PREMISE OF THE STUDY We developed a set of microsatellite markers for broad utility across the species-rich pantropical tree genus Ficus (fig trees). The markers were developed to study population structure, hybridization, and gene flow in neotropical species. METHODS AND RESULTS We developed seven novel primer sets from expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries of F. citrifolia and F. popenoei ...

Walkerella is an Old World genus of non-pollinating fig wasps in the subfamily Otitesellinae (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae). It is the most widely distributed genus of the subfamily, though there has been only six known world species. This paper describes two new species associated with the host Ficus subsection Conosycea of section Urostigma, subgenus Urostigma in Xishuangbanna, China. The two n...

Syconia of figs (Moraceae: Ficus spp.) harbour many wasp species, mostly belonging to several genera of chalcidoids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). In contrast, only two genera of Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) with a few known species are found in syconia belonging to the subgenus Urostigma. The braconid fig wasps have an infrequent occurrence with low population density and are rarely ...

We conducted the first molecular phylogenetic study of Ficus section Malvanthera (Moraceae; subgenus Urostigma) based on 32 Malvanthera accessions and seven outgroups representing other sections of Ficus subgenus Urostigma. We used DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS and ETS), and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3pdh) region. Ph...

Two outbreaks of neurotoxicoses are reported in cattle browsing on the leaves of Ficus spp. In the first outbreak, three animals died and one became ill. A sheep developed severe nervous signs, including tetanic spasms, when dosed with the leaves of Ficus ingens var. ingens from the toxic camp where the cattle had died. The second outbreak resulted in the death of 12 heifers within 48 h of inge...

Sycophaginae is a group of non-pollinating fig wasps considered closely related to the fig pollinators (Agaoninae, Tetrapusiinae, and Kradibiinae) in the most recent phylogenetic analyses. They occur in all tropical regions and are associated with Ficus subgenera Urostigma and Sycomorus. There are six described genera of Sycophaginae, and two are native and confined to the Neotropics, namely Id...