Responses of community structure,diversity, and abundance of understory plants and insect assemblages to thinning in plantations

Identifying effective management operations for plantations is important for conservation of biodiversity in a plantation-dominated landscape. We tested whether pre-commercial thinning influenced community structures and could be an effective strategy for increasing diversity and abundance of plants and animals in plantations. We designated thinned and unthinned study stands in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantations and compared the communities of understory vegetation, bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and longhorn beetles 1 and 3 years after thinning. The analyses of vegetation showed that pre-commercial thinning affected community structure, but species richness and vegetation abundance were not significantly affected. Thinning affected insect community structure, and both species richness and abundance of all insect groups increased 1 year after thinning. However, 3 years after thinning, significant differences only remained in the species richness of bees and the abundance of bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. These results suggest that pre-commercial thinning in plantation stands influences the community structure of understory vegetation and can be an effective way to increase the diversity and abundance of some insect groups in the short term. However, the results also suggest that the duration of the operational effects of pre-commercial thinning varies among insect groups; thus, the variable effects of pre-commercial thinning should be carefully considered in the conservation-based management of plantation stands.     

中国刺蛾科(Limacodidae)一新记录属及一新种

记述中国刺蛾科(Limacodidae)1新记录属:婆罗刺蛾属Bornethosea Holloway,1986及1新种:九万山婆罗刺蛾Bornethosea Jiuwanshanensis sp.nov.,该新种的前翅中室顶部具一明显黑色斑点,雄性外生殖器的抱器末端宽大,阳茎直而无刺突等特征,与Birthama nigrina明显区分,并给出了成虫和雄性外生殖器照片.所有标本材料均保存在湖南省农业科学研究院植物保护研究所昆虫标本馆.     

中国裳夜蛾亚科一新记录属及一新记录种

记述中国裳夜蛾亚科1个新记录属塔夜蛾属(Taviodes Hampson,1926)和1个新记录种(幅塔夜蛾T.fulvescens Hampson,1926),并提供新记录种的成虫及雄性外生殖器照片.     

A NEW GENUS AND A NEW SPECIES OF THE TRIBE THECLINI(LEPIDOPTERA:LYCAENIDAE)FROM CHINA

文章记述了我国线灰蝶族１新属１新种,即南岭灰蝶属Ｎａｎｌｉｎｇｏｚｅｐｈｙｒｕｓｇｅｎ．ｎ．及其模式种南岭灰蝶Ｎａｎｌｉｎｇｏｚｅｐｈｙｒｕｓｎａｎｌｉｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ,ｓｐ．ｎ．新属与栅灰蝶属ＪａｐｏｎｉｃａＴｕｔ相近似,但翅面斑纹及雌性外生殖器差异明显     

甘肃省兴隆山国家级自然保护区蝶类区系组成与多样性

为明确兴隆山自然保护区目前的蝶类组成及多样性状况,选取保护区全部5个林场(麻家寺、官滩沟、兴隆山、马坡和上庄)的8个代表性样线:麻家寺(Ⅰ)、官滩沟(Ⅱ)、兴隆山(Ⅲ)、银山(Ⅳ)、红庄子沟-骆驼岘-马滩(Ⅴ)、秦家湾-徐家峡-分豁岔(Ⅵ)、窑沟-双垄沟(Ⅶ)和马啣山(Ⅷ),进行蝶类调查,共采集蝴蝶标本1 271号,经鉴定隶属7科42属65种。蛱蝶科的种类数(21种)最多,眼蝶科的个体数(729只)最多,是保护区的优势类群,绢蝶科(39只)和凤蝶科(3只)都只有1种,是保护区的稀有物种。初步计算并分析了各样线的蝶类多样性指数、物种丰富度、优势度指数、均匀度指数和生境间相似性系数,结果表明:不同样线其蝴蝶的多样性不同,其中样线Ⅳ多样性指数最高,优势度指数最低;样线Ⅱ的多样性指数和物种丰富度均为最低,优势度指数最高。样线Ⅰ均匀度指数最低,优势度指数仅小于Ⅳ。样线Ⅷ的科数、属数、种数和个数都是最少,均匀度指数则最高。说明生境条件的变化对蝴蝶的多样性产生了影响,因此建议保护植被和环境以保证蝶类乃至其它生物的多样性。区系组成古北种占总数的46.154%,东洋种占3.077%,广布种占总数的50.769%。即保护区的蝴蝶以广布种为主,古北种明显多于东洋种。     

中国2种螟蛾科幼虫的形态记述(鳞翅目)

详细记述了中国螟蛾科二化螟Chilo suppressalis(Walker)和三化螟Tryporyza incertulas(Walker)幼虫的形态特征,并提供了形态特征图。所有标本均保存在中国计量学院生命科学学院标本室。图2参7     

斑螟亚科(鳞翅目:螟蛾科)系统分类学研究进展

笔者综述了斑螟亚科Phycitinae的系统分类研究概况,重点论述国内外分类研究历史与现状、族级阶元划分与系统分类等方面的最新研究进展。指出斑螟亚科系统分类中存在的区系研究不平衡、系统发育研究不完善、近缘属区别特征不够明确、近缘种形态鉴定不够准确等问题,建议将形态分类与分子系统学方法相结合以研究斑螟亚科的系统分类,并对斑螟亚科系统学未来的研究与发展提出展望。     

应用斯氏线虫防治8种鳞翅目、鞘翅目昆虫的研究

1991—1993年在哈尔滨、牡丹江和阿城等地进行了应用斯氏线虫防治8种害虫的研究,其中鳞翅目5种:粘虫、甘蓝夜蛾、银纹夜蛾、向日葵螟、小菜蛾;鞘翅目3种:白星金龟子、马铃薯瓢虫和细胸金针虫。用3个种5个品系线虫测定的结果表明,除金针虫外,斯氏线虫对其它7种害虫均能侵染。室内试验表明,Beijing品系对粘虫、甘蓝夜蛾、向日葵螟和小菜蛾的致病力最强,害虫死亡率范围为79.3％—100.0％。田间试验表明,Beijing品系线虫对马铃薯二十八星瓢虫具有较好的防治效果。而NC32和Beijing品系在室内和田间对细胸金针虫均未表现出致病力。这些结果表明,斯氏线虫在本省具有广阔的应用前景。     

Gains and losses of French butterflies: tests of predictions, under-recording and regional extinction from data in a new atlas

New data appearing in the second of two French atlases within one and a half years confirm that there was substantial under-recording of butterfly species in France for the production of the first atlas, particularly in the south and west of the country. Under-recording is still a prominent feature of the southwest region and eastern border. The new data also reveal contractions in the ranges of 60 species suggesting real losses as a result of regional extinction especially in the north of the country. This finding links adjacent areas of ongoing high regional extinction in continental European Lepidoptera extending from the Netherlands through Belgium into northern France. The new data also demonstrate that predictions of species numbers and species incidences based on records in the first atlas, using regression techniques on geographical and neighbourhood variables, have been largely successful (76% correct prediction of new records for départements). This supports the application of such techniques to targeting surveys for mapping spatial units and species to improve atlas databases; the recent rapid changes in distributions underlines the importance of having a suitable framework for continuing recording after atlas publication.     

Do corridors promote dispersal in grassland butterflies and other insects?

Ecological corridors are frequently suggested to increase connectivity in fragmented landscapes even though the empirical evidence for this is still limited. Here, we studied whether corridors, in the form of linear grass strips promote the dispersal of three grassland butterflies, using mark-recapture technique in an agricultural landscape in southern Sweden. We found no effects of the presence of corridors or of corridor length on inter-patch dispersal probabilities. Instead, dispersal probabilities appeared to be related to the quality, areas and population densities of the source and recipient patches. For two of the species, the density of captured individuals along corridors was better predicted by the corridor length than by the straight-line distance from a pasture, suggesting that short-distance movements within habitat patches result in a diffusion of individuals along corridors. A literature review revealed that only 16 published studies had explicitly studied the effect of corridors on insect movement. The context in which studies were performed appeared to affect whether corridors facilitated dispersal or not. All seven studies where the corridors consisted of open areas surrounded by forest showed positive effects, while only two out of six studies where corridors consisted of grassland surrounded by other open habitats showed positive effects of corridors. Our results clearly demonstrate that corridors do not always have positive effects on insect dispersal and that the effect seems to depend on the quality of the surrounding matrix, on the spatial scale in which the study is performed and on whether true dispersal or routine movements are considered. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.