| Popis: |
A new species of the blue mud-dauber genus Chalybion, C. sulawesii sp. n., is described from Sulawesi (Indonesia). The new species belongs in the C. fabricator species group, which up to now consisted of five rarely collected species. An identification key to the females of all species of the group is provided. Males are not keyed, because only a single male of the group, belonging to C. malignum, is known in addition to C. sulawesii. The last instar larva of C. sulawesii is described, although not all relevant characters could be reliably studied. We could show that the larva of the new species shows most of the relevant characters of the Sceliphrini, but differs from the larvae of other Sceliphrini studied yet in two characters. The majority of over 600 specimens of the new species have been reared from artificial trap nests, set up in different habitats and at different heights in the Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi. Of the 812 nests found, 606 provided adults, 64 provided pupae, and 40 provided larvae. 113 were just provisioned. The nesting activity of C. sulawesii showed a clear seasonality and was strongly influenced by the flowering plant diversity. Female activities were also significantly higher in lower strata. We assume that all three ecological factors studied influence the nesting activity of C. sulawesii via the spider prey density. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |
Plný text