Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia

Brock, Paul D.; Hasenpusch, Jack W

doi:10.1071/9780643097087

Cited by 46 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Included in our sampling are three exemplars belonging to Neohirasea Rehn resp. the Neohirasea complex of Hennemann () as well as Leprocaulinus Uvarov and Baculofractum Zompro, whose systematic treatment was controversial in the past with suggested placements either in Lonchodinae or Necrosciinae (Brunner von Wattenwyl, ; Zompro, ; Bragg, ; Brock & Hasenpusch, , ; Hennemann & Conle, ; Ho, ). As an outgroup we used the North American genus Timema Scudder, which has been repeatedly demonstrated to form the sister group of all remaining stick and leaf insects (= Euphasmatodea) (Kristensen, ; Tilgner, ; Whiting et al , ; Terry & Whiting, ; Bradler, ; Klug & Bradler, ; Tomita et al , 2011; Friedemann et al , ; Gottardo et al , ; Wan et al , ) or less often, to lie outside the phasmatodean clade (Zompro, ; Kjer et al , ; Jintsu et al , ; Kômoto et al , , ; Djernæs et al , ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among Phasmatodea, Necrosciinae form the most species‐rich subfamily, currently comprising more than 700 described species in approximately 65 genera from the Oriental region, including approximately 30 Australian species (Brock & Hasenpusch, , ; Brock, ) and one species in Madagascar (Cliquennois, ). Sellick () considered Necrosciinae (referred to as Necrosciidae by the author) to be clearly polyphyletic and described the group as being extremely heterogeneous in light of egg capsule morphology and egg‐laying strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

Bradler

Robertson

Whiting

2014

Systematic Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The phasmatodeans or stick and leaf insects are considered to be a mesodiverse insect order with more than 3000 species reported mainly from the tropics. The stick insect subfamily Necrosciinae comprises approximately 700 described species in more than 60 genera from the Oriental and Australian region, forming the most species‐rich subfamily traditionally recognized within Phasmatodea. However, the monophyly of this taxon has never been thoroughly tested and the evolutionary relationships among its members are unknown. We analyse three nuclear (18S and 28S rDNA, histone 3) and three mitochondrial (CO II, 12S and 16S rDNA) genes to infer the phylogeny of 60 species of stick insects that represent all recognized families and major subfamilies sensu Günther and the remarkable diversity within Necrosciinae. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian techniques largely recover the same substantial clades, albeit with highly discordant relationships between them. Most members of the subfamily Necrosciinae form a clade. However, the genus Neohirasea – currently classified within Lonchodinae – is strongly supported as subordinate to Necrosciinae, whereas Baculofractum, currently classified within Necrosciinae, is strongly supported within Lonchodinae. Accordingly, we formally transfer Neohirasea and allied taxa (namely Neohiraseini) to Necrosciinae sensu nova (s.n.) and Baculofractum to Lonchodinae s.n. We also provide further evidence that Leprocaulinus, until recently recognized as Necrosciinae, belongs to Lonchodinae, and forms the sister taxon of Baculofractum. Furthermore, Lonchodinae is paraphyletic under exclusion of Eurycantha and Neopromachus. We reinstate the traditional view that Neopromachus and related taxa (Neopromachini sensu Günther) are a subgroup of Lonchodinae and transfer those taxa + the New Guinean Eurycanthinae accordingly. Morphological evidence largely corroborates our molecular‐based findings and also reveals that Menexenus fruhstorferi is a member of the genus Neohirasea and is thus transferred from Menexenus (Lonchodinae) to Neohirasea, as Neohirasea fruhstorferi comb.n. (Necrosciinae s.n.). Other phylogenetic results include Areolatae and Anareolatae each supported as polyphyletic, Heteropteryginae and Lanceocercata (Bayesian analysis) are monophyletic, albeit with low support, and Necrosciinae s.n. and Lonchodinae s.n. are recovered as sister taxa (Bayesian analysis).

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

Bradler

Robertson

Whiting

2014

Systematic Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The goliath stick insect, Eurycnema goliath, is one of Australia's largest stick insect species (Brock and Hasenpusch 2009). Adult males can measure~121-146 mm in length, whereas adult females can reach~172-204 mm (Brock 1998).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Egg Dispersal in the Phasmatodea: Convergence in Chemical Signaling Strategies Between Plants and Animals?

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Numerous tree species' seeds contain an 'elaiosome' that acts as a food reward for ants and thus induces dispersal of the seeds. Many stick and leaf insect species appear to have evolved a convergent adaptation for dispersal whereby the egg 'capitulum' serves to induce ants to pick up and carry their eggs. Here, we investigated whether the capitulum facilitates egg dispersal by ants in the Australian stick insect Eurycnema goliath. The total fatty acid composition of E. goliath egg capsules and egg capitula were characterized to identify potential signaling compounds. Removing capitula from E. goliath eggs significantly reduced the likelihood of eggs being carried into the nests of Rhytidoponera metallica ants. Furthermore, attaching capitula to inert objects (polystyrene balls) resulted in these objects being carried into nests by R. metallica. Several fatty acids were present on the egg capsule surface in only trace amounts, whereas they made up over 10% of the dry weight of egg capitula. The fatty acid composition of egg capitula consisted mostly of palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18: 2n6c), oleic acid (C18:1n9c), linolenic acid (C18:3n3), and stearic acid (C18:0). Previously reported research has found that a diglyceride lipid species of oleic acid induces carrying behavior in R. metallica when added to inert artificial stimuli. Therefore, we propose that the dispersal mechanism of E. goliath eggs has converged upon the same chemical signaling pathway used by plants to exploit ant behavior.

show abstract

“…The Cyclone Larry stick insect, Sipyloidea larryi (Figure ), is a facultatively parthenogenetic phasmatid native to northern Queensland, Australia (Brock & Hasenpusch, , ). It feeds on understorey rainforest plants in the wild and is mostly active at night (Brock & Hasenpusch, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fitness effects of delayed switching to sex in a facultatively asexual insect

Burke

Bonduriansky

2018

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Facultative reproductive strategies that incorporate both sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction should be optimal, yet are rarely observed in animals. Resolving this paradox requires an understanding of the economics of facultative asexuality. Recent work suggests that switching from parthenogenesis to sex can be costly and that females can resist mating to avoid switching. However, it remains unclear whether these costs and resistance behaviors are dependent on female age. We addressed these questions in the Cyclone Larry stick insect, Sipyloidea larryi, by pairing females with males (or with females as a control) in early life prior to the start of parthenogenetic reproduction, or in mid‐ or late life after a period of parthenogenetic oviposition. Young females were receptive to mating even though mating in early life caused reduced fecundity. Female resistance to mating increased with age, but reproductive switching in mid‐ or late life did not negatively affect female survival or offspring performance. Overall, mating enhanced female fitness because fertilized eggs had higher hatching success and resulted in more adult offspring than parthenogenetic eggs. However, female fecundity and offspring viability were also enhanced in females paired with other females, suggesting a socially mediated maternal effect. Our results provide little evidence that switching from parthenogenesis to sex at any age is costly for S. larryi females. However, age‐dependent effects of switching on some fitness components and female resistance behaviors suggest the possibility of context‐dependent effects that may only be apparent in natural populations.

show abstract

Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia

Cited by 46 publications

References 0 publications

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

Egg Dispersal in the Phasmatodea: Convergence in Chemical Signaling Strategies Between Plants and Animals?

The fitness effects of delayed switching to sex in a facultatively asexual insect

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About