An teaghlach Nepticulidae shealbhú ar roinnt de na leamhain lú ar a dtugtar, ag dul ó 3-8mm sciathán-tip chun sciathán-tip. Le haghaidh comparáid mé íomháú dhá leamhain thuas: an ceann is mó ar a dtugtar – Coscinocera herculesthat tips the scales at nearly 9 orlach, agus ceann de na is lú (yes that tiny little speck below the Hercules moth) – Ectoedemia rubifoliella, also imaged below. The Nepticulidae are surprisingly diverse, le níos mó ná 800 species described that likely represent only 10% of the actual diversity (Powell, 2009). In the United States we have only 80 speicis, of which 25 are known from the west. When you compare that diversity to the 100 or so species known from Great Britain, it’s clear that the US knowledge is vastly lacking. I ndáiríre, over 80% of all nepticulid diversity is known from Europe alone. A strange inversion when you consider that the neotropics are the world’s most diverse ecosystems yet have only 74 known Nepticulidae species! (Puplesis, 2000). Why is this so?
Ectoedemia rubifoliella3.3mm
Stigmella ostryaefoliella3.1mm
The European diversity can easily be explained away due to a high concentration of bored Lepidopterists. The Holarctic fauna is not the most diverse and it therefore has become the best understood on the planet, not to mention they have had a long history of gentleman entomologists dating back hundreds of years. But the rest of the Nepticulidae diversity remains a mystery because they are really, i ndáiríre beag, hard to spread, and difficult to identify as adults! I have actually had little practice or success with mounting Nepticulidae, and the above specimens should be credited to Dr. Dave Wagner. The very few that I do have in my collection are simply pinned and un-spread; and even the pinning proves hard enough when a slip of the hand can obliterate the entire specimen. Apparently the best method for mounting is to knock them down in the freezer and pin them while they are still alive. Not the most humane, but the only way to keep the moth from drying before your eyes and becoming impossible to manipulate. As hard as the adults are to manage, the larvae are rather characteristic in that most are leaf miners – they feed on the materialidirthe leaf epidermises. This lends to the common name of “leaf blotch miners” because you can see the translucent patches the moths have ‘mined’ out from inside the leaf. Not only is each species rather host-specific, but they tend to form very characteristic mine patterns within the leaf. So if you find a leaf mine and you know the species of plant, chances are you can find out the species of Nepticulid within it (however not all leaf mines are nepticulids, there are lots of other insects that do this as well). Rearing these moths are also rather simple, all you have to do is pop the leaf in a bag and wait for the moth to finish feeding. One caterpillar only needs one leaf (or tiny section of leaf) – but care has to be taken to keep the leaf green while the caterpillar feeds. If the leaf dies, so will the caterpillar. Because of this paradoxical ability to identify the mines and not the adults there is a surprising amount of ecological research done on them, especially since a few pose threats to commercial crops. The first image below clearly illustrates the caterpillar feeding within the leaf – and the trail of frass it has left behind.
If you look at the above images of mines it’s not all that difficult to imagine structures like this fossilizing. And amazingly, they have! The first image below (Labandeira et al., 1994) shows a variety of leaf mining Nepticulidae mines (and a Gracillariidae) from the mid-Cretaceous (97 milliún bliain ó shin). The spectacular thing about leaf mines is that you can get down to genus level and sometimes even species. The authors were able to differentiate between the nepticulid generaStig Mella agus Ectoedemiabased on the patterns preserved in the fossils; patterns we still use to help separate genera today. The bottom illustration is from a mine discovered in Japan that is only around 8 million years old (Kuroko, 1987).
(Labanderia, 1994)
(Kuroko, 1987)
Tagairtí
Kuroko, H. (1987). A Fossil Leaf Mine of Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) from Japan. Bulletin Sugadaira Montane Res. Cen., No.8, 119-121.
Labandeira, C. (1994). Ninety-Seven Million Years of Angiosperm-Insect Association: Paleobiological Insights into the Meaning of CoevolutionProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 91 (25), 12278-12282 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.91.25.12278
PUPLESIS, R., DIŠKUS, A., ROBINSON, G., & ONORE, G. (2002). A review and checklist of the Neotropical Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) Bulletin of The Natural History Museum. Entomology Series, 71 (01) DOI: 10.1017/S0968045402000032
Powell, J.A., Opler, P.A. (2010). Leamhain de Iarthar na Meiriceá Thuaidh – by J. A. Powell and P. A. OplerSystematic Entomology, 35 (2), 347-347 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00525.x
Na farraigí Cambrian luath (542-488 milliún bliain ó shin) had a plethora ofstrange and bizarre creaturesalmost unimaginable to even the best sci-fi dreamer. Mar b'fhéidir, ar cheann de na réamhtheachtaithe ar an Arthropoda (freisin Onychophora agus Tardigrada), ionadaíocht a dhéanamh ar lineages lobopodian grúpa aisteach de “worms le cosa” that once roamed the ancient sea beds. Exactly how close they are to the true arthropods is up for debate (tree below), but this newly discovered genus and species, Diania cactiformis(walking cactus), represents the most well sclerotized and arthropod-like of any known to date.
This whopping two and a half inch monster helps us understand the transition from a soft bodied worm like creature into a hard-shelled arthropod; it also gives a better impression of how diverse these lobopodian appendages may have been. It’s a fascinating question because the advantage of jointed, sclerotized, limbs was one that exploded and diversified amongst the creatures we know today. Exactly how this happened is not any closer to being resolved, but it appears as if the legs of this animal were sclerotized before the body (arthropodization vs. arthrodization). One small fossil discovered and yet another small insight into evolutionary history.
Tagairtí
Liu, J., Steiner, M., Dunlop, J., Keupp, H., Shu, D., Ou, Q., Han, J., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, X. (2011). An armoured Cambrian lobopodian from China with arthropod-like appendagesNature, 470 (7335), 526-530 DOI: 10.1038/nature09704
Úps, looks like I missed my first ‘blogoversary’! Monday the 21st was the one year turning point for my blog; and I’m incredibly happy to have spent the last year sharing some of my ramblings with all of you. I’ve somewhat lost track of how many hits I’ve had since I moved everything over to The Southern Fried Science Network, but it’s more than I ever could have ever imagined as a newbie blogger twelve months ago. When I look over the last year a few posts come to mind as my favorite:
ábhar iontais é, stunningly, amazingly; an monarchs are back (ach gan comh-stánadh Julianne Moore). OK, nach bhfuil sé sin iontach; I pretty much predictedthis would be the case last March when everyone was running around terrified because the butterflies hit an all time low (since counting startedi 1993). I ndáiríre Creidim dúirt mé “I will bet anything on the population making a recovery in the years to come…”. Mar sin,, how about anything = beer, and who’s buying?
Perhaps I am celebrating a bit early. Maybe the news isn’t so good that I can run a victory lap quite yet, but preliminary surveys look like the overwintering populations have doubled this year. That’s a pretty good start, but we still haven’t hit the 18 year average (not an impressive statistic). But don’t misread my intentions – I’m not claiming this one year somehow has proven the decline insignificant. It may or may not be, all we can really say is that it’s just another data point. The fact is that our dataset is very weak and there are factors such as local weather that create massive margins of error. It’s also nearly impossible to extrapolate from what little data we do have. So is the monarch a very good “canary in the coal mine”?
I would say poor at best. How is one insect species that roosts in massive singular colonies a good indicator of our ecosystem? Is ea, they migrate from all reaches of North America, but their recent high mortality rates have nothing to do with the lives they lived outside of Mexico. Perhaps if millions of butterflies died of some strange toxin we could heed the warning, but such was not the case. Those poor monarchs are at the mercy of winter storms that are likely to become more frequent with a warming climate. So can we say that climate change is negatively impacting these animals? Turns out we can’t, at least not yet. If this were to be so then our data is telling us that the1996-1997 seasonwas a really healthy one where clouds of pollution parted and nature rejoiced. Did the 2010 season then become a post apocalyptic blade-runner-esque world where acid rain melted the orange off of butterfly wings? Clearly not. Neither climate nor pollution were drastically different in those years. The monarchs just had a really good year followed by some really bad ones. Maybe we should just find a better canary if we’re trying to blow the whistle on global warming or deforestation.
As a last thought here is a video from the above story. Just as you’d expect, it’s over dramatized and a bit hilarious.
A softball don dúshlán seo GOP. Tagann an íomhá seo faoi chúram an Abhcóide Victoria (Páipéar TX) – le a alt drochscríofa faoi féileacáin. Is é seo an flop íomhá éasca go leor, ach le haghaidh pointí breise ar féidir leo a insint dom cad eile atá mícheart sa téacs?
I’ve uploaded a new header as you can see – how does it look? I’m playing around with the settings, but please let me know if the moth on the right gets cropped awkwardly, and what your screen resolution is if that is the case.
Má tharlaíonn tú a bheith i do chónaí i Yolo, Solano nó Sacramento contaetha ba chóir duit ceann amach le glan. Dr. Art Shaprio has offered for the 40th year hiscabbage white butterfly competition. Má tá tú ag an-an chéad duine a ghabháil cabáiste bán (Pieris amach – invasive) before Dr. Shapiro he will buy you a pitcher of beer! You have to deliver the specimenaliveto the receptionist in the Department of Evolution and Ecology to confirm the identification (I assume to prove you didn’t just save last year’s dead butterfly and cheat).
Over the last 30 years the butterflies have been emerging earlier – two weeks on average now. You better hurry, the first cabbage white of 2010 was collected on January 27th.
rinne mé, agus is cosúil go raibh sé scríofa ag Sarah Palin. I ndáiríre, Tháinig mé trasna ar an meitanailís seo de bhreis 22,000 horoscopes thar ar Tá an t-eolas go hálainn. Tá sé iontach – ach rithim síos cúpla pointe anseo:
As seo 22,000 horoscopes tháinig cairt de na focail is coitianta (bun), 90% a tharlaíonn a bheith díreach mar an gcéanna beag beann ar do chomhartha. Ghin David McCandless meiteathuar freisin ag baint úsáide as na focail is coitianta seo. Téann sé rud éigin mar seo.
“Réidh? Cinnte? Is cuma cad é an cás nó an nóiméad rúnda taitneamh a bhaint as gach rud go leor. Más mian leat, in ann cúram go hiomlán. Ná bí ag súil le rud ar bith eile. Lean ort ag déanamh grá. Tá tábhacht le teaghlach agus cairde. Is é an domhan an saol, spraoi agus fuinneamh. B’fhéidir crua. Nó éasca. Is fearr go leor a ghlacadh. Cabhair agus labhairt le daoine eile. Athraigh d'intinn agus tagann giúmar níos fearr leat…“
gach duine, tá súil againn, Ba chóir go mbeadh a fhios go bhfuil horoscopes agus astrology i gcónaí chairn steaming. Is fusa i bhfad gáire a dhéanamh de bharr na sonraí mar seo a fheiceáil. Is breá liom freisin léiriú McCandless ar thréithe réalta. Tá mé a “Cúpla” (nó ar a laghad bhí), agus is iad na focail is coitianta domsa “cóisir, fan, saincheisteanna agus éisteacht cinnte”. Léirmhínithe mar “ainmhí cóisire suaite go mothúchánach nach ndeirtear go deo”. Is breá leis.
Seans gur chuala tú le déanaí faoi na scéal scannalach de thascanna réalta mícheart. Mar a casadh sé amach ár domhain wobbles beagán i bhfithis; rud a chiallaíonn nach bhfuil na réaltaí go díreach san áit a bhfuil siad i spéir na hoíche anocht mar a bhí siad cúpla míle bliain ó shin nuair a tháinig an stoidiaca ar dtús. Mar sin má mhúnlaíonn na réaltaí cé tú féin nuair a rugadh tú, déanann siad amhlaidh bunaithe ar an áit a bhfuil siad anois agus nach bhfuil 2,000 fadó. Iontas – ba cheart go sannfaí go leor daoine anois comhartha nua! Ooooh scannal! Ní raibh eolaíocht na réalteolaíochta gar fiú é seo a thuar (chuir sé pian mór orm fiú glaoch ar eolaíocht astrology go mockingly). Ach tá sé sin ceart go leor nach gcuirfidh sé isteach orthu, tá siad in oiriúint go maith ag dodging crua-eolaíocht agus sníomh BS, agus tá siad á dhéanamh sin leis na céadta bliain. Ar ais isteach 1781 chaith réalteolaithe eochair ar chinn na réalteolaithe le fionnachtain Úránas – agus glúin ina dhiaidh sin bhí Neiptiún le feiceáil ar an ardán. Ó ná bí buartha! Réalteolaithe fudged a n-uimhreacha féin, whined faoi éagsúla “cairteacha agus córais” agus snuck in dhá chomhartha réalta breise chun aontú leis an domhan mar a thuig an eolaíocht é. Oh, agus ní miste leat an chuid eile de na billiún, billiún réaltaí agus pláinéid…
Fós féin, Is féidir liom fós caoin lag a chloisteáil síos an tsráid anseo i Berkeley – slaps duine lámh go ceann agus exclaims “OH anois a dhéanann sé ciall, Tarbh a bhí mé go léir feadh!”
Ba chóir duit dul ag iniúchadh a bhlag agus breathnú níos géire ar an anailís. Níos fearr fós, má tá cara agat a loves a astrology, ba chóir duit é seo a chur ar aghaidh ina dtreo.
Tá mé ar a dtugtar i gcónaí go bhfuil i go leor áiteanna ar fud an domhain, go háirithe as an mbóthar fosta, Tá boilb de leamhain agus féileacáin ar an roghchlár. Ó Afraic chun An Astráil tá mórán speiceas ann a d’fhéadfadh blas a bheith sách maith le bheith réasúnta inite nó fiú blasta. Ach anseo sna Stáit Aontaithe is annamh a chuireann feithidí isteach ar ár gcuid táblaí más rud é riamh (ar a laghad ní fios dúinn) – ach uaireanta isteach inár mbuidéil. Tá mé cinnte go bhfaca go leor agaibh an péist ag bun an bhuidéil tequila: arb é bolb an leamhan Cossid é i ndáiríre Hypotpa agavis. Tá tuairiscí cloiste agam fiú go ndéanann oibrithe imirceacha Meicsiceo plandaí dúchasacha a thochailt ar a sos lóin chun sneaiceanna a dhéanamh ar larbhaí móra bándearga leamhan gaolmhar.; is dócha sa ghéineas Coiméide. In ainneoin an eolais a bhí agam roimhe seo, Chuir alt le déanaí iontas orm a bhí ag plé leis an éagsúlacht ollmhór de Lepidoptera a úsáidtear mar fhoinsí bia stáplacha ar fud Meicsiceo.
Ectoedemia rubifoliella 3.3mm
Stigmella ostryaefoliella 3.1mm
Stigmella aceris (link to image credit)
Stigmella paradoxa (link to image credit)
(Labanderia, 1994)
(Kuroko, 1987)
