Comparative Characterization of the Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan

The ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) have great economic importance as natural enemies. Three hundred individuals belonging to 6 genera and 7 species of the subfamily, Coccinellinae and the tribe, Coccinellini was collected during March-May, 2011 from 3 study sites of Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan. They were reported maximum (83.3%) from residential area and minimum (8%) from administration area. All collected species have glabrous hair on their slightly elongated or rounded bright colored body. The seven-spotted ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus) has maximum (average: 6.7 ± 0.77 cm;n = 15) and Adalia tetraspilota (Hope) has minimum (average: 4.2 ± 0.15 cm;n = 14) body length. Moreover, transverse ladybird, Coccinella transversalis (Fabricius) has maximum (average: 4.8 ± 0.35 cm;n = 10) and Oenopia sauzeti (Mulsant) (n = 9) or adonis ladybird, Hippodamia variegate (Goeze) (n = 10) has minimum (3.1 cm) body width. Except six-spotted zigzag ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (n = 12), all collected species have black head, varied but attractive and dark in color pronotum and elytra, black scutellum except in fifteen-spotted ladybird, Harmonia dimidiate (Fabricius) (n = 10) which was brownish. The ventral side of body of A. tetraspilota was dark brown, however, C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, H. variegate and O. sauzeti were black;moreover, H. dimidiata was brownish-orange;further, M. sexmaculatus was brown. It is concluded that ladybird beetles of HU have great diversity. Their further studies have been needed for education and awareness.

Occurrence of European Rhinoceros Beetle, <i>Oryctes nasicornis</i>(L.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

The European rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes nasicornis (L.), is a large flying beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae and order Coleoptera. It is well-known to be a Palaearctic species, inhabiting Europe and Asia up to North Africa, with no reported material from the Sub-Saharan African region including Tanzania. The present work reports an occurrence of O. nasicornis in Tanzania specifically in Iringa region in the Southern Highlands zone of the country. The report is accompanied by description of the key morphological characters of the insect validating its diagnosis. The findings facilitate a basis for intervention of the existing records about O. nasicornis, including its biogeographical affiliation and the related undertakings. It is most likely that the species also ranges in other localities in Tanzania and the Sub-Saharan Africa region in general because of the existing proximity and interactions.

Middle Jurassic Coptoclavidae (Insecta:Coleoptera:Dytiscoidea) from China:a Good Example of Mosaic Evolution

Adults of the aquatic coptoclavid beetles （Coleoptera： Adephaga： Dytiscoidea）, described from four Middle Jurassic fossil localities in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning in northeastern China, are attributed to Daohugounectes primitives Wang, Ponomarenko and Zhang, 2009, which was previously proposed after study of larvae. The generic name Timarchopsis Brauer, Redtenbacber and Ganglbauer, 1889 is proposed as a substitute for the preoccupied and junior homonym Necronectes Ponomarenko, 1977, non Milne-Edwards, 1881. Furthermore, the subfamily name Necronectinae Ponomarenko, 1977 is substituted by the available name Timarchopsinae. Daohugounectes is placed into Timarchopsinae because its adults have long, slightly apically widened tibiae and small femoral plates. The adults of this genus differ from those of other Timarchopsinae in the following features： antennae short and widened in the middle part; basal segments of protarsi not cut apically; metaventrite with a triangular plate. The larvae look like somewhat primitive forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae. In contrast to these primitive larvae, the adults with some advanced characters can be regarded as among the most advanced forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae, and probably represent a transition between the Timarchopsinae and Charanoscaphinae. Such mosaic evolution within Daohugounectes indicates that the evolutionary process of aquatic beetles is far more complex than previously thought.

Distribution of ground-dwelling beetles （Coleoptera） across a forest-clearcut ecotone in Wolong Natural Reserve, southwestern China

The influence of edge effect on ground-dwelling beetles （Coleoptera） across a forest-clearcut ecotone was studied in Wolong Natural Reserve, southwestern China. During the field research, a total of 30 739 beetles were collected with pitfall traps along transects, which extending 100 m from the edge into the forest interior and 100 m into the clearcut. Of the collection, Carabidae comprised 92%, Staphylinidae 3%, Curculionidae 2%, and Tenebrionidae 2%, and these four families can be considered as abundant groups. Family richness, Shannon diversity and equitability display a significant decrease from forest interior, edge to clearcut. Based on the family composition and abundance, ground-dwelling beetles of the forest interior can be separated from those in the clearcut by Principal coordinate analysis ordination, and beetle assemblages in the forest edge were more similar to forest assemblages than to those found in the clearcut by cluster analysis. Seasonal dynamics of family richness showed a monotone peak in the middle season, with a highest value in the forest interior and a lowest value in the clearcut. Family abundance showed two peaks in the middle season, always with more individuals in the clearcut than in the forest interior or in the edge. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the cover of shrub and litter were the two most important factors in determining family richness, Shannon diversity, equitability and abundance. Our results show that the forest edge and clearcut have obviously different composition and diversity of ground-dwelling beetles from forest interior at the family level. However, more edges have been formed due to increasing forest fragmentation （clearcutting or logging）, so it is necessary to preserve large and intact forest to protect the diversity of ground-dwelling beetles in Wolong Natural Reserve.We are indebted to Dr Jari Niemel^i and Dr Tibor Magura for constructive suggestions on the experiment and provid- ing important references. We are grateful to Mrs Xiao-Ping Zhou, Jin-Yan Huang, Shi-Qiang Zhou, Yuan-Jun Jiang, Shu-Ming Fan, Guo-You Li and You-Qian Yang （Wolong Natural Reserve, Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province） for assistance in field experiments. This study was supported in part by a State Key Basic Research and Development Plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China （G2000046800）, National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 30570215）, a grant to the senior author （No. D/3684-1） of International Foundation for Sciences

The diameter of beech snags is an important factor for saproxylic beetle richness: Implications for forest management and conservation

Snags are an important component of beech forests that promote biodiversity.However,their occurrence is completely marginal in managed stands.Creating snags in these stands would greatly enhance biodiversity.We investigated whether snag dimensions were important for saproxylic beetle richness since they were easily transferable parameters to forest management and assessed the presence of other snag microhabitats affecting beetle communities.Data collection was performed using passive flight traps placed on thirty snags in a recent beech reserve.A total of 6706 adults belonging to 231 saproxylic species(53 Red List species,23%)were captured.The results showed that the most important snag parameters were the diameter(thickness)and canopy openness of the surrounding stands.The occurrence of Fomes fomentarius,the volume of snag and decay class 3 were marginally significant in terms of the preference of all saproxylic species.Alpha diversity was reduced by an advanced degree of decay and a surprisingly deep stem cavity.After dividing snag thickness into categories(<35 cm;35–70 cm and>70 cm DBH),we found that categories with snag diameter greater than 35 cm showed little differences in all saproxylic and Red List species richness and diversity indices and exhibited the highest similarity in beetle communities.Regarding recommendations to forest managers in terms of optimization and simplification of practical procedures,we suggest actively creating high stumps to act as snags greater than 35 cm in DBH diameter to promote biodiversity in beech management stands.

Book Review:Longhorned Woodboring Beetles(Coleoptera:Cerambycidae and Disteniidae):Primary Types of the Smithsonian Institution(edited by S.W.Lingafelter et al.,Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press,Washington D.C.,USA.2014,390 pages)

This book was written by five authors. I had met two of them, the first and third author. The first author, Steven Wayne Lingafelter, is a research entomologist with the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, based at the Smithsonian Institution＇s National Museum of Natural History. He has specialized on longhomed woodboring beetles for almost three decades and currently specializes on the Neotropical fauna.

Studies on the Molecular Phylogeny of Coleoptera： Curculionidae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae Based on the Mitochondrial Cytochrome oxidasel Gene

Phylogenetic relationships among 146 species of Coleoptera （Families： Curculionidae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae） were estimated based upon mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase 1 gene sequences. The monophyletic of the polyphaga and Adephaga was not supported in our study using COlgene sequences, as family Carabidae （Adephaga） was grouped with family Staphylidae （Polyphaga） with Staphylinidae paraphyletic. The subfamily Scolytinae is the most common ancestor for the subfamilies： Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae and Dryophtborinae and hence the oldest. The subfamily Cryptorhynchinae is the oldest among the five tested Curculionidae families. At the family level, the genetic distances and phylogenetic analysis obtained in this study showed that the family Carabidae was more related to family Staphylinidae than to family Curculionidae with the topology Staphylinida-Carabidae-Curculionidae. The topology was the same when Micromus igorotus from order Neuroptera was used as an outgroup taxon as it was Staphylinida, Carabidae, Curculionidae/Neuroptera. An alternative topology was obtained when Acytolepis puspa from order Lepidoptera was used as an outgroup that was Carabidae, Staphylinida, Curculionidae-Neuroptera/Lepidoptera. where the species of order Neuroptera placed within family Curculionida. According to the estimated genetic distances and to the standard mitochondrial DNA clock estimated at 2.3% MYA, family Curculionidae separated from family Staphylinidae and Carabidae approximately 112 and 115 MYA, respectively.

Floral characteristics and pollination ecology of Manglietia ventii(Magnoliaceae),a plant species with extremely small populations(PSESP)endemic to South Yunnan of China

Manglietia ventii is a highly endangered plant species endemic to Yunnan province in China, where there are only five known small populations. Despite abundant flowering there is very low fruit and seed set,and very few seedlings in natural populations, indicating problems with reproduction. The causes of low fecundity in M. ventii are not known, largely because of insufficient knowledge of the species pollination ecology and breeding system. We conducted observations and pollination experiments, and analyzed floral scents to understand the pollinatoreplant interactions and the role of floral scent in this relationship, as well as the species breeding system. Like the majority of Magnoliaceae, M. ventii has protogynous and nocturnal flowers that emit a strong fragrance over two consecutive evenings. There is a closing period(the pre-staminate stage) during the process of anthesis of a flower, and we characterize the key flowering process as an "open-close-reopen" flowering rhythm with five distinct floral stages observed throughout the floral period of this species: pre-pistillate, pistillate, pre-staminate, staminate,and post-staminate. Flowers are in the pistillate stage during the first night of anthesis and enter the staminate stage the next night. During anthesis, floral scent emission occurs in the pistillate and staminate stages. The effective pollinators were weevils(Sitophilus sp.) and beetles(Anomala sp.), while the role of Rove beetles(Aleochara sp.) and thrips(Thrips sp.) in pollination of M. ventii appears to be minor or absent. The major chemical compounds of the floral scents were Limonene, b-Pinene, a-Pinene, 1,8-Cineole, Methyl-2-methylbutyrate, p-Cymene, Methyl-3-methyl-2-butenoate and 2-Methoxy-2-methyl-3-buten, and the relative proportions of these compounds varied between the pistillate and staminate stages. Production of these chemicals coincided with flower visitation by weevils and beetles.The results of pollination experiments suggest that M. ventii is pollinator-dependent, and low seed set in natural populations is a result of insufficient pollen deposition. Thus, conservation of the species should focus on improving pollination service through the introduction of genetically variable individuals and increase in density of reproducing trees.

传粉甲虫的研究进展

许多鞘翅目甲虫是重要的传粉昆虫 ,在漫长的历史进化过程中伴随着一系列的相互适应的形成 ,很多甲虫与花之间建立了固定的传粉关系。该文从甲虫与花之间传粉的相互适应、传粉甲虫的类群、甲虫传粉的植物和甲虫传粉效果等 4方面做了简要综述。

矮牡丹传粉生物学的初步研究

对山西省南部矮牡丹３个居群连续两年的野外观察和实验研究表明，共有５种蜂和４种甲虫参与矮牡丹的传粉。电镜观察和人工控制昆虫传粉试验证明，蜂类，特别是地蜂类是矮牡丹的主要传粉者，而甲虫类只是一种不稳定的传粉者。矮牡丹花无蜜液，但可散发气味，主要以花粉吸引昆虫。矮牡丹不存在无融合生殖，也没有自动自花结实现象，但同株异花能产生少量种子，具微弱的自交性。在花少的居群中自然结实率与人工异交结实率近相等。矮牡丹的结实率低，平均只有近１／４的胚珠发育成种子。

中国天牛名录厘定与汇总

对中国天牛的中文名亚种不带种名、种名不带属名的问题进行了修订，统一了中国天牛的中文名，在原有2617种的基础上增加了891种，汇总的中国天牛名录已达3508种．

9种拟步甲16S rDNA部分序列及其亲缘关系

测定了9种拟步甲的16SrDNA部分基因序列,并与GenBank中的1种步甲的基因序列作同源性比较,计算其核苷酸使用频率并构建了分子系统树.在获得的435bp的序列中,A+T约占74.4%,颠换(transversion)取代的速率大于转换(transition)取代的速率,其中277个核苷酸位点存在变异.结果表明:属内种间的碱基序列差异范围为3.4%～6.2%;族内属间为9.4%～11.0%;科内族间为10.8%～17.7%;科与科间的差异达到46.7%～50.3%.分子系统树表明:拟步甲科为一单系群,其中琵甲族较为进化,漠甲族与漠王族相对原始;琵甲族与土甲族的亲缘关系较近;漠甲族、漠王族与鳖甲族的亲缘关系较近.本结果与传统的分类观点相吻合.

基于天牛须搜索的花朵授粉算法

针对花朵授粉算法后期收敛速度慢,寻优精度低的缺点,提出了一种基于天牛须搜索的花朵授粉算法(BASFPA)。算法首先在全局寻优阶段采用天牛须搜索加快收敛,其次在局部寻优阶段加入变异策略帮助算法跳出局部最优。实验使用6个常用优化函数进行测试,结果表明BASFPA在低维和高维下收敛速度和精度均高于其他算法,达到相同精度所需的迭代次数均小于其他算法,证明天牛须搜索对FPA算法的改进是合理的。

狭胸天牛分类地位初步研究(鞘翅目:天牛总科)

天牛类幼虫特征是探讨天牛总科演化和分类系统的重要依据。长期以来由于未找到狭胸天牛幼虫，其地位难以确定，影响到天牛总科分类系统的重建。近年来，在中国广西和西藏发现的狭胸天牛Ｐｈｉｌｕｓ ａｎｔｅｎｎａｔｕｓ （Ｇｙｌｌｅｎｈａｌ） 和细点音天牛Ｈｅｔ－ｅｒｏｐｈｉｌｕｓ ｐｕｎｃｔｕｌａｔｕｓ Ｃｈｉａｎｇ ｅｔ Ｃｈｅｎ 幼虫，为研究狭胸天牛分类地位提供了新的证据。综合比较认为，狭胸天牛与暗天牛科最相近，倾向于将狭胸天牛亚科归入暗天牛科。

危害我国古建筑木构件的天牛类害虫

鞘翅目昆虫天牛幼虫在木材内部营钻蛀性生活,破坏木结构建筑或古建筑木构件,严重时短期即可导致建筑倒塌,极大影响木结构安全,系统性了解危害古建筑木构件的天牛类害虫种类、危害特性、防治和预防对古建筑保护工程勘察、预防性保护方案设计具有重要指导意义。本研究基于全国各地古建筑和民居天牛危害相关报道,结合部分地区古建筑木构件虫害勘察实例,总结危害我国古建筑木构件的天牛种类、分布、生活习性和寄主树种,梳理天牛危害识别技术及其危害等级划分标准,分析古建筑木构件天牛危害风险和预防措施。危害我国古建筑木构件的天牛种类主要有家茸天牛、家扁天牛、长角凿点天牛和槐绿虎天牛4种;全国各地古建筑木构件均有天牛危害侵染风险;预防天牛在古建筑上的危害重要的是维修工程中新更换木构件和墩接、加固用木材加工之前应预处理,包括原木剥皮、干燥处理、防腐处理等措施;应建立古建筑病虫害定期检查监测制度,及时发现虫害及时除治。

世界储藏物拟步甲分类进展

直接和间接危害储藏物的拟步甲与人类经济利益十分密切,是害虫综合治理的重中之重.该类甲虫全球已记录9亚科98属277种(亚种),约占拟步甲科物种总数的1.11%,是构成储藏物甲虫物种多样性的主要成员.迄今为止,该类甲虫在中国记录了5亚科32属72种(亚种).由于这类特殊群体能在相对干燥的储藏物环境中正常繁衍生息,形成了极强的应对仓库和居室环境的能力.本文根据大量文献资料对其全球范围内的基本分类状况、物种多样性、分布与发生为害情况做了初步综述,对其分类研究中存在的主要问题和不足及今后研究关切做了初步讨论,为中国储藏物昆虫的研究及生产管理等提供指导性参考.

莫干山跳甲亚科昆虫(鞘翅目:叶甲科)

报道了浙江省莫干山跳甲11种。

基于BASFPA-BP的可靠性预测模型研究

软件可靠性预测以软件可靠性预测模型为基础,对软件的可靠性以及与其直接相关的度量进行分析、评价和预测,利用软件运行中所收集的失效数据对未来的软件可靠性进行预测,成为了评估软件失效行为和保障软件可靠程度的重要手段。BP神经网络结构简单、参数少、易实现,在软件可靠性预测领域已经得到了广泛应用。然而基于传统BP神经网络搭建的软件可靠性预测模型的预测精度无法达到预期目标,因此提出了基于BASFPA-BP的软件可靠性预测模型。该模型利用软件失效数据,在BP神经网络训练过程中利用BASFPA算法优化网络权值、阈值,从而提高模型的预测精度。选用3组公开的软件失效数据,将实际值与预测值的均方误差作为预测结果的衡量标准,同时将BASFPA-BP与FPA-BP,BP,Elman这3种模型进行对比研究。实验结果表明,基于BASFPA-BP的软件可靠性预测模型在同类型模型中实现了较高的预测精度。

The Saproxylic Activity Index: A New Tool for the Rapid Assessment of Deadwood Species during Forest Restoration

Restoring deadwood habitat is vital in order to recreate fully functioning forest ecosystems. Letting this process occur naturally can take in excess of one hundred years, thus management practises typically try to accelerate this via the artificial addition of deadwood. Since the species which rely on deadwood often have poor dispersal abilities, restoring deadwood habitat rarely results in the full restoration of the saproxylic fauna. Furthermore, standard deadwood monitoring protocol only records the amount and type of substrate available and is not capable of determining whether saproxylic insects have been restored. Full species inventories are time-consuming, costly and require great expertise. We present a rapid biodiversity assessment tool which we believe is the first protocol for measuring saproxylic activity which is accessible to non-specialists. Utilising the exit bore holes which saproxylics create on deadwood can provide an indication of the density, richness and diversity of species present;we call this the Saproxylic Activity Index. We show that this index can detect differences in the activity of insects between substrates. As saproxylic insects provide important ecosystem functions, such as aiding in the decay of deadwood and recycling nutrients, a measure of their activity levels may indicate the rate of restoration of these ecosystem processes. We believe that further exploration of this method provides an exciting opportunity for the functional restoration of saproxylic fauna to become incorporated into mainstream forest management.

浙江莫干山的叶甲

本文记述浙江莫干山鞘翅目叶甲科叶甲亚科昆虫计8属14种。