A short-term slow slip event (SSE) synchronizing with an activity of low frequency earthquakes occurred beneath Aichi prefecture on July 20ῌ22, 2005. Characteristic strain changes caused by the short-term SSE were recorded by the strainmeters of Japan Meteorological Agency. We examined the strain data of the Tokai area in detail since July 1984. As a result, eleven strain changes were detected in about fifteen years from July 1984 to August 1999, during which only the data of volumetric strainmeters were available. Twenty strain changes were detected in six years from September 1999 to August 2005, during which the data of multi-component strainmeters and information of low frequency earthquakes were also available. The detected strain changes were classified into three types. The three types correspond to di#erent active areas of low frequency earthquakes. The three patterns of the observed stain changes were explained by assuming rectangular faults in the active areas of low frequency earthquakes. It was found that the short-term SSE occurred more frequently in the periods of 1987ῌ1989 and 2003ῌ2004. These active periods roughly agree with that of the long-term SSE in the Tokai region.

To breed parasitoids, eggs, larvae and pupae of the banana skipper Erionota thrax were regularly sampled from banana fields at 7 localities in the Province of Sumatera Barat, Indonesia from November 1990 to December 1992. The sampling sites covered a wide spectrum of elevations up from the sea level and also of rainfall conditions. Twelve primary parasitoid wasps were recorded, belonging to 6 families, Braconidae (1 sp.), Chalcididae (2 spp.), Encyrtidae (2 spp.), Eulophidae (2 spp.), Pteromalidae (1 sp.) and Ichneumonidae (4 spp.), and 6 hyperparasitoid wasps, Braconidae (1 sp.), Chalcididae (1 sp.), Eurytomidae (2 spp.), Ichneumonidae (1 sp.) and Eulophidae (1 sp.). Of these wasps, a chalcid, Brachymeria lasus was both primary and hyperparasitic. Four parasitoid fly species were bred from E. thrax larvae and pupae. These belong to the Tachinidae (2 spp.), Sarcophagidae and Phoridae (each 1 sp.). Documentation is provided for each parasitoid species of (1) its distribution and abundance for each sampling site, (2) the developmental stage of E. thrax on which it oviposited and from which it emerged, and (3) the number of individuals which emerged from a single host. Local differences in the parasitoid fauna in different sampling sites are compared.

Ant fauna was investigated in the Bogor Botanic Garden (Kebun Raya Bogor), West Java, Indonesia, by the following sampling methods: (1) collection of ants on tree trunks, (2) collection of litter ants using a handy sifter, (3) pitfall traps, (4) sugar baits, (5) collection of ants on bamboo shoots, (6) searching for colonies, (7) collection of foraging workers. In all, 216 species representing all the subfamilies known from the Oriental region were collected in 1985 and between 1990 and 1998. After intensive collections in 1995 and 1997, the cumulative number of ant species was still increasing slowly in 1998. The ant fauna was compared with the results from other sites in Southeast Asia, and those of preliminary surveys made by us in four national parks in West Java, i.e., Ujung Kulon and Pangandaran (lowland forests), and Gunung Halimun and Gunung Gede (mountain forests). Species composition in the Bogor Botanic Garden was similar to that of lowland rainforests in West Java, but remarkably different from mountain forests.Key words: ants / diversity / Indonesia / sampling method / fauna / Leptanilla Ants are one of the most dominant terrestrial animal groups in the tropics (Wilson, 1990). Most ants are predators so that they may have an important function in tropical ecosystems. In spite of the importance of studying biology and ecology of tropical ants, our knowledge of them is still scanty and fragmental. Even their taxonomy, basic to the study of every aspect of biology, is desperately incomplete (Ogata, 1992). Especially in the Oriental tropics, myrmecofauna has been rarely investigated after the pioneer works by F. Smith, C. Emery, A. Fore1, and W. M. Wheeler in the late 19th and early 20th century. Beside the importance of their function in ecosystem, ants are now regarded to be useful insects as an indicator of biodiversity (e.g., Andersen, 1990;Majer & Beeston, 1996; Abensperg-Traun et ai., 1996;Longino & Colwell, 1997; Lawton et ai., 1998 (Rosciszewski, 1995;Yamane, 1997; Yamane et ai., 1996;Chung & Maryati, 1996; Briihl et ai., 1998), though solid information on the ant fauna has not yet been available for any place in Indonesia (but see Dammermann, 1948 for the Krakataus). We have collected ants from several sites in West Sumatra and West Java during our researches on population dynamics of phytophagous insects and social organization and ecology of several ant species (see other papers in this volume, and those cited in this paper). As a first report of our myrmecofaunal survey in Indonesia, we will give a list of ants collected in the Bogor Botanic Garden, West Java, discuss the relative efficiency of different sampling methods, and compare ant faunas of Asian tropical forests.The Bogor Botanic Garden is a famous tropical botanic garden established in early 19th, being one of the most attractive places to tourists in West Java. Several ant researchers already visited the Bogor Zoological Museum which was situated in the botanic garden, and collected ants there for taxonomic studies (e.g.,...

Since 1990 we have studied population dynamics of the phytophagous lady beetles, Epilachna vigintioctopunctata, E. enneasticta and Epilachna sp. 3 (aff. emarginata), (Coleoptera: Epilachninae) in Padang, Sukarami (West Sumatra), Bogor (West Java) and Purwodadi (East Java), Indonesia. These sites have distinctly different climate conditions, e.g. Padang has a typical tropical rainforest climate without a clear alternation of wet and dry seasons, while Purwodadi has a strong dry season of 6-7 months. We have conducted censuses at 3-7 day intervals, including mark-recapture of beetles and construction of life tables for up to 9 consecutive years in order to clarify the seasonal change in abundance and mortality of the populations. In most populations the adult number changed greatly with the formation of high peaks from time to time at intervals of 6-12 months. Their increase or decrease was gradual, progressing over 3-5 months. Even under conditions with sufficient amount of rainfall in Padang, Sukarami and Bogor, oviposition intensity, number of the following immature stages and, as a result, adult emergence frequently showed discrete peaks at a fixed interval. These "generation cycles" were especially clear during the phase of population increase. There was no simple relationship between the seasonal change in rainfall and that of the beetle populations. We also discussed the impacts of the strong droughts in 1994 and 1997-1998 caused by EI Niiio, and the degree of synchronization in the trends of the populations among the adjacent study sites.

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