Poecilus

Abstract: Soil-food-chain-pesticide wildlife relationships were investigated to learn the concentration of pesticide residues present in soils, macro-invertebrates, vertebrates, and seeds as a result of annual ap- plications of aldrin at recommended rates for pest control. Two central Missouri cornfields treated with aldrin at 1 lb/acre, for 16 and 15 of the past 17 years, were selected for study during 196S67. Primary samples collected for residue analyses included soils, earthworms ( Lumbricidae ), crickets ( Gryllidae ), and two kinds of ground beetles (Carabidae) obtained during early April, June, August, and October. Vertebrates and plant seeds collected during 1967 included white-footed mice (Peromyscus manicu- latus ), toads ( Bufo americanus ), snakes ( Thamnophis sirtalis and Pituophis sayi ), corn ( Zes Mays ) a foxtail (Setaria Faberii), and annual sunflower (Helianthus annuos). Pesticide residues consisted pri- marily of dieldrin, the degradation product of aldrin. Combined aldrin and dieldrin residues, as two- field all-season averages, wet weight basis, were: soils, 0.31 ppm; earthworms, 1.49 ppm; crickets, 0.23 ppm; Harpalus ground beetles, 1.10 ppm; Poecilus ground beetles, 9.67 ppm, white-footed mice, 0.98 ppm; toads, 3.53 ppm; garter snakes, 12.3S ppm; and corn, foxtail, and sunflower seeds less than 0.02 ppm each. Unusually high average residues (37.48 ppm) in Poecilus beetles during June, 1967, were attributed to abnormally high soil moisture and predacious feeding habits of these insects. SOIL-FOOD-CHAIN-PESTICIDE WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS IN ALDRIN-TREATED FIELDS1 Abstract: Soil-food-chain-pesticide wildlife relationships were investigated to learn the concentration of pesticide residues present in soils, macro-invertebrates, vertebrates, and seeds as a result of annual ap- plications of aldrin at recommended rates for pest control. Two central Missouri cornfields treated with aldrin at 1 lb/acre, for 16 and 15 of the past 17 years, were selected for study during 196S67. Primary samples collected for residue analyses included soils, earthworms ( Lumbricidae ), crickets ( Gryllidae ), and two kinds of ground beetles (Carabidae) obtained during early April, June, August, and October. Vertebrates and plant seeds collected during 1967 included white-footed mice (Peromyscus manicu- latus ), toads ( Bufo americanus ), snakes ( Thamnophis sirtalis and Pituophis sayi ), corn ( Zes Mays ) a foxtail (Setaria Faberii), and annual sunflower (Helianthus annuos). Pesticide residues consisted pri- marily of dieldrin, the degradation product of aldrin. Combined aldrin and dieldrin residues, as two- field all-season averages, wet weight basis, were: soils, 0.31 ppm; earthworms, 1.49 ppm; crickets, 0.23 ppm; Harpalus ground beetles, 1.10 ppm; Poecilus ground beetles, 9.67 ppm, white-footed mice, 0.98 ppm; toads, 3.53 ppm; garter snakes, 12.3S ppm; and corn, foxtail, and sunflower seeds less than 0.02 ppm each. Unusually high average residues (37.48 ppm) in Poecilus beetles during June, 1967, were attributed to abnormally high soil moisture and predacious feeding habits of these insects.

Abstract: The first quantitative phylogenetic analysis within the spider family Philodromidae (using 65 morphological characters from 40 ingroup taxa) does not corroborate Schick’s division into the tribes Thanatini (Apollophanes O. P.-Cambridge, 1898, Pelloctanes Schick, 1965, Thanatus C. L. Koch, 1837; Tibellus, Simon, 1875) and Philodromini (Ebo Keyserling, 1884, Philodromus Walckenaer, 1826; Rhysodromus Schick, 1965). Instead, Ebo is sister to all other genera in the family, and a fraction of Philodromus (the histrio species-group = Rhysodromus Schick) are contained with the Thanatini. The forgotten genus Artanes Thorell, 1870 constitutes a well-defined distal taxon in a clade that contains the majority of Philodromus species. Here Artanes is considered a subgenus of Philodromus, and includes the margaritatus and the poecilus species-groups. The western Palearctic species of the subgenus are revised. Twelve species are (re-)described, keyed and illustrated: Philodromus blanckei (Wunderlich, 1995) (first description of ♀); P. calidus Lucas, 1846; P. femurostriatus, sp. nov. from the eastern Mediterranean; P. fuscomarginatus (De Geer, 1778); P. johani, sp. nov. from Crete; P. laricium Simon, 1875, removed from synonymy with P. corticinus (C. L. Koch); P. maghrebi, sp. nov. from northern Africa (♀ only); P. margaritatus (Clerck, 1757); P. parietalis Simon, 1875; P. pentheri, sp. nov. from the Caspian region and Albania (♀ only); P. pinetorum, sp. nov. from the Mediterranean; and P. poecilus (Thorell, 1872).

Abstract: Bioassays using an olfactometer showed that Oebalus poecilus males produce the sexual pheromone, and the chemical analysis demonstrated that this compound is zingiberenol. Two groups of isomers, each containing four diastereoisomers, (1RS,4RS,1′S)- and (1RS,4RS,1′R)-zingiberenol, were prepared. These diastereoisomers were not separated on a chiral GC column. Therefore, to determine the absolute configuration of the carbon 1, 4, and 1′ of zingiberenol produced by males, the following strategies were conducted. The extract containing males volatiles was submitted to dehydration microchemistry to produce zingiberene, in which the isomers are separated by chiral GC analysis, and by comparison with the natural zingiberene from ginger oil, the absolute stereochemistry of the carbons 4 and 1′ was determined to be R and S, respectively, and the carbon 1 was determined as R from the 13C NMR spectra of quercivorol. Finally, the bioassays showed that O. poecilus females responded to racemic mixture and to (1RS,4RS,1...

Abstract: The influence of tillage, gender, and microclimate on capture rates of pitfall traps for the beetles Poecilus scitulus LeConte, Poecilus lucublandus (Say), and Pterostichus melanarius Illiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were assessed in mark-release-recapture experiments in spring pea and spring wheat. Experiments were conducted during June, July, and August of 2003 in the Palouse region of northern Idaho, USA. Rates of capture in pitfall traps for the three carabid species were differentially affected by crop-tillage systems. Capture rates for P. scitulus and P. lucublandus were higher in no-till (NT) than in conventional tillage (CT) peas, whereas capture rates for P. scitulus and Pt. melanarius were higher in CT than in NT wheat. Ground-level temperatures and relative humidity (r.h.) differed little among tillage systems. Nevertheless, capture rates were generally positively correlated with ground-level temperature and negatively correlated with r.h., with correlations more often significant in NT than in CT systems. The response of the thermophilic Poecilus spp. to temperature provides a possible mechanistic explanation for capture rate patterns in legumes during June, but not in other months for peas or any month in wheat during the experiments. Movement impedance due to residue could explain lower capture rates of P. scitulus and Pt. melanarius in NT than in CT spring wheat. These results suggest that researchers using pitfall trapping for carabid populations should take into account potential capture biases their treatments can introduce.