Michael S. Engel's research while affiliated with University of Kansas and other places
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Publications (903)
As climatic and other impactful environmental changes continue to gain momentum pollination, services are poised to be harmed, and wild bee species are not an exception. In the present study, maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling was used to predict the potential climatic niches of five wild bee species, namely, Chalicodoma flavipes, Chalicodoma sicula...
Two new subgenera are established for enigmatic species of African small carpenter bees, genus Ceratina Latreille (Xylocopinae: Ceratinini). Ceratina foveifera Strand is most similar to Copoceratina Terzo & Pauly but differs in integumental coloration and sculpturing and absence of supraclypeal ridges, and is here classified in Xestoceratina subgen...
A system of subgenera is newly proposed for the diverse cuckoo bee genus Triepeolus Robertson (Epeolini: Thalestriina). Eurepeolus subgen. n. is proposed for Triepeolus tristis (Smith) and T . ventralis (Meade-Waldo), together spanning the Palaearctic, while Mesepeolus subgen. n. is established for T . epeolurus Rightmyer for a distinctive Epeolus...
Background
Phasmatodea (stick and leaf insects) play a central role on the debate regarding wing reduction and loss, and its wings are putative reacquisition from secondarily wingless ancestors based solely on extant species. A pivotal taxon in this respect is the species-poor Timematodea, consisting of approximately 21 wingless extant species, whi...
Weevils represent one of the most prolific radiations of beetles and the most diverse group of herbivores on land. The phylogeny of weevils (Curculionoidea) has received extensive attention, and a largely satisfactory framework for their interfamilial relationships has been established. However, a recent phylogenomic study of Curculionoidea based o...
This commentary paper addresses the outdated and misleading terminology used to categorize termites into “higher” and “lower”. These terms perpetuate a linear progression view of evolution, which is both inaccurate and detrimental to our understanding of the diversity of life. We trace the historical origins of these terms and highlight their flawe...
Two new species of the scolebythid wasp genus Clystopsenella Kieffer (Scolebythidae: Scolebythinae) are described and figured. Clystopsenella maya sp. n., is reported from Belize, representing the northernmost extant occurrence for the genus. Clystopsenella kampa sp. n., is described from the southwestern Amazonian region of Madre de Dios, Peru, an...
Three new species of the cosmopolitan bee genus Anthophora Latreille are described and figured from North America, all of the subgenus Anthophoroides Cockerell & Cockerell and all based on a series of females and males. Anthophora ( Anthophoroides ) buchmanni sp. n. from Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico; A . ( A .) cinerula sp. n. from California, N...
A new Palearctic species of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Dioxys Lepeletier & Audinet-Serville (Megachilinae: Dioxyini) is described and figured from southern Spain. Dioxys falsificus sp. n. is most similar to D . pumilus Gerstäcker, a species that occupies areas more easterly around the Mediterranean (at least from Sardinia eastward and potentiall...
Stingless bees (Meliponini) are a ubiquitous and diverse element of the pantropical melittofauna, and have significant cultural and economic importance. This review outlines their diversity, and provides identification keys based on external morphology, brief accounts for each of the recognized genera, and an updated checklist of all living and fos...
Two new genera and species of Dermaptera are described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China: Applanatiforceps angustus gen. et sp. nov. in the archidermapteran family Protodiplatyidae, and Ekpagloderma gracilentum gen et sp. nov. in the eodermapteran family Semenoviolidae. Applanatiforceps shares the typ...
Among hundreds of insect families, Hermatobatidae (commonly known as coral treaders) is one of the most unique. They are small, wingless predac-eous bugs in the suborder Heteroptera. Adults are almost black in colour, measuring about 5 mm in body length and 3 mm in width. Thirteen species are known from tropical coral reefs or rocky shores, but the...
Species of the potter wasp genus Allorhynchium van der Vecht (Eumeninae: Odynerini) occurring in Vietnam are presented. Seven species have been recorded from Vietnam. Of them, three species are described as new to science: Allorhynchium latum Nguyen, Tran & MT Nguyen, sp. nov. , A. moerum Nguyen & AD Nguyen, sp. nov. , and A. setosum Nguyen & Engel...
The cleptoparasitic bee genus Microsphecodes Eickwort & Stage (Halictinae: Halictini: Sphecodina) is reported for the first time from Amazonian Brazil. The genus is represented there by a new species, Microsphecodes ( Microsphecodes ) amazonophilus sp. n., which is distinguished from its congeners based on coloration, clypeal proportions, and integ...
Fossils encompassing multiple individuals provide rare direct evidence of behavioral interactions among extinct organisms. However, the fossilization process can alter the spatial relationship between individuals and hinder behavioral reconstruction. Here, we report a Baltic amber inclusion preserving a female-male pair of the extinct termite speci...
Pollination is the process that ensures the reproduction, survival, and evolution of plants through time, which is essential for sustaining life in ecosystems. Different external pollen vectors can carry grains to the female reproductive organs, such as wind, water, animals, or a mixture of these. Unlike today, gymnosperms dominated the land surfac...
The decomposition of wood and detritus is challenging to most macroscopic organisms due to the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose. Moreover, woody plants often protect themselves by synthesizing toxic or nocent compounds which infuse their tissues. Termites are essential wood decomposers in warmer terrestrial ecosystems and, as such, they have t...
Abstract. Inferring insect pollination from compression fossils and amber inclusions is difficult because of a lack of consensus on defining an insect pollinator and the challenge of recognizing this ecological relationship in deep time. We propose a conceptual definition for such insects and an operational classification into pollinator or presume...
A new species of large Callomegachile Michener, subgenus Eumegachilana Michener (Megachilini), is described and figured from Larat Island, Indonesia. The new species is superficially most similar to Callomegachile ( Eumegachilana ) godeffroyi (Friese) from New Britain, Papua New Guinea owing to the orange to orangish setae of the propodeum and firs...
Although Kachin amber harbors a remarkably diverse and abundant spider fauna, species of Mygalomorphae have been conspicuously scant. Here we report the extant family Macrothelidae (Opisthothelae: Mygalomorphae) from these deposits, representing the first fossil occurrence for the family. It is represented by a new genus and species, established as...
Exponential growth of large-scale data for Neuropterida, an iconic group of insects used in behavioural, ecological, and evolutionary studies, has greatly changed our understanding of the origin and evolution of lacewings and their allies. Recent phylogenomic studies of Neuropterida based on mitogenomes, anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) data, and t...
Eornithoica grimaldii gen. et sp. nov., the currently earliest Pupipara, is described from the lower Eocene of the Green River Formation. The previously oldest representative of this clade was from the Oligocene. The new fossil has some plesiomorphic character states, suggesting a ‘basal’ position in the clade. Its age, around 52 Ma, suggests that...
Dryopteridaceae are the basal family of Eupolypods I (Polypodiales) and include abundant extant species, but fossil occurrences are limited, particularly from a temporal perspective. Although DNA-based molecular studies indicate that the origin of Dryopteridaceae dates to the Early Cretaceous, no unambiguous fossil of the family has been reported f...
The Vietnamese fauna of bees in the Anthidiellum Cockerell (Megachilinae, Anthidiini) is reviewed. Seven species are recognized, representing two subgenera. Five new species are described and figured as: Anthidiellum (Clypanthidium) nahang Tran, Engel & Nguyen, sp. nov. , A. (Pycnanthidium) ayun Tran, Engel & Nguyen, sp. nov. , A. (P.) chumomray Tr...
While Mesozoic, Paleogene, and Neogene insect faunas greatly resemble the modern one, the Paleozoic fauna provides unique insights into key innovations in insect evolution, such as the origin of wings and modifications of postembryonic development including holometaboly. Deep-divergence estimates suggest that the majority of contemporary insect ord...
Termites (Blattodea: Isoptera) have evolved specialized defensive strategies for colony protection. Alarm communication enables workers to escape threats while soldiers are recruited to the source of disturbance. Here, we study the vibroacoustic and chemical alarm communication in the wood roach Cryptocercus and in 20 termite species including seve...
This sixth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to the result of the enquiry launched by this Committee in 2021 about the status of new nomina and nomenclatural acts published so far on CD-ROMs. After a discussion of some problems of interpretation raised by Articles 8.4.2, 8.1.2 and 9.12 of the Code, we provide information...
This opinion paper examines the recent proposal for a new nomenclatural code for prokaryotes (SeqCode). It addresses four problematic issues: (1) epistemological—failure of the SeqCode to acknowledge taxa as explanatory hypotheses, (2) conceptual—designating as a name-bearer a coded section of the genome of an organism, (3) operational—changing nom...
Acoustic communication has played a key role in the evolution of a wide variety of vertebrates and insects. However, the reconstruction of ancient acoustic signals is challenging due to the extreme rarity of fossilized organs. Here, we report the earliest tympanal ears and sound-producing system (stridulatory apparatus) found in exceptionally prese...
This review of analytical methods for pot-honey research is intended to provide concise references to our contributions to a 35-day post-harvest at 30 °C, in an integrated study. Diverse methods were selected from specialized literature, from the AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists), and the International Honey Commission. Besides the...
The biodiversity of Ecuadorian stingless bees is almost 200 species. Traditional pot-honey harvest in Ecuador is mostly done from nests of the three genera selected here Geotrigona Moure, 1942, Melipona, Illiger, 1806 and Scaptotrigona, Moure 1943. The 20 pot-honey samples collected from cerumen pots and three ethnic honeys “abeja de tierra”, “berm...
A new species of Chilicola Spinola, subgenus Hylaeosoma Ashmead (Xeromelissinae), is described from southwestern Guatemala. Chilicola ( Hylaeosoma ) maya sp. n. is distinguished from other species of the megalostigma species group. The new species is superficially most similar to C . kevani Oliveira, Mahlmann & Engel from northeastern Brazil owing...
Nine new species of the stingless bee genus Plebeia Schwarz (Meliponini: Meliponina) are described and figured, all of the nominate subgenus. The new species are: Plebeia (Plebeia) amydra Engel, new species, from Venezuela; P. (P.) deceptrix Engel, new species, from Peru; P. (P.) hyperplastica Engel, new species, from Venezuela; P. (P.) mutisi Enge...
The past diversity of Isoptera is relatively poorly documented. Many early-diverging families are only represented today by relicts of their Mesozoic and Cenozoic richness. Therefore, the onset of their evolutionary history and the transitions between families, or even between subsocial and eusocial ways of life, remain difficult to decipher and re...
The first fossil proctotrupid wasp in Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber is described and figured. Astarteserphus grimaldii gen. et sp. nov. is distinguished from all other living and fossil Proctotrupidae and placed into its own subfamily, Astarteserphinae subfam. nov. A key is presented to the living and fossil subfamilies and tribes of Proctotrupid...
We are honored to present this special issue of Palaeoentomology in celebration of our dear friend, mentor, and collaborator, David A. Grimaldi (Fig. 1), and on the occasion of his 65th birthday on 22 September 2022. This issue has been compiled in recognition of David’s remarkable ongoing impact on the fields of paleontology, entomology, and evolu...
Classificatory notes are presented for various stem lineages relative to the Trichoptera+ Lepidoptera clade. The following new groups are established for clades above the family-group ranks: Protomeroptera Engel, Metamphiesmenoptera Engel, Cladochoroptera Engel, Euamphiesmenoptera Engel, Eocoronoptera Engel, Panendymenoptera Engel, Necrotrichoptera...
A new species of Pygidicranidae (Dermaptera: Protodermaptera), Stonychopygia laticoncava sp. nov., is described based on specimens of a female and a male from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. The new species belongs to the genus Stonychopygia Engel and Huang in Engel et al., 2017 as evidenced by the following characters: femora not compressed, without...
A new species of the orchid bee genus Eufriesea Cockerell (Apidae: Apinae: Euglossini) is described and figured from the Islas Marías of Nayarit State, México in the Pacific. Eufriesea insularis sp. nov. , is a member of the coerulescens species group and is restricted to Islas Marias. The species is readily recognized by its dark blue integument w...
Litsea is a group of evergreen trees or shrubs in the laurel family, Lauraceae. Species of the genus are widely used for a wide range of medicinal and industrial aspects. At present, most studies related to the gene resources of Litsea are restricted to morphological analyses or features of individual genomes, and currently available studies of sel...
Climate change (CC) is expected to negatively impact global biodiversity and ecosystems, resulting in profound ecological impacts and placing complex networks of biological interactions at risk. Despite this worrying scenario, the existing knowledge deficiencies may be overcome with species distribution models (SDMs), providing estimates of the eff...
Dermaptera (earwigs) are a small order of Polyneoptera, generally with a narrow and flattened body, a pair of trademark forceps and leathery forewings, a nocturnal preference, and an omnivorous diet. Fossil earwigs are rare, but records from amber have been increasing in the last decade or so. A new genus and its type species, Tricholabidura elonga...
Although scales are a defining and conspicuous feature of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), ¹
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Evolution of wings and their scale covering in butterflies and mot...
New records of the Chaco Region cleptobiotic stingless bee Lestrimelitta ( Lestrimelitta ) chacoana Roig-Alsina are provided from Paraguay and northwestern Argentina at the western and eastern extremes of the greater Chaco, the latter at the transition from the humid Chaco to the Atlantic Coastal Forest. Notes on character variation are provided al...
A further species of the Cretaceous wasp family Falsiformicidae (Chrysidoidea) is described and figured from a male preserved in Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) amber from New Jersey. This represents the first occurrence of the lineage in the Western Hemisphere as well as the most recent taxon, with all others dating from the Cenomanian or earlier depo...
The Early Miocene (16–23 Mya) amber of Ethiopia constitutes a new source of fossil ants for Africa, where they are otherwise poorly documented. Here we report a diversified assemblage of six subfamilies and at least 19 genera that are still predominantly alive in the Afrotropics today. In this first account, a particular reference is made to the su...
Termites (Blattodea: Isoptera) have evolved specialized defensive strategies for colony protection. Alarm communication enables workers to escape threats while soldiers are recruited to the source of disturbance. Here, we studied the vibroacoustic and chemical alarm communication in the wood roach Cryptocercus and in 20 termite species including se...
The Late Paleozoic acquisition of wings in insects represents one of the key steps in arthropod evolution. While the origin of wings has been a contentious matter for nearly two centuries, recent evolutionary developmental studies suggest either the participation of both tergal and pleural tissues in the formation of wings1 or wings originated from...
A new species of the stingless bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Meliponini: Meliponina) is described and figured from a series of workers and drones from Belize. Scaptotrigona (Astegotrigona) ascheri Engel, new species, may be distinguished from it subcongeners most easily by the darker wing venation and somewhat infuscate wing membranes. A key is pr...
This is the fourth installment intended to address outstanding taxonomic matters in the bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Meliponini). Four new species of the postica species group (group B) are described and figured as: Scaptotrigona (Scaptotrigona) anaulax Engel, new species, from Ecuador; S. (S.) vitorum Engel, new species, from Ecuador; S. (S.) se...
We describe two new species of Lophocoronidae: Acanthocorona hedida Zhang, Shih and Engel sp. n. and Acanthocorona venulosa Zhang, Shih and Engel sp. n., and an undetermined specimen from mid‐Cretaceous Kachin amber. Phylogenetic analysis of basal lepidopteran lineages, including three extinct families, was undertaken. The analysis supported monoph...
As one of the largest families of beetles (Coleoptera), the Staphylinidae (rove beetles and their relatives) are rich not only in extant species but also in a comparatively robust fossil record. Despite this preponderance of available fossil material, fossils of the diverse subfamily Osoriinae remain rare. Here, we describe a new ososriine species,...
Braconid parasitoid wasps are a widely diversified group today, while their fossil record from the Mesozoic is currently poorly known. Here, we describe Utrillabracon electropteron Álvarez-Parra & Engel, gen. et sp. nov. , from the upper Albian (Lower Cretaceous) amber of San Just in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The holotype specimen is incomplet...
The new genus and species, Jurassephemera zhangi gen. et sp. nov., belonging to the extinct family Sharephemeridae (Ephemeroptera: Mesephemeroidea), is established from the late Early Jurassic interval of the Shiti Formation of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. The new genus and species is characterised by its moderate size; small head...
Resource pulses, occasional events of ephemeral resource superabundance, represent a fundamental mechanism by which energy, nutrients, and biomass are transported across ecotones. They are widespread in extant ecosystems; however, little is known about their deep-time record. We report the earliest-known mayfly swarm from the Early Jurassic Xiwan b...
In several insect eusocial lineages, e.g., some aphids, thrips, ants, some stingless bees, and termites, task specialization is brought to its climax with a sterile soldier caste solely devoted to colony defense. In Isoptera, while the reproductives are defenseless, the soldiers have unique morpho-physiological specializations whose origin and evol...
The little-known megachiline genus Noteriades Cockerell, 1931 is recorded from Vietnam for the first time. A new species, Noteriades hangkia Tran, Engel & Nguyen sp. nov. is described and figured based on a series of females collected from the provinces of the northern and central highlands of Vietnam. The genus is briefly discussed and a new subtr...
Termites are major decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems and the second most diverse lineage of social insects. The Kalotermitidae form the second-largest termite family and are distributed across tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where they typically live in small colonies confined to single wood items inhabited by individuals with no foraging...
A new fossil bee species, Liotrigona (Tapheiotrigona) aethiopica Engel, new subgenus and species, was described and figured from a worker preserved in Miocene amber from Ethiopia. The species represents the first fossil bee from Africa, predating the many subfossil occurrences otherwise known from Holocene copal and Defaunation resins. The new spec...
With some 3,700 described species, Dryopoidea are a moderately diverse superfamily of beetles whose position within basal Polyphaga has been historically difficult to elucidate. Members of most extant dryopoid families are set apart from the majority of other polyphagans by their association with aquatic habitats, but little is known about the orig...
A new subfamily of fossil auger beetles (Bostrichidae) is described and figured from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar as Alitrepaninae subfam. nov., and currently including only the type genus and species: Alitrepanum aladelicatum gen. et sp. nov. The subfamily is distinguished from bostrichid lineages by a unique combination of char...
A new fossil stag beetle (Lucanidae), Litholamprima qizhihaoi sp. nov., is described and figured from two well-preserved specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in western Liaoning, China (125 Ma). Aditionally, new material of female specimens of the genus Litholamprima Nikolajev & Ren, 2015 provide further evidence for the taxonomic p...
Burrowing bugs are distinctive, beetle-like insects of the pentatomoid family Cydnidae, noteworthy for their morphological specializations for digging and a hemiedaphic life history. However, less is known about their biological significance and the early origin of soil dwelling. Direct fossil evidence illuminating the evolutionary history of soil...
A correction is provided regarding the identity of a fossil larva recently reported to represent the first Cretaceous record of its kind for the tenebrionoid family Mordellidae (Coleoptera, tumbling flower beetles). A review of the description of the specimen, however, reveals it to be a larval symphytan (order Hymenoptera), and likely of the famil...
The stingless bee genus Plectoplebeia Melo (Meliponini) is one of several lineages in the complex Plebeia -group of New World meliponines. The genus has hitherto been known from a single species of the Yungas forests of Bolivia, southern Peru, and northwestern Argentina. A second species is here described from a worker collected from the Eastern An...
Termites are social cockroaches distributed throughout warm temperate and tropical ecosystems. The ancestor of modern termites roamed the earth during the early Cretaceous, suggesting that both vicariance and overseas dispersal may have shaped the distribution of early diverging termites. We investigate the historical biogeography of three early di...
Raphidioptera, the group of snakeflies, is a rather species-poor in-group of Holometabola. Yet, fossils of snakeflies indicate that the group was more diverse in the past. Here we compare the morphological diversity of snakefly larvae over time. Snakefly larvae are well represented in Cretaceous and Eocene ambers facilitating such a comparison. We...
Nuptial gift-giving is one of the most remarkable traits to have evolved among animal mating systems, and has brought about numerous hypotheses regarding their evolution and influence. Yet, their study has been confined to the modern fauna owing to their ephemeral nature and lack of traces on the environment suitable for preservation. Here we repor...
Beetles constitute the most biodiverse animal order with over 380 000 described species and possibly several million more yet unnamed. Recent phylogenomic studies have arrived at considerably incongruent topologies and widely varying estimates of divergence dates for major beetle clades. Here, we use a dataset of 68 single-copy nuclear protein-codi...
This is the third part of a series on various taxonomic matters regarding the Neotropical stingless bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Apinae: Meliponini). Here, an infrageneric classification is established, with Sakagamilla Moure resurrected for the tubiba group, while Scaptotrigona Moure, s.str., encompasses the postica group. A key to subgenera is...
A new genus of minute stingless bees (Meliponini: Hypotrigonina) is described from Southeast Asia. Ebaiotrigona Engel & Nguyen, gen. nov. , is based on the type species Lisotrigona carpenteri Engel, recorded from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and southern China. The species was previously considered an enigmatic member of Lisotrigona Moure, bu...
This is the second part of an intended four on various nomenclatural matters regarding South American species of the Neotropical stingless bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Apinae: Meliponini). Here, the postica species group is briefly outlined and organized into two informal subgroups, the first of which is treated herein. A key to these species is...
Survei keragaman lebah propolis, preferensi bersarang, dan tanaman sumber pakannya dilakukan di Kabupaten Halmahera Barat pada 134 lokasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keragaman spesies, pemilihan tempat bersarang dan habitatnya, dan jenis tanaman pakan dominan. Ditemukan tiga jenis lebah propolis, dan spesies yang paling banyak ditemu...
Although specimens in fossil to Recent resins are remarkable for their fidelity of preservation, amber is well known and studied, unlike the younger resins as Pleistocene copal (2.58–0.0117 Ma) and Holocene copal (0.0117 Ma–1760 AD), or Defaunation resin, which is resin produced after 1760 AD. However, the scientific relevance of these younger resi...
