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The Pedra das Letras archaeological site is located in the Barro village, a rural area in the municipality of Piripiri, Piauí, Brazil. The aim of this paper is to present the first data from the survey of this archaeological site, which has recently been registered at the IPHAN, as well as the main problems affecting its degradation. Pedra das Letras consists of a sandstone block containing a small elevated rock shelter and a side niche with red rock paintings. 58 paintings were found on the rock wall at the back of the shelter, and seven handprints have been identified in the side niche. The most frequent figure in the pictorial panels is the handprint, with 45 representations of this motif having been identified, made using different execution techniques. The remaining figures were attributed to the abstract class, some of them without a clearly defined outline. The main conservation problems include the advanced state of degradation of the sandstone, insect nests (such as termites and wasps), salt efflorescence, wear and tear caused by rainwater, and plants attached to the rock block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste produced by living organisms is commonly disposed of as a prophylactic measure to avoid the spread of diseases and parasite infestation. For social insects, a proportion of workers is allocated to dispose the waste material outside the colony's nest. However, most nests of social insects have a single entrance, where a high flow of individuals may create congestion, potentially compromising normal foraging activities and colony growth/health. Here, we investigated how two species of stingless bees (Tetragonisca fiebrigi and Plebeia droryana) deal with waste disposal and regular foraging activities, and the impacts of these activities on traffic flow at nest entrances. First, we compared the average traffic of bees assigned to waste removal activities. Following this, we investigated probabilities for waste removal as bee traffic increases. Then, we estimated a cutoff value to predict the likelihood that waste removal activities will be intensified over foraging trips. We found that, on average, the number of bees performing waste removal activities was lower than those undertaking foraging trips for both species. In addition, we observed that as overall bee traffic increases, the number of workers engaged in waste removal reduces or even ceases. Our models indicate that bee traffic of approximately 15 individuals/time is a cutoff score, below which, colonies invest in waste removal and above which, foraging trips are increased. It suggests that both species use the entrances of their colonies in an optimized way by adjusting which tasks should be intensified as the traffic of individuals increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Border crops can increase beneficial insect biodiversity within agricultural fields by supplementing insects with food and nesting resources. However, the effectiveness of border crops relies on insect movement between adjacent habitats and some insects might consider habitat boundaries as barriers. Therefore, understanding insect movement between habitats is needed to determine the effectiveness of border crops for ecosystem services such as pest control within agricultural habitats. Our objective was to compare ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) movement across soybean plots that were bordered by corn and grassland habitat to determine whether habitat boundaries were considered barriers of movement to predatory beetles. Using a grid of pitfall traps within these habitats, we conducted a mark, release, and recapture experiment to track and evaluate ground beetle movement patterns. We found that ground beetles stayed in the habitat of their release and that movement between habitats, despite the type of bordering habitat or type of edge, was uncommon. We also found that long-distance movement was rare as most beetles moved less than 5 m (regardless of release or recaptured habitat) and movement was perpendicular to habitat edges. These results suggest that any edge habitat, including agricultural–agricultural boundaries and natural–agricultural boundaries, are likely barriers to ground beetle movement. Therefore, in order for border crops to be effective in pest management by ground beetles, making habitat edges more permeable, especially using techniques such as edge softening, could promote cross-habitat movement and ultimately contribute to natural pest control in agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective observational study conducted by researchers from Ochsner Health System and Tulane University in New Orleans examined the reliability of patient history in cases of venom-induced anaphylaxis. The study found that patient history was useful in identifying the insect genus in 73% of cases, particularly for fire ants. The researchers suggest that relying on patient history could help streamline the selection of immunotherapy extracts and eliminate the need for testing, leading to earlier protection for patients. However, further research is needed to determine the generalizability of these findings to other geographical contexts. [Extracted from the article]

The decline of pollinator populations and associated ecosystem services has gained media coverage in recent years. Insect nesting boxes, sometimes called bee houses or insect hotels, are marketed as a way to support wild, native pollinator populations by providing additional nesting habitats, especially in urban contexts, but their actual value as such is controversial. This study aims at documenting the use of nesting boxes by cavity-nesting hymenopterans in urban habitats and assessing preferences in terms of materials and cavity diameter. We compare colonization rate, parasitism rate, and species assemblages between three habitats (green alleyways, community gardens and the Montréal Botanical Garden) and two materials (log and reed). Sixty nesting boxes were built using reeds and logs presenting narrow (3–5 mm wide) and wide (5–8 mm wide) cavities. 660 bees and wasps were collected during emergence in spring 2021, representing 14 families and 28 confirmed species, including six new records for the province of Québec. Species number was higher in the Botanical Garden. We found that native species were more diverse, but less abundant than introduced species. Material and cavity diameter were drivers of colonization rate and species richness, but not habitat. Colonization rate and species richness was higher in logs and in narrow cavities. Half of the nesting boxes were parasitized, but there was no difference between habitats in parasitism rate. Our results show that nesting boxes are used by species with complementary ecological roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study records the first observation of a female Delta dimidiatipenne constructing its nest in Oran (NW-Algeria). The nest construction and developments thereafter were monitored every three days from July to September 2022 (70 days). Ultimately four female wasps were successfully emerged. This first record will be useful for future studies on the distribution, behaviour, ecology and conservation in this semi-arid region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Land use intensification may affect diversity, abundance, and functional morphological traits (FMT) related to dispersal, food acquisition, digestion, and nesting in some insects, possibly impacting their ecological role. Most studies of termites on the effects of afforestation focus on diversity and abundance, but changes in FMT have yet to be studied. Aim: To better understand the response mechanisms to land use intensification, we compared the FMT of the worker and soldier caste of Heterotermes tenuis among Pinus caribaea plantations of four different ages and gallery forests of the Colombian Orinoquía. Methodology: We measured thirty-eight FMTs in the worker and soldier castes of H. tenuis from gallery forests and pine plantations. Then, we used a Community-Weighted Mean (CWM), a PERMANOVA, and a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to estimate the possible effect of land use type on the FMT of both castes. We selected the FMTs with the lowest intraspecific coefficient of variation (CV) from each caste to compare their size among the land use types and pine plantation ages. Results: Land use type had a more significant impact on the FMT size of pine plantation workers than the age of the afforestation. FMT of the worker caste tends to be larger in gallery forests than in pine plantations, while the results were inconclusive for soldiers. Conclusion: The results suggested a homogenization mainly of the feeding FMT of the worker caste of H. tenuis in pine plantations associated with the increase in the softwood food resource of P. caribaea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nests of social insects have favorable characteristics for the maintenance of inquilines, including beetle species of various families. Although some species of stingless bees are hosts to beetles, this interaction has been little studied. Certain Scotocryptini beetles are inquilines of stingless bee nests and possess morphological adaptations to live in these environments. Here, we review the interactions between bees and beetles, specifically those of Neotropical stingless bees and Scotocryptini. In addition, we provide new data and an interaction network between the species of these taxa, and analyze their interaction frequency. Finally, we discuss the importance of taxonomic studies on scotocryptines to better understand the evolution of this type of association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the nematodes were identified as I Sheraphelenchus i sp., they were picked up individually using stainless-steel insect pins (Insect pin No. 00, Shiga Kontyu), and transferred to new MEA previously inoculated with I Pestalotiopsis i sp., which has been used as I S. sucus i food in the laboratory (Kanzaki, 2021). Keywords: distribution; geographical variation; new locality; phylogeny EN distribution geographical variation new locality phylogeny 713 716 4 07/06/23 20230601 NES 230601 The nematode genus I Sheraphelenchus i Nickle, 1970 (Tylenchomorpha: Aphelenchoididae) currently contains five species and most have been isolated from rotten plant material, especially fruit, vegetables and sap, I i.e. i , organic matter that is relatively carbohydrate-rich and fermented, and insects associated with these environments (Kanzaki, 2021). Of the five species, I Sheraphelenchus sucus i Kanzaki & Tanaka, 2013 has been found in Ibaraki (Kanzaki & Tanaka, 2013) and Kyoto (Kanzaki, 2021), Japan. [Extracted from the article]

In the summer of 1780, anti-Catholic riots led by Lord George Gordon in London left hundreds dead and stretches of the city burnt and destroyed. Eighteen months later, during a tense period in the city's history, London was invaded by brown-tail moth caterpillars. The metropolis and surrounding countryside disappeared behind the tents and nests of the insects, prompting widespread fear of famine and plague. With the memory of the riots still fresh, philanthropists such as Jonas Hanway and entomologists like William Curtis sought to assuage the public's fear, insisting that the brown-tail moth outbreak was part of the normal operations of nature, that the infestation bore no danger to the public, and that efforts to alarm the public or describe them as dangerous were contemptuous. At the same time, the conjurer and philosopher Gustavus Katterfelto, performing in the city, sought to profit from the public agitation, developing spectacles and performances that promised the insects would soon deliver famine, plague, and ruin on the city. This article examines the intersection of scientific authority, public fear, and performance, showing that the outbreak placed tremendous stress on the relationship between scientific authority and security in the metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many insects rely on path integration to define direct routes back to their nests. When shuttling hundreds of meters back and forth between a profitable foraging site and a nest, navigational errors accumulate unavoidably in this compass- and odometer-based system. In familiar terrain, terrestrial landmarks can be used to compensate for these errors and safely guide the insect back to its nest with pin-point precision. In this study, we investigated the homing strategies employed by Camponotus fulvopilosus ants when repeatedly foraging no more than 1.25 m away from their nest. Our results reveal that the return journeys of the ants, even when setting out from a feeder from which the ants could easily get home using landmark information alone, are initially guided by path integration. After a short run in the direction given by the home vector, the ants then switched strategies and started to steer according to the landmarks surrounding their nest. We conclude that even when foraging in the close vicinity of its nest, an ant still benefits from its path-integrated vector to direct the start of its return journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Animals living in nests leave their nests to search for food and often use constant routes. We tested how workers of ant colonies cope with pitfall traps placed on their way to food. Such pits can represent those dug by the ant-hunting pit-building antlions. The pitfall traps delayed the arrival at the food and increased the workers' tracks, but the ants improved in searching after accumulating experience. Furthermore, workers learned to avoid falling into the pits with experience. Removing or adding pits led to a fast change in the worker behavior and they ignored the past conditions, except for tracks that were longer than expected, after pitfall traps were removed. The ants fell much more frequently into pits closer to the arena entry, suggesting that such positions are especially profitable for sit-and-wait predators, ambushing such ants. Central-place foragers, such as social insects or nesting birds, repeatedly use the same routes from and to their nests when foraging for food. Such species forage more efficiently after accumulating experience. We examined, here, a relatively neglected aspect of such an improvement with experience—the avoidance of pitfall traps. Similar pits are built by antlions, which co-occur with the ants, but they also resemble other natural obstacles. We used the desert ant Cataglyphis niger, common in sandy habitats, and allowed it to forage for three successive runs for a food reward. Ant workers discovered food more slowly and in smaller numbers when pits were in their path. Pit presence also led to longer tracks by ants and slower movement. However, with experience, the ants fell into such pits less often and reached the food more quickly. To understand how past conditions affect current behavior, we investigated whether removing or adding pits led to a different result to that with a constant number of pits. Workers adjusted their behavior immediately when conditions changed. The only carryover effect was the longer tracks crossed by workers after pit removal, possibly resulting from the mismatch between the past and current conditions. Finally, the workers were more likely to fall into pits that were closer to the nest than those that were further away. This is a good example of the advantage that ambush predators can derive from ambushing their prey in specific locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta Buren) is one of the worst invasive species, particularly for the target of a national cost-shared eradication program. Rapid and accurate detection of RIFA has been highly urgent for the unmanned monitoring of the epidemic situation in recent years. In this study, an improved YOLOv5s model was proposed to detect and recognize the RIFA insects and nests using image processing. The specific procedure was as follows. Firstly, the image data of the RIFA nest was collected in the epidemic area of RIFA on the lawn, where the resolution ratio was compressed to 640×480 pixels. Data collection was carried out on the images of RIFA insects on a single RIFA nest. A total of 1400 images were collected as a data set. Labelling software was used to manually label the RIFA insects in the images. Specifically, the training label map was obtained using the minimum circumscribed rectangle containing all pixels of the RIFA insect. The labelled image data set was randomly divided into the training, test, and verification set, according to 8:1:1. Secondly, a compression operation was performed on the background area of the value component image of the RIFA nest in the lawn environment. The OTSU threshold was used to segment the difference images between the compressed and hue component. A super green model was selected to extract the difference that fused with the background area. An attention mechanism module was added to the backbone network of the YOLOv5s model. An improved YOLOv5s network was obtained to detect and recognize the RIFA insects. The reason was that the attention mechanism was commonly used to calibrate the channel and spatial location for the better performance of the improved model. Finally, the collected RIFA nests and RIFA insect images were tested on the detection and recognition model. The results showed that the highest Intersection over Union (IoU) of RIFA nest images in a lawn environment was 96.87%, where the samples with IoU higher than 90% accounted for 25%, the samples with IoU between 80%-90% accounted for 56.67%, the samples with IoU lower than 80% accounted for 18.33%, and the samples with IoU higher than 80% accounted for more than 81%. Additionally, the average detection speed of RIFA insect images reached 48.53 frames/s, the precision was 91.50%, the recall rate was 89.28%, the Average Precision (AP) was 95.40%, and the F1 comprehensive evaluation index was 90.38%. The performance of the imported YOLOv5s model was greatly improved, compared with the original. The finding can provide a strong reference for the intelligent detection of RIFAs in a lawn environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermestidae (Bostrichoidea) exploit diverse food sources including fungal mycelia, but notably they as saprophagous, feeding on decomposing and dried flesh and keratin of animals and plants. Some of them live in spider webs, vertebrate and social insect nests, while others cause damage in human dwellings. Here, we use mitogenomics to reconstruct their phylogeny and evolution of life history strategies. We recovered serial splits of Orphilinae, Thorictinae + Dermestinae, Attageninae, Trinodinae and Megatominae, and we dated the origins of all subfamilies between the Middle Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous. Extant genera started their diversification in the Middle Cretaceous, except for Dermestes that originated in the Eocene. Mycetophagy, the likely feeding style of the common ancestor with Endecatomidae, was retained only by Orphilinae. Since the Late Jurassic, most dermestids have been saprophagous with the preference for desiccated tissue. We infer a scenario of feeding preferences from mycetophagy moving to saprophagy, always depending on food with low water content, followed by the shift from cryptic life in crevices and wood, to commensalism with social Hymenoptera, and ultimately feeding on angiosperm pollen as adults. The dependence on spider larders evolved already in the Early Cretaceous, but lineages with this specialized strategy remained species‐poor. We date the origin of exploitation of vertebrate carcasses to the Eocene when modern mammalian fauna became dominant. The diversification of Megatominae (62% of known dermestids) and Attagenus Latreille (17%) coincides with the radiation of angiosperms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollinator welfare is a recognized research and policy target, and urban greenspaces have been identified as important habitats. Yet, landscape‐scale habitat fragmentation and greenspace management practices may limit a city's conservation potential. We examined how landscape configuration, composition, and local patch quality influenced insect nesting success across inner‐city Cleveland, Ohio (U.S.A.), a postindustrial legacy city containing a high abundance of vacant land (over 1600 ha). Here, 40 vacant lots were assigned 1 of 5 habitat treatments (T1, vacant lot; T2, grass lawn; T3, flowering lawn; T4, grass prairie; and T5, flowering prairie), and we evaluated how seeded vegetation, greenspace size, and landscape connectivity influenced cavity‐nesting bee and wasp reproduction. Native bee and wasp larvae were more abundant in landscapes that contained a large patch (i.e., >6 ha) of contiguous greenspace, in habitats with low plant biomass, and in vacant lots seeded with a native wildflower seed mix or with fine‐fescue grass, suggesting that fitness was influenced by urban landscape features and habitat management. Our results can guide urban planning by demonstrating that actions that maintain large contiguous greenspace in the landscape and establish native plants would support the conservation of bees and wasps. Moreover, our study highlights that the world's estimated 350 legacy cities are promising urban conservation targets due to their high abundance of vacant greenspace that could accommodate taxa's habitat needs in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social insects' nests harbor intruders known as inquilines, 1 which are usually related to their hosts. 2,3 However, distant non-social inquilines may also show convergences with their hosts, 4,5 although the underlying genomic changes remain unclear. We analyzed the genome of the wingless and blind bee louse fly Braula coeca , an inquiline kleptoparasite of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. 6,7 Using large phylogenomic data, we confirmed recent accounts that the bee louse fly is a drosophilid 8,9 and showed that it had likely evolved from a sap-breeder ancestor associated with honeydew and scale insects' wax. Unlike many parasites, the bee louse fly genome did not show significant erosion or strict reliance on an endosymbiont, likely due to a relatively recent age of inquilinism. However, we observed a horizontal transfer of a transposon and a striking parallel evolution in a set of gene families between the honey bee and the bee louse fly. Convergences included genes potentially involved in metabolism and immunity and the loss of nearly all bitter-tasting gustatory receptors, in agreement with life in a protective nest and a diet of honey, pollen, and beeswax. Vision and odorant receptor genes also exhibited rapid losses. Only genes whose orthologs in the closely related Drosophila melanogaster respond to honey bee pheromone components or floral aroma were retained, whereas the losses included orthologous receptors responsive to the anti-ovarian honey bee queen pheromones. Hence, deep genomic convergences can underlie major phenotypic transitions during the evolution of inquilinism between non-social parasites and their social hosts. [Display omitted] • The bee louse fly (Braula coeca) is a drosophilid inquiline of honey bee nests • B. coeca likely evolved from a sap-breeding ancestor associated with scale insects • B. coeca has a large genome, including a horizontal transposon transfer with bees • Many chemosensory and detoxification genes were lost, mirroring trends in bees Bastide et al. analyze the genome of the blind and wingless bee louse fly Braula coeca , an inquiline of the honey bee. B. coeca likely descends from a sap-breeder drosophilid ancestor. Inquilinism involves horizontal transposon transfer and convergent losses in relevant chemosensory and detoxification genes with the social host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodpeckers are well-known for their audible percussive wood drilling. A new study shows that these birds benefit from their small size and key skull features to safely hammer at wood for insect food and nesting excavations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, although these deadwood "follies" are meant for carpenter bees and carpenter ants, the structures will be attractive to a diversity of other insect species in the area. This study creatively adds a whole new layer to the existing landscape design, as the deadwood features will act both as social spaces and as homes for the target insect species, carpenter bees and carpenter ants. [Extracted from the article]

Pollen clumps associated with the skeleton of the Shanidar 4 Neanderthal were interpreted by the excavator as evidence for a purposeful burial with flowers. This was one of several findings from Shanidar Cave that helped to shape modern perceptions of Neanderthals as sharing empathic characteristics with Middle Palaeolithic Homo sapiens (modern humans). Here the available evidence is reviewed critically from a palynological viewpoint. It seems likely that at least some of the pollen clumps were emplaced by nesting solitary bees, though other mechanisms may also have been involved. Shanidar 4 remains of notable importance, however, in being part of a tight cluster of remarkably complete and deliberately emplaced Neanderthal skeletal remains. • Palynological evidence for 'Flower Burial' at Shanidar Cave is reviewed. • Nesting solitary bees probably explain pollen clumps. • Other mechanisms also possible, maybe placing vegetation over the dead. • Shanidar 4 is part of a cluster of bodies placed in the same topographic feature. • Neanderthal 'storied landscape' and topographic memory? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect biodiversity and its conservation are thus among the main global topics in conservation science and one of the major challenges for the present and coming generations. Most of Earth's biodiversity is found in 36 biodiversity hotspots, particularly in the tropics and in Mediterranean-type environments, yet less than 10% natural intact vegetation remains therein. In global biodiversity hotspots, where endemism is high, and native vegetation highly impacted, many insect species are both endemic and threatened. [Extracted from the article]

Trap nests made from stalks or stems of eudominant plants, such as Phragmites australis (reed) and Solidago canadensis (goldenrod), have been frequently used in previous studies. Nevertheless, trap nest occupancy in large stands of source plants remains poorly understood. We deployed trap nests made from stems with and stalks without parenchyma to steppic grasslands and terrestrial reed bed margins (64 localities in Central Europe) and matched the data with those from Moericke traps and phytocenologic relevés. The reed stalk trap nests attracted a much more abundant assemblage of Aculeata than the goldenrod stem trap nests. However, a large part of the species nesting in goldenrod stem trap nests overlapped with the species that used (and preferred) reed stalk trap nests. Ten aculeate species, which were present in large amounts in trap nests, were completely absent from the Moericke traps, and others were present in limited quantities. In natural habitats, trap-nesting bees and wasps had lower dominance but similar Fisher alpha values as those in anthropogenic habitats. Cavities in stems with or stalks without parenchyma served as previously undervalued nesting resources and an important monitoring tool. Trap-nesting species readily adopted broken stems and stalks even within stands of the source plants, the common reed and the goldenrod. Therefore, the conservation of threatened bee and wasp species that are associated with these cavities and are limited to habitats of natural origin requires conservation management that allows the presence of broken stems and stalks of ≥1 year of age in the proximity of the potential feeding habitats. [Display omitted] • Plant stalk cavities are important nesting resources at sites of abundant food resources. • Reed stalk trap nests are adopted even where present naturally in high numbers. • Ten aculeate species were abundant in trap nests but absent from the Moericke traps. • Five aculeate species were present only in traps exposed in natural habitats. • Differences in quality of naturally available cavities need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]