Tapinoma melanocephalum (ghost ant).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Lester
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Old World ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Tapinoma Melanocephalum ◽  
Pathogenic Microbes ◽  
Tramp Ant ◽  
Old World Tropics

Abstract T. melanocephalum is a small ant species around 1.5 mm in length originating from the Old World tropics. It is considered an invasive and "tramp" ant species: widely associated with humans, it has been moved around the subtropical and tropical world by human activity. This ant is also recorded in heated buildings in areas such as Canada and Finland. It is primarily a household pest, nesting in housing and consuming household food. In areas such as Florida it is considered one of the most important house-infesting pests. However it has been known to affect agricultural production in situations such as greenhouses, especially if it tends honeydew-producing insects and protects these pests from biological control organisms. T. melanocephalum is thought to be capable of transporting pathogenic microbes and is often abundant in hospitals. Some people can suffer a slight, red irritation of the skin following contact with this ant. This ant is listed on the ISSG global invasive species database.

scholarly journals First North American Records of the Old-World Tramp Ant Syllophopsis sechellensis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sociobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
James Wetterer
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
West Indies ◽  
New World ◽  
The West ◽  
Old World ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recent Arrival ◽  
Tramp Ant ◽  
Old World Tropics

Syllophopsis  sechellensis  (Emery)  (formerly  Monomorium  sechellense) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a small, inconspicuous ant species native to the Old-World tropics. Syllophopsis sechellensis is widespread in Asia and Australia, and on islands the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. In the New  World,  all  published  records  come  from  West  Indian  islands.  Here,  I report the first records of S. sechellensis from North America: from four sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida, more than 1500 km from the closest records in the West Indies. The ants of Florida have been well-studied in the past, so S. sechellensis appears to be a recent arrival.

Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) ff. 'alcippus' and 'alcippoides' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Danainae) from Cyprus

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie John ◽  
Richard I. Vane-Wright
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Recent Observation ◽  
Old World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Old World Tropics ◽  
Vast Range ◽  
Previous Occasion

We report a recent observation of D. c. chrysippus f. 'alcippus' in Cyprus, a variant of the Plain Tiger or African Queen butterfly infrequently seen in the Mediterranean, especially in the east of the region. D. c. chrysippus f. 'alcippus' appears to have been recorded from Cyprus on just one previous occasion, by R. E. Ellison, in 1939. However, a specimen of the similar f. 'alcippoides' collected by D. M. A. Bate in Cyprus in 1901 could perhaps be the source of Ellison's otherwise undocumented claim. These records are assessed in relation to the known distributions of the various forms of D. chrysippus across the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East, and more briefly with respect to the vast range of this butterfly across much of the Old World tropics and subtropics. The ambiguity and potential confusion caused by using an available name to designate both a geographically circumscribed subspecies or semispecies, and a genetically controlled phenotype that can be found far beyond the range of the putative subspecies or semispecies, is also discussed.

scholarly journals Chance long-distance or human-mediated dispersal? How Acacia s.l. farnesiana attained its pan-tropical distribution

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 170105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Bell ◽  
Haripriya Rangan ◽  
Manuel M. Fernandes ◽  
Christian A. Kull ◽  
Daniel J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Old World ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Spanish Explorers ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Old World Tropics

Acacia s.l. farnesiana , which originates from Mesoamerica, is the most widely distributed Acacia s.l. species across the tropics. It is assumed that the plant was transferred across the Atlantic to southern Europe by Spanish explorers, and then spread across the Old World tropics through a combination of chance long-distance and human-mediated dispersal. Our study uses genetic analysis and information from historical sources to test the relative roles of chance and human-mediated dispersal in its distribution. The results confirm the Mesoamerican origins of the plant and show three patterns of human-mediated dispersal. Samples from Spain showed greater genetic diversity than those from other Old World tropics, suggesting more instances of transatlantic introductions from the Americas to that country than to other parts of Africa and Asia. Individuals from the Philippines matched a population from South Central Mexico and were likely to have been direct, trans-Pacific introductions. Australian samples were genetically unique, indicating that the arrival of the species in the continent was independent of these European colonial activities. This suggests the possibility of pre-European human-mediated dispersal across the Pacific Ocean. These significant findings raise new questions for biogeographic studies that assume chance or transoceanic dispersal for disjunct plant distributions.

Mimosa pigra (giant sensitive plant).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval ◽  
Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Rice Fields ◽  
Invasive Weeds ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
Old World ◽  
Mimosa Pigra ◽  
Agricultural Weed ◽  
Natural Wetlands ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Old World Tropics

Abstract M. pigra is a small prickly shrub that infests wetlands and is also an agricultural weed in rice fields in many parts of the old world tropics. In natural wetlands the shrub alters open grasslands into dense thorny thickets and negatively impacts on native biodiversity. It is regarded as one of the worst alien invasive weeds of wetlands of tropical Africa, Asia and Australia, and the cost of control is often high.

scholarly journals Simulation of post-hurricane impact on invasive species with biological control management

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 4059-4071
Author(s):  
Linhao Xu ◽  
◽  
Marya Claire Zdechlik ◽  
Melissa C. Smith ◽  
Min B. Rayamajhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Hurricane Impact ◽  
Control Management

Knotweed Management Strategies in North America with the Advent of Widespread Hybrid Bohemian Knotweed, Regional Differences, and the Potential for Biocontrol Via the Psyllid Aphalara itadori Shinji

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Clements ◽  
Todd Larsen ◽  
Jennifer Grenz
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
The United States ◽  
The North ◽  
Variable Nature ◽  
Available Resources

AbstractInvasive species with distributions that encompass much of the North American environment often demand a range of management approaches, for several key reasons. Firstly, the North American environment includes a large number of highly variable habitats in terms of climatic, edaphic, and landscape features. Secondly, these regional habitat differences are accentuated by jurisdictions within Canada and the United States, whereby approaches and available resources differ at local, regional, and national scales. Another important consideration is whether an invasive species or complex also possesses genetic variation. All three of these factors render the knotweed complex in North America a highly variable target for management. In this paper we review existing knowledge of the variable nature of knotweed species (Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decr., Fallopia sachalinensis (F. Schmidt ex Maxim) Ronse Decr., and Fallopia × bohemica, (Chrtek and Chrtková) J. P. Bailey in North America, and evaluate how herbicidal, mechanical and biological control measures must account for this genetic variation, as well as accounting for regional differences and the potential northward expansion of knotweed under climate change. The imminent release of the psyllid, Aphalara itadori Shinji as a biological control agent in North America must also navigate regional and genetic differences. Prior European experience dealing with the three knotweed species should prove useful, but additional research is needed to meet the emerging challenge posed by F. × bohemica in North America, including the possibility of glyphosate resistance. Managers also face challenges associated with posttreatment restoration measures. Furthermore, disparities in resources available to address knotweed management across the continent need to be addressed to contain the rapid spread of this highly persistent and adaptable species. Linking practitioners dealing with knotweed “on the ground” with academic research is a crucial step in the process of marshalling all available resources to reduce the rapidly spreading populations of knotweed.

Two genera of Panchaetothripinae newly recorded from China, with first description of males of Opimothrips tubulatus (Thysanoptera, Thripidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4567 (3) ◽  
pp. 583 ◽  
Author(s):  
YANLAN XIE ◽  
YAJIN LI ◽  
ZHENGYUE LI ◽  
HONGRUI ZHANG
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Abdominal Segment ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Body ◽  
Old World ◽  
Old World Tropics

The subfamily Panchaetothripinae comprises 40 extant genera worldwide (ThripsWiki 2019), although only 15 genera are previously recorded from China (Mirab-balou et al. 2016; Li et al. 2018). Panchaetothripinae thrips are characterized by the strong reticulations on the body and leg. Wilson (1975) recognized three tribes in this subfamily, Panchaetothripini, Monilothripini and Tryphactothripini, but only tribe Tryphactothripini was relatively supported based on morphological characters (Mound et al. 2001). Species in this Tribe have abdominal segment II constricted at the base and bearing laterally patches of strong ridges, wart-like tubercles or stoutly recurved microtrichia, and abdominal segment X tends to be asymmetrical. Recently, two further genera of Tryphactothripini were found in Southern China, Noathrips and Opimothrips. These two monotypic genera are reported only from the Old World tropics, Noathrips from India and Sri Lanka, and Opimothrips only from Thailand (Bhatti 1967; Kudô 1979; Nonaka & Okajima 1992). The purpose of this paper is to record these two genera from China, together with the first description of the male of Opimothrips tubulatus. 

Do racket-tailed drongos make tree guards for their nest trees?

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (14-15) ◽  
pp. 1239-1244
Author(s):  
Samira Agnihotri ◽  
Marian Kethegowda ◽  
Jadeswamy
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Tree Trunk ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Old World ◽  
Mixed Species Flocks ◽  
Old World Tropics ◽  
Species Flocks ◽  
Nesting Season

Abstract Greater racket-tailed drongos are renowned for their splendid mimicking abilities, and for their significant roles within mixed species flocks in the Old World tropics. Yet, we know little about their basic ecology and breeding behaviour. Here we describe a set of unique behaviours of these drongos during their nesting season. Racket-tailed drongos nested in trees in an open patch of forest, often returning to the same tree year after year. The nesting pair also smoothened the bark of the nest tree trunk with their beaks. These findings suggest that the nest tree is a crucial resource for this species, and have implications for the cognitive abilities of drongos, as well as for hitherto unknown interactions between an avian species and tropical forest trees.

Antipredator behaviour of old-world tropical lizard, common agama Agama agama, in an urban environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-393
Author(s):  
Peter Mikula ◽  
Emma Nelson ◽  
Piotr Tryjanowski ◽  
Tomáš Albrecht
Keyword(s):  
Potential Effect ◽  
Antipredator Behaviour ◽  
Head Orientation ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Escape Behaviour ◽  
Old World ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Common ◽  
Antipredator Strategy ◽  
Old World Tropics

Abstract Escape behaviour is a common antipredator strategy of lizards. Here, we studied the effect of several variables predicted to have a potential effect on escape behaviour of lizards. Specifically, we measured the effects of starting distance (SD), distance to cover, sex–age and the observer’s head orientation on flight initiation distance (FID) in the common agama Agama agama. Agamas were approached in urban localities in Limbe city, Cameroon, where they were habituated to the presence of humans. We found no association between FID and SD, but individuals closer to potential cover had shorter FID than individuals farther from a refuge. Juveniles escaped later than adults, but no significant differences were found in the FID between adult males and females. Head direction of the approaching observer had no effect on FID. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study investigating factors affecting FID in common agamas, extending our knowledge of risk-related behaviour in lizards of the Old World tropics.

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