Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with an important proportion of endemism mainly because of the convergence of the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic regions, which generate great diversity and species turnover at different spatial scales. However, most of our knowledge of the Mexican ant biota is limited to a few well‐studied taxa, and we lack a comprehensive synthesis of ant biodiversity information. For instance, most of the knowledge available in the literature on Mexican ant fauna refers only to species lists by states, or is focused on only a few regions of the country, which prevents the study of several basic and applied aspects of ants, from diversity and distribution to conservation. Our aims in this data paper are therefore (1) to compile all the information available regarding ants across the Mexican territory, and (2) to identify major patterns in the gathered data set and geographic gaps in order to direct future sampling efforts. All records were obtained from raw data, including both unpublished and published information. After exhaustive filtering and updating information and synonyms, we compiled a total of 21,731 records for 887 ant species distributed throughout Mexico from 1894 to 2018. These records were concentrated mainly in the states of Chiapas (n = 6,902, 32.76%) and Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (n = 4,329, 19.92%), which together comprise half the records. The subfamily with the highest number of records was Myrmicinae (n = 10,458 records, 48.12%), followed by Formicinae (n = 3,284, 15.11%) and Ponerinae (n = 1,914, 8.8%). Most ant records were collected in the Neotropical region of the country (n = 12,646, 58.19%), followed by the Mexican transition zone (n = 5,237, 24.09%) and the Nearctic region (n = 3,848, 17.72%). Native species comprised 95.46% of the records (n = 20,745). To the best of our knowledge, this is the most complete data set available to date in the literature for the country. We hope that this compilation will encourage researchers to explore different aspects of the population and community research of ants at different spatial scales, and to aid in the establishment of conservation policies and actions. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using its data for publications or teaching events.

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Leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) constitute a family of abundant, diverse, and ecologically important herbivorous insects, due to their high specificity with host plants, a close association with vegetation and a great sensitivity to microclimatic variation (factors that are modified gradually during the rainy and dry seasons). Therefore, the effects of seasonality (rainy and dry seasons) and microclimate on the community attributes of chrysomelids were evaluated in a semideciduous tropical forest fragment of northeastern Mexico. Monthly sampling was conducted, between March 2016 and February 2017, with an entomological sweep net in 18 plots of 20 × 20 m, randomly distributed from 320 to 480 m a.s.l. Seven microclimatic variables were simultaneously recorded during each of the samplings, using a portable weather station. In total, 216 samples were collected at the end of the study, of which 2,103 specimens, six subfamilies, 46 genera, and 71 species were obtained. The subfamily Galerucinae had the highest number of specimens and species in the study area, followed by Cassidinae. Seasonality caused significant changes in the abundance and number of leaf beetle species: highest richness was recorded in the rainy season, with 60 species, while the highest diversity (lowest dominance and highest H’ index) was obtained in the dry season. Seasonal inventory completeness of leaf beetles approached (rainy season) or was higher (dry season) than 70%, while the faunistic similarity between seasons was 0.63%. The outlying mean index was significant in both seasons; of the seven microclimatic variables analyzed, only temperature, heat index, evapotranspiration and wind speed were significantly related to changes in abundance of Chrysomelidae. Association between microclimate and leaf beetles was higher in the dry season, with a difference in the value of importance of the abiotic variables. The results indicated that each species exhibited a different response pattern to the microclimate, depending on the season, which suggests that the species may exhibit modifications in their niche requirements according to abiotic conditions. However, the investigations must be replicated in other regions, in order to obtain a better characterization of the seasonal and microclimatic influence on the family Chrysomelidae.

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En este estudio se analizó la dieta y se estimó la abundancia relativa de la zorra gris (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) a través del registro de excretas colectadas en el Área Natural Protegida Altas Cumbres (ANPAC), Tamaulipas, México. El muestreo se realizó de agosto de 2017 a noviembre de 2018. Las excretas fueron lavadas y separadas para identificar a las especies presa que conforman la dieta de la zorra gris y la abundancia se estimó con un índice de abundancia relativa (IAR = número de excretas/kilómetros recorridos). Con 938 excretas, se determinó que la dieta de la zorra gris fue generalista y estuvo conformada por tres categorías; materia vegetal, invertebrados y vertebrados. Dentro de la materia vegetal, las especies más representativas fueron Brahea berlandieri o palma de la sierra madre que es endémica del noreste de México y Litsea glaucescens, también conocida como laurel de la sierra. Ambas especies son de gran importancia debido a que no habían sido descritas como parte de la dieta de la zorra gris y porque la palma está sujeta a protección especial y el laurel está en peligro de extinción. En los invertebrados la presa de mayor consumo fue el Orden Miriapoda y en los vertebrados el Orden Rodentia. La abundancia de la zorra gris fue variable durante el muestreo de este estudio (intervalo de IAR = 0.9 a 7.9) y se consideró abundante con respecto a otros carnívoros presentes en el ANPAC.

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, J. V. 2015. Preferencias entre cinco carbohidratos en Pheidole bilimeki (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n. s.), 31(2): 291-297. RESUMEN.Los carbohidratos comunes en fuentes naturales de energía para las hormigas son: sacarosa, fructosa, glucosa, trehalosa y melezitosa. En este estudio se establecieron preferencias entre estos cinco carbohidratos en Pheidole bilimeki Mayr a través de la conducta de reclutamiento. El orden de efectividad reclutadora de los cinco quí-micos fue: sacarosa > melezitosa = trehalosa > fructosa > glucosa. En todos los azúcares la respuesta fue dependiente de la concentración entre 0.1 M y 1 M. Los tiempos bebiendo fueron los mismos en todos los carbohidratos, por lo cual se descarta que distintos volúmenes de solución ingerida determinen diferentes cantidades de feromona reclutadora secretada. Se propone que diferentes niveles de interacción de los azúcares con los receptores gustativos determina la intensidad del reflejo liberador de la feromona. Palabras clave: hormigas, trehalosa, feromona reclutadora, melezitosa. ABSTRACT. Sucrose, fructose, glucose, trehalose and melezitose are sugars commonly found in natural sources of energy of ants. In this study were established preferences through the recruitment behavior to these carbohydrates in Pheidole bilimeki Mayr. The order of effectiveness of the five chemicals was: sucrose > melezitose = trehalose > fructose > glucose. In all sugars the responses were dependent to the concentration between 0.1M and 1M. The time invested in drinking per ant was the same in all carbohydrates, therefore, it is discarded that different volumes of solution ingested could determine different amounts of secreted trail pheromone. We propose that different levels of interaction of sugars with their gustatory receptors could determine the intensity of pheromone releasing reflex. Rosas

Los registros de recolecta se han utilizado para resolver una amplia variedad de interrogantes ecológicas y evolutivas. El incremento de la disponibilidad de bases de registros de recolecta ha promovido su uso para identificar sitios en los que potencialmente pueden encontrarse especies y áreas con alta riqueza específica. Sin embargo, tales registros fueron obtenidos en años, colectores, objetivos de estudio y diseños de muestreo diferentes, lo que sugiere que estos datos presentan sesgos en los supuestos básicos del muestreo. El presente estudio analizó la aleatoriedad, independencia y representatividad de los registros de las especies de gastrópodos, pteridofitas y plantas acuáticas en Tamaulipas. Los resultados evidencian que la frecuencia de registros fue mayor cerca de áreas urbanas que lo esperado al azar y menor en áreas a partir de 7 km de las vías de comunicación. En los 3 grupos de especies hubo diferencias significativas en la temperatura y porcentaje de la cobertura vegetal entre las localidades de recolecta y las localidades generadas al azar. Finalmente, los registros de recolecta de los 3 grupos de especies presentaron una disposición espacial agregada. La discusión resalta los riesgos estadísticos de