Alien and native tree species having extrafloral nectaries as favorite hunting area for arboreal endemic Philippine tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) in human-disturbed habitat in Lanao del Sur Province, Mindanao, Philippines

Mosquito pollination of plants: an overview of their role and an assessment of the possible contribution of disease vectors

Mosquitoes visit flowers to obtain sugar or other nutrients and therefore possibly serve as major or minor pollinators of some plant species. They also often derive plant nutrients from other sources, such as extrafloral nectaries and honeydew. In a few cases, the plant-mosquito relationship is close, and mosquito pollination has been confirmed. Most plant species visited by mosquitoes, however, appear to depend on multiple means of pollination, particularly other flower-feeding insects. In addition, most mosquito species visit the flowers of many kinds of plants, possibly dispersing pollen in both biologically meaningful and irrelevant ways. This apparent lack of selectivity by both plants and mosquitoes liberates each of them from dependence on an unreliable pollen vehicle or nutrient source. A hypothetical pollinating role for the two top vectors of devastating human-disease pathogens, Anopheles gambiae or Aedes aegypti, relies on indirect evidence. So far, this evidence suggests that their participation in pollen transfer of native, introduced, or beneficial plants is negligible. The few plant species likely to be pollinated by these vectors are mostly invasive, harmful weeds associated with humans. That conclusion draws support from four characteristics of these vectors: (1) the numerous alternative potential pollinators of the flowers they visit; (2) their common use of diverse non-floral sources of nutrients; (3) the females' infrequent sugar feeding and heavy reliance on human blood for energy; and (4) their relatively low population densities. From these traits it follows that focused suppression or elimination of these two vectors, by whatever means, is highly unlikely to have adverse effects on pollination in endemic biotic communities or on ornamental plants or food crops.

Tiger beetles of the genus Tricondyla Latreille, 1822 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of the Philippines, with some considerations of the taxonomy of the genus

The fully everted endophallus in the genus Tricondyla is studied and described for the first time. Also, the following new synonymies are established: Pseudotricondyla Naviaux, 2002 syn. nov. = Stenotricondyla Naviaux, 2002; T. (T.) aptera punctipennis Chevrolat, 1841 syn. nov. = T. (T.) aptera aptera (Olivier,1790); T. (T.) aptera lumawigi Wiesner, 1989 syn. nov. = T. (T.) ovicollis Motschulsky, 1864; T. (S.) cavifrons Schaum, 1862 syn. nov. = T. (S.) cyanipes Eschscholtz, 1829; T. (S.) gracilis Naviaux, 2002 syn. nov. = T. (S.) elongata Horn, 1906; T. (T.) huloti Naviaux, 2009 syn. nov. = T. (S.) cyanipes fuscilabris Mandl, 1964 = T. (S.) conicicollis Chaudoir, 1844. Tricondyla (S.) oblita Naviaux, 2002, syn. nov. = Tricondyla brunnipes Motschulsky, 1861. New subgeneric placement is proposed: T. (S.) elongata Horn, 1906; T. (S.) planiceps Schaum, 1862; T. (S.) gracilis Naviaux, 2002. One new species T. (T.) johnsoni sp. nov. is described from Mindanao. The taxonomic status of T. (S.) genieri Naviaux, 2008 is discussed. The species T. (S.) beccarii Gestro, 1874 is transferred from nominative subgenus to Stenotricondyla and together with T. (Stenotricondyla) doriai Gestro, 1874 excluded from the list of species of the Philippines. A key to the species is provided. Color photographs of the habitus, and diagnostic characters, including the variability of all species, are presented.

Tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) of Northern Mindanao region (Philippines): checklist, distributional maps, and habitats

The knowledge about tiger beetle fauna of the Northern Mindanao region (Philippines) is summarized based on literature data and new records. Thirty species classified in ten genera (Tricondyla, Neocollyris, Protocollyris, Therates, Prothyma, Heptodonta, Thopeutica, Lophyra, Calomera, and Cylindera) were documented from the area (56% of tiger beetle fauna of Mindanao and 21% of Philippine species). Twelve species were noted from Northern Mindanao region for the first time, including five taxa, Neocollyris speciosa, Calomera angulata, Cylindera minuta, Lophyra striolata tenuiscripta, and Thopeutica virginea, not recorded from Mindanao before. Distribution maps for all recorded species and the first photographs of habitats for some species in Mindanao and/or in the Philippines are provided. Eight species (27% of recorded fauna) were noted from riverine habitats while 18 tiger beetles (60%) were typical forest taxa; in the case of four species, their habitats in Northern Mindanao region are not known.