No. 2, 2024

Published: 4/26/2024

Article Details for this issue

EDITORIAL Selecting a title for your article

By: ANDREW WAKEHAM-DAWSON

Page: 79

Type: Editorial

BOOK REVIEW WASPS OF THE WORLD: A GUIDE TO EVERY FAMILY by Simon van Noort & Gavin Broad

By: ANDREW WAKEHAM-DAWSON

Page: 80

Type: Book Review

From small beginnings… population explosions of migrant Belenois aurota (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Türkiye, with rare observations in Syria and a first record for Cyprus

By: EDDIE JOHN, ONAT BASBAY, NIHAT KAYMAZ, EREN AKSOYLU, HASAN BAGLAR & MUDAR SALIMEH

Page: 81–100

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Incursions of Belenois aurota (Fabricius, 1793), a vigorous, tropical migrant pierid, have become more common in recent years in countries of the southern Levant, with rare appearances in south-eastern Türkiye. Here, we report on the species presence in other Levant countries of the eastern Mediterranean, including Mediterranean Syria and, for the first time, in Cyprus, on which island B. aurota was discovered in 2023. We also report on experiences in south-eastern Türkiye, where, during the same autumn period, extensive breeding resulted in at least three local broods leading to significant population irruptions and dispersal. Likely migration routes via the Jordan Rift Valley System into countries of the Levant are discussed, and we introduce an additional migratory route east of the Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and Silsilat al-Jibal as-Sa?iliyah (Latakia) mountain ranges, not previously recognized to our knowledge. The value of the Tigris River as a conduit for migrant butterflies from the Middle East into the provinces of south-eastern Türkiye had previously been documented and is again well illustrated by numerous observations in southeastern Türkiye along the river’s route south from its origins in the mountains of eastern Türkiye. Although B. aurota is recognized as an obligate migrant, it is considered that 2023 weather systems assisted the arrival of the species into the northern Levant and south-eastern Türkiye.

A larval enigma: Erotides cosnardi (Chevrolat) or Platycis minutus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Lycidae)?

By: MARTIN L. LUFF & KEITH N.A. ALEXANDER

Page: 101–104

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
A specimen of a previously unknown lycid larva of either Erotides cosnardi (Chevrolat, 1831) or Platycis minutes (Fabricius, 1787) is described and figured from British material, and is compared with previously described larvae of each genus.

The Scarabaeoidea Latreille (Coleoptera) of the Madeiran Archipelago

By: ANTÓNIO FRANQUINHO AGUIAR, MIGUEL ANDRADE, DÉLIA CRAVO & YSABEL GONÇALVES

Page: 105–118

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
We present an updated checklist for Madeira Archipelago’s Scarabaeoidea Latreille, 1802, fauna. Considerable change has been observed over the last 15 years: four alien Cetoniidae (Cetonia aurataeformis, Protaetia cuprea brancoi, P. opaca and Oxythyrea funesta) have started to breed successfully in Madeira and Porto Santo islands. The following species (based on only a few specimens) are added as new records: Geotrupes spiniger (Geotrupidae) and Oryctes nasicornis grypus (Dynastidae). Both these families are also recorded for the first time.

A new genus of halictine bees from Central America (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

By: MICHAEL S. ENGEL

Page: 119–130

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
A new genus and species of halictine bees (Halictinae: Halictini: Mexalictina) is described and figured from a mid-elevation forest in northwestern Costa Rica. Meliamelitta vulcanus gen. and sp. n. is allied to Mexalictus Eickwort but differs in the structure of the labral basal elevation, the obtuse epistomal sulcus, the elongate mandibles, the pectinate inner metatibial spur, the unique pterostigma, and the sculpturing of the basal area of the propodeum, among other features. A key is appended to the genera and subgenera of Mesoamerican, Central American, and Caribbean Halictinae to facilitate the recognition of the genus.

The Dacnusini (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitoids of Agromyzidae (Diptera) feeding on Equisetum L. (Equisetaceae)

By: H. CHARLES J. GODFRAY & BARRY P. WARRINGTON

Page: 131–137

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Several species of Liriomyza (Agromyzidae) feed in stems and leaves of Equisetum (Equisetaceae) but only one, L. virgo (Zetterstedt), is known to be parasitised by Dacnusini wasps. Chorebus glabriculus (Thomson), a species whose biology was hitherto unknown, was reared from L. virgo in the north of England. This is the third apparently specialist Dacnusini to be reared from this host and an illustrated key is provided to tell them apart with notes on non-Dacnusini parasitoids of Equisetum-feeding agromyzids.

BOOK REVIEW HONEY BEE BIOLOGY by B.R. Johnson

By: MICHAEL S. ENGEL

Page: 138–140

Type: Book Review

Satyrium nikiforovi Weidenhoffer (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) newly recorded from Tajikistan

By: ABDULAZIZ M. DAVLATOV

Page: 141–143

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
A first record of Satyrium nikiforovi Weidenhoffer, 2004, is made for the Rangontau Ridge south of Dushanbe in Tajikistan. The species was previously known only from its type locality in Uzbekistan; the current record represents the second finding of this taxon and extends its known range.

Solenopsis abdita Thompson (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) new to Britain

By: MATTHEW T. HAMER & CLIVE R. TURNER

Page: 144–150

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
The ant genus Solenopsis Westwood, 1840, includes over 200 currently recognised species and subspecies. About 20 larger predatory species are called ‘fire ants’, while the rest are mostly small, inconspicuous species commonly known as ‘thief ants’. Several fire ant species have established populations outside their native Solenopsis ranges, where they can be a major pest, e.g., the Red imported fire ant (S. invicta Buren, 1972). In contrast, few thief ants have been recorded outside their native ranges and none are known as significant pests. Here, we report a New World (Florida) thief ant, Solenopsis abdita Thompson, 1989, with an established population in the artificially-heated greenhouse at The Eden Project, Cornwall, England. This is the earliest known record of S. abdita in Europe. We provide a suite of measurements, high-resolution images, and diagnostic morphological characters useful to help others identify this species.

Dr R.R. Askew awarded Distinguished Research Medal for his work with Hymenoptera, October 2023

By: MALCOLM JENNINGS

Page: 151–152

Type: Editorial