Given the pervasiveness of stress and anxiety in our culture it is important to develop and implement interventions that can be easily utilized by large numbers of people that are readily available, inexpensive and have minimal side effects. Two studies explored the effectiveness of a computer-based heart rate variability biofeedback program on reducing anxiety and negative mood in college students. A pilot project (n = 9) of highly anxious students revealed sizable decreases in anxiety and negative mood following utilizing the program for 4 weeks. A second study (n = 35) employing an immediate versus delayed treatment design replicated the results, although the magnitude of the impact was not quite as strong. Despite observing decreases in anxiety, the expected changes in psychophysiological coherence were not observed.

Abstract.  Male genitalia were comprehensively surveyed across the aquatic true bug family Nepidae. One hundred and forty‐one species in thirteen of fourteen genera and all five nepid tribes were dissected and studied. A family level description of waterscorpion male genitalia is provided that seeks to clarify the divisions of the phallus by comparison with the heteropteran male genitalia groundplan and with the phallus of the sister group of Nepidae, Belostomatidae. A comparative study of genitalia at the genus level revealed sixteen morphological groups that do not correspond precisely to the fourteen genera within the family. For example, there are distinct morphological groups within genera, e.g. two groups in Telmatotrephes and eight in Ranatra. By contrast, six genera, Borborophilus, Borborophyes, Laccotrephes, Montonepa, Nepella and Paranepa, form two groups. These morphological groups are the terminal units in a phylogenetic analysis based on twenty‐six male genital characters. The trees resulting from the analysis are distinctly different from Mahner's phylogenetic hypothesis for the family, which was based largely on nonreproductive traits. A hypothesis explaining the discordance of phylogenetic hypotheses generated from reproductive vs nonreproductive characters is presented.

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Florida Entomological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Florida Entomologist. ABSTRACT Melanolestes picipes has been separated from M. abdominalis on the basis of color (black in picipes, red wholly or in part in abdominalis), wing form (macropterous and brachypterous in picipes, macropterous in abdominalis), and size of ocelli (smaller in picipes). Evaluation of these characters showed they were not diagnostic. We also examined the male and female external genitalia and found no consistent differences within sex between the two "species." We therefore conclude that M. abdominalis is not a valid species but is a junior synonym of M. picipes. RESUMEN Tradicionalmente, se ha separado Melanolestes picipes de M. abdominalis en base a el color (negro en picipes, completamente rojo, o en parte rojo en abdominalis), y el tamanio del oceli (mas pequenio en picipes). La nueva evaluacion de estos caracteresdemostro que no son suficientes para establecer un diagnostico. Se examino tambien la genitalia externa del macho y la hembra, y no se encontraron diferencias entre las dos "especies". Concluimos que M. abdominalis no es una especie valida, sino un sinonimo menor de M. picipes. Herrich-Schaeffer (1846) described two species of reduviids, Pirates (sic) picipes (p. 62) and P. abdominalis (p. 63), now placed in the genus Melanolestes Stal. The descriptions (here translated), each based on a single male specimen, are as follows: M. picipes-a black Pirates, antennae and legs black; appears very similar to Reduvius personatus, but has the generic characters of the genus Pirates, stouter form, shorter antennae, thicker femora, etc.; a male from North America from Mr. Sturm. M. abdominalis-a very black insect, abdomen scarlet, anal region black; the sole of the tibia bears goldenyellow hairs; a male from Mr. Sturm from North America. Stal (1872, p. 107) questioned the validity of M. abdominalis as a species for he listed it as a variety of M. picipes. He also added to the description of picipes by noting that the hemelytra of the variety are very abbreviated. Uhler (1876, p. 330) treated M. picipes and abdominalis as separate species. He stated, "The evidence at present in my possession does not warrant the uniting of these two species. Both are quite common in Maryland, sometimes occurring under the same stone; but while I have seen the sexes united, I have never seen a male of the one caress or unite with a female of the other. The width and proportions of the head and pronotum and abdomen vary considerably in the specimens of both of these species, so that, in the absence of a long series of them, they might be made to constitute a number of sp...

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