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Systematics Of Anepeorus (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae)
No full textThe enigmatic genus Anepeorus has a confused and complex taxonomic history that is discussed and clarified. The genus is redefined and described in the adult stage. Although laryae have been assigned to Anepeorus, these larvae cannot be shown at the present to be Atnepeorus. Two North American species are known from a total of 10 adult specimens . . -tnepeorus rusticus McDunnough and A. simplex (Walsh) are redescribed, and a neotype is designated for the latter species. Genitalic differences are diagnostic, but the penes may be found in different states of inflation and rotation that should not be interpreted as taxonomic differences
Winter Wheat Cold Hardiness And Fructan Reserves Affected By Rhopalosiphum Padi (Homoptera: Aphididae) Feeding
No full textThe cold hardiness of \u27Winoka\u27 and \u27Genesee\u27 winter wheats was each significantly less (P = 0.05) when fed upon by bird-cherry oat aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi, than non-infested seedlings. Aphid feeding also reduced the amount of fructans in crown tissue ca. 20% compared to extracts from crowns of non-infested seedlings. It appears that the cold hardiness of these wheat cultivars may have been reduced because of fructan depletion by insect feeding
Things That Were, Things That Are, and Things That Yet May Be : The Matter of Time in the Faërie Realms of Tolkien\u27s The Lord of the Rings
No full textTolkien’s feelings and relationship to Celtic themes are more nuanced than a simple binary of aversion versus passion. As he professed to Stanley Unwin— Needless to say they are not Celtic! (Letters #19)—his stance encompassed both resistance and fascination. His essay On Fairy-Stories, originally delivered as the Andrew Lang Lecture in 1939, can be seen as an early foundation for concepts later developed in The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). In this context, the concept of fiction and the secondary world—particularly regarding the nature of time—is notably prominent, drawing parallels to the Celtic Otherworld.
This study aims to analyze and decode Tolkien\u27s Middle-earth concept of the secondary world and to investigate the extent to which it alludes to the Celtic Otherworld, or, as Tolkien refers to it, faërie. Additionally, it examines the perception and function of time in The Lord of the Rings, specifically in the Elven realms of Lothlórien and Rivendell. Key sources include The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (2023), Lyman-Thoma’s “Celtic: Celtic Things and Things Celtic” (2014), Tolkien On Fairy-Stories (2014), and A Question of Time (1990) by Verlyn B. Flieger. These works serve to interpret how Tolkien’s mythology shapes the concept of time, bridging it with the Celtic Otherworld, where past, present, and future often intertwine.
It thus becomes apparent that, despite Tolkien professed aversion to Celtic themes, his depictions of time in Lothlórien and Rivendell consciously echo the Celtic temporal paradigm through the mystical energies that intertwine these temporal layers. These elements reflect the complex interplay of time found in Celtic mythology, suggesting that Tolkien deliberately engaged with such mythic structures within his sub-creation
“A field beaten bare of grass”: Samuel Youd’s The Death of Grass (1956) and the Scouring of the Shire
No full textOne of the novels Tolkien admits to liking (according to his published letters) was Samuel Youd’s thriller The Death of Grass (1956), published under the pen name John Christopher. Among the novel’s aspects that might have particularly resonated with Tolkien included environmental concerns, analogs with Tolkien’s World War II experience (especially rationing), and an emphasis on fairy-story Consolation and Recovery, among others. But in addition, parallels with “The Scouring of the Shire” and other late episodes in The Lord of the Rings clearly deserve further analysis. This paper therefore engages with Youd’s novel through that specific lens
Nocturnal Flight Periodicity of caddisflies (Trichoptera) Along the Lake Huron Shoreline of Drummond Island, Michigan (USA)
No full textOver 7000 caddisfly specimens, representing 33 species in 10 families, were collected between sunset and sunrise on 12 nights: three nights each during early July and early August in both 2023 and 2024. Collections were made on the southwestern side of Drummond Island along the shoreline of Lake Huron. Sampling occurred for five minutes at 15-minute intervals from near sunset (21:00) to 01:00 and then once again at 03:00 and 05:00. Nocturnal flight periodicity was broadly similar between years and months, with mean caddisfly abundance and species richness peaking at about one hour after sunset. Mean species accumulation varied between months and years with 63–78% of all caddisfly species collected within one hour after sunset and 80–95% within two hours. Similarly, the time required to collect 100% of all caddisfly species during a single month varied from three hours in July 2023 to 7.5 hours in July 2024. Our results indicate that sampling caddisflies for the first two hours after sunset will collect most species present, but sampling during multiple months and years as well as throughout the night is likely needed to collect nearly all species present. Our data on the nocturnal flight periodicity of lentic caddisflies is fundamentally similar to that for lotic caddisflies from previously published studies
Nest Pollen Provisions from an Urban Population of Megachile campanulae (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Minnesota are Consistent with Oligolectic Classification.
No full textThe conservation of bees is crucial for maintaining the essential ecological services they provide. Understanding bee species\u27 risk of extinction is a key part of conservation efforts, and can include assessment of dietary specialization, which has been linked to higher extinction risk. Dietary specialization in bees, called oligolecty, occurs when females select pollen only from closely related plants to feed their larvae. While the solitary bee, Megachile (Chelostomoides) campanulae (Robertson 1903), has been associated with flowers in the genus Campanula L. (Campanulaceae: Asterales), evidence from pollen analysis is limited, and dietary classification is reported inconsistently. This study examined dietary specialization of M. campanulae by inspecting pollen provisions from 16 nest cells in three urban neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Each provision contained more than 90% Campanula pollen. While limited to one urban area, these findings are consistent with the definition of oligolecty. This outcome suggests that to conserve M. campanulae, people must also conserve Campanula flowers. We recommend including native Campanula species in seed mixes, especially in areas where non-native Campanula is being removed
Pollen Loads of Insects Caught in Cultivated Fields of Oilseed Pennycress
No full textAlthough many insects are known to be associated with the floral canopies of oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), those that carry the crop’s pollen are unknown. During early spring of 2024 insects associated with pennycress flowers in Illinois and Minnesota were captured in sweep nets, frozen, sorted by species, and sonicated to remove pollen. Pollen grains were counted, and pollen loads per individual insect were calculated. Members of the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera accounted for 66%, 16%, and 14% of the 850 insects examined, but these same orders were responsible, respectively, for 18%, 3%, and 78% of the total pollen load of nearly a quarter of a million pollen grains. Insects carrying \u3e 1000 pollen grains per adult included the bees Apis mellifera (Apidae), Andrena cressonii (Andrenidae), Halictus confusus, H. rubicundus, and Lasioglossum pruinosum (Halictidae); as well as the flies Dolichopus sp. (Dolichopodidae), Eristalis tenax and Eupeodes americanus (Syrphidae). Additionally, several insect species carried modest pollen loads (50-500 grains per individual), including parasitoids (e.g., Diadegma insulare, Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), predators (e.g., Toxomerus marginatus, Diptera: Syrphidae), as well as crop pests (e.g., Delia platura, Diptera: Anthomyiidae). This suggests that the flowering canopy of pennycress is a diverse floral ecosystem with many potential insect pollinators and an array of associated ecological interactions