International Meeting on Biology and Systematics of Staphylinidae

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22nd <strong>International</strong> <strong>Meeting</strong> on Biology and Systematics of Staphylinidae 2007 – abstracts New data on the rove beetle fauna from Bucharest and adjacent areas MELANIA STAN "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History, Department of Terrestrial Fauna, Sos. Kiseleff no. 1, Bucharest 1, RO-011341, ROMANIA e-mail: mstan@antipa.ro The knowledge of the rove beetle diversity of the Romanian capital and the environs is a necessity because the available data are very poor and old and the multidimensional development of the area will produce a huge impact on the habitats and the floristic and faunistic patterns. The lecture presents the faunistic data on the rove beetles of Bucharest and adjacent areas based on the material collected during the period 1955-2006 (137 species) and on the revised specimens in the collection of “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History (Montandon Collection, 45 species). A total of 164 species are recognized. Astenus lyonessius (Joy), Plataraea elegans (Benick) and Gyrophaena hanseni Strand are newly recorded for the rove beetle fauna of Romania (Stan, 2007, in press). The qualitative composition of the rove beetle communities of the study sites is presented. Foreign-language skills in rove-beetles? Evidence for chemical mimicry of an ant alarm pheromone in myrmecophilous Pella beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) MICHAEL STOEFFLER and JOHANNES L.M. STEIDLE Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Zoologie, Fg. Tierökologie 220c, Garbenstr. 30, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany e-mail: mstoeffl@uni-hohenheim.de Pella beetles are myrmecophilous beetles living in the surroundings of Lasius fuliginosus colonies [1] . Using chemical analyses as well as behavioural tests in the laboratory and in the field, we tested the hypothesis that these beetles mimic alarm pheromone compounds of their host ant L. fuliginosus to avert attacks. The secretion of P. funestus and P. humeralis contains quinones and different aliphatic compounds, mainly undecane and 6-methyl-5hepten-2-one (sulcatone) [2] . Both substances can also be found in L. fuliginosus pheromone glands [3] . Behavioural tests confirmed that undecane serves as an “aggressive alarm” stimulating pheromone in L. fuliginosus, whereas sulcatone most likely represents a “panic-alarm” inducing pheromone. The main tergal secretion compounds quinones and undecane as well as their mixtures caused aggressions in the workers of L. fuliginosus. When sulcatone was added to these compounds and mixtures, the space around the odour source was avoided and a reduced number of aggressive acts was observed. Obviously, sulcatone overrules the aggression-inducing effect of undecane and quinones. These results support the hypothesis that Pella beetles mimic an alarm pheromone of their host. In contrast to many publications, that center on the mimicry of cuticular hydrocarbons, the reported case represents a rare - if not the only - case of chemical mimicry in myrmecophilous insects where other pheromonal cues are used. Literature: [1] Hölldobler B, Möglich M, Maschwitz U, 1981, Psyche 88: 347-374. [2] Steidle JLM, Dettner K, 1993, Syst. Entomol. 18: 149-168. [3] Bernardi R, Cardani C, Ghiringhelli D, Selva A, Baggini A, Pavan M, 1967, Tetrahedron Lett. 40: 3893-3896. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart 18
22nd <strong>International</strong> <strong>Meeting</strong> on Biology and Systematics of Staphylinidae 2007 – abstracts Aspects of the head morphology in staphylinid beetles DANIELA WEIDE Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Department of Evolutionary Biology of Invertebrates, Auf der Morgenstelle 28 E, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany e-mail: b8weda@yahoo.de Betz et al. (2003) published a study regarding the question of the widespread feeding type of sporophagy, which means feeding on fungal spores or on pollen. I investigate whether this specialized feeding type is mirrored by the head anatomy especially of members of the aleocharine subfamily. To comparatively investigate a large number of species we use a novel technique, synchrotron x-ray micro-tomography, which will be shortly introduced. To give you an idea of the results achieved using this method, different examples like 3D models or virtual slices will be shown. Both, the occurrence and the course of the muscles of the head and the conditions of the inner head skeleton (tentorium, sclerites) will be presented. In staphylinids the latter show an interesting diversity that appears to be hardly homologizable with the structures described for the orthopteroid groundplan (e.g., Snodgrass, 1993, Matsuda, 1965). Synchrotron-µCT-Techniques in Arthropod Morphology DANIELA WEIDE 1) , PAAVO BERGMANN, SEBASTIAN SCHMELZLE & OLIVER BETZ 2) Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Department of Evolutionary Biology of Invertebrates, Auf der Morgenstelle 28 E, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany 1) e-mail: b8weda@yahoo.de, 2) e-mail: oliver.betz@uni-tuebingen.de Using Synchrotron radiation to solve protein structure (protein crystallography) is well known, whereas in other biological fields such as morphology or physiology this technique is not as yet very common. Synchrotron X-ray micro-tomography (µCT) is a non-invasive technique that gives the researcher the possibility to obtain virtual thin sections of the object under study with a resolution close to that of the light microscope. These data can be reconstructed as 3D models, so that the scientist is able to study internal structures in their natural position. We illustrate some examples from our own research using Synchrotron X-ray microtomography, e.g. the anatomy of beetle heads with respect to muscles and inner skeleton structures, and the reproductive system of oribatid mites with special attention to soft tissue. We will finally compare histological sections with data obtained by using Synchrotron µCT techniques. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart 19
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