Recently a large number of studies have reported an increase in the variability in the climate, which affects behavioural and physiological adaptations in a broad range of organisms. Specifically, insects may be especially sensitive to climatic fluctuations, as their physiology and life history traits, like those of other ectotherms, are predominantly affected by environmental factors. Here we aimed to investigate climate-induced changes in several morphometric measures of the Heath Fritillary in North-Eastern Hungary, which is a highly diverse transitional area. During this study we tested the following hypotheses: (i) climate affects genitalia and body size to various degrees (ii) increasing variability in climate induces higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry and variance in all morphological characters. To our knowledge, this study is the first to analyse simultaneously wing size and structure of genitalia of a butterfly in response to variability in climate. Our findings suggest that wing and genital traits may exhibit similar degrees of stability in response to a more variable climate, although the response in terms of forewing size differs from that of other body measurements and the structure of the genitalia. These findings suggest that global climate change may affect lepidopteran body metrics over longer periods of time. Our findings parallel the results of investigations showing that insect morphology might be modified by environmental changes, which is especially the case for those body parts that are phenotypically very variable. However, we found no evidence that increasing variability in climate would induce higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry and greater variability in morphological characters., Edit Juhász, Zsolt Végvári, János P. Tóth, Katalin Pecsenye, Zoltán Varga., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Trehalose is not only an important disaccharide, but also a key stress resistance factor in the development of many organisms, including plants, bacteria, fungi, and insects. To study the potential function of trehalose in development and behaviour, cDNA for a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase from Catantops pinguis (CpiTPS) was cloned and sequenced. Results revealed that the CpiTPS cDNA sequence contains an open reading frame of 2430 nucleotides encoding a protein of 809 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 91.13 kDa and a pI value of 6.25. Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses showed that CpiTPS mRNA expression was high in the fat body and testes, ovaries, Malpighian tubules, brain, trachea, rectum, and posterior extensor of C. pinguis. Northern blotting revealed that CpiTPS mRNA was expressed in the fat body at different developmental stages and was present at a high level in first instar larvae and adults. The results demonstrate that CpiTPS is a key gene in C. pinguis development. and Bin Tang, Hui-Zhen Zheng, Qi Xu, Qi Zou, Guang-Jun Wang, Fan Zhang, Shi-Gui Wang, Ze-Hua Zhang.
The article primarily describes the original results of Czech research into interactions between ants and plants in Central Europe. The role of myrmecophily is illustrated by long-term case studies (mountain pastures, industrial deposits) at the ecosystem level. Facilitation and acceleration of spontaneous vegetation succession by the ants’ activity with their nest construction and seed dispersal can be used as a tool in assisted ecological restoration. and Pavel Kovář.
Šakal obecný (Canis aureus) je nový druh fauny savců České republiky. Na naše území se přirozenou cestou rozšířil z jihovýchodní Evropy. První věrohodný doklad pochází z Uherského Hradiště (2006), další pak z Brna (2009) a z Benešovska (střední Čechy, 2011). Řada dalších neověřených pozorování i nálezy z příhraničních oblastí Šumavy naznačují, že expanze druhu pokračuje., The Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) is a quite new member of the fauna of the Czech Republic. So far, three verified records in the environs of Uherské Hradiště (2006), Brno (2009) and Benešov (Central Bohemia, 2011) have been obtained. A number of other unverified observations and findings from the border areas of the Šumava Mountains (Bohemian Forest) suggest that the expansion of the species is ongoing., Miloš Anděra., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
During summer 2011, severe outbreak of the Spruce Bark Beetle (Ips typographus) occurred in the Šumava National Park (NP). We aim to elucidate the laws governing population dynamics of this species and conclude that logging of all infested trees in the NP buffer zones, accompanied by a non-intervention policy in the core zones, is a strategy that will protect both, forests surrounding the NP and the most valuable mountain spruce stands in the Šumava NP. and Pavel Kindlmann, Karel Matějka, Petr Doležal.
In herbivorous insects, differences in the degree of specialization to host plants emerge when the distribution of an herbivore differs from that of its host plants, which results in a mosaic of populations differing in performance on the different host plants. Using a specialized butterfly, Battus polydamas archidamas Boisduval, 1936, which feeds exclusively on the genus Aristolochia, we test whether host plant co-occurrence and associated differences in host quality modify local adaptation in terms of larval preference and performance. We compared individuals from a monospecific host stand of Aristolochia chilensis with those from a mixed host stand of A. chilensis and A. bridgesii. Individuals were reared in a reciprocal transfer experiment in which source population and the host species fed to larvae were fully crossed in a two-by-two factorial experiment in order to quantify their preference, performance (development time, size and growth rate) and survival. Individuals from both populations preferred the species they ate during their larval development over the other host, which indicates host plant-induced preference with non-adaptive implications. Larvae from mixed and monospecific stands grew faster and survived better when reared on A. bridgesii than A. chilensis. Larvae from a monospecific host stand grew slower and fewer individuals survived under the same local conditions, which is contrary to expectations. Therefore, rearing the butterfly on A. bridgesii consistently resulted in better performance, which indicates that the monospecific population is less well adapted to its host than the mixed population. Variation in the occurrence of the two host plants in the two populations can result in divergent selection due to the variation in plant quality, which in this case could result in opposing adaptive processes., Rodrigo S. Rios, Cristian Salgado-Luarte, Gisela C. Stotz, Ernesto Gianoli., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Two blacklight traps were operated in a non-agricultural setting in Cary, North Carolina, USA, from spring through fall in 2004 and 2005 and all Coccinellidae collected and identified. More than 1300 lady beetles were collected in each of the two years, with Harmonia axyridis dominant (> 98%) and collected consistently over the course of the trapping period. Although other coccinellid species were observed in the vicinity of the traps during photophase, their appearance in blacklight traps was negligible. Harmonia axyridis exhibited a distinct diel periodicity in appearance at the traps, beginning approximately an hour after sunset and ending about midnight. Sunrise and sunset collections from flight interference and sticky traps in a local alfalfa field suggest that H. axyridis may be more flight active during the scotophase than Coleomegilla maculata, Hippodamia convergens, and Coccinella septempunctata. This study supports the suggestion that blacklight traps give a biased depiction of coccinellid species composition in a given area, and indicates that seasonal and circadian thresholds for flight activity, phototaxis, or both in H. axyridis may diverge from those in most other Coccinellidae., Christine A. Nalepa., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Under seasonal conditions, Polydesmus angustus individuals born in the first part of the breeding season have a 1-year life cycle and those born later have a 2-year life cycle (cohort-splitting). In this study, 249 juveniles from four early broods (born in mid-July) and four late broods (born in September) were reared under similar laboratory conditions, to test for possible maternal influences on life-cycle duration. Development times of early- and late-born individuals were compared under four combinations of day length and temperature (16 h - 18°C, 16 h - 16°C, 12 h - 18°C and 12 h - 16°C). The results showed that development time varied significantly in response to day length, temperature and sex, but that of individuals in the early and late broods did not differ significantly (mean development times ± SE: 180 ± 6 and 183 ± 8 days, respectively). There were no significant interactions between birth period and other factors, indicating that the effects of day length, temperature and sex on development time were similar in early- and late-born individuals. This indicates that the extended life cycle of millipedes born late in the season is not maternally determined and that cohort-splitting is controlled entirely by the environmental conditions experienced by the offspring during their development. This conclusion is supported by the absence of significant variation in offspring live weight at birth measured at different times in the breeding season. The results are discussed in relation to the bet-hedging theory, which is often put forward to account for cohort-splitting in arthropods. In P. angustus, the results are consistent with either bet-hedging or adaptive plasticity, but further studies are required to decide which interpretation is correct. and Jean-François David, Jean-Jacques Geoffroy.
The possibility of storing natural enemies at low temperatures is important for the mass production of biological control agents. We evaluated the effect of different periods of cold storage on immature mortality, mummy body mass, lifespan, reproduction and flight capacity of the parasitoid Praon volucre (Haliday). One-day-old mummies of the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) containing pre-pupae of P. volucre were stored in a climatic chamber at 5°C and 70 ± 10% RH in the dark for different periods of time (5, 10, 15 and 20 days). The control consisted of mummies kept at 22 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH and a 12 h photophase. Percentage adult emergence, mummy body mass, flight capacity and number of eggs in the ovarioles of P. volucre females decreased with increase in the period of storage, while the longevity of females was only slightly affected. Fat content of mummies, percentage of parasitized aphids and survival of progeny to emergence decreased with increase in the period of storage. Storage of P. volucre pre-pupae for up to 5 days at 5°C did not affect any of the above mentioned parameters. The fact that P. volucre pre-pupae can be stored for 5 days without loss of quality and for 10 days with only a slight loss facilitates the planning of mass production and shipment., Juracy Caldeira Lins, Jr. ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
1_Maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses of Trichogramma buesi, T. embryophagum, T. evanescens, T. piceum, T. principium, and T. telengai were investigated in laboratory conditions. During the experiment, grand-maternal and maternal generations developed at 20°C and one of the 4 photoperiodic regimes: L : D = 12 : 12, 14 : 10, 16 : 8, and 18 : 6 (in total, 16 combinations) while the progeny developed at L : D = 12 : 12 and one of the 3 thermal regimes: 13, 14, and 15°C. The proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of all the studied species was significantly dependent on the direct influence of temperature and on the maternal photoperiodic response. The influence of the photoperiodic conditions during development of the grand-maternal generation was statistically significant in 5 of the 6 studied species, being relatively weak in T. embryophagum and T. telengai, whose geographical ranges extend up to north-western regions of Europe (possibly, these wasps enter diapause so early that the grand-mothers of the diapausing generation develop under long day conditions). Comparative analysis showed that the thresholds of the maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses coincided or almost coincided. The grand-maternal effect was stronger in the progeny of maternal females which developed under short day conditions than in those that developed under long day conditions. This pattern of interaction probably synchronizes the life cycle with seasonal changes because diapause is induced under decreasing day length and thus mothers of diapausing individuals develop at shorter daylength than do grand-mothers., 2_We conclude that the grand-maternal and the maternal effects on Trichogramma progeny diapause are based on one and the same photoperiodic response. In nature, the grand-maternal effect increases the proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of females which have developed under short day conditions during two generations, thus achieving a "cumulative" photoperiodic effect., Natalia D. Voinovich, Nina P. Vaghina, Sergey Ya. Reznik., and Obsahuje seznam literatury