Temperate East Asia Research Articles

Migration patterns and winter population dynamics of rice planthoppers in Indochina: New perspectives from field surveys and atmospheric trajectories

Rice planthoppers (RPH) are the most serious insect pests of rice production in East Asia, frequently out-breaking in China, Korea and Japan each summer. They are unable to overwinter in temperate East Asia, and summer populations arise anew each year via northward spring migration from south-east Asia. The annual migration cycle is generally believed to be a closed loop with mass returns to south-east Asia in the autumn, but this leg of the journey and the overwintering dynamics are much less studied than the spring immigrations. Previous studies have indicated that the north-central Vietnam (NCV) region is a key location for both the spring colonisation of China and for receiving return migrants from southern China each autumn. However, NCV experiences a three-month rice-free fallow period during mid-winter, and so it cannot be the principal over-wintering region for RPH populations. In this study, the continental-scale migration patterns of RPH in East Asia were explored using data from light trap catches, field surveys and atmospheric trajectory simulations. Our results confirmed that large numbers of return migrants arrive in NCV from southern China each autumn, but that they are unable to survive there over winter. The NCV region is recolonised in the early-spring (mid-February to mid-March) of each year by migrants from winter rice-growing regions in north-east Thailand, southern Laos and south-central coastal Vietnam, which are transported on favourable high-altitude synoptic winds. The following generation initiates the colonisation of East Asia from a large source population in NCV. Our results provide a new perspective on RPH migration patterns and over-wintering dynamics in East Asia, which is governed by crop production, environmental conditions and synoptic wind patterns at a continental scale.

Long-term seasonal forecasting of a major migrant insect pest: the brown planthopper in the Lower Yangtze River Valley

Rice planthoppers and associated virus diseases have become the most important pests threatening food security in China and other Asian countries, incurring costs of hundreds of millions of US dollars annually in rice losses, and in expensive, environmentally harmful, and often futile control efforts. The most economically damaging species, the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), cannot overwinter in temperate East Asia, and infestations there are initiated by several waves of windborne spring or summer migrants originating from tropical areas in Indochina. The interaction of these waves of migrants and synoptic weather patterns, driven by the semi-permanent western Pacific subtropical high-pressure (WPSH) system, is of critical importance in forecasting the timing and intensity of immigration events and determining the seriousness of subsequent planthopper build-up in the rice crop. We analysed a 26-year data set from a standardised light trap network in Southern China, showing that planthopper aerial transport and concentration processes are associated with the characteristics (strength and position) of the WPSH in the year concerned. Then, using N. lugens abundance in source areas and indices of WPSH intensity or related sea surface temperature anomalies, we developed a model to predict planthopper numbers immigrating into the key rice-growing area of the Lower Yangtze Valley. We also demonstrate that these WPSH-related climatic indices combined with early-season planthopper catches can be used to forecast, several months in advance, the severity of that season’s N. lugens infestations (the correlation between model predictions and outcomes was 0.59), thus allowing time for effective control measures to be implemented.

Apparent Tolerance of Low Water Availability in Temperate Asian Bamboos1

Abstract Suitable plant water dynamics and the ability to withstand periods of low moisture input facilitate plant establishment in seasonally arid regions. Temperate bamboos are a major constituent of mixed evergreen and deciduous forests throughout temperate East Asia but play only an incidental role in North American forests and are altogether absent in the Pacific Northwest forest. Many bamboo species are classified as mesic or riparian, but none are considered drought tolerant. To assess their ability to withstand low water, we subjected five Asian temperate and one North American temperate bamboo species to three irrigation treatments: 100%, 50%, and 10% replacement of water lost through evapotranspiration. Plants were irrigated every four days over a 31-day period. Plant response to treatments was measured with stomatal conductance, leaf xylem water potentials, and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). Pleioblastus distichus and Pseudosasa japonica showed significant reductions in conductance between high and low irrigation treatments. Sasa palmata had significantly lower stomatal conductance in all treatments. Pleioblastus chino displayed significantly higher iWUE in the mid irrigation treatment and Arunindaria gigantea displayed significantly lower iWUE than P. chino and S. palmata in the low irrigation treatment. The Asian bamboo species examined here tolerate low water availability and readily acclimate to different soil moisture conditions. Index words: Temperate bamboos, irrigation response, stomatal conductance, intrinsic water use efficiency. Species used in this study: Giant Cane [Arundinaria gigantea (Walt.) Muhl.]; Pleioblastus chino (Franchet & Savatier) Makino; Pleioblastus distichus (Mitford) Nakai; Pseudosasa japonica (Makino); Sasa palmata (Bean) Nakai.

Thermal experiments with the Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus japonicus) (Diptera: Culicidae) and implications for its distribution in Germany

BackgroundAs ectothermic animals, temperature influences insects in almost every aspect. The potential disease spreading Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus japonicus) is native to temperate East Asia but invasive in several parts of the world. We report on the previously poorly understood temperature-dependence of its life history under laboratory conditions to understand invasion processes and to model temperature niches.ResultsTo evaluate winter survival, eggs were exposed between 1 day and 14 days to low temperatures (5 °C, 0 °C, -5 °C and -9 °C). Hatching success was drastically decreased after exposure to 0 °C and -5 °C, and the minimal hatching success of 0% was reached at -9 °C after two days. We then exposed larvae to 14 temperatures and assessed their life trait parameters. Larval survival to adulthood was only possible between 10 °C and 31 °C. Based on this, we modelled the optimal (25 °C), minimal (7 °C) and maximal (31 °C) temperature for cumulative female survival. The time to adult emergence ranges from 12 days to 58 days depending on temperature. We used an age-at-emergence-temperature model to calculate the number of potential generations per year for the Asian bush mosquito in Germany with an average of 4.72 potential generations. At lower temperatures, individuals grew larger than at higher temperatures with female R1 length ranging from 3.04 ± 0.1 mm at 31 °C to 4.26 ± 0.2 mm at 15 °C.ConclusionsReduced egg hatch after exposure to sub-zero temperatures prohibits the establishment of the Asian bush mosquito in large parts of Germany. Larval overwintering is not possible at temperature ≤ 5 °C. The many potential generations displayed per year may contribute to the species’ invasion success. This study on the thermal ecology of the Asian bush mosquito adds to our knowledge on the temperature dependence of the species and data could be incorporated in epidemiological and population dynamic modelling.

Half-jumping plant lice - a taxonomic revision of the distinctive psyllid genus Togepsylla Kuwayama with a reassessment of morphology (Hemiptera, Psylloidea).

Togepsyllinae is a distinctive group within Psylloidea, with its systematic status treated variously by different authors. Of the only two known genera, Togepsylla is better known and distributed in temperate and tropical East Asia. In this study, the taxonomy and morphology of Togepsylla was studied in detail. Keys to adults and fifth instar immatures of the genus are provided. Togepsylla glutinosae sp. n. is described, and T. matsumurana, T. takahashii, and T. tibetana are redescribed. Syncoptozus is compared with Togepsylla for differences in morphology. Modern psyllids have evolved their jumping hind legs via the elongation of the dorsal edge of coxa, the broadening of coxal wall, the thickening of meron, the backward twisting of the plane of trochanter, femur, and tibia, and the enlargement of trochanteral tendon. However, in Togepsylla, this modification has progressed halfway. The metapleuron of Togepsylla is arranged in a different way than other psyllids. The pleural sulcus is short, and the metepisternum and trochantin are not divided. Wax-secreting fields on abdominal sternites, resembling those of whiteflies, are found on all Togepsylla species, and described for the first time. Other distinctive characters of the genus are also revealed, e.g. frons completely fused with gena, a pair of extra sclerites present behind the base of thoracic furca, one-segmented aedeagus, and absence of a flag lobe on valvula dorsalis of ovipositor. Based on various similarities in morphology, Togepsyllinae may have a close relationship with Aphalaridae-Rhinocolinae and is possibly related to Homotomidae, Liviidae-Liviinae and Atmetocranium (Calophyidae). All the distinctive characters of Togepsyllinae suggest that the current placement of the group is doubtful, and the phylogeny of Aphalaridae needs to be resolved.

Perenniporiopsis, a New Polypore Genus Segregated fromPerenniporia(Polyporales)

Abstract Perenniporiopsis gen. nov. is described to accommodate Perenniporiopsis minutissima spec. et comb. nov. Phylogenetic analyses based on two data sets, [ITS+n28S nrRNA] and [ITS, n28S, mtSSU, tef1], and using Maximum Parsimony, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inferences, showed that specimens of Perenniporia minutissima form a monophyletic well-supported clade within the core polyporoid clade, The new genus grouped with the Abundisporus, Perenniporiella and Perenniporia s.s. lineages, and is phylogenetically distinct from the Perenniporia s.s. lineage (100% BS, 99% MP, 1.00 BPP). Morphologically, the consistency of the basidiocarps, waxy when fresh, drying rigidly osseous, as well as the large basidiospores characterize this species and distinguish it from Perenniporia s.s. The species seems to be endemic to temperate east Asia, and is known from temperate Japan and China.

Natural farming and rice planthoppers in Western Japan

ABSTRACTPlanthoppers are serious pests of rice in both tropical and temperate East Asia. In temperate regions, population density has been shown to be largely determined by the rate and timing of immigration from tropical areas. Historical records of planthopper outbreaks in western Japan over 1300 years suggest that the cropping system may influence planthopper populations as the likelihood of an outbreak has increased substantially since the conversion to intensive rice production during the second half of the twentieth century. To investigate this in more detail, planthopper populations were compared in naturally and conventionally farmed paddies in Hiroshima Prefecture. Naturally farmed paddies differed from conventionally farmed ones in the absence of synthetic chemicals and the use of plant compost as the sole source of fertilizer. Paddies farmed naturally for >8 years had less planthopper damage than conventional paddies, slightly lower densities of white-backed planthopper, much lower densities of brown planthopper, and higher rates of planthopper parasitism by the nematode Agamermis unka. Nematode density and parasitism showed a close correlation with variation in planthopper populations, suggesting that nematodes may control planthoppers in naturally farmed paddies.

Relative importance of landscape features, stand structural attributes, and fruit availability on fruit-eating birds in Japanese forests fragmented by coniferous plantations

Replacement of natural forests with plantations is causing forest loss and fragmentation worldwide. There is a great need for conservation and restoration of fauna in these fragmented forests, particularly those with special ecological functions, such as fruit-eating birds. In this 3-year study, we explored the relative importance of landscape-level and local factors for the richness and abundance of fruit-eating birds in broad-leaved forest patches scattered within a coniferous plantation in Japan. As local factors of remnant forests we included fleshy fruit availability and stand structural attributes, and then analyzed how the relative importance of these factor varies between the breeding (May–August) and non-breeding (September–December) seasons and among three bird size classes. Our results provide new insights into seasonal variations in the factors associated with bird richness and abundance and demonstrate the importance of fruit availability in the remnant forest patches. The main factors showing positive associations with bird richness/abundance were stand structural attributes (e.g., tree basal area) and landscape variables (e.g., proportion of broad-leaved forest) during the breeding season, whereas it was fruit availability during the non-breeding season, when migrating birds are dominant. We detected only minor variations in the associated factors among the three size classes. Thus, preserving continuous mature forests is of great importance for conserving breeding communities of fruit-eating birds, and maintaining fruit availability is an effective approach for supporting migrating birds during the non-breeding season. These findings are applicable to forest management aimed toward biodiversity conservation in regions being replaced or to be replaced by plantations, such as in many areas of temperate East Asia.

Liana distribution and community structure in an old-growth temperate forest: the relative importance of past disturbances, host trees, and microsite characteristics

Studies on lianas conducted within temperate forest stands have provided scant information on host trees, microsites, past disturbances, and liana size classes. Studies focussing on East Asia are also lacking, although this information is important for a comprehensive understanding of temperate liana ecology. The aim of this study was to compare the liana community structure of a 6-ha plot in the Ogawa Forest Reserve, an old-growth temperate forest of Japan, with that of other temperate forests. We also examined the relative importance of past disturbances, host trees, and microsite characteristics on specific liana distribution, especially variations among climbing types and liana size classes. The diameter at breast height, species name, and the locations of all liana stems were recorded. The most dominant liana species was Wisteria floribunda, contributing 85 % to the total basal area of the liana community. The liana community structure at the study site was similar to that of other temperate forests in terms of flora at genus level, basal area, and climbing types. Occurrences of stem twiners and root climbers were negatively correlated with tree size gradients, as reported for other temperate forests. Each liana species significantly aggregated at a 25-m scale, on average, whereas there were no exclusive distribution patterns among liana species. Most liana species were dependent on past disturbances, with host tree sizes also influencing liana distribution, and microsite characteristics being less important. Further studies in temperate East Asia will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of liana communities in temperate forests.

How predictable is the winter extremely cold days over temperate East Asia?

Skillful seasonal prediction of the number of extremely cold day (NECD) has considerable benefits for climate risk management and economic planning. Yet, predictability of NECD associated with East Asia winter monsoon remains largely unexplored. The present work estimates the NECD predictability in temperate East Asia (TEA, 30°–50°N, 110°–140°E) where the current dynamical models exhibit limited prediction skill. We show that about 50 % of the total variance of the NECD in TEA region is likely predictable, which is estimated by using a physics-based empirical (P-E) model with three consequential autumn predictors, i.e., developing El Nino/La Nina, Eurasian Arctic Ocean temperature anomalies, and geopotential height anomalies over northern and eastern Asia. We find that the barotropic geopotential height anomaly over Asia can persist from autumn to winter, thereby serving as a predictor for winter NECD. Further analysis reveals that the sources of the NECD predictability and the physical basis for prediction of NECD are essentially the same as those for prediction of winter mean temperature over the same region. This finding implies that forecasting seasonal mean temperature can provide useful information for prediction of extreme cold events. Interpretation of the lead–lag linkages between the three predictors and the predictand is provided for stimulating further studies.

Monitoring for bovine arboviruses in the most southwestern islands in Japan between 1994 and 2014.

BackgroundIn Japan, epizootic arboviral infections have severely impacted the livestock industry for a long period. Akabane, Aino, Chuzan, bovine ephemeral fever and Ibaraki viruses have repeatedly caused epizootic abnormal births and febrile illness in the cattle population. In addition, Peaton, Sathuperi, Shamonda and D’Aguilar viruses and epizootic hemorrhagic virus serotype 7 have recently emerged in Japan and are also considered to be involved in abnormal births in cattle. The above-mentioned viruses are hypothesized to circulate in tropical and subtropical Asia year round and to be introduced to temperate East Asia by long-distance aerial dispersal of infected vectors. To watch for arbovirus incursion and assess the possibility of its early warning, monitoring for arboviruses was conducted in the Yaeyama Islands, located at the most southwestern area of Japan, between 1994 and 2014.ResultsBlood sampling was conducted once a year, in the autumn, in 40 to 60 healthy cattle from the Yaeyama Islands. Blood samples were tested for arboviruses. A total of 33 arboviruses including Akabane, Peaton, Chuzan, D’ Aguilar, Bunyip Creek, Batai and epizootic hemorrhagic viruses were isolated from bovine blood samples. Serological surveillance for the bovine arboviruses associated with cattle diseases in young cattle (ages 6–12 months: had only been alive for one summer) clearly showed their frequent incursion into the Yaeyama Islands. In some cases, the arbovirus incursions could be detected in the Yaeyama Islands prior to their spread to mainland Japan.ConclusionsWe showed that long-term surveillance in the Yaeyama Islands could estimate the activity of bovine arboviruses in neighboring regions and may provide a useful early warning for likely arbovirus infections in Japan. The findings in this study could contribute to the planning of prevention and control for bovine arbovirus infections in Japan and cooperative efforts among neighboring countries in East Asia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0747-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

OnMannia triandra(Aytoniaceae, Marchantiophyta) in Eastern Asia

Abstract: Borovichev, E. A. & Bakalin, V. A. 2016. On Mannia triandra (Aytoniaceae, Marchantiophyta) in Eastern Asia. — Herzogia 29: 59–65. Mannia triandra is a rare and poorly known taxon in Asia. Some specimens of this species have been misidentified and considered as other taxa and vice versa. During fieldwork and herbarium studies, we revealed hitherto unknown occurrences of M. triandra in Magadan Province and the Korean Peninsula. The locality in the Republic of Korea belongs to a so-called wind-hole area and confirms the high value of such kind of habitats at low elevations in temperate East Asia as refugia for rare alpine plants. The paper provides a morphological description and figures based on the studied collections and reviews the ecological preferences and distribution of M. triandra in eastern Asia.

Taxonomic identity of a Phakopsora fungus causing the grapevine leaf rust disease in Southeast Asia and Australasia

Three distinct groups were revealed among the grapevine leaf rust fungi from Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor and Australia in phylograms generated from sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer 2 and the large-subunit rRNA gene (D1/D2 region). A group of Thai, Malaysian-Indonesian and East Timorese-Australian fungi was distinct from two other groups of grapevine leaf rust fungi, Phakopsora meliosmae-myrianthae and P. montana, distributed in temperate East Asia. Although complete life cycle and native host plants are unknown for the Southeast Asian and Australasian fungus, it is likely to be a biologically distinct species.

Unexpected patterns of admixture in German populations of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) underscore the importance of human intervention.

The mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus, originally restricted to temperate East Asia, is now widespread in North America and more recently has become established in Europe. To ascertain the putative number of separate introductions to Europe and examine patterns of expansion we analyzed the genetic makeup of Ae. j. japonicus populations from five cemeteries in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, two western German federal states, as well as of specimens from populations in Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria/Slovenia. To do so, we genotyped individual specimens at seven pre-existing polymorphic microsatellite loci and sequenced part of the nad4 mitochondrial locus. We found evidence of two different genotypic signatures associated with different nad4 mitochondrial haplotypes, indicating at least two genetically differentiated populations of Ae. j. japonicus in Europe (i.e. two distinct genotypes). Belgian, Swiss, and Austrian/Slovenian populations all share the same genotypic signature although they have become differentiated since isolation. Contrary to expectations, the German Ae. j. japonicus are not closely related to those in Belgium which are geographically nearest but are also highly inbred. German populations have a unique genotype but also evidence of mixing between the two genotypes. Also unexpectedly, the populations closest to the center of the German infestation had the highest levels of admixture indicating that separate introductions did not expand and merge but instead their expansion was driven by punctuated human-mediated transport. Critically, the resulting admixed populations have higher genetic diversity and appear invasive as indicated by their increased abundance and recent spread across western Germany.

<span lang="EN-GB">Frullania subarctica—</span><span lang="EN-GB">a new species of the Frullania tamarisci complex (Frullaniaceae, Marchantiophyta)</span>

This study tests the phylogenetic affinity and clarifies the taxonomy of Frullania tamarisci s. l. in Russia and adjacent areas based on critical morphological reinvestigation and DNA analyses. More than 100 accessions of F. tamarisci s. l. from the collections of KPABG, VBGI and UBC were studied morphologically, and the nrITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and trnL–trnF cpDNA loci of sixteen accessions were sequenced. Molecular data were combined with accessions from GenBank and phylogenetic estimations by maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches were performed. The tree topologies obtained were congruent and resolved the specimens previously referred to F. nisquallensis from Russian North in a clade together with an accession from Alaska. This clade is only distantly related to European F. tamarisci s. str. and temperate western North American F. nisquallensis. Taking into account the morphological differences, we describe a new species Frullania subarctica Vilnet, Borovich. & Bakalin sp. nov. The species status for F. appendiculata occurring mainly in temperate East Asia was supported by molecular evidence, based on specimens from the Primorsky Territory of Russia. Populations of F. tamarisci s. str. from the Russian North West and the Caucasus Mountains are quite similar to those from European countries both morphologically and molecularly.

Morphology-Based Phylogeny and Biogeography of Wockia (Lepidoptera: Urodidae) with Description of a New Species from Japan and South Korea

Wockia, one of the six genera within the lepidopteran family Urodidae, currently includes nine species distributed in Holarctic, Oriental, and Neotropical regions. A new species of the genus, W. magna sp. nov., is described from Japan and South Korea. This is the first record of Urodidae from Japan. A cladistic analysis was constructed based on 27 morphological characters from five ingroup species and two outgroup taxa. A single most parsimonious tree was found (length = 38, CI = 71, RI = 70). The resulting tree failed to recover the monophyly of Wockia chewbacca and a clade Wockia sensu stricto, including four congeners from North America, temperate East Asia and Southeast Asia. Wockia sensu stricto was resolved as monophyletic and was divided into two subgroups, one including W. asperipunctella and W. magna, and the other including W. koreana and W. variata. The sister-group relationship of W. asperipunctella and W. magna was moderately supported. Synapomorphies of Wockia sensu stricto are provided from the resulting phylogeny. Systematic definitions of Wockia and other allied genera are revised. Optimal ancestral area reconstruction implemented in DIVA resulted in different hypotheses for Wockia, depending on how to constrain the maximum number of areas. The maximum area number set as two yielded a more likely scenario suggesting that Wockia sensu stricto originated in temperate East Asia and then dispersed into the Oriental region, North America, and Europe. A working hypothesis and other equally possible alternative explanations for the biogeography of Wockia are provided.

Disturbances in deciduous temperate forest ecosystems of the northern hemisphere: their effects on both recent and future forest development

Disturbances in forests can kill mature trees, but also create the conditions necessary for the establishment of new tree cohorts and create micro-habitats for new plant and animal species, thereby increasing the species diversity compared to undisturbed stands. We review the types and intensities of disturbances on forests in three regions of the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere: northeastern North America, Central Europe, and East Asia. We focus on (1) the ways in which disturbances affect forest stand development; (2) the differences among the three areas in this regard; (3) the consequences for future forest management. In both northeastern North America and East Asia, hurricanes and typhoons represent the major mode of natural disturbance, while in Central Europe winter windstorms occur after deciduous trees have lost their leaves. Tornadoes can have even greater destructive power (but affect relatively narrow strips of land), and the more severe of these mainly occur in North America. The general disturbance patch system therefore is relatively large in northeastern North America, small in Central Europe, and of intermediate size in temperate East Asia. In addition to wholly natural disturbance factors, human commerce and globalization have enabled new disturbance types by introducing pests and diseases from one region to another. In North America especially, several of the most important foundation species in temperate forests are strongly affected, so that not just the species composition but also the whole forest structure is changing fundamentally. In all three areas in the past the change in land use by growing human populations strongly affected the structure as well as the species composition of forests. Nearly all the recent forest stands of the temperate zone had been used in the past in a particular way, and many of today’s forests had previously been converted into agricultural land. Finally climate change is superimposing itself on forest development worldwide. Nevertheless, climate change is not a new phenomenon, so forest ecosystems in all time periods have been exposed to changing climatic conditions and have had to adapt. Each forest stand therefore represents a unique recent expression of the interaction of environmental conditions and plant species, a “snapshot” of the relevant abiotic and biotic factors, including human impact.

Genetic diversity of the endangered scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus) in the wintering habitat of central-southern China

The scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus), found in temperate East Asia, has been reduced to a very small population. Central and southern China are its main wintering habitat. However, populations have declined greatly since the 1980s due to habitat loss and degradation, and poaching. To meet the urgent need for up-to-date conservation information, we examined RAPD DNA markers from 156 specimens in 6 populations in Jiangxi Province. We found that genetic diversity (based on individual similarities) is in fact low; molecular variance between populations ranged from 0.137 to 0.347. Genetic similarity ranged from 0.683 to 0.866. In conclusion, the geographical pattern of genetic diversity supports the long-term refugial status of the scaly-sided merganser in central-southern China; strong conservation measures should be taken to maintain the merganser in this region.

Tree-ring reconstructed summer temperature anomalies for temperate East Asia since 800 C.E.

We develop a summer temperature reconstruction for temperate East Asia based on a network of annual tree-ring chronologies covering the period 800–1989 C.E. The East Asia reconstruction is the regional average of 585 individual grid point summer temperature reconstructions produced using an ensemble version of point-by-point regression. Statistical calibration and validation tests indicate that the regional average possesses sufficient overall skill to allow it to be used to study the causes of temperature variability and change over the region. The reconstruction suggests a moderately warm early medieval epoch (ca. 850–1050 C.E.), followed by generally cooler ‘Little Ice Age’ conditions (ca. 1350–1880 C.E.) and 20th century warming up to the present time. Since 1990, average temperature has exceeded past warm epochs of comparable duration, but it is not statistically unprecedented. Superposed epoch analysis reveals a volcanic forcing signal in the East Asia summer temperature reconstruction, resulting in pulses of cooler summer conditions that may persist for several years. Substantial uncertainties remain, however, particularly at lower frequencies, thus requiring caution and scientific prudence in the interpretation of this record.

Sexual morphs and colour variants of Aphis (formerly Toxoptera) odinae (Hemiptera, Aphididae) in Japan

Recent molecular studies have shown that the genus Toxoptera is polyphyletic, and in particular that the name of the aphid known since 1952 as Toxoptera odinae (van der Goot) should revert to Aphis odinae (van der Goot), stat. rev. In this paper oviparae, alate males and fundatrices of A. odinae are described for the first time, from Japan. A. odinae is common as a grey-brown or rust-brown aphid on numerous plant species of shrubby habit throughout the Old World tropics and subtropics, but in temperate east Asia much darker forms occur, and Japanese populations of A. odinae include a dark green form not found elsewhere in the world. Multivariate morphometrics were used to confirm that both colour forms of the aphid in Japan were conspecific with samples from other parts of the world. Pergandeida kalopanacis Hori 1927 is a new synonym of A. odinae.