250 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS MATERNAL CARE IN THE NEOTROPICAL CENTIPEDE OTOSTIGMUS SCABRICAUDA (CHILOPODA: SCOLOPENDROMORPHA) 1 G. Machado^ ABSTRACT: This paper provides the first field report of maternal care in a Neotropical centi-pede. Nine females of Otostigmus scabricauda were found taking care of eggs or first instar nymphs at Sao Sebastiao Island, southeastern Brazil. Brood-guarding females were found in the leaf litter or under fallen trunks. The mean clutch size was 29.1 15.7 and no egg was observed to be infected with fungi. The nymphs are non-pigmented and hatch with 21 segments. Egg-laying in O. scabricauda probably takes place in the beginning of the wet-warm season (Octo-ber), and the reproductive season lasts until February. Predation pressure in the leaf litter and the high risk of infection due to fungi may have favored the evolution of maternal care in many arthropods living on the soil, such as centipedes. Parental investment is defined as any behavior exhibited by a parent to-wards the progeny which increases its survival rate at the cost of the aptitude of the parent to invest in another progeny (Trivers, 1972). Among arthropods this may include investment by females in the choice of an appropriate site for oviposition, incubation, and egg-guarding, as well as the feeding of young by one or both parents (Clutton-Brock, 1991). There are about 2500 described species of centipedes (order Chilopoda) in both temperate and tropical regions (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1958; Lewis, 1981). Centipedes usually live in damp and dark places such as under stones, fallen leaves, logs, under barks, or in crevices. The reproductive biology of centi-pedes is poorly known, but at least some species present some degree of pa-rental care. Females in the suborders Scolopendromorpha and Geophilomorpha lay their eggs in clusters and guard the eggs from oviposition to hatching, then caring for the young until they disperse (Brunhuber, 1970). While the female guards her offspring she is very sensitive to disturbance and commonly abandons the egg-batch which may be attacked by fungi or predators. Thus, females and their brood cannot be transported to the labora-tory in order to observe their behavior and development (Brunhuber, 1970). Among the Scolopendromorpha, maternal care has been reported only for Scol-opendra cingulata (Heymonds, 1901 ; Klingel, 1960), S. dalmatica (Heymonds, 1901), 5. amazonica (Lewis, 1966), and Cormocephalus anceps anceps (Brunhuber, 1970), all from Asian and African regions. There is no record of maternal care in Neotropical centipedes. 1 Received June 4, 1999, Accepted October 23, 1999. 2 Museu de Hist6ria Natural, Institute de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas SP, Brazil, fax 55 19 2893124 e-mail
[email protected] ENT. NEWS 1 1 1(4): 250-254, September & October 2000
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