Pselaphine beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) are cosmopolitan, species-rich, and yet poorly studied, particularly in the tropics. We sampled beetles in three types of primary forest and two types of disturbed forest habitats in eastern Thailand to assess the utility of pselaphine beetles as bioindicators of forest disturbance. We simultaneously measured leaf litter mass, soil moisture, soil acidity and canopy cover at each site to infer which environmental factors affect pselaphine beetle diversity and abundance. At each site, pselaphine beetles were extracted from ten 1 m 2 samples of leaf litter and soil with Tullgren funnels. We sampled 1867 adult beetles representing six supertribes, 51 genera and 114 morphospecies; 7% of the genera and 92% of the species were undescribed. Forest types differed significantly in species richness, abundance, diversity and evenness. Primary forest had greater numbers of species and individuals, and higher diversity indices (H′). Teak plantation and secondary forest had substantially fewer individuals and species of pselaphine beetles. Species composition differed between primary and degraded forests. Canopy cover, soil moisture, and leaf litter mass positively correlated with beetle species richness and abundance. Leaf litter mass and soil moisture were the two most important factors affecting the diversity of pselaphine beetle assemblages. Among the 114 morphospecies collected, 43 morphospecies were specific to two or three habitats and 64 morphospecies were found only in a single habitat. Thus pselaphine beetles appear to have rather narrow habitat requirements and their presence/absence was correlated with environmental differences. These traits make pselaphine beetles a suitable bioindicator taxon for assessing forest litter diversity and monitoring habitat change.
The water mold Coelomomyces indicus Iyengar is a widespread pathogen of anopheline mosquitoes in Asia and Africa, and it infects the copepod Microcyclops varicans Sars as its crustacean alternate host. This was determined by direct observation of field-infected copepods, selective meiospore encystment on M. varicans, and experimental infections of the copepod with zoospores from both thick and thin-walled meiosporangia. The physiological conditions governing germination of the 2 sporangial types were determined. The gametothallus in the copepod displays a light yellow pigmentation at maturity, and gametogenesis in both field and experimentally infected copepods occurs just at night fall, or 24 h after dark induction. In vivo culture was attained with the mosquito host Anopheles culicifacies Giles. Attempts to infect Anopheles stephensi Liston and Anopheles gambiae Giles, reported hosts of C. indicus, were unsuccessful.
The larvae of 12 species of Simulium in the subgenus Gomphostilbia in Thailand, including one species newly recorded from Thailand (Simulium novemarticulatum) and four undescribed species, were analyzed chromosomally. All larvae had a chromosomal complement of n = 3. Positions of landmarks in the IIS arm, specifically the positions of the bulge and the ring of Balbiani, permitted the identification of most species, including some that were morphologically indistinguishable. Species with the IIS landmarks in similar positions differed in larval morphology. The combination of chromosomal landmarks in the IIS arm and selected structural features, especially the form of the cuticular setae on the larval abdomen and the configuration of the postgenal cleft and gill histoblast, permitted accurate identification of all 12 species. The larva and pupa of S. novemarticulatum are characterized for the first time.
A new species of black fly, Simulium vanellum, is described and illustrated from the female, male, pupa, and larva collected in Thong Pha Phum District of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. It is morphologically most similar to Simulium indicum and Simulium nigrogilvum, and is tentatively placed in the Simulium griseifrons species group.
Recent investigations of aquatic Diptera in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, have yielded numerous specimens of net-winged midges (Blephariceridae), including a new species of Blepharicera Macquart. This species and an undetermined species of Apistomyia Bigot are reported from several streams and waterfalls in the park. This paper provides a summary of all known collection records and description of larvae, pupae, and adults of Blepharicera acanthonota sp. n., and details about its habitat and phenology.
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