Twenty eight species of winter-active Heleomyzidae were collected during a long-term study in Poland. More than 130 samples of insects, including Heleomyzidae, were collected from the surface of snow in lowland and mountain areas using a semi-quantitative method. Lowland and mountain assemblages of Heleomyzidae recorded on snow were quite different. Heleomyza modesta (Meigen, 1835) and Scoliocentra (Leriola) brachypterna (Loew, 1873) dominated in the mountains, Tephrochlamys rufiventris (Meigen, 1830) mainly in the lowlands and Heteromyza rotundicornis (Zetterstedt, 1846) was common in both habitats. Heleomyzidae were found on snow during the whole period of snow cover, but the catches peaked from late November to the beginning of February. In late winter and early spring the occurrence of heleomyzids on snow decreased. Most individuals were active on snow at air temperatures between -2 and +2.5°C. A checklist of 78 winter active European Heleomyzidae is presented. Helomyza nivalis Wahlgren, 1918 is herein considered as a new junior synonym of Helomyza caesia Meigen, 1830, syn. n., Agnieszka Soszyńska-Maj, Andrzej J. Woźnica., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Water-filled tree holes are abundant microhabitats in forests worldwide and are inhabited by specialized communities of invertebrates. Despite their importance, the temporal dynamics of communities within and between years are largely unknown. Here, I present a case study on the phenology of insect larvae in two holes in a beech tree (lower and upper canopy) located in southern Germany over a period of three years. I asked whether water temperature and the characteristics of insect larvae at the community and population levels are similar in periodicity every year and whether they differ in the lower and upper canopy. The water temperature in tree holes differed greatly from air temperature, and this effect was more pronounced in the lower than in the upper canopy, which resulted in a lower probability of drying out occurring in the lower canopy. This was associated with a higher species richness in the lower canopy and greater abundance of drought tolerant species in the upper canopy. There was a significant periodicity in larval abundance, biomass, species richness and body size distribution of abundant species in both tree holes, but it was not seasonal. This result indicates that unpredictable drying out of tree holes are more important drivers of tree hole community dynamics than changes in water temperature. The community of larvae in the tree hole in the upper canopy lagged behind that in the lower canopy, which indicates that most species mainly colonize the more stable microhabitats in the lower canopy. Hopefully this case study will encourage future larger-scale phenological studies to test (1) whether the patterns observed in this study can be generalized over larger spatial scales and (2) the relative importance of abiotic and biotic drivers of the dynamics of communities in tree holes., Martin M. Gossner., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The population structures of different species of Calliphoridae flies are highly diverse at different locations. We investigated populations of the Eastern European L. sericata using chaetotaxy and eight microsatellite loci. Our results strongly indicate that a panmictic population of L. sericata exists in the area studied, possibly with a high rate of intra-population gene flow. Analysis of chaetotaxy also supports the panmictic population hypothesis., Anna V. Diakova, Dmitry M. Schepetov, Nadezhda Y. Oyun, Anatole I. Shatalkin, Tatiana V. Galinskaya., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The macrozoobenthos in saline pools at dumps in a former coal mining area was studied over a period of two years. Due to specific environmental conditions these pools are unique in the Czech Republic. Extremely high values of salinity (up to 11‰) along with a low concentration of dissolved phosphorus (0.01-0.1 mg.l-1) are typical of some of the water in this area. The pools were grouped into three categories based on their conductivity values and treated using cow dung, municipal wastewater treatment sludge and inorganic NPK (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) fertilizer at doses recommended for carp ponds. The application of fertilizer had a positive effect on the density and biomass of all the groups in the macrozoobenthos. The highest and the lowest increases in macrozoobenthos biomass were recorded after the application of NPK and cow dung, respectively. However, the application of fertilizer had no effect on the diversity of macrozoobenthos. Chironomus aprilinus, recorded in the Czech Republic for the first time, inhabited all pools with conductivity ranges of between 5,000-16,000 µS.cm-1. The density of C. aprilinus larvae increased with increasing salinity reaching a maximum of about 17,083 ind.m-2 (biomass - 82 g.m-2). Analysis of C. aprilinus phenology revealed a bivoltine pattern with the summer generation of larvae reaching a maximum in June-July and the overwintering generation in October to November., Josef Matěna, Iva Šínová, Jakub Brom, Kateřina Novotná., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The objective of this work was to evaluate the relative trap efficiency of the three modified traps baited with 1-octen-3-ol as attractant, Box, Nzi and Canopy, for horse fly (Tabanidae) survey. Nine traps (three traps per trap type) were tested in 3 × 3 Latin square designs during summer 2011 in riparian oak-ash forests in the Danube floodplain of Croatia. Overall, the traps caught 1,986 specimens of 11 horse flies species during the study period. The most abundant species caught was Tabanus bromius (58%), followed by Tabanus tergestinus (21%), Tabanus maculicornis (16%), Tabanus sudeticus (2%), Atylotus loewianus (1%) and Tabanus autumnalis (1%). Both the Box traps and the Nzi traps had significantly greater catch efficiencies than the Canopy traps (βbox = 2.47, X2 = 65.48, df = 1, P < 0.001 and βnzi = 1.54, X2 = 25.12, df = 1, P < 0.001, respectively). Nzi traps had a catch rate 4.65 (95% CI: 2.55, 8.48) times greater than Canopy traps and Box traps had a catch rate 11.77 (95% CI: 6.48, 21.39) times greater than Canopy traps. Based on Shannon-Wiener diversity indices Nzi traps were better suited for diversity survey and had higher (H' = 1.33) indices than Box (H' = 1.08) or Canopy traps (H' = 1.00)., Alma Mikuška, Selma Mlinarić, Lidija Begović, Erin Curran., and Obsahuje bibliografii
It is expected that environmental conditions impact the distribution of galls on host plants. Moreover, insects may induce their galls randomly or choose certain parts of a host to induce such growths. This study aimed to determine whether or not the gall midge, Hartigiola annulipes (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which induces galls on leaves of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica), prefers leaves facing a particular cardinal direction. In addition, we wanted to ascertain whether the galls are evenly spread across three leaf zones: proximal, median and distal, distinguished by dividing leaf area along the midrib. The results show that H. annulipes chose leaves facing various directions in different studied locations, and leaf choice is not restricted to the specific leaf area, a parameter that accurately reflects the light conditions of leaf growth. Moreover, the medial leaf zone was preferred, while the distal zone was avoided. The choice of the leaf zone modified the distance between the mid-rib and a gall. Gall distribution in the crown of trees is probably random, while at the leaf level, it is determined by leaf morphology., Sebastian Pilichowski, Marian J. Giertych., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The outcome of assessments of the biodiversity of a taxonomic group often depend on the sampling method. The choice of an adequate method is especially important for biomonitoring purposes. In this study, the effectiveness of two methods of sampling syrphids (Diptera: Syrphidae) is compared: observation plot method vs. line transect, both sampled by sweep netting. Altogether, 18 meadows were selected in three mountain regions in the Austrian and Swiss Alps. We recorded a significantly higher abundance and richness of syrphids using the observation plot method than the line transect method in 2015. Comparing data for one region recorded in 2015 and 2016, similar results were obtained. Syrphid species assemblages were affected by sampling method in both years. More syrphid species and individuals were recorded using the observation plot method, which makes it more suitable for studies aiming at comparing differences in the numbers of adult syrphids in different grassland habitats., Raja I. Hussain, Ronnie Walcher, David Brandl, Arne Arnberger, Johann G. Zaller, Thomas Frank., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Until recently, the Canadian distribution of the blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), was restricted to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The insect was first mentioned in southern Quebec in 1996 and, to date, it has not reached the Lac St-Jean region, where 34% of Canadian blueberry acreage is located. Two questions concerning the northern limit of distribution of the blueberry maggot in Quebec were addressed. First, are wild plants suitable hosts for larval development? We collected the fruit of five wild plants, (e.g. Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Gaylussacia baccata, and Aronia melanocarpa) growing in southern Quebec and allowed larvae to complete their development into pupae. Blueberry maggot pupae were recovered from Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, and Gaylussacia baccata, indicating that these plants are suitable for larval development. Second, are harsh winter temperatures a factor limiting the northern distribution of the blueberry maggot? Pupae collected in Quebec and Nova Scotia were put in the soil in the fall and were brought back to the laboratory to determine their supercooling points at different times during winter. The supercooling points of pupae collected in Quebec and Nova Scotia averaged -22.6°C. In natural conditions, air temperatures <-20°C are frequently observed in Quebec in January, February and March. However, due to snow cover, soil temperatures are rarely <-12°C. If -22.6°C constitutes the lower limit for the survival, then winter temperatures are probably not a limiting factor to its northern distribution in Quebec, because blueberry maggot pupae overwinter in the soil., Charles Vincent, Pierre Lemoyne, Sonia Gaul, Kenna Mackenzie., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The mitochondrial genome of Mesomelena mesomelaena (Loew, 1848) is the first to be sequenced in the flesh fly subfamily Miltogramminae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). The 14,559 bp mitogenome contains 37 typical metazoan mitochondrial genes: 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes, with the same locations as in the insect ground plan. All the protein-coding genes have the start codon ATN, except for cox1 (TCG). Eight protein-coding genes have the stop codon TAA, while the remaining five have the stop codon T (cox1, cox2, nad5, and nad4) or TAG (cytb). Synonymous and non-synonymous substitution rates (Ks and Ka) for each protein-coding gene indicate that these genes evolved primarily under negative (or purifying) selection (Ka < Ks). Phylogeny of Sarcophagidae is proposed based on all the sarcophagid mitogenomes in GenBank, and the subfamily topology is reconstructed as (Sarcophaginae (Paramacronychiinae, Miltogramminae))., Liping Yan, Ming Zhang, Yunyun Gao, Thomas Pape, Dong Zhang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Nutrition is one of the most important environmental factors that influence the development and growth in Drosophila. The food composition strongly affects their reproduction, welfare and survival, so it is necessary for flies to search for a mixture of macronutrients that maximizes their fitness. We have five D. melanogaster strains, which were reared for 13 years on five different substrates: standard cornmeal-agar-sugar-yeast medium and four substrates modified by adding tomato, banana, carrot and apple. This study was aimed at determining how such long-term rearing of flies on substrates with different protein content affects fitness traits (dynamics of eclosion, developmental time and egg-to-adult survival). Further, we determined how transferring flies reared on fruit/vegetable substrates to a standard laboratory diet affected their fitness. Results indicate that strains reared on the diet with the lowest content of protein and the highest C/N ratio had the slowest eclosion and developmental time, and lowest egg-to-adult survival (apple diet). The flies reared on the diet with the highest protein content and the lowest C/N ratio had the highest survival (tomato diet). Flies reared on the carrot diet, which is quite similar in protein content and C/N ratio to the standard cornmeal diet, had the fastest development. Transferring flies to the standard cornmeal diet accelerate eclosion and developmental time, but did not affect survival., Jelena Trajković, Vukica Vujić, Dragana Miličić, Gordana Gojgić-Cvijović, Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Tatjana Savić., and Obsahuje bibliografii