This research examines two of parameters of vectorial capacity for mosquitoes associated with catch basins in Corvallis, Oregon. The parameters of interest were determining 1) abundance of the mosquito species associated with the catch basins and 2) feeding patterns of local mosquito species. Three species of mosquitoes were collected from...
The phantom midges (Diptera: Chaoboridae) are a relatively small fly family composed of 50 extant species in six genera. Larvae are of interest to limnologists and ecologists because of their tolerance to toxicants, predatory avoidance strategies, and the role chaoborids play in zooplankton community dynamics. Relative to mosquitoes, systematists have...
Many Hymenoptera, with their painful stings and noxious chemical defenses, exhibit bright aposematic warning color patterns and are the most frequently mimicked group of organisms. Such aposematic color patterns are found in parasitic wasps of the Neotropical Compsobracon group (Braconidae). Many members of this group exhibit color patterns similar to...
The family Bibionidae has a worldwide distribution and includes approximately 700 species in eight extant genera. Recent studies have not produced compelling evidence supporting Bibionidae as a monophyletic group or identified the sister group to bibionids. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the classification and evolution of...
Members of the tribe Sabethini (Diptera: Culicidae) oviposit and develop in phytotelmata (plant-held waters) and are primarily distributed in a pantropical pattern. Recent cladistic studies have demonstrated that while the tribe is monophyletic, three of its 13 genera are not. The genus Wyeomyia is particularly problematic and debate among culicidologists...
This dissertation describes arthropod responses to and effects on decay processes in ponderosa pine, a dominant forest canopy tree in northern California. We used both descriptive and experimental field techniques to establish how arthropod assemblages depend on and are important to the disintegration of woody structures in forests of this...
