PSG Newsletter 112 - Phasmid Study Group

Transcription

The Newsletter of The Phasmid Study Group
The Phasmid
Study Group
Newsletter No. 112 December 2007
ISSN 0268-3806
News, Information & Updates ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
News, Information & Updates ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Editorial........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Diary Dates .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Wants & Exchange List ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Changes to the PSG Culture List.................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Membership Renewal 2007.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
AGM & Winter Meeting Agenda ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Articles, Reviews & Submissions....................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
The PSG and Facebook............................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Stick insect kits ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Notes for using the Phasmida Species File .................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Exciting new Australian stick insects .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Parts of the Paluma Range in northern Queensland are home to dry country phasmids (Figure 1 shows David Rentz collecting, February 2006),
new species discovered on that trip by Brock, Hasenpusch & Rentz include Scionecra milledgei (Figure 2). ............................................................. 12
December 2007
www.stickinsect.org.uk
1
Aretaon asperrimus (nymph) © Felicity Muth
The new PSG website
Submitting Images
Photographs and artworks are welcomed from anybody. They may be submitted to me via e-mail or by post
(addresses in Committee section). Drawings should be finished in Indian or black ink for best reproduction.
2
December 2007
News, Information & Updates
Editorial
Ed Baker (Editor)
Well again it has been a relatively poor newsletter for submissions. It really is important that people do make
contributions to the newsletter, and not just rely on the decreasing number of regulars. It really is easy to write an article,
whether it’s about rearing a species, cage construction, foodplant cultivation, or anything else.
The new website is now well underway, if you would like to see the progress being made then visit
http://phasmida.myspecies.info. The site will eventually be transferred to the familiar www.stickisnect.org.uk, but only
when it contains all the existing information. The website does have some exciting new features, including a new Image
Gallery, a searchable index to Phasmid Studies and the Newsletters, and the ability to find all information contained in
the site on a given species with ease. To access some features you will have register on the site and confirm you are a
PSG member. You will have a unique name and password. Members will have access to pdf copies of all issues of Le
Monde des Phasmes, all back issues of the newsletter (once I have made pdf copies of them all) , and access to out of
copyright papers on phasmids. There are more features planned, so keep checking back!
We would encourage you to upload any photographs that you have into the image gallery (as long as you have the
copyright). This really is an opportunity to make an excellent internet resource on phasmids, anything else you think
should be added to the website can be e-mailed to me at the usual address (or to edwbaker@gmail.com which handles
very large attachments much better). At present we have a large amount of photographs and transparencies to scan,
but eventually we should be able to scan any material that is not already in a digital format.
Thanks to Phil Bragg for his assistance in adding content to the site. Much of the current content has been uploaded by
Phil while I have concentrated on resolving some behind-the-scenes issues and getting the underlying framework to be
functional.
As yet I have had no report of how the Manchester meeting went, but I have heard that we had around 10-12 members
in attendance, with a few members of the public joining the group and taking away membership forms.
All that remains is for me to encourage you to attend our AGM and winter meeting at the Natural History Museum,
th
London on Saturday, 19 January.
Diary Dates
All event information has been accepted as bona fide, however we recommend checking with the organisers closer to
the date of the event.
19 January 2008: AGM & Winter Meeting
Details are to be found in this newsletter
23 February 2008: BugFest South-West
Holy Trinity Church & Community Centre, Lysander
Road, Yeovil 11am-3pm
Entrance will be: Families £4, Adults £3, Senior
citizens & students £2
For information, please email BugfestSW@aol.com
or write, enclosing SAE to: BugFest SW, Wisteria
House, 32 The Crescent, Yeovil, BA20 1XW.
If you are organising or attending an event not listed here then
please can you send details to the Editor. Contact details are in
the Committee Section.
December 2007
3
Wants & Exchange List
Janine Fletcher (Livestock Coordinator)
Janine has advised that she has the following available:
Eggs
1, 14, 15, 30, 44, 52, 73, 100, 101, 120, 138, 174, 182, 183, 195, 215, 221, 224, 250, 255, 258, 260, 266, 268,
276, 279, Phyllium sp. (Phillipines), Phoebaeticus maximus, Phasma reinwardtii, & Diapherodes venustula.
Nymphs
73, 118, 151, 165, 192, 195, 212, 248, 267, 270, & 279.
Please note that Janine can only send nymphs weather permitting as the weather is getting much colder now.
Changes to the PSG Culture List
Phil Bragg (Phasmid Studies Editor)
The following changes need to be made to the PSG Culture List.
PSG 15.
PSG 74.
PSG 155.
PSG 163.
Anchiale briareus (Gray, 1834).
Anchiale sp.
Anchiale austrotessulata Brock & Hasenpusch, 2007
Sipyloidea larryi Brock & Hasenpusch, 2007.
All phasmids previously in the genus Ctenomorphodes are now in the genus Anchiale. This would change PSG 155 to
Anchiale tessulatus (Gray, 1835); but Anchiale tessulatus is already in use for a different species so Gray’s name has
been replaced by Anchiale austrotessulata Brock & Hasenpusch. Sipyloidea larrayi is a newly described species.
These changes result from the publication of a paper by Paul Brock & Jack Hasenpusch on Australian phasmids; the
abstract of the paper will appear in Phasmid Studies 16(2).
New Species: PSG 282 Lonchodes philippinicus Hennemann & Conle, in press.
This species from the Panay Island in the Philippines feeds on privet and seem easy to rear. Males 110mm, females
130mm. They were collected by Tiffany Cham who sent the eggs to Bruno Kneubuehler in December 2005. Bruno
reared them on privet and initially distributed them as “Lonchodes sp. Panay Island”. The culture has been quite
widely distributed already. I gave out several cultures of nymphs at Manchester meeting in November.
The Committee
CHAIRMAN Judith Marshall Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD (T:020 7942 5610; F:020
7942 5229; E:j.marshall@nhm.ac.uk)
TREASURER/MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Paul Brock “Papillon”, 40 Thorndike Road, Slough, Berks, SL2 1SR (T:01753 579447 after 5pm;
E:pauldbrock@btinternet.com)
NEWSLETTER EDITOR Edward Baker 34 Rycroft, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 4HG (T:07835 294925; E:editor@stickinsect.org.uk)
PHASMID STUDIES EDITOR Phil Bragg 8 The Lane, Awsworth, Nottinghamshire, NG16 2QP (T:01159 305010)
EXHIBITION & MEETING OFFICER Paul Jennings 89 Brackensdale Avenue, Derby, DE22 4AF (T:01332 343477)
LIVESTOCK COORDINATOR Janine Fletcher 125 Malvern Drive, North Common, Warmley, Bristol, BS30 8UY (T:01179 604917)
LIBRARIAN David Robinson (T:01908 653493; E:librarian@stickinsect.org.uk)
SECRETARY Ian Bushell and Sarah Houghton
Ian Abercrombie, Cameron die Königin, Kristien Rabaey, Gavin Ridley, Rob Simeons, Mike Smith
4
December 2007
Membership Renewal 2007
Dear Member,
st
Your subscription for 2008 is due on the 1 January 2008. The cost of membership has been held at the same level as
2007, and we hope that you wish to continue your membership.
The cost of renewal is:
UK
Europe
Overseas
£12.00
£14.00
£15.00
Please return this form to the Membership Secretary, together with your payment. Payments can be made using one of
the following payment methods:
Cheque (in GBP and drawn on a London bank)
Postal Order
International Postal Giro
We are unable to accept Eurocheques and Paypal. UK members can pay by standing order, please contact the
membership secretary for a form. Cash may be sent (at your own risk) in your own currency (add an extra £3.00 for
exchange rate variations). We recommend using registered post.
YOU MAY SEND A COPY OF THIS FORM OR DOWNLOAD A COPY FROM OUR NEW WEBSITE:
HTTP://PHASMIDA.MYSPECIES.INFO/RENEWAL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PSG No:___________________ Name:_______________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Post Code:______________________ Country:_________________________________________________________
Phone Number: __________________________________________________________________________________
E-mail: _________________________________________________________________________________________
Subscription:
£_______________________
Donation:
£_______________________ (optional)
Total:
$_______________________
Please return to:
Paul Brock, “Papillon”, 40 Thorndike Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL2 1SR, UK (Tel: 01753 579447)
December 2007
5
AGM & Winter Meeting Agenda
Mike Smith
PSG WINTER MEETING & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Saturday, 19th January 2008
DOROTHEA BATE ROOM, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, CROMWELL ROAD, LONDON,
ENGLAND
(FREE PUBLIC ENTRY* members may also walk round the excellent museum if they wish)
AGENDA
(Any item may be reviewed on the day. Please help us run on time)
11.30am - 12.30pm.
ARRIVALS & INFORMAL GATHERING:
Members are encouraged to exchange ideas & experiences,
Competition contestants register their exhibits and put on display by 12 noon.
Members can view the Competition entries, displays, and merchandise.
All Committee Members: Committee Meeting (bring any agenda & minutes)
12.30pm - 1.15pm.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
1)
Chairman's Report (Judith Marshall).
2)
Treasurer/Membership Secretary's Report (Paul Brock).
3)
Secretaries’ Report (Sarah Houghton/Ian Bushell)
4)
PSG Newsletter Editor's Report (Ed Baker).
5)
Phasmid Studies Editor's Report (Phil Bragg).
6)
Librarian's Report (David Robinson).
7)
Exhibition & Meeting Officer's Report (Paul Jennings)
8)
Livestock Coordinator's Report (Janine Fletcher).
9)
PSG Webmaster’s Report (Ed Baker)
10)
Merchandise Officer’s Report (Gavin Ridley)
11)
Election of Officers & Committee.**
12)
Date & Venue of Next Meeting.
13)
Any Other Business.
1.15pm – 2.15pm.
2.15pm – 2.30pm
2.30pm – 3.15pm
3.15pm - 3.30pm
3.30pm - 4.00pm
4.00pm – 4.30pm.
Lunch*** and viewing of competition entries, displays, and merchandise.
Results and awards to the winners of the competitions****.
Illustrated Talk on Australian Phasmids by Paul Brock.
Question and Answer Panel, bring your questions to the experts.
Livestock Exchange*****, and final viewing of competition entries.
Further informal gathering, competitors collect their entries.
*You are requested to bring this sheet (or a copy) with you for security reasons and to ensure access to the meeting room.
**If any member of the Phasmid Study Group wishes to stand for Office, or stand on the Committee, please contact the Chairman, Judith
Marshall (address etc in Newsletter), to reach her by 12th January 2008.
*** Tea, coffee, squash, and biscuits will be available all day (from about 10 am), for a voluntary contribution, in the meeting room (courtesy of
Judith). Food shops are available in the museum, offering good food at reasonable prices, but there may be queues. You are welcome to bring
your own lunch.
****The competitions could not be easier, just bring along some livestock or pictures on the day (as at previous meetings). There are of course
the usual simple rules to make things go smoothly. See previous Newsletters for full details, but generally: competitors to arrive by 12.00 noon,
so they can be booked in 30 minutes before the meeting starts. Competitors to put livestock in their own containers/cages no bigger than
necessary, with food. Each container to hold only one species, either a single specimen or one pair (male and female). On arrival, the
competitors will be advised on how to register. Competitors can enter as many times as they wish. All entries are to be labelled with the stick
insect’s scientific name, food plant and, if applicable, PSG No. Labels for the exhibits will be provided and should be filled in at the meeting.
Please state if the entries represent wild-caught or cultured insects. Except for the competitor and judge(s), there must be no handling of any
entries. The judge's decision is final. The PSG and committee accepts no liability whatsoever for damage/loss of entries. If you need further
information, please see previous Newsletters or contact Cameron D K by e-mail (Cameron.diekonigin@blueyonder.co.uk). By entering the
competition, you agree that your picture may appear in the PSG Newsletter.
*****You are reminded to follow the rules as laid down concerning the Livestock Exchange: eg livestock should be given some foodstuff, and
their container be clearly labelled with their name & PSG number; the food plant they are being fed on, and your name & PSG number. Please
don't forget to check before you leave that all of your livestock has been distributed and, if not, take them back with you. Do not
overcrowd the sticks, but also please use reasonably-sized containers (not too big), and do not spread the spare stock of common species over
too many different containers. You may also bring other livestock eg mantids, cockroaches, millipedes, fruit beetles, etc.
BRING & BUY STALL. There will be a stall available to all members, so bring in your excess phasmid equipment and plants for giving
away to a good home or for selling at a reasonable price. (No livestock to be sold, please).
6
December 2007
Articles, Reviews & Submissions
The PSG and Facebook
Ed Baker (Editor)
Tom Low has created an unofficial Phasmid Study Group group on the social networking site www.facebook.com. Any
PSG members are welcome to join this group and connect with their PSG friends around the world. You can find the
group by searching for “phasmid study group”.
Stick insect kits
Paul D. Brock
A neighbour showed me an attractive stick insect kit (see photo of
packaging), including a net cage, activity and instruction book (very
basic), pipette, tweezers and magnifier. This was apparently on sale
at a large pet shop for £9.99, but she was only charged £4.99 at the
till! What would disappoint children about this is that if one reads
carefully, the kit has no phasmids. However, Carausius morosus can
be ordered from a company in Barcelona who clearly sell this kit all
over Europe, as the packaging is written in several languages. A
website search on stick insect kits indicates that these are widely
available, one from Butterfly Lore is sold via Amazon and elsewhere
at £19.99, with a similar cage and a free voucher for phasmids.
There is one website of an ex-PSG member selling the ultimate kit
for £49.99 including delivery. Whilst the latter is clearly over the top
in terms of pricing, it is encouraging that the popularity of phasmids
is being increasingly recognised. Let’s hope some of these
newcomers manage to track down our improved website and join
up.......
Notes for using the Phasmida Species File
Ed Baker (Editor)
I am sure by now that have noticed the regular
references to the Phasmida Species File (PSF) in the
pages of the newsletter, but I wonder how many of you
have actually ever used it? If you are put off by the
thought of using what is a very powerful taxonomic
database then don’t be. It is in fact very easy for you to
find useful information, even if all you want to do is see
photos of a particular species.
Below are a number of examples which show you how
to get the information that you require from the PSF.
The Phasmida Species File Homepage
Checking for current names
As I’m sure most PSG members will know, the scientific name of a species is liable to change. This can cause
confusion, especially when using older literature. As an example take Libethra regularis, a name which will be familiar to
those who have been in the group for a few years.
If you go the homepage of the PSF (http://phasmida.speciesfile.org) you will see the below menu in the top left hand
corner. We are going to do a search for the name ‘Libethra regularis’ so we click on ‘Search’.
December 2007
7
This will bring up the search screen. We
can search the database for many things,
including by locality, the author of the
species, the location of specimens, etc.
To search by scientific name we leave
the ‘Search for’ box as ‘Taxon’.
‘Libethra regularis’ is a binomial name, so we choose ‘Binomial or trinomial names including previous combinations’. By
completing the form as shown in the diagram and clicking on ‘Submit’ we instruct the Species File software to search
the database for the name.
The results of this search are shown below. The database has identified that the current combination is Ocnophiloidea
regularis, and presents us with a page summarising the information on that species held in the database.
8
December 2007
This kind of summary page can be used to view information on any of the species in the PSF. Work is underway to
upload photographs of species, and many are already in place, including those mentioned in Paul Brock’s article in this
newsletter.
Generating a list of Phasmids in a certain region
If you are going collecting in a region where you are unsure of the native Phasmid fauna then the PSF can generate a
list of species that area.
Click on ‘Search’ on the homepage, and choose ‘Locality’ from the ‘Search for’ list. The search options will change to
those relevant for searching by locality. The Species File software has an in-built library of locality information, so in
many cases you will be able to type where you are going into the ‘Place name’ box and click on the ‘Find place’ button.
Alternatively you can browse for your locality by using the ‘Geographic level’ lists.
Once you have found your location choose ‘Submit’.
A search for the Cameron Highlands will list a variety of locations that match this description. There are at present some
discrepancies with how locality information is recorded, so some locations are described in two (or more) different ways.
It is however still a great deal quicker than scouring the literature yourself.
Generating a list of types in an institution
From the search page select ‘Specimen depository’ and then enter the coden (e.g. BMNH for the Natural History
Museum) or the name of the city the collection is in. Then click ‘Submit’.
You will be presented with the number of specimens, number of types, and number of primary types, and will have the
option to view a list of any of these (by clicking the relevant ‘Show’ button).
The PSF at present only has data on type specimens, so the number of specimen records will be the same as the
number of type records.
December 2007
9
Exciting new Australian stick insects
Paul D. Brock
Candovia robinsoni male on Lomandra (Robertson, NSW)
A monograph by Brock & Hasenpusch has been published in
2007 (Studies on the Australian stick insects (Phasmida),
including a checklist of species and bibliography. Zootaxa
1570: 1-84). There are six new genera and sixteen new
species, also numerous taxonomic changes, which leaves
104 valid species + one subspecies. The checklist includes
scientific and common names. Interested parties can obtain
a pdf or printed copy directly from the Zootaxa website
www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ (the abstract is free), or wait for
the forthcoming field guide on Australian phasmids by the
same authors (CSIRO Publishing), expected in 2008.
Photographs of new species have been posted on the
Phasmida Species File http://phasmida.orthoptera.org as an
example, go to Search – Taxon then key: doddi and you will
find several photographs.
Candovia robinsoni habitat (Robertson, NSW)
New species include the delightful, small, wingless Candovia robinsoni from Robertson, NSW, named after Martyn
Robinson from the Australian Museum, Sydney. Martyn suggested the locality, having observed this small phasmid on
Lomandra whilst staying at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, near Robertson, Southern Highlands, New South Wales.
Robertson is an area of temperate rainforest, so leeches are present; leech socks purchased from the Malaysian Nature
Society in Kuala Lumpur proved very effective! I spent the first night there in February 2007 driving around and checking
several localities near the town and Nature Reserve. This produced mainly nymphs of the new species and adult males
in drier areas and rainforest, on several foodplants.
10
December 2007
Candovia robinsoni dark form female on Hypericum, showing orange
mouthparts (Robertson, NSW)
A quick look at gum trees Eucalyptus spp. and other
vegetation also produced a small Ctenomorpha
marginipennis nymph. The owners of the B & B
accommodation clearly felt sorry for someone having to
drive around at night looking for bugs and kindly
arranged a walk through a botanist’s garden the
following evening. This proved even more productive,
with numerous adults of the new species on familiar
‘English’ plants, particularly Hypericum along the lane
outside the property. Here a dark form of the species
stood out, but after much deliberation appeared to be the
same species, which normally has green, fairly plump
females and thin, brown males. At 10pm it was time to
go back to the accommodation across the road, only to
spot a beautiful mating pair on roses. Unfortunately I
only had two nights collecting in New South Wales, as
most time was spent on museum research; there are
countless other localities I wanted to visit. However, it
was a pleasure to meet the ‘Society for Insect Study’
members at the Australian Museum and talk to keen
phasmid enthusiasts like Brian Cox, Stephen Fellenberg
and Peter Miller, also to give an illustrated talk at the
museum to some very keen entomologists.
There are also exciting new winged species. Two stunning
small winged rainforest species from Queensland (mouldsi
and sztrakai) are described in the new genus
Micropodacanthus. Spinosipyloidea doddi is named after
Frederick Parkhurst Dodd, the ‘Butterfly Man of Kuranda’.
However, the most unusual new species is the robust,
97mm long Davidrentzia valida, which has vestigial wings;
it is known by a single female from Lord Howe Island. The
new genus is named in recognition of David Rentz, one of
the world’s leading specialists in orthopteroid insects, who
collected the specimen at Stevens Reserve, near Signal
Point in 1988. Surely it must still be found on the island?
Candovia robinsoni mating pair on rose (Robertson, NSW)
In the next Newsletter, I will focus on my brief trip to South Australia, a region little known for phasmids.
Note: A Collecting Permit is essential for collecting in Australian national parks, state forests or fauna reserves; an
Export Permit is also required.
Davidrentzia valida female (Lord Howe Island, photo by David Rentz
December 2007
11
Parts of the Paluma Range in northern Queensland are home to dry
country phasmids (Figure 1 shows David Rentz collecting, February
2006), new species discovered on that trip by Brock, Hasenpusch &
Rentz include Scionecra milledgei (Figure 2).
Figure 1: David Rentz collecting, February 2006
Figure 2: Scionecra milledgei
The large Acrophylla thoon (Figure 3,
female) is rarely recorded, but
occasionally found on Eucalyptus spp.
and quite easy to rear. Austrosipyloidea
carterus (Figure 4, female) is a much
more widespread species, remarkable
for its long cerci and beautifully
coloured when the wings are opened.
The commonest species was Anchiale
briareus (female short-winged), which
has adapted well to dry and moist
habitat.
Over to a small patch of rainforest and
another new species was found:
Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis and
other different species, such as
Onchestus rentzi
Figure 4: Austrosipyloidea carterus
Figure 3: Acrophylla thoon
12
December 2007

PSG Newsletter 112 - Phasmid Study Group

Transcription

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