Tropical rainforest can be divided into several altitude levels, which vary in light conditions and also in the nature of their flora and fauna. In terms of the occurrence of typical groups of butterflies, we can define these levels by their height range and typical butterfly groups that form mimetic (unilateral and reciprocal) protective complexes there, even though numerous other species also live there which do not belong to these complexes. This issue is described based on the example of lowland tropical forests in South and Central America. and George O. Krizek.
Plant volatiles can synergize the response to moth pheromone. Synthetic pheromone analogs, in turn, have the opposite effect in reducing pheromone attractiveness. To determine how these two types of stimuli interact and influence male moth behaviour, we performed wind tunnel experiments on the grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana. We noticed that a blend of host plant volatiles [(E)-β-caryophyllene, 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and 1-octen-3-ol in a 100:20:10:5 ratio] significantly increased the response of males to an optimized blend of sex pheromone [(7E,9Z)-dodeca-7,9-dienyl acetate (E7,Z9-12:Ac), (7E,9Z)- dodeca-7,9-dienol (E7,Z9-12:OH) and (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate (Z9-12:Ac)] in a 100:10:2 ratio. However, the response of males to the natural attractant was significantly reduced by two analogs [(9E,11Z)-tetradeca-9,11-dien-2-one (MK 2) and [(9E,11Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-tetradeca-9,11-dien-2-one (TFMK 3)], of the major component of the sex pheromone of the insect (E7,Z9-12:Ac). When both stimuli were tested on males at pheromone:analog:plant volatile blend 1:100:1000 ratio, the plant blend offset the inhibitory effect induced by TFMK 3 but not that of MK 2. Our results show for the first time that under laboratory conditions plant volatiles can prevent inhibition by a pheromone analog., Albert Sans, Miguel Morán, Magí Riba, Ángel Guerrero, Jaume Roig, César Gemeno., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The profile of hemolymph ecdysteroid was studied in the gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, during larval-pupal transformation. The changes closely correspond to the developmental events occurring at metamorphosis. Two insect growth regulators, plumbagin and azadirachtin, significantly depleted the content and altered the profile of ecdysteroids at crucial stages, when applied at ED50 doses. The activity profiles of two fat body lysosomal enzymes, acid phosphatase and b-galactosidase, were also significantly affected by the insect growth regulators. It is suggested that plumbagin and azadirachtin treatments primarily modify the ecdysteroid titer, which in turn leads to changes in lysosomal enzyme activity causing overt morphological abnormalities during the metamorphic molt., Arulappan Josephrajkumar, Bhattiprolu Subrahmanyam, Srinivasan, and Lit
Several studies address the question of which forest attributes are most important for the conservation of biodiversity. Unfortunately, there are no unequivocal answers because the response of a biological group to changes in forest structure depends on its natural history and scale of organization. It is important to increase our knowledge of the potential relationships between under studied groups of species and forest variables in order to adopt timber harvesting strategies not detrimental to biodiversity, especially in old-growth forests. We assessed the importance of 10 forest attributes and old-growth for Psychidae (Lepidoptera) species and communities. Research was carried out in 12 forest stands in a mountainous beech dominated landscape in southern Italy, in the middle of the Mediterranean Basin. Samples were collected in 2001 and 2013 and data were merged after pairwise comparison analyses that confirmed the long term stability of communities. Correspondence Analysis, Cluster Analysis and non-parametric Spearman Rank Order Correlation were used to identify determinants of Psychidae abundance and diversity. We collected 2,732 Psychidae belonging to 8 species. Correspondence analysis identified old-growth as the main determinant of communities. Most significant attributes for individual species were beech dominance, diameter at breast height and its standard deviation. For Taleporia defoliella there were positive correlations with these forest parameters, whereas for Psyche crassiorella the correlations were negative. This study underlined the importance of forest attributes associated with old-growth forests for sustaining biodiversity. These findings indicate the need to incorporate these attributes in forest planning, especially those aspects that are easily recognizable such as the number of large trees., Stefano Scalercio, Teresa Bonacci, Rosario Turco, Vincenzo Bernardini., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Coordinated regulation of apoptosis is critical for development, homeostasis, and immunity in larvae of Metazoa. We determined the full nucleotide sequence of an inhibitor of an apoptosis protein in a lepidopteran insect Mythimna separata (Walker) (MsIAP) and carried out functional analyses of the MsIAP. The full-length cDNA of MsIAP was 1642 bp, which encoded 379 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 41,834 Da, and two BIR domains and one RING domain revealed using amino acid sequence analysis. In addition, the sequences of these domains were similar to Drosophila IAP1 and those of some other lepidopteran insects. We carried out a functional analyses of MsIAP related to apoptosis regulation using RNA interference. The effects of MsIAP knockdown on adhering hemocytes and non-adhering hemocytes as controls were examined using Hoechst33342/propidium iodide staining, effector caspase activity and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining. A significantly higher number of propidium iodide and TUNEL-positive cells was recorded in adhering hemocytes from MsIAP knockdown larvae than from control larvae, but these differences were not recorded for non-adhering hemocytes. However, higher effector caspase activity was detected in both adhering and non-adhering hemocytes from MsIAP knockdown larvae compared to that in control larvae. These results indicate that the knockdown of MsIAP induces apoptosis in larval adhering hemocytes, which MsIAP negatively and non-redundantly regulate apoptosis, and that IAP function is conserved in M. separata and other insect species including Drosophila and several lepidopteran insects., Masashi Kamezaki, Kakeru Yokoi, Ken Miura., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Dvouletý vývoj housenek je přizpůsobením horských motýlů na chladné klima a může se následně odrážet ve výkyvech početností dospělců. U okáče rudopásného (Erebia euryale) jsou výkyvy početností dospělců doloženy z Alp, nicméně z nižších horských masivů informace o tomto fenoménu chybí. Článek poprvé dokumentuje střídající se cykly početnosti dospělců okáče rudopásného v pohořích českého a moravského pohraničí - v Hrubém Jeseníku, Krkonoších a na Šumavě., Biennial development of mountain butterfly larvae involves adaptation to a cold climate, and subsequently could correspond with the biennial fluctuations of adult butterflies. The adult fluctuations of Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) are known from the European Alps, but information is missing from lower mountain ranges. We present the first quantitative assessment of biennial fluctuations of E. euryale in Czech and Moravian border mountains - Hrubý Jeseník, Krkonoše (Giant Mts.) and Šumava (Bohemian Forest)., and Irena Klečková, Martin Konvička, Jiří Beneš, Jana Šlancarová.
Seasonal polyphenism in adults may be a season-specific adaptation of the adult stage and/or a by-product of adaptive plasticity of the juvenile stages. The swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus L. exhibits seasonal polyphenism controlled by photoperiod. Adults emerging in spring from pupae that spend winter in diapause have smaller bodies than adults emerging in summer from pupae that do not undergo diapause. Pupal diapause is induced by short-day conditions typical of autumn. To explore the interactive effects of temperature and developmental pathways on the variation in adult body size in P. xuthus, we reared larvae at two temperatures (20°C, 25°C) under two photoperiods (12L : 12D and 16L : 8D). Pupal weight and adult forewing length were greater in the generation that did not undergo diapause and were greater at 25°C than at 20°C. Thus, body size differences were greatest between the individuals that were reared at the longer day length and higher temperature and did not undergo diapause and those that were reared at the shorter day length and lower temperature and did undergo diapause. Unlike in other Lepidoptera, larvae of individuals that undergo diapause had shorter developmental times and higher growth rates than those that did not undergo diapause. This developmental plasticity may enable this butterfly to cope with the unpredictable length of the growing season prior to the onset of winter. Our results indicate that there are unexplored variations in the life history strategy of multivoltine Lepidoptera., Shinya Komata, Teiji Sota., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Nocturnal pollinators such as moths have received less attention than diurnal insects. To elucidate whether nocturnal moths are important pollinators, we observed both the diurnal and nocturnal visitors to the flowers of Uncaria rhynchophylla (Rubiaceae) in a warm-temperate forest in central Japan. The diurnal visitors included various taxonomic groups (e.g., bees, hoverflies and butterflies). The nocturnal visitors were exclusively moths (Geometridae, Erebidae, Noctuidae and Crambidae). Pollen grains of U. rhynchophylla were attached to both diurnal and nocturnal visitors. Although diurnal flower visitors carried pollen grains of other plant species, nocturnal moths did not carry heterospecific pollen grains. These results suggest that nocturnal moths, as well as diurnal insects, are important pollinators of U. rhynchophylla., Daichi Funamoto, Shinji Sugiura., and Obsahuje bibliografii