Eur. J. Entomol. 103 (2): 327-336, 2006 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2006.043

Life history and reproductive behavior of the endemic Hawaiian Anomalochrysa hepatica (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae): A comparative approach

Maurice J. TAUBER1,2, Catherine A. TAUBER1,2, Timothy W. HILTON1
1 Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; e-mail: mjt4@cornell.edu
2 Research Associate, Department of Entomology, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Our study focuses on a series of biological characteristics that Anomalochrysa hepatica exhibits; herein, we compare these features with those expressed by two other species within the endemic Hawaiian lacewing genus. Some of the characteristics (No. 2-3, below) vary greatly among the three congeners and may be of phylogenetic importance; others (No. 1, below) probably are not. Our study showed the following: (1) Developmental response to temperature. Anomalochrysa hepatica's developmental rates under a range of temperatures parallel those of the congener A. maclachlani, but A. hepatica's thermal threshold is lower. It is possible that both species' developmental responses to temperature are subject to considerable geographic variation and thus are of little phylogenetic significance at the species level. (2) Larval color change. Third instars of A. hepatica undergo a striking color change as they mature. In expressing this trait, A. hepatica resembles its closely related congener, A. maclachlani, but differs from the more distantly related congener, A. frater. This color change may have phylogenetic importance. (3) Reproductive behavior. Courtship and mating in Anomalochrysa comprise a consistent sequence of behavioral elements, some of which differ among the three species. For example, during courtship, A. hepatica produces readily audible clicks that are associated with forward flicking of the forewings; in A. maclachlani, readily audible clicking occurs with simultaneous flicking of the fore- and hind wings; in A. frater wing-flicking is present but we did not perceive audible clicks. Some of the interspecific variation in mating behavior may also involve specific morphological modifications; aspects of both the behavioral and morphological variation may provide useful characters for phylogenetic study. (4) Oviposition and rates of egg survival in the field. Unlike other Chrysopidae, endemic Hawaiian Anomalochrysa, including A. hepatica, typically lay unstalked eggs; however, species vary in their patterns of egg laying. Both A. hepatica and A. maclachlani deposit clustered eggs, whereas A. frater lays eggs singly. In nature, the average rate of hatching per A. hepatica egg mass was ~75%. Several species of introduced predators and a species of trichogrammatid parasitoid attacked these eggs.

Keywords: Neuroptera, Chrysopidae, Anomalochrysa hepatica, A. maclachlani, A. frater, Hawaiian endemic, green lacewing, temperature and development, egg predation, egg parasitoid, courtship, acoustic signals

Received: September 21, 2005; Revised: January 17, 2006; Accepted: January 17, 2006; Published: April 6, 2006  Show citation

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TAUBER, M.J., TAUBER, C.A., & HILTON, T.W. (2006). Life history and reproductive behavior of the endemic Hawaiian Anomalochrysa hepatica (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae): A comparative approach. EJE, 103(2), 327-336. doi: 10.14411/eje.2006.043
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