We addressed the importance of third dimension and color contrast as cues used in close range nest localization by Osmia lignaria Say and Megachile rotundata (F.) females. By manipulating the surface of the nesting site, we compared 3-dimensional configurations of three different depths (1 cm, 2 cm, and 6 cm) and three different color contrasts (black-black, black-gray, and black-blue). We also tested the relative importance of third dimension and color contrast by manipulating both variables. Both species respond to changes in depth as well as in color contrast by increasing searching time and by displaying behaviors consistent with disorientation. Increasing the depth of the 3-dimensional configuration as well as the amount of color contrast led to an increase in the level of confusion.

Thirty-seven streams within 15 Missouri State Parks were sampled for immature and adult Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) during 2002 and early 2003. Seven mesohabitats were sampled: riffle, run, leafpack, pool, no flow organic, bank, and silt/mud. Mesohabitat associations are reported for each species collected. All totaled, 34,251 EPT larvae were collected, all specimens of which were identified to the lowest taxon possible. Of approximately 70,000 adult specimens collected by blacklight and vegetation sweeping, 10,342 were examined and identified to the lowest taxon possible. Fifteen species endemic to the Interior Highlands and two species on the Missouri Species of Conservation Concern Checklist were collected. This research revealed a total of 213 species in 99 genera and 37 families of EPT in the designated state parks, representing 65% of the EPT fauna known from Missouri. Mesohabitat associations are reported for all species of larvae collected. Richness of mayflies and stoneflies was significantly highest during the spring season whereas richness of caddisflies was significantly highest during the fall. Richness of all three orders was highest in the riffle mesohabitat, and lowest in the pool and no flow organic mesohabitats. Many distribution records are reported and Serratella sordida McDunnough (Ephemeroptera: Ephemerellidae) and Triaenodes perna Ross (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) were collected in Missouri for the first time.

Differences between the two species of Lisotrigona [L. cacciae (Nurse) and L. furva Engel] known from Thailand are enumerated. The only consistent difference is size. The male of L. furva, hitherto unknown for the genus, is described and parts illustrated; the male genitalia are very unusual, clearly supporting generic rank for Lisotrigona.

Pitfall trap sampling and light trapping for Mutillidae were conducted in Cache County, Utah. Males of the nocturnal mutillid species Dilophotopsis concolor crassa (Cresson), Odontophotopsis erebus (Melander), and Odontophotopsis melicausa (Blake) were collected. The females of these species are unknown. Sphaeropthalma nanula Dalla Torre and two unknown female morphospecies of nocturnal mutillids also were collected at the study site. By comparison of species-specific genetic loci, the females were matched to the males collected from the same locality. The female of D. concolor crassa is S. nanula; the latter has priority and represents a new combination in Dilophotopsis. The female of D. concolor nanula is redescribed. The females of the remaining two species also are described and all three are compared to other known nocturnal females.

Global warming is generally predicted to increase the intensity of herbivore pressure on plants. Support for this prediction often comes from short-term studies, or studies conducted in controlled laboratory settings. We examined the effect of long-term experimental warming on an aphid-sagebrush interaction (Obtusicauda coweni and Artemisia tridentata) in natural field plots in the Rocky Mountains. In no year did we find support for the prediction that warming increased aphid abundance or population growth. In fact, warming decreased aphid density on sagebrush in one year, tended to decrease aphids in a second year, and had no effect in a third year. In enclosures that excluded predators, warming decreased aphid population growth by an amount consistent with observed field density differences. Warming increased sagebrush carbon:nitrogen (C∶N) ratio and plant size, but there was no significant correlation between these variables and aphid growth or density. In a separate snow-manipulation experiment in unwarmed plots, the timing of snowmelt did not affect aphid density. In conclusion, warming reduced or did not affect aphid density in each of three years, but this effect could not be explained by differences in plant size, bulk C∶N ratio, predation, or snowmelt date. Our results suggest that long-term studies within a natural community context may provide counterexamples to the prediction that warming will increase herbivore pressure on plants.

A new species of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Chiasmognathus Engel (Nomadinae: Ammobatini), a lineage of minute Anthophila victimizing Nomioides Schenck (Halictidae: Halictinae: Nomioidini), is described and figured from Sindh Province, Pakistan. Chiasmognathus pashupati Engel, new species, is distinguished from previously described congeners and is a cleptoparasite of Nomioides patruelis Cockerell.