Quantitative evaluation of a theoretical-conceptual model based on affective and socio-behavioral dimensions to explain the academic performance of mathematics students.

Objective: There is evidence that suggests that affective dimensions, personality traits, as well as students' cooperative interpersonal interactions, are an important element in the students learning process. In this work we propose a theoretical model, based on evidence, that shows the direct and indirect relationships between these factors and academic performance in mathematics courses, in undergraduate and school students.

Methods: To understand the type of relationships between these variables, the PANAS psychometric test of positive and negative affect, the BIG FIVE personality test and the economic decision game DUPLES GAME were applied.

Wild bees of Chile: a database on taxonomy, sociality, and ecology.

Bees are a diverse group of insects that have tremendous importance as pollinators. In recent decades, there has been a global decline in bee populations because of land-use change, intensive agriculture, and climate change. Unfortunately, our knowledge of native bees' ecology is rather scarce, and such knowledge gaps are also a major threat to its conservation.

Behavioral Analysis and Ethogram of Mating in the Wasp Sphex latreillei (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae).

The present study reevaluates mating in Sphex latreillei (Lepeletier) based on the analysis of 69 filmed reproductive interactions from a population in central Chile. Behaviors recorded before, during, and after copulation were analyzed through Markov chains, identifying statistically significant behavioral transitions that are summarized in a mating ethogram. The results suggest that females exercise choice either during copulation by the means of an internal courtship, or via a post-copulation selection.

Biology and ecology of Alchisme grossa in a cloud forest of the Bolivian Yungas.

Treehoppers (Membracidae) exhibit different levels of sociality, from solitary to presocial. Although they are one of the best biological systems to study the evolution of maternal care in insects, information on the biology of species in this group is scarce. This work describes the biology and ecology of Alchisme grossa (Fairmaire) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) in a rain cloud forest of Bolivia.

Strong selection on mandible and nest features in a carpenter bee that nests in two sympatric host plants.

Host plants are used by herbivorous insects as feeding or nesting resources. In wood-boring insects, host plants features may impose selective forces leading to phenotypic differentiation on traits related to nest construction. Carpenter bees build their nests in dead stems or dry twigs of shrubs and trees; thus, mandibles are essential for the nesting process, and the nest is required for egg laying and offspring survival.

Host location by ichneumonid parasitoids is associated with nest dimensions of the host bee species.

Parasitoid fitness depends on the ability of females to locate a host. In some species of Ichneumonoidea, female parasitoids detect potential hosts through vibratory cues emanating from them or through vibrational sounding produced by antennal tapping on the substrate. In this study, we (1) describe host location behaviors in Grotea gayi Spinola (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Labena sp.

Phylogenetic relationships among tribes in Xylocopinae (Apidae) and implications on nest structure evolution.

The subfamily Xylocopinae has been recognized as the most basal lineage within the family Apidae, comprising four tribes; Allodapini, Ceratinini, Xylocopini and Manueliini. Relationships among the tribes are not well resolved with morphological data. In particular, Manueliini and Xylocopini have each been placed as the most basal lineage in separate analyses of the subfamily.

Nest-mate recognition in Manuelia postica (Apidae: Xylocopinae): an eusocial trait is present in a solitary bee.

In eusocial Hymenoptera, females are more tolerant towards nest-mate than towards non-nest-mate females. In solitary Hymenoptera, females are generally aggressive towards any conspecific female. Field observations of the nest biology of Manuelia postica suggested nest-mate recognition.