a1_The infraspecific taxonomy of the European populations of the Large Blue (Maculinea arion) is confusing. Several subspecies have been described mostly based on external morphological features. In the Carpathian Basin two subspecies have been distinguished. Maculinea arion arion flies from mid-May to mid-June and Maculinea arion ligurica is on the wing from the end of June to mid-August. The two forms show some differentiation in habitat use, but occasionally can also share habitats with two peaks in the appearance of butterflies. Our aim was to study the level and structure of genetic variation in a set of populations of the two phenologically different M. arion. Imagos were collected from 8 localities between 2000 and 2006. Enzyme polymorphism was analysed at 13 enzyme loci using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In the analysis of the data, we estimated the parameters of polymorphism. To study the pattern of genetic differentiation F-statistics, hierarchical F-statistics and AMOVA were computed. GeneClass and Structure were both applied to analyse the differentiation between the two phenologically different sets of populations. Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards' arc distances were calculated and a UPGMA dendrogram was constructed on the basis of the distance matrix. PCA analysis was also carried out using the allele frequencies of the individuals. The level of polymorphism was relatively high in M. arion. The results of all analyses indicated that the differences between the two sets of phenologically different populations accounted for a low percentage of the total differentiation. In addition, a sizeable amount of variation could be attributed to the differences among the samples collected from the same population in consecutive years. Thus, we concluded that the "spring" and "summer arion" could not be considered as separate ESUs, although we could attribute conservation value to both forms on the basis of, a2_their phenological differentiation and habitat use., and Judit Bereczki, János P. Tóth, Andrea Tóth, Edit Bátori, Katalin Pecsenye, Zoltán Varga.
Operophthera brumata Linnaeus, 1758). Our calculations are based on data collected by the Hungarian Forestry Light Trap Network at four sites from 1961 to 2008. We also tried to estimate the influence of polarized moonlight and collecting distance, which also depends on moonlight. Our investigations revealed that the catches were the greatest in the First and the Last Quarters, and the lowest at Full Moon. The reason for this is that the proportion of polarized moonlight in the different lunar quarters varies, with the catches highest when the proportion is greatest. Collecting distance has only a minor role. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
1_The ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas 1773) has been used for biological control in several countries. However, it became invasive in some of those countries. Coccinella septempunctata (Linné 1758) is a native species in Europe. It feeds mainly on aphids and can be very abundant. As far as is known there are no effective natural enemies of the grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch 1855) in Europe. The potential of the above two ladybird species for reducing the abundance of the grapevine pest D. vitifoliae has not been previously investigated. In this study, the consumption and developmental parameters of H. axyridis and C. septempunctata fed on D. vitifoliae were determined in the laboratory. In a field trial, the occurrence of H. axyridis on grapevines with or without leaf galls of D. vitifoliae was compared. In contrast to C. septempunctata, H. axyridis was able to complete its development using D. vitifoliae as a source of food. In addition, adult H. axyridis consumed significantly more D. vitifoliae eggs than C. septempunctata. Within 24 h H. axyridis consumed up to 1400 eggs of D. vitifoliae. However, based on the fitness parameters "developmental time", percentage "survival" and "adult weight", this diet was less suitable for H. axyridis than the eggs of Ephestia kuehniella., 2_During field observations over a period of two years H. axyridis was repeatedly observed feeding on grape phylloxera leaf galls, which indicates that H. axyridis uses grape phylloxera as prey. H. axyridis was significantly more abundant on leaves with leaf galls of D. vitifoliae than on leaves without galls. C. septempunctata was rarely found on grape leaves with or without leaf galls. These results indicate that overall H. axyridis, unlike C. septempunctata, is a predator of D. vitifoliae and could potentially reduce grape phylloxera numbers in vineyards., Susanne Kögel, Manuela Schieler, Christoph Hoffmann., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Specific associations between species frequently occur in ecological interactions. The aim of this study was to determine the preferences of anthomyiid flies of the genus Botanophila for particular species of fungi as sites for laying eggs and as food for both larvae and adults. The associations of their eggs, larvae and flies with the stromata of different species of Epichloë fungi infecting 7 species of grass in Poland were analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy of the surface of their eggs and an analysis of the genetic sequences of their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (COII) were used to identify the taxa of the flies studied. Three types of eggs were distinguished based on their shape, colour and the presence of dorsal folds and sculpturing on the shells. Tentatively, these eggs were assigned to the following species: B. laterella, B. phrenione, B. dissecta and B. lobata. COII sequences obtained from larvae that hatched from two of the types of eggs formed three distinct clades associated with the reference sequences for Botanophila phrenione, B. lobata (new to the fauna of Poland) and a putative species, “Taxon 1”. Only one of these flies (B. lobata) was restricted to a single species of Epichloë (E. bromicola on Elymus repens); B. phrenione was recorded mainly from E. typhina infecting three different species of grass. The results of this study confirm that there is not a close species specific association between this fungus and this insect., Marlena Lembicz ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
A short-winged morph, whose occurrence is controlled by a simple recessive Mendelian unit, was recently discovered in Locusta migratoria. The existence of trade-offs between flight capability associated with wing length and other fitness-related traits are often documented for insects. The present study investigated the evolutionary significance of the short-winged and long-winged morphs of this locust using two laboratory strains showing wing dimorphism. The life-history traits examined included nymphal development, adult body weight, percentage adult survival, age at first reproduction, egg production and hatchling body weight. The results indicate that there are no consistent morph-specific differences in any of these traits. Of the several possibilities considered, the most likely is that the short-winged morph of this locust is an aberration or represents an initial stage in the evolution of this species., Yudai Nishide, Seiji Tanaka., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
At the south western border of its extensive distribution, the multivoltine large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae L., is exceptional in undergoing summer diapause or aestivation. In all other regions investigated, P. brassicae pupae only hibernate. The transitional zone from non-aestivating to aestivating populations is a geographically stable region south of the Pyrenees. The restriction of this response to this region cannot be accounted for in terms of genetics as aestivation is intermediately inherited, with the heritability (h2) of aestivation in inbreeding lines between 0.35 and 0.77. Two hypotheses are presented to explain why this species does not aestivate in more northern regions. First, aestivation is a behaviour that serves to synchronize generations in areas where this species produces a high number of generations per year. Second, aestivation reduces the incidence of parasitism suffered by the butterfly by desynchronizing its life cycle from that of its main parasitoid, Cotesia glomerata. The two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and both seem to be adaptive where the species is multivoltine. and Hubert R. Spieth, Ulrich Pörschmann, Carola Teiwes.
a1_This study describes the parasitoid species complex associated with seven closely related species of sexual (Siederia rupicollella, S. listerella, Dahlica lazuri, D. charlottae and D. lichenella) and parthenogenetic (Dahlica fennicella and D. triquetrella) Naryciinae (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) in Central Finland. A thorough ecological analysis of all the species of parasitoids recorded was combined with analyses of molecular data. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data were obtained from all the species in order to (1) detect cryptic species associated with host specialization, (2) assign undescribed males to females, and (3) verify the morphological identification of closely related species. A DNA barcoding technique was employed to identify host species from parasitized larval remains. By sampling more than 10,000 host larvae, of which 25.7% were parasitized, nine parasitoid species were identified morphologically, including both koinobionts (Ichneumonidae: Diadegma incompletum, Macrus parvulus, Trachyarus borealis, T. solyanikovi, T. fuscipes, T. brevipennis and Braconidae: Meteorus affinis) and idiobionts (Ichneumonidae: Orthizema flavicorne, Gelis fuscicornis). Ecological characteristics such as time and mode of host attack, time of emergence and level of specialization differed widely. The results show that differences in parasitoid biology need to be taken into account when studying differences in percentage parasitism of sexual and parthenogenetic Naryciinae. The molecular data revealed that one parasitoid species M. parvulus may consist of two cryptic forms associated with the sexual and parthenogenetic hosts, respectively. The data further establishes that T. brevipennis and some T. fuscipes are in fact morphotypes of one species. The large variation in mitochondrial DNA within species and its inconsistency with nuclear DNA demonstrate that current species and genus delimitation is inadequate in the, a2_Trachyarus species group. Our study shows that it is essential to use DNA barcoding methods when investigating host-parasitoid complexes., and Jelmer A. Elzinga, Kees Zwakhals, Johanna Mappes, Alessandro Grapputo.
There are twenty-six species of the genus Psallus Fieber, 1858 (Phylinae: Phylini) documented in the Korean Peninsula. Three new species are described: Psallus cheongtaensis sp. n., P. ernsti sp. n. and P. suwonanus sp. n., and four species are reported from Korea for the first time: Psallus cinnabarinus Kerzhner, 1979, P. flavescens Kerzhner, 1988, P. loginovae Kerzhner, 1988, and P. roseoguttatus Yasunaga & Vinokurov, 2000. The genitalic structures of females and males are described and figured for most treated species. A key is provided for identifying all the Korean species., Ram Keshari Duwal ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The Forkhead box O (FoxO) transcription factors, including FoxO1, FoxO3a, and FoxO4, have been implicated in the regulation of several biological processes, including stress resistance, metabolism, and apoptosis. In the present study, FoxO1 and FoxO3a patterns and their role in the regulation of the insulin signalling and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways were analyzed after starvation in the fat body cells of the silkworm, Bombyx mori. FoxO1 and FoxO3a are localized to the nuclei. It was found that the levels of the insulin receptor and phosphoryated kinase Akt (p-Akt) increased when the animals ceased feeding. Starvation conditions caused a decrease in extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, and an increase in c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 (MAP kinase) phosphorylation. This implies that the FoxO transcription factors are activated by starvation and that starvation leads to changes in the insulin signalling and MAPK pathways in B. mori. These results strongly suggest that the FoxO transcription factor may be involved in the regulation of the insulin signalling and MAPK pathways in B. mori. As such, the findings provide molecular entomologists with valuable information on the molecular mechanism of the signalling pathways in postembryonic development ofthe silkworm., Jin Hee Kim ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
From 2000 to 2006 a total of 52 CPUE samples of spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) were collected in the mosaic landscape of the Kampinos National Park (Poland), which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The hypothesis tested was that both pompilid species richness and abundance is positively associated with spatial heterogeneity. The patterns in spider wasp assemblages were identified using a Kohonen artificial neural network (i.e., self-organizing map). The highest numbers and greatest species richness of pompilids were recorded at sites in open habitats, especially those located on dry soils that are the preferred nesting sites of ground nesting (endogeic) spider wasps. However, pompilid distribution depended not only on the character of a sampling site, but also its location in a mosaic of habitats. The highest values of pompilid abundance and species richness were also recorded at sites surrounded by several different habitats. Both parameters were lower at sites in more homogenous areas, where there were fewer habitats within the flight ranges of spider wasps. A group of three “cultural species” (Agenioideus cinctellus, A. sericeus and Auplopus carbonarius) was identified that is significantly associated with wooden buildings. The results of this study are thus consistent with the concept that habitat heterogeneity enhances faunal diversity, as each type of habitat, including anthropogenic ones, potentially contributes to a wider range of available resources., Kartarzyna Szczepko, Andrzej Kruk, Maciej Bartos., and Obsahuje seznam literatury