Hans Banziger

Chiang Mai University | CMU · Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

Stingless bees (Apinae: Meliponini) exhibit astonishing and unusual behaviours, including tear-drinking or lachryphagy. In this review, we summarize lachryphagy in stingless bees, providing updated insights into their taxonomy, foraging patterns, ecology, hosts, evolutionary origins, and potential for pathogen transmission. In Northern Thailand, ma...

Due to respiration, the carbon dioxide present in the sapromyiophilous flowers of Sapria himalayana in its forest habitat in N Thailand was found to be five to nine times that of the ambient air. On the other hand, the emanation of carbon dioxide from a cadaver, the volatiles of which the flower mimics in its pollination syndrome, was not higher th...

The book is introduced with reminiscences since 1967 when the author started his quest for the elusive skin-piercing blood-sucking vampire moths. Seventeen species of Calyptra are recognized, described, and illustrated; drawings of the male genitalia and a key to assist identification are provided. The Indomalayan C. minuticornis minuticornis and...

Dinogamasus saengdaoae Attasopa & Ferrari sp. nov. is described based on adult females from the abdominal pouch of females of Xylocopa tenuiscapa (Westwood) in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand. The new species belongs to the D. perkinsi (Oudemans) group (sensu LeVeque) and can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the foll...

The taxonomy of the subgenus Ashima of the genus Phortica is revised. A cladistic analysis of 66 morphological characters is conducted, covering 35 species (28 known and 7 new species: Phortica efragmentata sp. nov., P. andreagigoni sp. nov., P. watabei sp. nov., P. halimunensis sp. nov., P. akutsui sp. nov., P. kerinciensis sp. nov., and P. takehi...

We describe for the first time the male of Lepidotrigona nitidiventris (Smith, 1857), emphasizing the structure of the male genital capsule and metasomal sterna four through seven. Our identifi cation of the male as L. nitidiventris is based on our examination of the worker holotype (type locality Mt. Ophir, Peninsular Malaysia) which we found to m...

The rewarding orchid Epipactis flava was studied in NW Thailand. Its flowers were visited by a wide range of insects, most of which served as pollinators. The most frequent pollen bearers were (in decreasing order): the cricket Homoeoxipha lycoides, stingless bees of the Tetragonula testaceitarsis/hirashimai complex, hoverflies of subfam. Syrphinae...

Wild Lisotrigona cacciae (Nurse) and L. furva Engel were studied in their natural forest habitat at three sites in northern Thailand, May 2013-November 2014. The author, both experimenter and tear source, marked the minute bees while they drank from his eyes viewed in a mirror. All marked workers, 34 L. cacciae and 23 L. furva, came repeatedly to e...

We describe Lepidotrigona satun Attasopa and Bänziger new species from southern Thailand based upon associated males and females (workers). The new species is a member of the L. ventralis species group, which is otherwise represented in Thailand only by L. flavibasis and L. doipaensis. We also describe the males of the latter two species, associate...

Many non‐rewarding orchid species mimic the signals of co‐occurring food flowers and thereby attract food‐seeking animal pollinators. These signals are often visually complex with a colour pattern that contrasts between outer and central parts. The significance of this colour complexity for the pollination success of flowers of deceptive orchids ha...

At an entrance of a nest of Tetragonula laeviceps (Smith) located in Chiang Mai University campus we observed a male swarm that lasted for at least 40 consecutive days and contained more than 7000 males each time on several days. Surprisingly, harvesting the day’s totality of males did not reduce the swarm size on the following day, thus indicating...

Research on the pollination of Sirindhornia monophylla (Collett & Hemsl.) H. A. Pedersen & Suksathan was carried out in W Thailand, 2010-2012. The orchid is a nectariferous, non-autogamous and self-compatible terrestrial. During 120 man-hours of flower watching, three species of Ceratina were found to be the main pollinators, viz. C. (Ceratinidia)...

Nest entrance complexes of the meliponine Pariotrigona klossi Schwarz were studied on a limestone rock face in S Thailand. Unique in several aspects, a complex consisted of several coral-like clumps, all interconnected by roofed conduits. Inside these conduits, which were firmly attached to the substrate, the bees crawled on bare rock. The clumps w...

Lisotrigona cacciae, L. furva and Pariotrigona klossi (Meliponini, Apidae) workers drank lachrymation (tears) from human eyes in more than 262 naturally-occurred cases at 10 sites in N and S Thailand during all months of the year. A few visits were also seen to eyes of zebu and dog, indicating a probable broad mammalian host range. On man the bees...

Rewardless kettle-trap flowers Cypripedium yunnanense and C. flavum were watched for pollinators during 73 and 101 man-hours, respectively, in north-west Yunnan at 3490–3590 m a.s.l. They differ from typical Cypripedium, such as C. calceolus, in having a broad infolded flap of the lip extending all around the entrance of the pouch (instead of being...

Cypripedium guttatum was studied in north-west Yunnan at 3490 m a.s.l. The flowers are rewardless ‘kettle traps’. The structure of the lip, where pollinators are temporarily kept prisoner, and the method of their capture, are unusual in being Paphiopedilum- rather than Cypripedium-like. The deceptive orchid does not mimic any of the diverse flowers...

The fruits and seeds of Sapria himalayana and Rqfflesia kerrii are described for the first time. The fruits of the two genera clearly differ ontogenetically, in shape, size and colour. They are fissured berries: blackish, flattened barrel-shaped, 21-32 cm in circumference and 3.1-5 cm long in S. himalayana, but red-brown, truncated cone-like, 40-51...

Three new species of Sarcophaga Meigen, 1826 are described from Thailand: Sarcophaga (Sarcosolomonia) circa sp. nov., S. (Mehria) lanna sp. nov. and S. (Rosellea) suthep sp. nov.

Sarcophaga saprianovae Pape & Bänziger, new species, and Sarcophaga krathonmai Pape & Bänziger, new species, are described from Thailand. Breeding of these and other Sarcophaga spp. allowed novel and correct male-female associations. Females of several species of Sarcophaga are involved in the pollination of newly described Sapria ram Bänziger & Ha...

Rhizanthes lowii (Beccari) Harms (Rafflesia- ceae) is a parasitic plant that grows in the understory of the rainforest in South-East Asia. This plant does not have leaves, stems, or photosynthetic tissue and is characterised by the emission of a strong odour that attracts the natural pollinators, carrion flies. Flowers that volatilise odorous compo...

Re-evaluation and recombination of old and new characters obtained from extensive field and herbarium research, show that the two hitherto known, not reliably separable species of Rhizanthes actually consist of at least four species: zippelii (Blume) Spach from Java, lowii (Beccari) Harms from Borneo, deceptor sp. n. from Sumatra, and infanticida s...

Paphiopedilum uillosum was studied in hill evergreen forests (at up to 35 m above ground level) in North Thailand between 1990 and 1994. Flowering lasted 4.5 months: flower longevity 2–3 months. During 224 hours of flower-watching, less than 100 specimens of Syrphidae (Diptera) were seen in the vicinity of the flowers; 15 cases of pollen acquisitio...

The genus Calyptra [=Calpe] is revised with comments on and illustrations of the male genitalia and habitus of all species and subspecies, together with a key to the species and tables summarizing pertinent characters. Culyptra is redescribed and compared to closely related genera (Africalpe, Oraesia, Percalpe, Plusiodonta). 17 species are recogniz...