Department of Biology 305 Sullivan Science Bldg. University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402
mmiln001@odu.edu
I am currently a lecturer of biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Historically, my research has centered around arthropods and their interactions with plants and plant-produced chemicals. However, I have also studied ecological interactions between arthropods, arthropod taxonomy, and arthropod attraction to human cues.
Abstract: In Central America, the family Manaosbiidae is recorded only from Panama and Costa Rica. Four species occur in this region: Barrona williamsi Goodnight & Goodnight 1942, Bugabitia triacantha Roewer 1915, Poassa limbata Roewer 1943, and Zygopachylus albomarginis Chamberlin 1925. In this paper, we describe Barrona felgenhaueri new species
(Cocle´ Province, Panama) and Bugabitia akini new species (Cocle´ Province, Panama) and report a new record for B.williamsi (Cocle´ Province, Panama). We used SEM to examine the penis morphology of Barrona Goodnight & Goodnight 1942 and the Caribbean species Cranellus montgomeryi Goodnight & Goodnight 1947 and Rhopalocranaus albilineatus Roewer 1932. We compared genital morphology of these species with published descriptions for Manaosbiidae from South America. With respect to genital morphology, we found that the most variable characters were the number and relative sizes of the setae that occur on the lateral margins of the ventral plate. Other features that exhibited interspecific variation included the shape of the ventral plate, the shape of the distal border of the ventral plate, and the shape and armature of the
apex of the stylus.
Abstract: A new species, Santinezia noctiscansor, most similar to members of the S. festae group, is described from central Panama; this species is the only member of the genus that occurs in Central America. Our examinations of adults and nymphs collected from Cocle´ and Panama´ Provinces revealed that males are sexually mature as penultimate nymphs. The subadult strongly resembles the adult with respect to coloration, scutal outline, armature of femora III–IV, and penis morphology, but differs in having fewer tarsomeres on each leg, a smaller body size (scutal length and width), and a much smaller tubercle on the
ventral surface of coxa IV. Natural history observations are provided for specimens collected from the field site in Cocle´ Province.
Abstract: We collected 22,769 adult female mosquitoes, representing 27 species, from light traps in Norfolk, Virginia (2006–2007) and examined them to assess infestation by larval mites. Mosquitoes were parasitized by two species of aquatic (Acari: Arrenuridae: Arrenurus) and three species of terrestrial mites (Acari: Erythraeidae). The prevalence of infestation varied from 0.55% (2006) to 0.17% (2007). The mean intensity of parasitism ranged from 3.6 mites per host (2006) to 1.8 mites per host (2007). The most common host species for aquatic mites was Culex erraticus, while the most common host for terrestrial mites was Anopheles quadrimaculatus. Relationships between biotic and abiotic factors were investigated in an attempt to provide insight into temporal, spatial, and interspecific variation in mite–mosquito interactions. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the mode of attachment for larval mites. While the prevalence of aquatic mite parasitism was correlated for Culex erraticus, the invasive mosquito, Aedes albopictus, was never parasitized through the duration of the study.
Abstract: The “kissing bugs,” Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille) and Bhodnius prolixus (StÃ¥l) (Reduviidae: Triatominae) are major vectors of Chagas disease in Central and South America. To further uncover the attraction to certain host cues by these vectors at long and short distances from their host, the behavioral responses of two life stages (fifth-instar nymphs and adult males) of these two species to different known or suspected attractants, alone or in combination, were investigated. Tests were done using short- and long-range environments, namely, a four-port olfactometer and a long-range artificial chamber designed to mimic the insect's natural habitats. In single-attractant trials, heat alone and CO2 alone were found to be more attractive than selected chemicals. In multiple-attractant trials, both species and life stages were attracted at short distances, and a statistically significant synergistic increase in attraction was observed in long-distance multimodal tests. Lures containing CO2 were the most effective attractants at both long and short distances. R. prolixus adult males were significantly less attracted to several lure combinations than the nymphs of either species, perhaps because adults were more motivated to seek mates than feed. Our findings suggest that although the triatomine bugs may be capable of detecting odorants and heat sources at short distances, their ability to locate a host over a long distance is best aided by the presence of a CO2 plume.
Abstract: We report the expansion of the invasive container mosquito, Aedes albopictus, into pitchers of the carnivorous pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, in southeastern Virginia. The community of aquatic Dipteran larvae commonly associated within S. purpurea pitchers was not present at our research site, creating an unoccupied rearing habitat. We monitored mosquito presence and development within pitchers through two growing seasons.
Oviposition traps placed near pitchers confirmed the abundance of gravid A. atbopictus in the study area. Females oviposited in both newly opened and in senescing pitchers and larvae matured to adulthood in S. purpurea. Successful development of an exotic mosquito species within unoccupied pitchers of S. purpurea reinforces the hypothesis that invasive species may invade natural communities and occupy vacant niches.
Abstract: Spiders and harvestmen are commonly captured by or reside upon the carnivorous purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Although spiders and harvestmen are often known to be prey of S. purpurea, other ecological interactions between these arthropods and the plant are poorly understood. Studies were undertaken at three pitcher plant populations, two in Virginia and one in North Carolina, to assess the ecological relationships between spiders and harvestmen and S.purpurea. Multiple plots containing pitcher plants (treatment) and plots lacking pitcher plants (control) were created at these locations. Spiders and harvestmen were collected through five different techniques. Spatial, temporal, and interspecific variation in spider diversity and density among these techniques was calculated. To assess the attractive and/or retentive ability of the
morphological features of S. purpurea, a field experiment was carried out whereby pitcher plant
types and models were placed in a large area and their capture abilities were compared. Sticky traps at various proximities from the plant were used to test the plant’s influence on local insect density. The propensity of spiders and harvestmen to consume S. purpurea nectar was also examined, and the species of spiders that commonly oviposit in the pitchers were recorded. Finally, stable isotope signatures were used to determine if spider residents contribute nutrients to the plant. Significant correlations were found between the density and diversity of spiders
captured by S. purpurea and those found in the environment. There was no difference in spider
diversity or density between control and treatment plots. Pigment-lacking, peristome nectarlacking,
and control pitchers did not differ in arthropod capture, but models captured less prey. Furthermore, newer pitchers captured more prey than older pitchers. These data indicate that attraction and/or retention of spiders by S. purpurea is similar to attraction and/or retention of insects. Spiders and harvestmen readily consumed S. purpurea nectar and often used the plant for oviposition. Spider residents of the genus Agelenopsis contributed nitrogen to the pitchers.
Finally, there was no difference in insect density between control and treatment sticky traps,
suggesting that S. purpurea does not influence nearby insect density.
