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Item Taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of West Indian lycidae (Insecta, Coleoptera, Elateroidea)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Ferreira, Vinicius de Souza; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael A. Ivie; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.The Thonalmini and Leptolycini are two tribes of Net-winged beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera, Lycidae) endemic to the West Indies. Both tribes are characterized by their confusing taxonomic history and poorly known biology and evolutionary patterns, and the study of both groups is the topic of this dissertation. One of the chapters of this dissertation provides a taxonomic revision of the genus Thonalmus Bourgeois, 1883, the sole member of the tribe Thonalmini. In this study, I provide an updated taxonomic revision of the group, illustration of diagnostic characters, an identification key, distribution maps, updates in the nomenclature of the group and description of seven new species. I also provide the first species level phylogenetic hypotheses for Thonalmus (morphology, molecular based and total evidence), biogeographical dispersal patterns hypotheses, a time-calibrated phylogeny and character state reconstruction for the species of the genus. The other chapter of this dissertation investigates the different life- stages of the Leptolycini of the Puerto Rican bank. The morphology of the Leptolycini males conforms with other groups suspected to be paedomorphic, whilst the females are unknown and suspected to be completely larviform. In this chapter, I provided for the first time DNA barcoding life stages associations based on partial sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of adult males and their immature forms from Puerto Rico, altogether with collections- based associations of adult males, immatures and one extreme paedomorphic female from the Virgin Islands. In order to carry out these life-stage associations, I prepared an in-depth review of the Leptolycini fauna of the Puerto Rican bank (Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands), which is also presented in this chapter. This study provided the morphological diagnoses of the semaphoronts that were found in the region and several taxonomic and nomenclatural changes are proposed, including the descriptions of one new genus and seven new species and an updated key for all species and genera of the region.Item Studies on West Indian Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Spiessberger, Erich Lara; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael A. Ivie; Michael A. Ivie was a co-author of the article, 'Revision of the West Indian Cyrtosoma perty (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Cnodalonini), with descriptions of three new species' in the journal 'The coleopterists bulletin' which is contained within this thesis.; Michael A. Ivie was a co-author of the article, 'A new genus and thirteen new species of Anopidiina (Tenebrionidae: Diaperinae: Gnathidiini) from the West Indies' submitted to the journal 'The coleopterists bulletin' which is contained within this thesis.The West Indian Cyrtosoma are revised. Three species are described: Cyrtosoma dominicae Spiessberger and Ivie, new species from Dominica, Cyrtosoma luciae Spiessberger and Ivie, new species from Saint Lucia and Cyrtosoma vincenti Spiessberger and Ivie, new species from Saint Vincent. A key to the West Indian species is provided. Authorship of Cyrtosoma lherminierii (Guerin-Meneville) is clarified. Platydema picea Laporte and Brulle, 1831, is placed in Hesiodus Champion as Hesiodus piceus (Laporte and Brulle) new combination, a senior synonym of Hesiodus caraibus Fleutiaux and Salle new synonymy. A new genus of Anopidiina and thirteen new species are described from the West Indies. Prototyrtaeus Spiessberger and Ivie, new genus (type species Prototyrtaeus darlingtoni Spiessberger and Ivie, new species) is described from the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, with 13 new species: Prototyrtaeus duartei Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus neiba Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus obrieni Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus pecki Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus gracilicornis Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus howdeni Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus sandersoni Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus beckeri Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus darlingtoni new species; Prototyrtaeus maestrensis Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus felis Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus turquinensis Spiessberger and Ivie, new species; Prototyrtaeus aureocornis Spiessberger and Ivie, new species. Wolcott's enigmatic single record of Byrrhidae for the West Indies hitherto is resolved as a misidentification of P. obrieni.Item A revision of the genus Diastolinus mulsant and rey (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of the West Indies(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2016) Hart, Charles Jay; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael A. Ivie; Michael A. Ivie was a co-author of the article, 'A revision of the genus Diastolinus mulsant and rey (Coleoptera: tenebrionidae) of the West Indies' submitted to the journal 'The coleopterists bulletin' which is contained within this thesis.The West Indian genus Diastolinus Mulsant and Rey, 1859 is revised and its species redescribed (type species: Diastolinus clathratus (F.)). The genus now includes 18 species divided among three species-groups, eight of which are described as new species herein: Diastolinus chalumeaui Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus leewardensis Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus shieli Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus azuaensis Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus desecheo Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus doyeni Hart and Ivie, new species; Diastolinus vaderi Hart and Ivie, new species; and Diastolinus hoppae Hart and Ivie, new species. The following nomenclatural changes are proposed: Diastolinus hummelincki Marcuzzi, 1962 (= Diastolinus clavatus Mulsant and Rey, 1859, new synonymy), Diastolinus mulsanti Marcuzzi and D'Aguilar, 1971 (= Diastolinus clavatus Mulsant and Rey, 1859, new synonymy), and Diastolinus estebani Garrido, 2004a (= Diastolinus coarctatus (Mulsant and Rey, 1859), new synonymy). A lectotype and paralectotypes are designated for Diastolinus hummelincki Marcuzzi, Ctesicles insularis Champion and Ctesicles maritimus Champion. The keys, descriptions, and distribution maps demonstrate that all 18 species are readily distinguished by both morphological and biogeographical attributes even though they are mostly ecologically confined to seasonally dry woodlands and forests.Item Evaluation of trap crops for the management of wireworms in spring wheat in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2017) Adhikari, Ashish; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Gadi V. P. Reddy; Michael A. Ivie (co-chair); Gadi VP Reddy was a co-author of the article, 'Evaluation of trap crops for the management of wireworm in spring wheat in Montana' submitted to the journal 'Journal of economic entomology' which is contained within this thesis.Wireworms, the larval stage of click beetles, have slender, shiny, hard bodies with three pairs of legs. They are polyphagous and have cryptic habitats. In recent years, increasing wireworm numbers and damage have become a major problem for growers in the Golden Triangle Region of Montana. The control of this pest is very difficult because after the removal of Lindane by US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 2009, the use of the second generation insecticides have not been able to provide effective control of wireworms. Thus, using insecticides to control wireworms has not been effective at high population levels. Also, little is known about the biology and feeding habit of wireworms. The goal of this study is to evaluate trap crops that can protect the spring wheat by attracting wireworms. First, field trials were conducted at two locations to investigate on the use of peas Pisum sativum L. (Fabaceae), lentils Lens culinaris L. (Fabaceae), canola/rapeseed Brassica napus L. (Brassicaceae), corn/maize Zea mays L. (Poaceae), durum Triticum durum Desf. (Poaceae) and barley Hordeum vulgare L. (Poaceae) as traps intercropped with spring wheat Triticum aestivum L. (Poaceae). The efficacy of trap cropping was determined by damage assessment in wheat plants along 1m transects and by counting wireworm populations on wheat and trap crop rows of a plot. Secondly, the effect of intercrop spacing on plant damage and the number of wireworms was determined for pea and lentil trap crops. To support field trials potted experiments were set up in the shade house to determine wireworm distributions in two-choice assays. Collectively the results from this study showed that pea and lentil trap crops resulted in significantly lower damage in wheat plants and they attracted more numbers of wireworms compared to other crops. Results from shade house trails supported observations from the field trials. An intercropping spacing of 0.5m between pea or lentil and the spring wheat crop produced highest density of spring wheat plants. The results from these experiments will add to the basic understanding of trap cropping for wireworms control.Item The effects of succession and disturbance on coleopteran abundance and diversity in the Centennial Sandhills(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2010) Winton, Ross Cameron; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael A. Ivie.Sandhill habitats, and management strategies aimed at maintaining these habitats, were studied for beetles inhabiting the different successional stages in the Centennial Sandhills of southwestern Montana. The effects of the fire treatment on the distribution, abundance, and diversity were studied using pitfall trapping over the course of two field seasons: one before the fire, and one after. Sampling occurred in plots representing three successional stages found in the sandhills, as well as in the unique microhabitat features commonly associated with sandhills and dunes. Specimens were determined to species or morpho-species. A mixed-model was used to assess differences in abundance among treatments and successional stages, for each species and for the coleopteran assemblage as a whole. The controlled burn treatment had no significant effect on overall beetle abundance, but several individual species were affected and species richness decreased significantly after treatment in burned plots. Associations with successional stages and microhabitat were detected for eighteen species. The distributions and habitat associations of seven tiger beetle species are discussed, as along with potential treatment effects and recommendations for increasing the habitat of each species in the Centennial Sandhills.Item A revision of the West Indian genus Nesocyrtosoma (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2008) Hopp, Katie Jo; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael A. Ivie.Nesocyrtosoma Marcuzzi is revised. There is a total of 45 species of the genus Nesocyrtosoma, 27 of them are newly described here (N. bestiola NEW SPECIES, N. lacrima NEW SPECIES, N. neibaense NEW SPECIES, N. scabrosum NEW SPECIES, N. simplex NEW SPECIES, N. bankense NEW SPECIES, N. curvum NEW SPECIES, N. dentatum NEW SPECIES, N. fernandoi NEW SPECIES, N. garridoi NEW SPECIES, N. guerreroi NEW SPECIES, +N. minisculum NEW SPECIES, N. nearnsi NEW SPECIES, N. productum NEW SPECIES, N. puertoricense NEW SPECIES, N. serratum NEW SPECIES, N. skelleyi NEW SPECIES, N. teresitae NEW SPECIES, N. altagracia NEW SPECIES, N. basilense NEW SPECIES, N. crenulatum NEW SPECIES, N. darlingtoni NEW SPECIES, N. dolosum NEW SPECIES, N. larseni NEW SPECIES, N. mutabile NEW SPECIES, N. otus NEW SPECIES, and N. purpureum NEW SPECIES). Cnodalon trinitatis Zayas is a synonymized with Cyrtosoma (Nesocyrtosoma) inflatum Marcuzzi NEW SYNONYMY. Cnodalon inflatum Zayas is synonymized with Cyrtosoma (Nesocyrtosoma) tumefactum Marcuzzi NEW SYNONYMY. Cyrtosoma (Nesocyrtosoma) gebieni Marcuzzi is recognized for the first time as Nesocyrtosoma gebieni (Marcuzzi) NEW COMBINATION. The following Zayas Cnodalon species are moved to Nesocyrtosoma under the new combinations: Nesocyrtosoma turquinense (Zayas) NEW COMBINATION, Nesocyrtosoma cuprosum (Zayas) NEW COMBINATION and Nesocyrtosoma elongatum (Zayas) NEW COMBINATION. Cyrtosoma (Nesocyrtosoma) ferruginea Garrido and Gutiérrez is recognized for the first time as Nesocyrtosoma ferruginea (Garrido and Gutiérrez) NEW COMBINATION. Cyrtosoma (Pachycyrtosoma) Marcuzzi is synonymized with Nesocyrtosoma NEW SYNONYMY. Cyrtosoma (Pachycyrtosoma) merkli Marcuzzi is here recognized as Nesocyrtosoma merkli (Marcuzzi) NEW COMBINATION, and Cyrtosoma (Pachycyrtosoma) hispaniolae Marcuzzi is here recognized as Nesocyrtosoma hispaniolae (Marcuzzi) NEW COMBINATION. Serrania Garrido is synonymized with Nesocyrtosoma NEW SYNONYMY. Serrania viridula (Zayas) is synonymized with Platydema virens LaPorte and Brullé NEW SYNONYMY, and is recognized as Nesocyrtosoma virens (LaPorte and Brullé) NEW COMBINATION. Apsida cubanensis (Kulzer) is placed in Nesocyrtosoma under the new combination Nesocyrtosoma cubanense (Kulzer) NEW COMBINATION.