Eric G Chapman

• PhD
• Research Analyst at University of Kentucky

New state records are presented to expand the known distribution of 10 species of Coleoptera in the United States: Priocera castaea (Newman, 1838) (Cleroidea: Cleridae), Rhadalus testaceus LeConte, 1852 (Cleroidea: Rhadalidae), Sosylus extensus (Casey, 1897) (Coccinelloidea: Bothrideridae), Nosodendron unicolor (Say, 1824) (Nosodendroidea: Nosodend...

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) (Arecales: Arecaceae) is the most economically important crop in Oman with an annual production of >360,000 tons of fruit. The Dubas bug (Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin) (Hemiptera: Tropiduchidae) is one of the major pests of date palms, causing up to a 50% reduction in fruit production. Across the course of 2...

The invasive brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae), has spread in multiple locations around the world and, along with it, brought associated organisms such as endosymbionts. We investigated endosymbiont diversity and prevalence across putative native and invasive populations of this spider, predicting lower endosymbiont...

The invasive brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae), has spread in multiple locations around the world and, along with it, brought associated organisms such as endosymbionts. We investigated endosymbiont diversity and prevalence across putative native and invasive populations of this spider, predicting lower endosymbiont...

The longhorn beetle fauna of Kentucky has long been overlooked in the literature with revisions and historic publications reporting few records from the state. Here, we document the occurrence of 222 species of Cerambycidae in Kentucky, with 140 new state records. For each species, we summarize its distribution (overall and in the state), the count...

A new genus of the tribe Alysiini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae) is described with specimens from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and six new species are described: Anamalysia idiastimorpha sp. nov. (type species), A. knekosoma sp. nov. , A. mellipes sp. nov. , A. transversator sp. nov. , A. vandervechti sp. nov....

A new braconid genus belonging to the tribe Alysiini. Phaenospila van Achterberg & Yao, gen. nov. (type species: Phaenospila signator Yao, sp. nov.), is described. The genus is identified with morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence data; GenBank accession numbers of fifty generated sequences from the three species are...

Generalist predators’ complex feeding relationships make it difficult to predict their contribution to pest suppression. Alternative prey can either distract predators from attacking pests, weakening biocontrol, or provide food that support larger predator communities to enhance it. Similarly, predator species might both feed upon and complement on...

BACKGROUND Generalist predators that kill and eat other natural enemies can weaken biological control. However, pest suppression can be disrupted even if actual intraguild predation is infrequent, if predators reduce their foraging to lower their risk of being killed. In turn, predator–predator interference might be frequent when few other prey are...

BACKGROUND Biological control by generalist predators can be mediated by the abundance and biodiversity of alternative prey. When alternative prey draw predator attacks away from the control target, they can weaken pest suppression. In other cases, a diverse prey base can promote predator abundance and biodiversity, reduce predator–predator interfe...

Greater arthropod diversity may promote biological control by bringing together predator species that occupy complementary feeding niches. Diverse prey communities could further accentuate such niche differences and decrease predator-predator antagonism. However, much evidence of these effects comes from simple experiments that do not reflect the e...

Three new genera are described: Michener (Proteropinae), Bioalfa (Rogadinae), and Hermosomastax (Rogadinae). Keys are given for the New World genera of the following braconid subfamilies: Agathidinae, Braconinae, Cheloninae, Homolobinae, Hormiinae, Ichneutinae, Macrocentrinae, Orgilinae, Proteropinae, Rhysipolinae, and Rogadinae. In these subfamili...

Bees are the most important pollinators in both managed and natural ecosystems, and yet concerns about bee declines are growing. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the 20,000 known bee species has adequate data to assess the status of species and susceptibility of populations to decline. The iDigBees Thematic Collections Network (TCN), comprised of...

Maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts are common in arthropods, but their distribution and prevalence are poorly characterized in many host taxa. Initial surveys have suggested that vertically transmitted symbionts may be particularly common in spiders (Araneae). Here, we used diagnostic PCR and high-throughput sequencing to evaluate symbion...

Here we elucidate and justify a DNA barcode approach to insect species description that can be applied to name tens of thousands of species of Ichneumonoidea and many other species-rich taxa. Each description consists of a lateral habitus image of the specimen, a COI barcode diagnosis, and the holotype specimen information required by the Internati...

Maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts are common in arthropods, but their distribution and prevalence is poorly characterized in many host taxa. For example, spiders (Araneae) have received little attention, but initial surveys suggest that vertically transmitted symbionts may be common. Here, we characterized endosymbiont infection in a com...

The contribution of generalist insect predators to the control of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), an herbivorous pest of many crops, is poorly understood. One of the common insect predators in strawberries is the generalist predatory bug Anthocoris nemorum L. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), which has the pot...

SenwotWharton 1983, is a small braconid genus with only two previously described species. The genus is revised using morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence. Senwot Wharton is reported for the first time from Thailand and two new species: Senwot yinxianggaoae Yao n. sp. and Senwot jiyuanyaoi Yao n. sp. are described and...

Based on cladistic analyses recently conducted by Sharkey and Chapman, the genus Zosteragathis Sharkey is revised. Twenty-two species are reported from Thailand, three previously described species, Z.samensis , Z.contrasta and Z.nuichuaensis , and 19 new species, i.e., Z.chaiyaphumensis , Z.eukos , Z.hinensis , Z.hongensis , Z.inthanonensis , Z.kra...

Neurolarthra Fischer, 1976, is a small braconid genus with two described species. The genus is revised using morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence data; GenBank accession numbers of seven COI sequences from two species are included. A new species from Thailand is described and illustrated: N. karensharkeyae Yao n. sp....

Neurolarthra Fischer, 1976, is a small braconid genus with two described species. The genus is revised using morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence data; GenBank accession numbers of seven COI sequences from two species are included. A new species from Thailand is described and illustrated: N. karensharkeyae Yao n. sp....

Thirty two new species of Lytopylus (Agathidinae) are described with image plates for each species: Lytopylus alejandromasisi sp. n., Lytopylus alfredomainieri sp. n., Lytopylus anamariamongeae sp. n., Lytopylus angelagonzalezae sp. n., Lytopylus cesarmorai sp. n., Lytopylus eddysanchezi sp. n., Lytopylus eliethcantillanoae sp. n., Lytopylus ericch...

The phylogeny of the Agathidinae is analyzed employing 45 agathidine genera, 172 Agathidinae operational taxonomic units, and sequences from the mitochondrial gene COI and the nuclear ribosomal gene 28S. The tribal classification is revised; two new tribes are proposed, i.e., Lytopylini and Agathirsini. Mesocoelini n. stat., is included as a tribe...

The broad feeding habits of generalist predators can lead to uncertainty about their impacts on particular pests. Due to prey switching, consumption of one pest species by generalist predators might decrease as densities of attractive alternative prey increase. To test this, we used molecular tools to examine presence/absence of two-spotted spider...

Hemiptera, the largest non-holometabolous order of insects, represents approximately 7% of metazoan diversity. With extraordinary life histories and highly specialized morphological adaptations, hemipterans have exploited diverse habitats and food sources through approximately 300 Myr of evolution. To elucidate the phylogeny and evolutionary histor...

The study of food webs and trophic interactions increasingly relies on PCR-based molecular gut-content analysis. However, this technique may be prone to error from contamination of minute quantities of DNA; i.e., simply storing specimens together in a liquid medium may lead to cross-contamination. In this study, we used PCR to determine the contami...

The Agathidini (Braconidae: Agathidinae) genera of Southeast Asia are revised based on a phylogenetic analysis of COI and 28S. Ten new genera are proposed, i.e., Agathigma, Asperagathis, Chimaeragathis, Cymagathis, Liragathis, Leuroagathis, Scabagathis, Trochantagathis, Xanthagathis, and Zosteragathis. An illustrated key to the Southeast Asian gene...