PDMS Sponges with Embedded Carbon Nanotubes as Piezoresistive Sensors for Human Motion Detection.

Porous piezoresistive sensors offer promising flexible sensing functionality, such as human joint motion detection and gesture identification. Herein, a facile fabrication method is developed using a microwave-based rapid porogen removal technique for the manufacturing of porous nanocomposite sponges consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and well-dispersed carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The porogen amounts and CNT loadings are varied to tailor the porosity and electrical properties of the porous sensors. The sponges are characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to compare their microstructures, validate the high-quality CNT dispersion, and confirm the successful nanofiller embedding within the elastomeric matrix. Sponges with a 3 wt% CNT loading demonstrate the highest piezoresistive sensitivity. Experimental characterization shows that the sponges with low porosity have long durability and minimal strain rate dependence. Additionally, the developed sponges with 3 wt% CNTs are employed for the human motion detection using piezoresistive method. One experiment includes fingertip compression measurements on a prosthetic hand. Moreover, the sensors are attached to the chest, elbow, and knee of a user to detect breathing, running, walking, joint bending, and throwing motions.

Maximizing Bark and Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Catches in Trapping Surveys for Longhorn and Jewel Beetles.

Bark and ambrosia beetles are commonly moved among continents within timber and fresh wood-packaging materials. Routine visual inspections of imported commodities are often complemented with baited traps set up in natural areas surrounding entry points. Given that these activities can be expensive, trapping protocols that attract multiple species simultaneously are needed. Here we investigated whether trapping protocols commonly used to detect longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) can be exploited also for detecting bark and ambrosia beetles. In factorial experiments conducted in 2016 both in Italy (seminatural and reforested forests) and Canada (mixed forest) we tested the effect of trap color (green vs purple), trap height (understory vs canopy), and attractive blend (hardwood-blend developed for broadleaf-associated wood-boring beetles vs ethanol in Italy; hardwood-blend vs softwood-blend developed for conifer-associated wood-boring beetles, in Canada) separately on bark beetles and ambrosia beetles, as well as on individual bark and ambrosia beetle species. Trap color affected catch of ambrosia beetles more so than bark beetles, with purple traps generally more attractive than green traps. Trap height affected both beetle groups, with understory traps generally performing better than canopy traps. Hardwood-blend and ethanol performed almost equally in attracting ambrosia beetles in Italy, whereas hardwood-blend and softwood-blend were more attractive to broadleaf-associated species and conifer-associated species, respectively, in Canada. In general, we showed that trapping variables suitable for generic surveillance of longhorn and jewel beetles may also be exploited for survey of bark and ambrosia beetles, but trapping protocols must be adjusted depending on the forest type.

Impact of Horizontal Edge-Interior and Vertical Canopy-Understory Gradients on the Abundance and Diversity of Bark and Woodboring Beetles in Survey Traps.

Semiochemical-baited intercept traps are important tools used to collect information about the presence/absence and population dynamics of forest insects. The performance of these tools is influenced by trap location along both horizontal edge-interior and vertical understory-canopy gradients. Consequently, the development of survey and detection programs requires both the development of effective traps and semiochemical lures but also deployment protocols to guide their use. We used field trapping experiments to examine the impact of both horizontal edge-interior and vertical understory-canopy gradients and their interactions with the species richness and abundance of Buprestidae, Cerambycidae and Curculionidae. Both gradients had significant effects on the diversity and abundance of all three families collected in traps and the pattern of gradient effects differed between the two experiments. In the first experiment, traps were deployed along transects involving large (>100 m) forest gaps and in the second experiment traps transected small (ca. 15 m) forest gaps. These results were consistent with the idea that gradient effects on the abundance and diversity of these three families of forest Coleoptera are context dependent. The results of this study suggest that monitoring programs for bark and woodboring beetles should deploy traps at multiple locations along both vertical understory-canopy and horizontal edge-interior gradients.

New Coleoptera records from eastern Canada, with additions to the fauna of Manitoba, British Columbia, and Yukon Territory.

One-hundred-eleven new provincial and territorial Coleoptera records are reported from New Brunswick (64), Nova Scotia (20), Prince Edward Island (5), Quebec (14), Manitoba (3), British Columbia (3), and Yukon Territory (2) for the 26 following families: Carabidae, Dytiscidae, Histeridae, Staphylinidae, Scarabaeidae, Buprestidae, Eucnemidae, Elateridae, Cantharidae, Erotylidae, Monotomidae, Cryptophagidae, Passandridae (first record of this family from New Brunswick), Laemophloeidae, Nitidulidae, Anamorphidae, Coccinellidae, Latridiidae, Mordellidae, Tenebrionidae, Cerambycidae, Chrysomelidae, Anthribidae, Brentidae, Dryophthoridae, and Curculionidae. Among these are ten new Canadian records: Heterosternuta oppositus (Say, 1823) (Dytiscidae) (New Brunswick), Gyrophaena blatchleyi Seevers, 1951 (Staphylinidae) (Quebec), Acropteroxys lecontei Crotch, 1873 (Erotylidae) (Manitoba), Placonotus falinorum Thomas, 2011 (Laemophloeidae) (Quebec), Adelina pallida (Say, 1824) (Tenebrionidae) (Quebec), Poecilocera harrisii (J.L. LeConte, 1851) (Chrysomelidae) (New Brunswick), Plesiobaris albilata (LeConte, 1876) (Curculionidae) (Quebec, New Brunswick), Pseudopityophthorus asperulus (LeConte, 1868) (Curculionidae) (Nova Scotia), Hylurgops palliatus (Gyllenhal, 1813) (Curculionidae) (New Brunswick), and Heteroborips seriatus (Blandford, 1894) (Curculionidae) (Nova Scotia). Plesiobaris disjuncta Casey reported as new for Canada in New Brunswick and Quebec by Webster et al. (2012a) is actually P. albilata (LeConte) and thus P. disjuncta is removed from the faunal list of Canada. Eleven species from New Brunswick not previously reported in literature were found on the online platforms BugGuide.Net and iNaturalist and are reported in this publication. This highlights the importance of online platforms dedicated to recording wildlife observations and citizen science in detecting new species records. Data is also presented for seven species from Quebec and two species from New Brunswick reported by Bousquet et al. (2013) without any supporting information for their occurrence in these provinces. Among the species reported here, 32 are adventive.

Further contributions to the Coleoptera fauna of New Brunswick with an addition to the fauna of Nova Scotia, Canada.

This paper treats 134 new records of Coleoptera for the province of New Brunswick, Canada from the following 41 families: Gyrinidae, Carabidae, Dytiscidae, Histeridae, Leiodidae, Scarabaeidae, Scirtidae, Buprestidae, Elmidae, Limnichidae, Heteroceridae, Ptilodactylidae, Eucnemidae, Throscidae, Elateridae, Lampyridae, Cantharidae, Dermestidae, Bostrichidae, Ptinidae, Cleridae, Melyridae, Monotomidae, Cryptophagidae, Silvanidae, Laemophloeidae, Nitidulidae, Endomychidae, Coccinellidae, Corylophidae, Latridiidae, Tetratomidae, Melandryidae, Mordellidae, Tenebrionidae, Mycteridae, Pyrochroidae, Aderidae, Scraptiidae, Megalopodidae, and Chrysomelidae. Among these, the following four species are newly recorded from Canada: Dirrhagofarsus ernae Otto, Muona & McClarin (Eucnemidae), Athous equestris (LeConte) (Elateridae), Ernobius opicus Fall (Ptinidae), and Stelidota coenosa Erichson (Nitidulidae). The Family Limnichidae is newly reported for New Brunswick, and one species is added to the fauna of Nova Scotia. Stephostethus productus Rosenhauer (Latridiidae), Tetratoma (Abstrulia) variegata Casey (Tetratomidae), and Chauliognathus marginatus (Fabricius) (Cantharidae) are removed from the faunal list of New Brunswick, and additional records of Lacconotus punctatus LeConte (Mycteridae) are presented and discussed. Lindgren funnel traps provided specimens for 104 (78%) of the species and were the sole source of specimens for 89 (66%) of the species reported here, suggesting they are a very useful tool for sampling Coleoptera fauna in the forests of New Brunswick.

The Ciidae (Coleoptera) of New Brunswick, Canada: New records and new synonyms.

The Ciidae of New Brunswick, Canada are reviewed. Seventeen species are recorded for New Brunswick, including the following 10 species that are newly recorded for the province: Ceracis singularis (Dury), Ceracis thoracicornis (Ziegler), Cis angustus Hatch, Cis fuscipes Mellié, Cis horridulus Casey, Cis striatulus Mellié, Dolichocis laricinus (Mellié), Malacocis brevicollis (Casey), Orthocis punctatus (Mellié), and Plesiocis cribrum Casey. Additional locality data are provided for the following species previously known from the province: Cis americanus Mannerheim, Cis creberrimus Mellié, Cis levettei (Casey), Cis submicans Abeille de Perrin, Dolichocis manitoba Dury, Hadreule elongatula (Gyllenhal), and Octotemnus glabriculus (Gyllenhal). Seven synonyms are proposed here; Cis pistoria Casey with Cis submicans Abeille de Perrin; Cis fraternus Casey, Cis macilentus Casey and Cis striolatus Casey with Cis striatulus Mellié; Dolichocis indistinctus Hatch with Dolichocis laricinus (Mellié); and Octotemnus denudatus Casey and Octotemnus laevis Casey with Octotemnus glabriculus (Gyllenhal). Lindgren funnel traps provided the majority of specimens for 15 of the 17 species reported from New Brunswick and were the sole source of specimens for seven of the 10 species newly reported here, suggesting they are a very useful tool for sampling Ciidae in the forests of New Brunswick.

New Curculionoidea records from New Brunswick, Canada with an addition to the fauna of Nova Scotia.

This paper presents 27 new records of Curculionoidea for the province of New Brunswick, Canada, including three species new to Canada, and 12 adventive species, as follows: Eusphryrus walshii LeConte, Choragus harrisii LeConte (newly recorded for Canada), Choragus zimmermanni LeConte (newly recorded for Canada) (Anthribidae); Cimberis pallipennis (Blatchley) (Nemonychidae); Nanophyes marmoratus marmoratus (Goeze) (Brentidae); Procas lecontei Bedel (Brachyceridae); Anthonomus pusillus LeConte (newly recorded for Canada), Anthonomus (Cnemocyllus) pictus Blatchley, Archarius salicivorus (Paykull), Dorytomus hirtus LeConte, Ellescus bipunctatus (Linnaeus), Mecinus janthinus (Germar), Myrmex chevrolatii (Horn), Madarellus undulatus (Say), Microplontus campestris (Gyllenhal), Pelenomus waltoni (Boheman), Rhinoncus bruchoides (Herbst), Rhinoncus perpendicularis (Reich), Cossonus impressifrons Boheman, Cossonus pacificus Van Dyke, Rhyncolus knowltoni (Thatcher), Eubulus bisignatus (Say), Polydrusus cervinus (Linnaeus), Magdalis piceae Buchanan, Procryphalus mucronatus (LeConte), Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff), and Xyleborinus attenuatus (Blandford). Recent name changes in the genus Rhinoncus are applied to species known from New Brunswick. In addition, Orchestes alni (Linnaeus) is newly recorded from Nova Scotia.

Further contributions to the longhorn beetle (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) fauna of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada.

Sixteen species of Cerambycidae are newly recorded for New Brunswick, Canada; Arhopalus obsoletus (Randall), Atimia confusa confusa (Say), Callidium frigidum Casey, Phymatodes amoenus (Say), Phymatodes testaceus (Linnaeus), Neoclytus mucronatus mucronatus (Fabricius), Xylotrechus aceris Fisher, Xylotrechus sagittatus sagittatus (Germar), Tylonotus bimaculatus Haldeman, Lepturges angulatus (LeConte), Lepturges symmetricus (Haldeman), Urgleptes querci (Fitch), Oplosia nubila (LeConte), Eupogonius subarmatus (LeConte), Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier), and Pogonocherus parvulus LeConte. Urgleptes signatus (LeConte) and Urgleptes querci are newly recorded from Nova Scotia. All but two specimens were collected in 12-funnel Lindgren traps. Xylotrechus aceris, Tylonotus bimaculatus, Lepturges angulatus, Lepturges symmetricus, Urgleptes signatus (NS), and Pogonocherus parvulus were detected exclusively in traps deployed in the forest canopy, and most individuals of Oplosia nubila and Monochamus carolinensis were captured in canopy traps. Arhopalus obsoletus, Atimia confusa confusa, Callidium frigidum, Phymatodes testaceus, and Xylotrechus sagittatus sagittatus were captured almost exclusively in traps near (1 m above) the forest floor. These results highlight the importance of sampling both the understory and upper canopy when using traps for surveying diversity of Cerambycidae.