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Ruth's cuckoo bee, <i>Holcopasites ruthae</i> (Hymenoptera: Apidae), was discovered in 1991 on the UCR campus by Professor Emeritus Kenneth Cooper, who named it in honor of his wife. As with other cleptoparasitic bees, <i>H. ruthae</i> females deposit their eggs in the nests of other bees, which do the work of collecting pollen for their larvae. <i>H. ruthae</i> parasitizes the subterranean nests of <i>Calliopsis pugionis</i> (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae).

<i>Anopheles dirus</i> is a major vector of human malaria in Southeast Asia. This highly anthropophilic species is an efficient malaria vector inhabiting forested areas. Gem-miners in the forests of Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand often leave behind numerous holes in the ground, which quickly fill with rainwater, thereby creating ideal breeding sites for <i>An. dirus</i> (formerly <i>An. balabacensis</I>).

The "greenest tiger beetle," <i>Cicindela tranquebarica viridissima </i> (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) occurs in a few small colonies within the Santa Ana River watershed. All tiger beetles are predators; the sedentary larvae snatch small insects which pass near their soil burrows, while the alert, swift adults actively hunt their prey along stream margins.

This <i>Coelioxys</i> (Hymenoptera; Megachilidae) is a cleptoparasitic bee. It does not collect pollen to feed its young; instead, it lays its eggs in the nests of leaf cutter bees (<i>Megachile</i>). When the egg hatches, the <i>Coelioxys</i> larva kills the host larva and then eats the provisions provided by the adult host.

This male <i>Dasymutilla</i> sp (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), a.k.a. velvet ant, often visits flowers, while the wingless female, is usually encountered crawling over the ground in search of the nests of soil-nesting hunting wasps, where she lays her eggs. The mutillid larva will eventually eat the pupa of the host wasp. The female velvet ant has a powerful sting, while the male, as with other wasps, does not.

The Hercules beetle, <i>Dynastes hercules</i> (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), from Central America, is known for its impressive size and the elongate horns of the male, that are used to fight other males to attract the attention of the hornless female.

Wasps in the genus <i>Eusapyga</i> (Hymenoptera: Sapygidae) are parasitic in the nests of leaf-cutter bees and their relatives in the family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera).

The larvae of <i>Euthalia</i> and related members of the subtribe Adoliaditi (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Limenitidini) are noted for their exceptionally ornate branched spines, which form a broad lateral fringe.

<i>Gasperuption</i> species (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae) are nest parasites of small solitary bees and wasps. The female has an elongate, filamentous ovipositor, with which it inserts its eggs into host nests. The <i>Gasteruption</i> larva feeds on the host larva (or larvae) and/or the nest provisions.

<i>Lexias dirtea merguia</i> (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Limenitidini) inhabits forests of SE Asia and is a frequent visitor to rotting fruit on the forest floor. In this species there is strong sexual dimorphism; while the female is brown with yellow spots, the male is primarily black and blue.

<i>Paracotalpa puncticollis</i> (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is a "June bug" found in association with junipers in the deserts of southeastern California. Other members of the same genus are less colorful and inhabit more mesic coastal and cis-montane habitats.

<i>Parnopes fulvicornis</i> (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) occurs in dryish habitats of Southwestern North America. It is a cuckoo wasp, so-called because it deposits its eggs in the soil nests of hunting wasps, where its larvae feed on the nest provisions of

Male <i>Pepsis</i> wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) can be safely handled, whereas the females have an exceptionally potent sting, which is used to paralyze their tarantula spider prey.

This immature female leaf insect (<i>Phyllium</i>) (Phasmida: Phylliidae) from northern Thailand is a nearly perfect mimic of a leaf, complete with veins, necrotic spots, and ragged margins resembling feeding damage from other insects. Crypsis even extends to the insect's behavior, as it rocks back and forth in a quaking motion, resembling a leaf in a gentle breeze, when slowly moving forward

<i>Sarapogon luteus</i> (Diptera: Asilidae) is a robber fly, so-called because of the habit of ambushing passing insects from perches along flyways. The strong, spiny legs are useful in grasping prey, which are caught on the wing. Robber fly larvae usually occur

The family <i>Tessaratomidae</i> (Prosorrhyncha: Heteroptera) occurs in the Old World Tropics and is related to the familiar and widespread stinkbugs (Pentatomidae). Both adults and immatures (nymphs) feed on plant juices. This nymph from Southeast Asia is brightly colored to resemble the immature reddish foliage of trees on which it resides.

<i>Oliarces clara</i> Banks (family Ithonidae): This rare and mysterious insect is known by various names, including the “Ghost of the Desert,” Cheese-weed Owlfly, and Cheese-weed Moth Lacewing. It is the only member of its genus, in a small family of rare “living fossils” representing an ancient (~110 million years old) group. This species is known from only about 10 small, widely-scattered populations in the Colorado Desert.

<i>Conura</i> n. sp. (family Chalcididae): This small parasitic wasp from eastern Riverside County is an unknown species and is most likely a parasite of one or more local species of desert-dwelling moths. It is one of thousands of insect species in California that remain unnamed. The enlarged hind legs are likely used for courtship battles between males to gain the attention of the female.

<i>Physoconops </i>sp. (Diptera: Conopidae) are avid flower visitors; the larvae are parasitoids of adult bees and wasps. Female <i>Physoconops</i> wasps inject eggs into their prey while the prey are in flight.

The Jewel beetle <i>Agrilus walsinghami</i> Crotch belongs to the Family Buprestidae (Metallic Wood-boring Beetles). The iridescent color common to these beetles is due to their exoskeleton selectively reflecting specific frequencies of light (the same effect that makes a compact disc reflect multiple colors). Agrilus species tend to feed on shrubs and herbaceous plants, tunneling through the stems. Adults of this species are often found on flowers of rabbitbrush.

<i>Leptogaster </i>sp. (Diptera: Asilidae) robber flies typically inhabit low vegetation and especially grasses. Unlike most other robber flies, which capture prey on the wing, the slender-bodied leptogastrine asilids hunt stationary prey on grass stems and twigs.

<i>Oncerometopus nigriclavus</i> Reuter is a member of the Family Miridae within the Order Heteroptera (the true bugs). Mirids feed mostly on plants using their specialized piercing mouthparts to suck the fluids from their hosts. Their host associations are often relatively strict, with particular species of plant bugs only feeding on certain plant species. This particular species of plant bug, one of over 10,000 in the family, is often found on rabbitbrush or brittlebush in California.

<i>Perilampus regalis</i> (Hymenoptera: Perilampidae) is a secondary parasite of tachinid flies and chalcidoid wasps that, in turn, parasitize Lepidoptera larvae and pupae.

The beewolf <i>Philanthus pulcher</i> Dalla Torre (family Crabronidae) is a solitary predatory wasp feeding on bees or other wasps. After stinging and paralyzing their prey, the female beewolf will carry the prey back to its burrow where several paralyzed prey are stashed. She will then lay an egg on the stored prey, upon which the developing larvae feed. The males are territorial, marking twigs and other objects with pheromones.

<i>Pseudonomoneura californica</i> (Diptera: Mydidae) is a medium-size mydas fly (ca 1 inch long). Some members of this family may attain a body length in excess of 2 inches and many are considered mimics of similarly pigmented hunting wasps. Mydas flies often visit flowers, while their larvae are primarily predators of other insects in soil or rotting wood (some live in ant nests).

<i>Speyeria nokomis apacheana</i>, the Apache fritillary butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) is highly prized by some lepidopterists. It occurs in scattered montane and submontane colonies in Southwestern North America

<i>Stenopelmatus</i> n. sp. (family Stenopelmatidae), known as Jerusalem crickets, are large flightless insects endemic to the western coast of North America. They are commonly called niño de la tierra, child of the earth or potato bugs. They are neither true crickets nor true bugs and do not prefer potatoes for food. Active both day and night, they use their strong jaws to feed mostly on dead organic material (decaying roots and tubers) but also eat other insects. Similar to true crickets each species of Jerusalem cricket produces a different song during courtship, but this song takes the form of a characteristic drumming in which the insect beats its abdomen against the ground.

<i>Tegrodera latecincta</i> Horn (family Meloidae) is commonly known as the Iron Cross Beetle. These large, colorful, blister beetles range throughout much of the Mojave Desert. The primary host plants for this are woollystars. Like most blister beetles, this species produce cantharidin, an irritating compound toxic to mammals, that the beetles use to deter potential predators.

<i>Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis</i> Cazier (family Mydidae) is commonly known as the Delhi Sands Flower-loving Fly and is federally protected as an endangered species. It is now restricted to only a few hundred acres of what remains of the Delhi Sands formation of Southern California. The adults are only active for a few weeks each year, feeding on flowers, in August and September. The larvae are likely predators that live deep in the sand.

ENT 250 Seminars

Location: Eng II, Room 138

Date: January 19, 2008

Speaker: HOLIDAY - No seminar

Title:

Host:

Date: January 26, 2009

Speaker: Elaine Backus, USDA-ARS, Kearney Agricultural Reserch Center, Parlier, California

Title: Transmission mechanisms of Xylella fastidiosa by the glassy-winged sharpshooter, and implications for disease epidemiology

Host: Dr. Greg Walker (951) 827-5808

Entomology in the News

Cooperative Extension Specialist Beth Grafton-Cardwell is interviewed concerning citrus "greening" details...
Entomologist J. Daniel Hare and Cooperative Extension Specialist Marshall Johnson among those named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for 2008 details
UCR Linnaean Team wins national championship details...
Professor Kirk Visscher and David Tanner research "waggle dance" of bees details...
Professor Bill Walton uses arroyo chub to control mosquitoes details...

General Campus Information

University of California, Riverside
900 University Ave.
Riverside, CA 92521
Tel: (951) 827-1012

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Dept of Entomology Information

417 Entomology Bldg.

General Info: (951) 827-5294
Fax: (951) 827-3086
Dept. Chair: (951) 827-5831
Prospective Grad Students: (800) 735-0717 E-mail: insects@mail.ucr.edu
Insect Identification Requests: insectidinquiries@ucr.edu

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