How to be an Entomologist: Educating the younger generation on the importance of insects

The Entomology Collection has inspired many users and uses. This blogpost is by Przemyslaw Glomski, undergraduate student at University of Manchester and reflects his curiosity for insects and his idea on developing a science communication project.

By Przemyslaw Glomski

Manchester Museum’s vast Entomology collection is awe-inspiring; however, the specimens rarely get a chance to be in the spotlight. As a Zoology student studying at the University of Manchester, I decided to dedicate my final year project towards the collection and displaying it to the public. I worked closely with the Museum to create an educational resource to use mainly in the classroom but also in other educational settings.

The educational resource that I created focuses on the importance of beetles (order Coleoptera) and highlights interesting phenomena displayed by this group, such as mimicry. Coleoptera is one of the most speciose insect groups, accounting for about 25% of the entire world’s animal species diversity. Even with such an abundance of beetles, they are often overlooked as important keystone species. For this reason, the resource I created aims to inspire a younger audience about the importance of entomology and more specifically beetles.

Selecting the best specimens for the educational resource

Specimens used

All the specimens used in the resource came directly from the Entomology Collection, Manchester Museum. Altogether, four boxes of specimens were created. The first box highlighted the wide diversity of beetles found in the UK (Rove Beetle – Cerophilus maxillosus, Great Diving Beetle – Dytiscus marginalis, Bloody-nosed Beetle – Timarcha tenebricosa, Oil Beetle – Meloe violaseus, Leafe Beetle – Chrysolina cercalis, Leaf Beetle – Chrysolina banksi, Wasp Beetle – Clytus arietis, Timberman Beetle – Acanthocinus aedilis, Stag Beetles – Lucanus cervus, Horned Dung Beetle – Copris lunaris, Dor Beetle – Geotrupes stercorarius, Burying Beetle – Nicrophorus humator, Burying Beetle – Nicrophorus investigator, Cockchafer – Melolontha melolontha, Cellar Beetle – Blaps mucranata, Rose Chafer – Cetonia aurata, Field Tiger Beetle – Cicindella campestris).

Box 1 containing British beetles and Box 4 British hoverflies; a Quiz and Task 2

Task 2 Find the imposters

The second box contained UK ladybirds: Seven-spot Ladybird – Coccinella septempunctata, Two-spot Ladybird – Adalia bipunctata, Eyed Ladybird – Anatis ocellata, Cream-spot Ladybird – Calvia quattuordecimguttata, and Harlequin Ladybird – Harmonia axyridis.

The third box had two non-UK beetles. Firstly, a Goliath Beetle (Goliaphus regius), found in the tropical regions of Africa, and secondly, a Hercules Beetle (Dynastes hercules), found in Central and Southern America.

Box 2 with UK ladybirds and Box 3 with two large beetles from the tropical regions and Task 1

The last box highlighted how mimicry is present in nature. This box contained wasp-mimicking hoverflies (Syrphidae) with the following text “These hoverflies are perfectly harmless and mimic wasps which have a nasty sting. All have yellow and black bodies, but some also have more subtle mimicry – when at rest wasps fold their wings along their bodies; hoverflies cannot do this, but in some species, the leading edge of the wing is darkened giving the impression that the wings are folded at rest. Other hoverflies are evolving longer antennae like their wasps’ models, and many adopt a zig-zag like flight to look even more like wasps!

Based on these boxes, two fun tasks were created to increase pupil engagement and independence. The first task was to list differences they could see between a Seven-spot Ladybird and a Hercules Beetle. This was an interactive task that got students thinking about how wide the biodiversity of beetles actually is. The second task, “Find the Imposters”, involved five images, three of them being wasps and two being wasp beetles. The pupils were asked to be detectives that can find the difference between the wasps and the beetles. This task introduced the topic of mimicry so that the pupils could see how some animals can be deceptive in their appearance and how hard it can be to tell the difference.

Using the educational resource

The educational resource was used in Hillcrest Academy, Leeds, on the 30^th of March 2023 and obtained a lot of positive feedback from the teachers and pupils. Having the chance to see real-life Museum specimens up close was a new and exciting experience for many pupils. After giving the lesson, multiple students were motivated to visit the museum’s collection so they could see all the interesting specimens themselves. Alongside the interactive tasks, I made a presentation that described the beetles, and all the important ecological roles they play. The same boxes and activities were used in the Manchester Museum at the Earth Day Celebration on the 22^nd of April 2023. Everyone that attended got to see how impressive beetles can get and got a chance to find the beetle imposters themselves.

Earth Day event at The Manchester Museum

Overall, the educational resource has been shown to be beneficial and useful in school and museum educational settings in the two trials. It has always been my hope to create an educational resource that can be used by anyone to educate the public about Coleopterans, and I hope that this resource starts to work towards that aim. If you are interested in either looking at or using the resource, please get in contact with the Museum. We are also interested in continuing to develop it to make it more accessible, so feedback from users is always welcome.

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Embarking on a different journey: volunteers in the Entomology collection

There is no better time to celebrate and recognise the support of museum volunteers, and particularly those in the Entomology during this Christmas festive season. While the Manchester Museum has been closed to visitors due to the “hello future project” (see here for more information), our volunteers have embarked on a different journey from the galleries to behind-the-scenes, showing the same enthusiasm and full dedication for the collections as they do to the museum visitors (see here the blogpost by Kate Glynn, Volunteer Manager).

During the last two years, since the Museum was closed, volunteers, usually in the galleries, have had the opportunity to support different collections and departments. They have played a key role in the Conservation Department helping to prepare the Japanese Incense Burner, which will become one of the central pieces in the newly built Museum’s entrance. Yet, in the Herbarium, they have been cataloguing plant specimens, transcribing labels with old, sometimes difficult to read handwriting, and bagging pressed plants to prevent the spreading of such biscuit beetles.

Since May 2022, the Entomology Department welcomed four enthusiastic volunteers. After an introduction given by Dmitri Logunov (former Curator of Arthropods) about possible tasks, our expectations and time required; it came as a big surprised when all the attendees decided to take up the challenge and to become part of the behind the scenes volunteer team. With no previous experience required, they were in good hands with full support from our small team along the way.

The Museum volunteers, Angharad, Niamh, Margaret and Vivien committed 4 hours per week, sometimes spending more time in the Entomology. They support re-arranging and documenting of the departmental archive, also and rehousing and databasing our spirit-preserved collections. A brief description of the tasks chosen by each volunteer is given below.

Angharad Denby has been rehousing Richard (Dick) Jones’ spider collection (around 10,000 tubes) acquired in 2017. This collection was re-curated and documented in 2019 but is still kept in small glass tubes with plastic stoppers in its original cabinet. However, a recent inspection revealed a high evaporation rate of the ethanol from sample tubes. It then became a priority to have this collection rehoused and stored more securely in the larger jars, in the spirit store. Angharad’s task is to change plastic stoppers of small glass tubes for cotton wool stoppers and to rehouse them in medium sized glass jars with clip-tops and airtight seals. She also conducts a similar task for Eric Duffey’s spider collection.

Angharad rehousing the identified and unidentified spiders from D. Jones’ collection

Niamh Roche has been supporting the digitization of the archive materials of Eric Duffey donated to the Museum by Rita Duffey (Eric’s widow). Eric was an ecologist and conservationist; he conducted spider faunas surveys in Britain and European regions. His archive contains long lists of species, habitats, maps from 1972, stories of spider bites and correspondence with other researchers. For more information about Eric’s legacy and life, see his obituary here.

Niahm documenting the archive of Eric Duffey

Vivien Mentern has been documenting a collection of European spiders donated by A. Russell-Smith. She is giving unique accession number to the samples, documenting species and specimens numbers and storing them more securely in clip-top jars after changing the plastic stopper to cotton wool ones. Her task will continue with the digitisation of the gained information to the Museum’s database.

Vivien working with samples of European spiders

Margaret McCadden has been digitizing beetle family (order Coleoptera) data from Colin Johnson (former Keeper of Entomology and British coleopterist). His archive contains species lists, many personal letters and documents, photographs and original beetle illustrations that were donated to the Museum by his family after Colin sadly passed away (see his obituary here). Margaret has made a digital list of the Manchester Museum Annual Reports from 1895 to 2003 also kept in the entomological archive. She also helps us to digitise the paperwork related to Acquisitions and Donations from 2004 to 2019.

Margaret digitising the acquisitions and donations received from 2004 to 2019

We would like to thank Phillip Rispin (former Curatorial Assistant and Honorary Curator) for his dedication to the collection and for sharing his knowledge and passion with visitors, researchers and volunteers.

Phil moving beetles specimens from a damaged box after a flooding in the Entomology store

We would also like to mention the work and commitment from the collection volunteers, many of them have gained experience in working with natural history collections and others have developed a real interest in insects. Many thanks to Beth Moran, Emily Hill, Piotr Korpak, James Jepson, Michael Pentland, Robert Tracey, Michael Dockery (Honorary Curator) and Libby (volunteered in Entomology for 3 months). The support given by all the volunteers will help us to better maintain and keep our entomological collections and increase their usefulness and value for various users.

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Publications related to the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department, an 2021-22 update

A selection of the papers published in the last 2021-22 academic year, based on or containing references to specimens or collectors associated with Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department

This blogpost is the latest of the annual series summarizing publications based on Manchester Museum’s Entomology Collection over the last academic year. A total of 32 paper were published in the period between 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022 referring to the specimens from our collection. Topics included the analysis of historical data, the support of conservation programs or ecological studies, and the legacy of collectors (including former Keeper of Entomology, Colin Johnson; Figure 1a). Descriptions of new species and accounts of particular MM’s arthropod collections are also presented. The publications were authored by more than 50 researchers from 12 countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Finland, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, India, Japan, South Africa and the UK), their list is given below.

The majority of the papers were devoted to descriptions of new species: viz., spiders from Spain, Portugal, Italy, UK, Russia, Ukraine, India, Nepal and Kenya; beetles from Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Zambia, China and Taiwan; and stick insects from Vietnam (Figure 1a). Over two thirds of the papers focused on spiders (Araneae), with the remaining third dealing with five other arthropod groups (Figure 1b).

Figure 1a. Topics and taxonomic groups covered in the publications

Figure 1b. Distribution of papers according to principal taxonomic groups

The value of sharing data from specimens

The MM’s Entomology Department was one of many natural history museums and societies supporting conservation initiatives. By gathering and using historical data from specimens and records of the Chequered skipper butterfly Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771), Wildman et al. obtained a better understanding of how this species declined to extinction in England in 1976 and used this information to recommend conservation activities for other declining or endangered species. Records of this species, including those from the Manchester Museum, are now part of the Butterflies for the New Millennium (BNM) database created by Butterfly Conservation and the Biological Records Centre (BRC) (Wildman et al. 2022).

The updated checklist of four families of the order Diptera (Atelestidae, Brachystomidae, Empididae and Hybotidae) for Lancashire and Cheshire is not just a species list. Compiled by Phil Brighton using museum specimens and other sources, including local and national recording schemes, the paper includes relevant information on distribution, ecology, habitats requirements, and national and local conservation status. Data from the records and specimens assembled by former Museum’s Keepers, Harry Britten (from 1920 and 1950) and Alan Brindle (1950s), made a major contribution to this checklist (Brighton 2021).

News from the Entomology Department

Colin Johnson, the last person to hold the title Keeper of Entomology at the Manchester Museum (1982 – 2003) sadly passed away last year. Colin was an internationally renowned expert on beetles who described an amazing number of species new to science (especially tiny beetles of the family Ptiliidae, Cryptophagidae and Latriididae; for more information see in the blogpost “A life devoted to describing tiny beetles”). Colin contributed greatly to the expansion of the British Coleoptera at MM (92% of known British beetles are represented in the collection). An account on Colin’s work and legacy was compiled and published by his friend, Roger Dennis, in the obituary published by the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine (Dennis 2022; Figure 2).

J. C. Otero & J. M. Pereira described Atomaria (Atomaria) johnsoni, a new species of the family Cryptophagidae from China, dedicated to Colin Johnson (Otero & Pereira 2022), making a total of 19 species named after him.

Figure 2. Colin Johnson visiting the Entomology Collection at Manchester Museum, 2004; credit: Dmitri Logunov.

Accounts of the Museum’s collections

• A paper on the collections of mites and ticks (Acari) in the Manchester Museum, written by two of our honorary curators (Graham Proudlove and Laurence Cook) and the Curator of Arthropods (Dmitri Logunov), gives a brief account of the history of the collections and collectors (including the work of former Museum keepers and assistants). It is also includes an analysis of historical specimens and material acquired in the last decade, for the first time. This collection of 2900 slides preparations was recently recurated, documented and stored in the original standard Hill units and drawers (Proudlove et al. 2022; Figure 3a&b). This paper immediately started generating numerous enquires regarding this collection, which was never published before.

Figure 3a.

Figure 3b.

Figure 3a. Slide preparacions of the Acari collection. Figure 3b. Hill units storing slides preparation of mites. Published in Proudlove et al. 2022

• A publication regarding a small butterfly collection from Sierra Leone, given by Lieutenant Leech in 1895, explores not only the social life of the century and the colonial past, but also shares information on the natural heritage of west Africa. This collection had not previously been documented, apart from the handwritten labels. It contains 93 identified species of butterflies, moths and insects of various orders as well as other material. The specimens were collected between 1891 and 1893 in the vicinity of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, however there are uncertainties about collection localities for a group of specimens. Many butterflies were kept in triangular paper envelops (Figure 4a). The specimens have been mounted, labelled, identified and accessioned (Cook et al. 2022; Figure 4a&b).

Figure 4a.

Figure 4b.

Figure 4a. Paper envelops and butterfly from Leech Lepidoptera collection; credit: Manchester Museum. Figure 4b. Specimens of the family Nymphalidae, from the Leech Lepidoptera collection; credit: Manchester Museum.

• In June 2022, a Special Issue (Vol 19) of Arachnology, edited by Dmitri Logunov, published 24 papers and proceedings from a symposium celebrating the life and legacy of John and Frances Murphy and Mike Roberts. Members of the British Arachnological Society (BAS), speakers from 39 countries and many spider enthusiasts, attended the online event. All symposium talks are available via the BAS YouTube channel. This volume contains eight papers based on the symposium presentations and 16 other contributions (freely available here).

Within the Special Issue, the scientific legacy of Murphy’s publications and archival material was analysed and summarised by Logunov (Logunov 2022a). This paper also includes a brief account of Frances and John’s life, fieldwork (Figure 5) and a brief description of the spider collection assembled over 45 years (Logunov 2022a; Arzuza Buelvas 2018). The Murphy Spider Collection and their archival materials are available at the Manchester Museum.

Figure 5. John and Frances Murphy collecting spiders in Singapore. Image published in Logunov 2022a

The issue also contained seven more taxonomy papers based on specimens of the Murphy spider collection (Azarkina 2022; Ballarin & Pantini 2022; Sherwood et al. 2022; Logunov 2022d; Pett 2022; Tanasevitch 2022; Zonstein & Marusik 2022). New species and a new genus from Kenya, and new species from Italy were described (Azarkina 2022; Ballarin & Pantini 2022; Pett 2022; Zonstein & Marusik 2022). The issue also contained an annotated catalogue of tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) retained at the Manchester Museum (Sherwood et al. 2022; Figure 6).

Figure 6. Figure 6. Tarantula Brachypelma sp. from Mexico. 2. Original educational display made by Robert Standen (former Assistant Keeper of Zoology, Manchester Museum, 1890–1925). 3-4. Views of the male palp). Published in Sherwood et al. 2022

Highlights of other papers and authors

• Laurence Cook and Chris Shortall analysed the frequencies of melanic forms of three moths over the last century, including the melanic morph, carbonaria, of the Peppered Moth Biston betularia, using data of the Rothamsted Insect Survey. This industrial melanic morph was not present in the analysed data. However, the intermedia morph (Biston betularia insularia) and the industrial melanic forms of the Scalloped Hazel (Odontoptera bidentata) and the Pale Brindled Beauty (Apocheima pilosaria) were found widely over Britain. Possible reasons to this finding are discussed in the paper (Cook & Shortall, 2022).

• Specimens of stick insects, genus Trachythorax, were used in a review of this taxonomic group. This project examined specimens from related taxa including type materials, records of images and data collected during citizen science initiatives and described stick insects new to science from Vietnam (Bresseell, J. & Constant, J. 2021; Figure 7).

Figure 7. Cover of the paper about stick insects from Vietnam, Bresseel & Constant 2021

A complete list of the publications:

1. Azarkina, G. N. 2022. A new species of Aelurillus Simon, 1885 (Araneae: Salticidae) from Kenya. – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 220–223. https://www.britishspiders.org.uk/system/files/library/190013.pdf
2. Azarkina, G. N., Pérez-Gómez A. & Sánchez-García I. 2022. Description of a stunning new species of Phlegra Simon, 1876 from southern Spain and redescription of an enigmatic Phlegra species from northern Africa (Araneae: Salticidae). – Zootaxa, 5162 (5): 557–575. doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5162.5.6 
3. Ballarin, F. & Pantini, P. 2022. A synthesis of the genus Palliduphantes Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 2001 in Italy, with a description of two new species (Araneae, Linyphiidae, Micronetinae). – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 302–315. https://www.britishspiders.org.uk/system/files/library/190020.pdf
4. Bresseell, J. & Constant, J. 2021. Review of the Oriental stick insect genus Trachythorax Redtenbacher, 1908 with two new species from Vietnam and comments on egg parasitism and morphological counteradaptations (Phasmida, Lonchodidae, Necrosciinae). – Belgian Journal of Entomology, 120: 1–56.
5. Brighton, P. 2021. Report: The Diptera of Lancashire and Cheshire: Picture-wing Flies (Opomyzidae, Pallopteridae, Platystomatidae, Tephritidae, Ulidiidae). Version 1.0 December 2021. Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society, National Museum Liverpool, Manchester Museum, Tanyptera Trust, iRecord, NBN Atlas and the Dipterists Forum. Available here.
6. Caleb, J. T. D., Sanap, R. V., Tripathi, R., Sampathkumar, M., Dharamaraj, J. & Packiam, S. M. 2022. Taxonomic notes on some South and Southeast Asian members of the genus Rhene Thorell, 1869 (Aranei, Salticidae, Dendryphantini). – Zootaxa, 5125 (4): 389–407. doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5125.4.3
7. Cook, L., Dockery, M. & Logunov, D. V. 2022. The Lepidoptera collection from Sierra Leone of Lieutenant Ellis Leech in the Manchester Museum. – Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, 158: 115–127.
8. Cook, L. & Shortall, C. R. 2022. After carbonaria: melanic moth frequencies in the Rothamsted Insect Survey. – Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 20: 1–8.
9. Crespo, L. C., Silva, I., Enguídanos, A., Cardoso, P., Arnedo, M. 2022. Island hoppers: Integrative taxonomic revision of Hogna wolf spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae) endemic to the Madeira islands with description of a new species. ZooKeys, 1086: 84–135. http://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1086.68015
10. Déjean, S. & Danflous, S. 2021. Deux Scotinotylus (Araneae, Linyphiidae) nouveaux pour la faune de France. – Revue Arachnologique (2) 8: 18–25.
11. Dennis R.L.H. 2022. Obituary Colin Johnson M.Sc., F.R.E.S. – 30 April 1943–25 August 2021. Keeper of Entomology at the Manchester Museum 1982–2003. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 158: 72–76. doi: 10.31184/M00138908.1581.4121
12. Esyunin, S. L., Agafonova, O. V. & Ruchin, A. B. 2021. [Spider fauna (Aranei) of the Mordovian Reserve]. – Proceedings of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve 27: 53–133. (in Russian) 
13. Gnelitsa, V. A. 2022. Entelecara Simon, 1884 species in Ukraine (Araneae: Linyphiidae). – Arachnology, 19(1): 46–62.
14. Logunov, D. V. 2021a. Jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of the Na Hang Nature Reserve, Tuyen Quang Province, Vietnam. – Arachnology, 18(9): 1021–1055. doi:10.13156/arac.2021.18.9.1021
15. Logunov, D. V. 2021b. New species and records of the jumping spiders from India and Nepal (Aranei: Salticidae). – Arthropoda Selecta, 30(3): 351–361. doi:10.15298/arthsel.30.3.08 
16. Logunov D. V. 2022a. John Alan Murphy (1922–2021) and his contribution to arachnology. – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 77–103.
17. Logunov D. V. 2022b. Literature review: Suomen Hyppyhämähäkit. Katso silmiin ja ihastu! The Jumping Spiders of Finland. Look into their eyes and fall in love! (by Sami Karjalainen). – Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society, 154: 10–11.
18. Logunov D. V. 2022c. Literature review: All You Need to Know About Spiders (by Wolfgang Nentwig, Jutta Ansorg, Angelo Bolzern, Holger Frick, Anne-Sarah Ganske, Ambros Hänggi, Christian Kropf and Anna Stäubli). – Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society, 154: 13–15.
19. Logunov D. V. & Sherwood D. 2022. A resounding success: The John Murphy and Mike Roberts Memorial Symposium – Great Names in British and World Arachnology, 3 December 2021. Arachnology Letters, 63: i–iv.
20. Logunov, D. V., Tripathi, R. & Jangid, A.K. 2022. First record of Pseudomogrus Simon, 1937 (Araneae: Salticidae) from India, with description of a new species. – Arachnology, 19(1): 72–76.
21. Sherwood D., Logunov D. V. & Gabriel R. 2022. An annotated catalogue of the theraphosid spiders held in the collections of the Manchester Museum (Araneae: Theraphosidae). – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 209–219.
22. Logunov D. V. 2022d. On four species of Irura Peckham & Peckham, 1901 (Araneae: Salticidae) collected by John and Frances Murphy from south-east Asia. – Arachnolog,y 19(Special Issue): 229–237. 
23. Matsumoto, K. 2021. New species, new records and notes of Afrotropical Chaetophora Kirby & Spence, 1817 (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae: Syncalptinae). – Zootaxa, 5067(2): 211–223. doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5067.2.3 
24. Otero, J. C., Pereira Martínez, J. M. 2022. New species of Atomaria Stephens, 1829 (Coleoptera, Cryptophagidae) from China and Taiwan – Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 25: 101872; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2022.101872 
25. Pett, B. L. 2022. Two new species of dark sac spiders of the genus Patelloceto Lyle & Haddad, 2010 (Trachelidae) from Kenya. – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 224–228. 
26. Proudlove, G., Cook, L. & Logunov, D. V. 2022. Mites (Acari) in the Manchester Museum: Curators and a committee. – Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, 158: 9–27. doi: 10.31184/M00138908.1581.4120 
27. Sherwood, D. & Logunov D. V. 2022. The John Murphy and Mike Roberts Memorial Symposium – Great Names in British and World Arachnology, 3rd December 2021. Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society, 153: 4–6.
28. Stenhouse, D. A. 2021. Report: The status and distribution of the leaf beetle Bromius obscurus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Cheshire in 2019 and 2020. National Museum Liverpool and Tanyptera Trust.
29. Tanasevitch, A. V. 2022. Revision of the Murphy collection of Linyphiidae (Araneae) from south-east Asia. – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 199–208. 
30. Wildman, J. P., Ollerton, J., Bourn, N. A. D., Brereton, T. M., Moore, J. L. & McCollin, D. 2022. The value of museum and other uncollated data in reconstructing the decline of the chequered skipper butterfly Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771). – Journal of Natural Science Collections, 10: 31–44. https://www.natsca.org/article/2724
31. Zamani, A., Nadolny, A. A., Esyunin, S. L. & Marusik, Yu. M. 2021. New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), part VIII. – Zoosystematica Rossica, 30(2): 279–297. doi:10.31610/zsr/2021.30.2.279
32. Zonstein, S. L. & Marusik Yu. M. 2022. Descriptions of Sceliraptor gen. n. and two new species from Kenya (Araneae, Palpimanidae). – Arachnology, 19(Special Issue): 257–264.

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Looking or behaving like a tiger – meet the ‘tiger insects’ from our Collection

In the traditional Chinese calendar, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. In Chinese culture, tiger is the king of all beasts, symbolizing power, majesty and beauty. Let us to celebrate the beginning of the Chinese New Year 2022 with a selection of ‘tiger insects’ from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Collection. In this blogpost, a few examples of tiger-like colour patterns in moths and butterflies and tiger-like predatory behaviour in some amazing beetles are presented.

Warning colouration

A tiger’s bold pattern of bright orange body coloration with dark stripes makes them less visible to their prey (it is the so-called disruptive colouration). On the other hand, the conspicuous dark and orange colouration of some moths and butterflies is a clear warning signal to predators. This is the case of the adults of the Garden tiger moth or Great tiger moth Arctia caja. When threatened, this moth can release neurotoxin, making it inedible.

The Garden tiger moth was one of the favourite moths for early collectors who were interested in creating unusual coloration patterns. This species is now protected in the UK; its population has declined by 89% over the past 30 years.

Left: Garden tiger moth Arctia caja and its hairy caterpillar. Right: Drawer with British Garden tiger moth specimens showing a great variety of their colour patterns – Entomology Department, Manchester Museum

The Harmonia tiger-wing or Harmonia tiger Tithorea harmonia shows the pattern of a toxic butterfly. This species is one of the common and most widespread of the toxic ‘tiger-like’ species that can be found from Mexico to South America. Its larvae feed on Prestonia acutifolia (Apocynaceae), a plant with toxins, and pass the poisons to adults. When eaten by predators, this butterfly leaves an unpleasant taste.

Harmonia tiger Tithorea harmonia – Entomology, Manchester Museum

The Tiger butterfly or Striped Tiger Danaus genutia is a very common species throughout India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South-East Asia, and Australia (except New Guinea). It has the same appearance as the famous Monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus of the Americas. When the wings are open, both female and male show an orange or yellow-brownish coloration with black venation. Its larvae obtain toxins from plants, which also leave an unpleasant smell and taste to their predators when the adult is eaten.

Tiger butterfly Danaus genutia – Entomology, Manchester Museum

Aggressive predators and fast runners

Tiger beetles are known for their running speed and their aggressive predatory habits, just like true tigers. It is a large group of some 2600 (sub)species of the subfamily Cincidelinae. Their characteristics include large eyes, long legs adapted for sprinting, and a striking pair of curved and toothed mandibles (=jaws) for catching prey (see video here). The Tiger beetle species Rivacindela hudsoni from Australian deserts is considered the fastest insect in the world, with a running speed of 9 km/hr (120 beetle body lengths per second). More about Tiger beetle adaptations and characteristics here and here.

Tiger beetles lay their eggs in the sand. After hatching, the larvae dig a tunnel and wait in ambush in the tunnel’s mouth for any small invertebrates passing by. The larvae strike and catch their prey with powerful jaws (see video here). Such voracious larvae are known in all species of tiger beetles.

The larva of the Six-spotted green tiger beetle Cicindela sexguttata waiting for its prey. Photo: Katja Schulz Wikispecies: Rivacindela hudsoni

Adults of the Six-spotted green tiger beetle Cicindela sexguttata from North America – Entomology, Manchester Museum

There are five tiger beetle species in Britain, of which the Green tiger beetle Cicindela campestris is the only widespread and common. It is an agile hunter, catching invertebrates, especially spiders, caterpillars and ants. It can be recognised by long bronze legs, metallic green body colouration, and yellow spots on the wing cases.

Green tiger beetle Cicindela campestris – Entomology, Manchester Museum

The Wood tiger beetle or Heath tiger beetle Cicindela sylvatica is the largest tiger beetle in Britain, with dark/brown colouration and three or four pale yellow marks on its wings. Half of the population of the Heath tiger beetle has disappeared in the last 25 years in the UK due to habitat loss. This species is under priority status on the Biodiversity Action Plan.

Wood tiger beetle or Heath tiger beetle Cicindela sylvatica – Entomology, Manchester Museum

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Publications from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department – 2020-21

A selection of the papers published in the last academic year 2020-21, based on or containing references to specimens from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department

This blog is the third one of the annual series devoted to the publications based on or referred to the Manchester Museum’s entomology collections in the last academic year. During the period from 1st August 2020 to 31th July 2021, a total of 23 papers were published by 21 researchers from 13 countries (including the UK, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Iran, China, Italy, Costa Rica, Honduras and the US). Despite (inter)national lockdowns, travel cutbacks and limited access to the collection store due to the Covid-related restrictions, the Entomology department was able to continue to support research.

The majority of the authors are associated with universities or museums, for example: Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze (Italy); Museo de Zoología, Universidad de Costa Rica; Zoological Museum, University of Turku (Finland); University of Nebraska State Museum (US); Department of Invertebrate Zoology of the Tomsk State University (Russia); the Altai State University (Russia) and the Manchester Museum and School of Biological Sciences – Faculty of Biology, University of Manchester (UK). Other authors are affiliated with academic research institutes (e.g., Institute for Biological Problems of the North, the Russian Academy of Sciences) and one author is from the Hong Kong Entomological Society (China).

Taxa and topics

The main topic covered in these publications included the taxonomy: viz., taxonomic reviews of various taxa (some 40%), descriptions of new species (30%), and new faunistic records (18%). Less frequent topics were ecology, morphology, surveys, book reviews and memorabilia (Figure 1).

The majority of the papers (60%) were focused on spiders (the order Araneae). Taxonomic reviews, including descriptions of new species and new synonymy, were the main topics of 14 publications. More than 80 new species were described, particularly from Central and South Asia (Figure 2). New information on species records and distribution from India, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sri Lanka was given.

Two papers for each of the following orders were published: Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Phasmatodea (stick insects). The Coleoptera papers focused on descriptions of new species and new faunistic records of the feather-winged beetles, and the ecology of one Neotropical species of the tortoise beetles. A single paper of butterflies was devoted to morphology in two subspecies of the European Swallowtail butterfly; there is also a review of an ‘Illustrated History of Butterflies of the Afrotropical Indian Ocean Islands’. Two papers devoted to stick insects included a description of new species from Vietnam and new records from China. A complete list of publications is given below.

Figure 1. Topics covered by the 2020-21 publications using specimens from the Entomology Department, Manchester Museum

Geographical scope

Publications based on Manchester Museum’s specimens contributed to the knowledge of entomofaunas in 32 countries from such regions as the Middle East, Central, South and South-East Asia, Europe (including the UK) and the Neotropics (Costa Rica). The highest number of publications is devoted to Central Asia (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Number of the publications per country of origin of the studied specimens included in the 2020-21 papers related to the Manchester Museum Entomology Collection

Highlight of papers and authors

• Dmitri Logunov (Curator of the Arthropods Collection, Manchester Museum) made a major contribution as the author of 11, or nearly a half the papers published in this academic year. Most of his papers (70%) were dedicated to the taxonomy of spiders (order Araneae). Dr. Logunov diagnosed, described and illustrated 37 new species of spiders from India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, as well as from other countries in the Mediterranean and the Middle East (Figure 3). Other publications included the jubilee article on Dr A.A. Zyuzin (an arachnologist and his colleague), marking his 70^th anniversary, work and achievement (Logunov, 2021c).

Figure 3. Jumping spider male of Chalcovietnamcus naga, the new species from the Philippines described by D. Logunov (from Figures 1-10, Logunov, 2020b)

• Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences (University of Manchester) measured British and European specimens of the Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon) to determine if sexual selection was responsible for the “tail length” (elongated part of the hindwings) in this species. It seems that the length of the tail is more related to avoiding predators and does not exhibit sexual dimorphism (Koutrouditsou & Nudds, 2021; Figure 4).

Figure 4. Measurements to assess relative size of ‘tails’ in Swallowtail Butterfly (from Figure 1, Koutrouditsou & Nudds, 2021)

• Two new species of the rove-beetles of the genus Metolinus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), based on unpublished materials from the Horace Last Collection were finally described (Figure 5). These descriptions were published along with new records of this scarce genus in Papua New Guinea (Bordoni, 2021).

Figure 5. Two new species of the genus Metolinus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) recently published from specimens at Manchester Museum (from Figure 7 & 8, Bordoni, 2021)

• The holotype of Calyptocephala attenuata (Spaeth, 1919) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Spilophorini) from Costa Rica (Figure 6) accompanied with a description of a new host plant and further information of the natural history of this poorly known tortoise beetle from Costa Rica (Nishida & Chaboo, 2020).

Figure 6. The Holotype of Calyptocephala attenuata from Costa Rica, held in the Manchester Museum (from Figure 4, Nishida & Chaboo, 2020)

• Specimens of sticks insects (order Phasmatodea) from Manchester Museum were used in a taxonomic review of this group in Vietnam and China. In the two papers, eight new species and two new genera were described, as well as new synonyms and records from China (Ho, 2020; Ho, 2021).

A complete list of publications:

1. Bordoni A. (2021). New data on the Australasian Xantholinini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Xantholininae) 13. Two new species of Metolinus from New Guinea of the Manchester Museum and new records. 305° contribution to the knowledge of the Staphylinidae. – Boll. Mus. reg. Sci. nat. Torino, 38(1-2): 23-29
2. Fomichev A.A. & Marusik, Y. M. (2020). Five new species of the Acantholycosa-complex (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Mongolia. – Zootaxa, 4497 (2): 271–284. doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4497.2.7 
3. Ho, W.C. (2020) New taxa of Clitumninae from Vietnam (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae). – Zoological Systematics, 45(2): 104-117. http://doi: 10.11865/zs.202015
4. Ho, W.C. (2021) Contribution to the knowledge of Chinese Phasmatodea IX: First report of Xeroderinae (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae) from China. – Zoological Systematics, 46(2): 187-190. http://doi: 10.11865/zs.2021205
5. Koutrouditsou L.K. & Nudds R.L. (2021). No evidence of sexual dimorphism in the tails of the swallowtail butterflies Papilio machaon gorganus and P. m. britannicus. – Ecology and Evolution, 11: 4744-4749. doi: 10.10 02/ece3.7374 
6. Logunov, D.V. (2020a). Further notes on the genus Stenaelurillus Simon, 1885 from India (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae). – Zootaxa, 4899(1): 201-214. http://doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.11 
7. Logunov, D.V. (2020b). New and poorly known leaf-litter dwelling jumping spiders from South-East Asia (Araneae, Salticidae: Euophryini and Tisanibini). – Arachnology, 18(6): 521-562. 
8. Logunov, D.V. (2020c). On three species of Hogna Simon, 1885 (Aranei: Lycosidae) from the Near East and Central Asia. – Arthropoda Selecta, 29(3): 349-360. 
9. Logunov, D.V. (2021a). Literature review: An Illustrated History of Butterflies of the Afrotropical Indian Ocean Islands (by James M. Lawrence & Mark C. Williams). – Antenna, online at: https://www.royensoc.co.uk/sites/default/files/Review_An%20Illustrated%20History%20of%20Butterflies%20of%20the%20Afrotropical%20Indian%20Ocean%20Islands.pdf 
10. Logunov, D.V. (2021b). Literature review: True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) Classification and Natural History (2nd edition) (by Randall T. Schuh & Christiane Weirauch). – Antenna, online at: https://www.royensoc.co.uk/sites/default/files/Review_True%20Bugs%20of%20the%20World%20Classification%20and%20Natural%20History%202nd%20ed.pdf 
11. Logunov, D.V. (2021c). [Alexei Alexandrovich Zyuzin – 70 years]. – Arthropoda Selecta, 30(1): 133-141. (in Russian) 
12. Logunov, D.V. (2021d). Further notes on the jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of Afghanistan. – Arachnology, 18(8): 821-828. 
13. Logunov, D.V. (2021e). Notes on the genus Chinattus Logunov, 1999 from India, Pakistan and Nepal (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae). – Zootaxa, 5006 (1): 110-120. http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5006.1.15 
14. Logunov, D.V. (2021f). On three species of Plexippoides Prószyński, 1984 (Araneae: Salticidae) from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia, with notes on a taxonomic validity of the genus. – Arachnology, 18(7): 766-777. http://doi:10.13156/arac.2020.18.7.766 
15. Logunov, D.V. & Fomichev A.A. (2021). A new species of Karakumosa Logunov & Ponomarev, 2020 (Araneae: Lycosidae: Lycosinae) from Tajikistan. – Arachnology, 18(7): 677-680. http://doi:10.13156/arac.2020.18.7.677 
16. Logunov, D.V. & Ponomarev, A.V. (2020). Karakumosa gen. nov., a new Central Asian genus of fossorial wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae: Lycosinae). – Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 127(2): 275-313. http://doi:10.35929/RSZ.0021
17. Marusik, Y. M. & Nadolny, A. A. (2020). On the identity of Trochosa hispanica (Araneae, Lycosidae), with notes on the synonymy of West Palaearctic “Trochosa” species. – Zootaxa, 4859(1): 56-80. http://doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4859.1.2
18. Nishida K. & Chaboo C. (2020). A new host plant family for Cassidinae sensu lato: Calyptocephala attenuata (Spaeth, 1919) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Spilophorini) on Smilax (Smilacaceae) in Costa Rica. – The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 96(4):263–267. 
19. Tchemeris A.N. (2020). Remarkable new species of epedanid from Vietnam (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores: Epedanidae). – Zootaxa, 4858 (3): 427–437. http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4858.3.8 
20. Zamani, A., Chatzaki, M., Esyunin, S. L. & Marusik, Y. M. (2021). One new genus and nineteen new species of ground spiders (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Iran, with other taxonomic considerations. – European Journal of Taxonomy, 751: 68-114. http://doi:10.5852/ejt.2021.751.1381 
21. Zamani, A., Dimitrov, D., Weiss, I., Alimohammadi, S., Rafiei-Jahed, R., Esyunin, S. L., Moradmand, M., Chatzaki, M. & Marusik, Y. M. (2020). New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), part VII. – Arachnology, 18(6): 569-591. http://doi:10.13156/arac.2020.18.6.569 
22. Zamani, A. & Marusik, Y. M. (2020). A survey of Phrurolithidae (Arachnida: Araneae) in southern Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia. – Zootaxa, 4758(2): 311-329. http://doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4758.2.6 
23. Zamani, A. & Marusik, Y. M. (2021). Revision of the spider family Zodariidae (Arachnida, Araneae) in Iran and Turkmenistan, with seventeen new species. – ZooKeys, 1035: 145-193. http://doi:10.3897/zookeys.1035.65767

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Star objects of our collection – the Ox Beetle

To celebrate the 2021 Year of the Ox in the Chinese calendar, we have chosen the Ox Beetle (Strategus aloeus) as a star object from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology collection. It is a species of the rhinoceros beetles from the family Scarabaeidae from the Americas. The male Ox Beetle has three characteristic horns on its thorax, two at the back and the longer one at the front, resembling Triceratops. This species is also called Elephant Beetle, Hercules beetle or Escarabajo Buey (in Spanish).

Male of the Ox Beetle. © Julián-Caballero C. Camilo

Adults of the Ox beetle can grow up to 2.5-3.8 cm long and live four to six months only. They feed mainly on various fruits and flowers, and are very active during the breeding season from May to November. Interestingly, the male Ox Beetles have two varieties, “major” and “minor”. Major males have three large horns on the thorax used for mating competitions. Minor males have shorter horns. Female Ox Beetles have a small raised area (a very short horn) used mainly for digging, not for fighting. Females lay their eggs in rotten wood or roots on sandy soil, with dried leaves sometimes added to maintain the right temperature and secure hatching.

Female Ox Beetle from the Entomology collection of the Manchester Museum. © The Manchester Museum

Larvae or grubs of Ox Beetles feed on roots with their powerful mandibles. Larvae are about 5 cm in size when curled, double if straightened. The larval stage takes about 4-6 months to develop into a pupal stage and almost a year to develop into an adult. Pupation may be affected by weather conditions, but this stage can be shortened when maintained in warmer environments (for example, when bred in captivity, for a manual see here).

This species is the largest and most common beetle found in the south-west part of the USA, from Arizona to Florida. It occurs throughout Central America and in parts of South America (especially in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil).

Records of the Ox Beetle in the Americas; based on Naturalista Colombia.

Larvae of Ox Beetles are considered pests, causing damage to plantations and gardens. For example, in Colombia, larvae affect recently planted oil palms due to the use of large amount of decomposing material as part of the planting process. In Mexico, larvae can affect new plantations of Blue Agave, Agave tequilana, a key ingredient of tequila. However, adults and larvae of the Ox Beetle also play a vital role in recycling organic matter in tropical ecosystems.

More information and resources:

• Ox Beetle Wikipedia
• Beneficial in the garden: Ox Beetle / Elephant Beetle
• Ox Beetle, grub
• iNaturalist – Strategus aloeus
• Manual for breeding Scarabaeidae   
• Effect of replanting systems on populations of Strategus aloeus (L.) and Rhynchophorus palmarum (L.) associated with the oil palm OxG interspecific hybrid (Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis) in Southwestern Colombia              
• Parámetros poblacionales de Strategus aloeus, barrenador de la palma de aceite
• Descripción de las Larvas de Tercer Instar de Melolonthidae (Coleoptera) Asociadas al Cultivo de Agave tequilana var. Azul y su Fluctuación Poblacional en Jalisco, México

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Publications from Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department – 2019-20

Selection of papers published in the last academic year (1 August 2019 – 31 July 2020)

This post is the next of a series of blog posts summarizing research that is partly or completely based on the Manchester Museum’s entomology collections. During the last academic year (1 August 2019 – 31 July 2020), a total of 24 such papers were published. Nearly 70% of them were completed and published during the first seven months of 2020. Despite lockdown restrictions in many countries due to Covid-19, many researchers were able to continue their studies.

The Entomology Department supported more than 40 researchers and naturalists from 10 countries (Russia, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Slovakia, Finland, India, Pakistan and United Kingdom). This support goes beyond just loaning specimens, but includes searching for and providing requested information or photographing specimens. The curator, Dmitri Logunov also provided comments/suggestions on improving manuscripts at different stages, identified specimens, especially those of spiders, and encouraged collection volunteers and associates to undertake own research and publish their results. In all papers, the importance of Manchester Museum collections as the repository of voucher/type specimens for the study of taxonomy, comparative morphology and many other topics is highlighted.

The majority of papers (Figure 1) were devoted to spiders, the order Araneae – 17 papers in total. Other taxa studied include beetles (Coleoptera; two papers); butterflies (Lepidoptera; two papers); as well as praying mantises (Mantodea), flies (Diptera) and wasps (Hymenoptera), with one paper on each group. The topics covered by these publications include the taxonomy and systematics (18 papers), including descriptions of new species and genera, a revision of some insect genera and new faunistic records. Two papers focused on faunistic surveys and two others are identification guides. A complete list of publications is given below.

Figure 1.  The taxa covered by the papers published between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020, based on specimens or collections from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department

Description of two Museum’s collections

Two important collections of the Manchester Museum were described and published at the beginning of 2020. One paper gives an account of a 200 year history of the British butterfly collection, discussing collectors, different collecting periods and patterns. The Museum’s British butterfly collection consists of over 12,000 specimens, representing 69 species. Most of the butterflies were collected during the 1920s, 1930s and 1970s (Dockery & Cook, 2020). Both authors are honorary staff at the Museum. They reinforced the importance of museum insect collections to encourage public interest in natural history and conservation today.

The oldest specimen from Dockery & Cook (2020), a Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) from the Isle of Wight, 1840. Scale bar = 1cm. The British butterfly collection at The Manchester Museum (reproduced from Figure 10; Dockery & Cook, 2020)

Previously unsorted spiders from southern Europe collected by Eric Duffey (a famous British arachnologist and conservationist) were identified by Prof. Rainer Breitling (The University of Manchester). Around 500 species in 42 families accounting for more than 2500 specimens are included in this paper, which also provides illustrations of selected specimens. The spiders were collected from 12 European countries with data labels providing habitat information for 120 locations (Breitling, 2020). See more about E. Duffey collection and life here and here.

Drawings from Prof. Rainer Breitling (Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester).
South European spiders from the Duffey collection in the Manchester Museum (reproduced from Figure 8; Breitling, 2020)

Highlights of the papers

• In a revision of the genus Cissidium Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae – feather-winged beetles), 223 specimens from the Manchester Museum were studied, as well as specimens from the British Natural History Museum. The specimens originated from 26 countries in five continents (Darby, 2020). This research actually completes the unfinished study by Colin Johnson, the former Keeper of Entomology at the Museum. Based on morphology, the author (Dr Michael Darby) described 77 new species, and about half of the corresponding types are retained in the Manchester Museum.

• An updated checklist of four families of the order Diptera (Atelestidae, Brachystomidae, Empididae and Hybotidae) that occur in Lancashire and Cheshire was compiled by Phil Brighton. It is more than a list of species, also including information a national and local conservation status of all species, their distribution, ecology and preferred habitats. As well as museum specimens, the paper relied on several recording schemes, such as the National Empidoidea scheme, Greater Manchester Local Records Centre and RECORD (Brighton, 2020). The document provides a list of 243 species, representing 62% of the total of the British species for these families – a good proportion of these species is deposited in the Manchester Museum.

• Two papers used morphological, molecular (DNA barcoding) and ecological characters to support species designation and delimitation in two different taxa, ant-mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae; Muster & Michalik, 2019) and Swedish paraitoid wasps of the genus Ophion (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae; Johansson & Cederberg, 2019). The former emphasized the value of natural history information, especially documented by early naturalists and taxonomists, which is not revealed using modern techniques (Muster & Michalik, 2019).

• Descriptions of new spider species (order Araneae) and taxonomic reviews, especially at genus level, represented by nearly 70% of the publications (Figure 1). Seven papers were focused on the family Salticidae (jumping spiders), including two by D.V. Logunov, Curator of Arthropods at the Manchester Museum, and A.V. Ponomarev,  of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Logunov & Ponomarev, 2020a, 2020b). These papers present new faunistic records from Turkmenistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and new species from the northern Caucasus (Russia) and Turkmenistan.

• A description of the fifth new species of praying mantis (Dracomantis mirofraternus, Mantodea: Mantidae) from the central highlands of Vietnam in the last three years, evidences the rich biodiversity of this little-known area (Shcherbakov & Vermeersch, 2020). Manchester Museum holds two paratypes of this species.

• Many Coleoptera specimens from the Manchester Museum were used to compare species between different biogeographical regions in a review of the Cryptophagidae (Coleoptera; feather-winged beetles) of Canada and Alaska. Specimens of 50 species from the Palearctic Region were used for a comparison with Nearctic species (Pelletier & Hébert, 2019).

Authors’ affiliations

Authors were associated with natural history collections, zoology and entomology departments at museums and universities, including Natural History Museum (London, UK); Natural History Museum (Netherlands); Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald (Germany); Zoological Museum, University of Turku (Finland); Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel-Aviv University (Israel) and Manchester Museum (UK). Others were affiliated to research and scientific centres, including the Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Zoological Survey of India; Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and the Energy, Environment & Water Research Center, The Cyprus Institute; local and national NGOs, for example the Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity of Cyprus and the Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society.

A complete list of publications:

1. Andrews, P. 2020. Notes and views of the Large Copper and the Lost Fenlands [Online]. Available from: http://www.dispar.org/reference.php?id=163
2. Azarkina G.N. 2019. Manzuma gen. nov., a new aelurilline genus of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 611: 1–47. http://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.611
3. Azarkina, G. N. & Zamani, A. 2020. The first description of the female of Heliophanus xerxesi Logunov, 2009 (Araneae: Salticidae) from Iran. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 127(1): 21-25. http://doi:10.35929/RSZ.0003
4. Bosmans R. et al., 2019. Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter Belgian Arachnological Society, 34: 1-173.
5. Breitling, R. 2020. South European spiders from the Duffey collection in the Manchester Museum (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnology 18(4): 333-362. http://doi:10.13156/arac.2020.18.4.333
6. Brighton B. 2020. The Diptera of Lancashire and Cheshire: Empidoidea, Part I. L&CES, 47 pp.
7. Caleb J.T.D., Prajapati D.A. & Ali P.A. 2019. Redescription of Rudakius ludhianaensis (Tikader, 1974) (Aranei: Salticidae), with notes on its synonymy and distribution. Arthropoda Selecta, 28(3): 417-423.
8. Darby M. 2020. A revision of Cissidium Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae) with seventy seven new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 622: 1–188. http://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.622
9. Dockery M. & Cook L. 2020. The British butterfly collection at the Manchester Museum. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 156: 135–149.
10. Esyunin S.L. & Zamani A. 2019. Taxonomic remarks on two Drassodes species (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from Iran. Acta Arachnology, 68(2): 63-71.
11. Johansson N. & Cederberg B. 2019. Review of the Swedish species of Ophion (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae), with the description of 18 new species and an illustrated key to Swedish species. European Journal of Taxonomy, 550: 1-136. http://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.550
12. Logunov, D.V. & Ponomarev A.V. 2020a. A new species of Dendryphantes C. L. Koch, 1837 (Araneae: Salticidae) from the Caucasus, with notes on the state of knowledge of the dendryphantines in the Old World. Arachnology, 18(4): 329–332.
13. Logunov, D.V. & Ponomarev A.V. 2020b. New species and records of Salticidae (Aranei) from Turkmenistan and neighbouring countries. Arthropoda Selecta, 29(1): 67–81.
14. Marusik, Yu. M. 2019. A new species of Euophrys (Aranei: Salticidae) from Israel. Arthropoda Selecta 28(4): 562–566.
15. Marusik, Yu. M., Nadolny A. A. & Koponen S. 2020. Redescription of Trochosa urbana (Araneae: Lycosidae) with notes on its distribution. Arachnology 18(5): 482–489.
16. Marusik, Y. M., Otto, S. & Japoshvili, G. 2020. Taxonomic notes on Amaurobius (Araneae: Amaurobiidae), including the description of a new species. Zootaxa 4718(1): 47-56. http://doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4718.1.3
17. Muster C. & Michalik P. 2019. Cryptic diversity in ant-mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists. Zoologica Scripta, 00: 1-13. http://doi: 10.1111/zsc.12404
18. Pelletier, G. & Hébert C. 2019. The Cryptophagidae of Canada and the northern United States of America. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 40: 305 pp. http://doi:10.3752/cjai.2019.40
19. Schäfer M. 2020. Ein Beitrag zur Springspinnenfauna (Araneae: Salticidae) der griechischen Insel Kreta mit der Erstbeschreibung von Pellenes florii sp. nov. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 59: 72-87.
20. Shcherbakov E. O. & Vermeersch X. H. C. 2020. Dracomantis mirofraternus gen. et sp. n., a new genus and species of Hierodulinae (Mantodea: Mantidae) from Vietnam. Far Eastern Entomologist 408: 1-12. http://doi.org/10.25221/fee.408.1
21. Zamani, A., Hosseini, M. S. & Moradmand, M. 2020. New data on jumping spiders of Iran, with a new species of Salticus (Araneae: Salticidae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 59: 63-66. http://doi:10.30963/aramit5908
22. Zamani, A. & Marusik, Y. M. 2020. A review of Agelenini (Araneae: Agelenidae: Ageleninae) of Iran and Tajikistan, with descriptions of four new genera. Arachnology 18(4): 368-386. http://doi:10.13156/arac.2020.18.4.368
23. Zamani, A., Marusik, Yu.M. & Šestáková, A. 2020. On Araniella and Neoscona (Araneae, Araneidae) of the Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia. ZooKeys 906: 13–40. http://doi:10.3897/zookeys.906.47978
24. Zonstein, S. L. & Marusik, Y. M. 2020. A review of the spider genus Boagrius Simon, 1893 (Araneae: Palpimanidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 68: 91-102. http://doi:10.26107/RBZ-2020-0010

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A life devoted to describing tiny beetles – Colin Johnson (British coleopterist)

Colin Johnson (born 1943) was fascinated by the natural history since his childhood, starting with chasing butterflies at primary school. Many years later, he joined the Entomology Department of the Manchester Museum to which he eventually committed more than 40 years. During this time, he studied the taxonomy of several beetle families (order Coleoptera), and continued to undertake taxonomic research for at least 10 more years after his retirement in 2004.

Photo. Colin Johnson, Keeper of Entomology, Manchester Museum, 1980s. © The Manchester Museum

As a teenager, being inspired by an enthusiastic biology teacher, Colin developed a real interest in the entomology. His teacher introduced him to Flatters & Garnett Ltd. – the entomology dealer and shop at Oxford Road – opposite the University of Manchester, and soon he discovered the entomological laboratory owned by the same company in Fallowfield. He joined the Manchester Entomological Society in the 1950s where he met such famous fellow entomologists as Dr W. D. Hincks (Keeper of Entomology at the Manchester Museum in 1947–1961), Alan Brindle (Dr Hincks’ assistant), George Kloet and Ted Fielding. They encouraged youngsters, such us Colin, to develop a passion for insects, especially for identifying and collecting, and to become an active part of this and other entomological societies. In the late 50s or early 60s, Colin joined the North Western Naturalists’ Union, the Oldham Natural History Society, the Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society and the Raven Entomological and Natural History Society, many of which still active now. Colin Johnson wrote an account of his life for a special publication celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Raven Society in 1996 (Johnson, 1996).

At the age of 18, Colin started to work as Alan Brindle’s assistant in the Entomology Department at the Manchester Museum, where he remained for the following 42 years. Starting as a Junior Technician in October 1961, he became Assistant Keeper of Entomology in 1972, and Keeper of Entomology in 1982 until his retirement in July 2003. Throughout his career, he was dedicated to the taxonomy of neglected and difficult groups of tiny beetles, especially of the silken fungus beetles (Cryptophagidae), fungus beetles (Latriididae) and featherwing beetles (Ptiliidae). He completed an MSc at the University of Manchester in 1978 devoted to Ptiliidae of the Seychelles and Mascarene Islands. In collaboration with many colleagues and friends across the globe, he was able to add a great number of beetle specimens to the Manchester Museum’s entomology collection through the exchanges between institutions and fellow coleopterists, and through his own fieldwork. Before his research and fieldwork, many of British/foreign beetle groups were poorly represented or absent from the Museum’s collection. From 1967 to 2012, Johnson had described an astonishing 405 new taxa to science, including new genera, species and subspecies.

Colin Johnson recorded and identified many beetles and added many new species to the British list, and even more to the northwest region (Lancashire and Cheshire), specifically of the families of rove beetles (Staphylinidae), pill beetles (Byrrhidae) and various Clavicornia – beetles with club-shaped antennae. The first new beetle species added by Colin to the British list was Rhizapagus parvulus Paykull, 1800 (the currently accepted name R. fenestralis Linnaeus, 1758), collected from Glen Affric, Scotland (Figure 1), and the account of its discovery was published in the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine in 1962 (Johnson, 1962).

Figure 1. Rhizophagus parvulus Paykull, 1800, collected from Glen Affric, 1964; it is the first addition to the British beetle list by Colin Johnson. Scale bar: 1mm. © The Manchester Museum

In 1967, Johnson published 17 papers, including the description of the first new species, a scarce beetle Atomaria strandi Johnson, 1967 from Britain and Norway (Figure 2). This minute beetle of the silken fungus beetles is 1.6-2.0 mm in length, named after Johnson’s good friend Dr Andreas Strand from Oslo, who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Coleoptera in northern Europe. For the account of this species, Johnson examined 36 specimens, the majority of which were collected from Britain and six specimens were lent by Dr Strand.

Figure 2. The holotype and voucher specimens of Atomaria strandi Johnson, 1967 in the entomological collection of Manchester Museum. The holotype was collected at Nethy Bridge in 1923 by P. Harwood. © The Manchester Museum

At the end of 1967, he described the first new African genus of featherwing beetles that accounted for three species, of which two were new to science: viz., Africoptolium marginatum (Figure 3), A. concinnum and A. mimicum. For this description, Johnson had examined specimens from central and eastern Africa, especially the material borrowed from the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren; British Museum (NHM), and specimens donated to Manchester Museum by Prof. H. Franz.

Figure 3. Female paratype of Africoptolium marginatum Johnson, 1967; Congo Museum Collection, Terr. Lubero, Kivu, 1954, collected by R. P. M. J. Célis. Manchester Museum Entomology Collection. Scale bar: 1mm. © The Manchester Museum

The publication of ‘The Provisional Atlas of the Cryptophagidae – Atomariinae (Coleoptera) of Britain and Ireland’, in 1993 by the Biological Records Centre (Natural Environment Research Council – NERC) (Figure 4), marked an important step in Colin’s career. The publication was the result of extensive, lifelong taxonomic studies based on specimens from many British and Irish museums, from private collections and own active fieldwork.

Figure 4. Atlas of the Cryptophagidae – Atomariinae (Coleoptera) by Colin Johnson (left). Records and species account for Atomaria strandi Johnson 1967 (middle). Online version of A. strandi at National Biodiversity Network (right).

A complete type catalogue of the species described by Colin Johnson that are deposited in the Manchester Museum is currently in progress. However, it has been delayed due to the Covid-related restrictions. As part of this project, details of Colin’s personal life and contributions to the Manchester Museum’s entomology collection and to the state of knowledge of British and global Coleoptera is currently being compiled with the support of his family, museum archives and published papers.

Reference

Johnson, C. 1962. Rhizophagus parvulus Payk. (Col. Rhizophagidae): An Addition to the British List.  Entomologist’s mon. Mag. (1962) 98: 231.

Johnson, C. 1967. Additions and Corrections to the British List of Atomaria s.str. (Col., Cryptophagidae), Including a Species New to Science. Entomologist 100: 39-47.

Johnson, C. 1967. Studies on Ethiopian Ptiliidae. 1, Africoptilium gen. n. from Central Africa. Entomologist 100: 288-292.

Johnson, C. 1993. The Provisional Atlas of the Cryptophagidae – Atomariinae (Coleoptera) of Britain and Ireland. Biological Records Centre (Natural Environment Research Council – NERC).

Johnson, C. 1996. Colin Johnson [recollection]. In: Underwood, R. (editor). The Raven Entomological and Natural History Society, Fifty years, 1946 to 1996. Pp. 165-167.

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