Muga silkworm (Antheraea assamensis Helfer) is endemic to Assam and adjoining areas in North-Eastern India, and naturally produces golden silk. From time immemorial, many ethnic and tribal groups have produced muga silk. Muga silkworms are mostly wild unlike the mulberry silkworm, which is completely domesticated. The muga silkworm is a single species with little genetic variation among populations, survives harsh climatic conditions and is subject to various diseases, pests and predators. Due to the high incidence of disease and natural enemies, and variations in climatic conditions, the production of muga silk has recently declined dramatically. In order to improve the productivity of this silkworm it is important to have a better knowledge of both its host plants and biology. Lack of knowledge of its genetics and host plants is a major bottleneck. This paper reviews various aspects of muga silkworm culture, including the availability of different populations, and methods used to select for improvement in survival, cocoon yield, disease resistance, conservation and egg production., Amelendu Tikader, Kunjupillai Vijayan, Beera Saratchandra., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
In social insects, the high variability in the number of queens per colony raises fundamental questions about the evolution of altruism. It is hypothesized, for instance, that nestmate recognition should be less efficient in polygynous than in monogynous colonies because the presence of several breeders increases the diversity of genetically determined recognition cues, leading to a less specific colonial signature. Recent studies, however, have shown that the link between the number of queens in a colony and the recognition abilities of its members is more complex than previously suggested. Here, we studied intraspecific aggression, diversity of potential recognition cues and genetic structure of colonies in the highly polygynous ant Crematogaster pygmaea. Our results reveal that workers of this species are clearly aggressive towards non-nestmates in field experiments but not in more artificial bioassays conducted in Petri dishes, underscoring the importance of context-dependent aspects of the assessment of nestmate recognition. Behavioural, genetic and chemical data show that C. pygmaea is a multicolonial species, forming spatially restricted and well-defined entities. Therefore, the postulated negative correlation between recognition ability of workers and queen number in a colony is not supported by the results of this study., Rachid Hamidi ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Můrovití (Noctuidae) představují po obalečovitých (Tortricidae) druhou největší čeleď motýlů v České republice. Dosud bylo na našem území zaznamenáno kolem 430 druhů, ale mnohé z nich se zde nevyskytují trvale. Můrovití jsou obvykle velmi dobří a pohybliví letci, často mají tendenci kolonizovat nová území. Řada druhů žijících v jiných částech Evropy byla zaznamenána pouze v jednom nebo omezeném počtu exemplářů (zhruba 20 druhů), jiné jsou pravidelnými migranty (13 druhů), někteří zástupci se v současnosti šíří (asi 10 druhů), zatímco jiní jsou na ústupu (5–6 druhů), nebo mají proměnlivou hranici areálu. V článku naleznete příklady druhů z uvedených skupin, s diskuzí současného nebo historického stavu., Owlet moths (Noctuidae) are after leafrollers (Tortricidae) the second largest family of butterflies and moths in the Czech Republic. So far, about 430 species have been recorded, but many of them do not occur permanently in the area. Owlet moths are usually very good and highly mobile fliers, often with a tendency to colonize new territories. Some species living in other parts of Europe have been registered in only one or a limited number of individuals (about 20 species), others are regular migrants (13 species). While some species are currently spreading (about 10 species), others are retreating (5–6 species), or the boundaries of their ranges are unstable. Examples of these groups are given and discussed., and Zdeněk Laštůvka, Aleš Laštůvka.
The Šumava Mts. and the neighbouring Bavarian Forest belong to the last areas in Central Europe, where large herbivorous mammals (Red Deer - Cervus elaphus, Roe Deer - Capreolus capreolus and European Moose - Alces alces) can find enough space for their food requirements and can coexist with their predator (Lynx - Lynx lynx). The activities and results of research project aimed at environmental issues related to these species using the up-to-date technologies (GPS telemetry, phototraps) are presented. and Pavel Šustr.
This paper introduces a very interesting group of curculionid beetles – weevils of the tribe Cleonini. This tribe includes quite a remarkable large species associated with non-forest habitats, most of which are currently considered endangered. In spite of being very popular among coleopterists, this group of beetles has not been studied in detail within the Czech Republic. and Robert Stejskal, Filip Trnka.
This paper introduces a very interesting group of curculionid beetles–weevils of the tribe Lixini. This tribe includes a quite re-markable large species, most of which are currently considered endangered. They are associated with non-forest habitats and re-quire various kinds of habitat disturbation which ensures their successful survival., Robert Stejskal, Filip Trnka., and 13 barev. fot.
V příspěvku je popsán objev larvy jednoho z nejtajemnějších krasců Austrálie – Julodimorpha saundersii. Díky objevu larvy bylo vyjasněno taxonomické postavení rodu na základě srovnávací, larvální morfologie. Nehledě na morfologickou podobnost dospělců rodů Julodimorpha a Julodis (podčeleď Julodinae) bylo na základě larválních znaků potvrzeno, že rod Julodimorpha je samostatným primitivním tribem podčeledi Buprestinae. Objev larvy tohoto rodu je typickým příkladem náhody, která je někdy nutná i při vědeckém zkoumání. Další příklad takové výjimečné náhody je ilustrován na objevu larvy dalšího krasce, Coomaniella violaceipennis z Thajska, jehož larvy se vyvíjejí v korunových liánách pralesních velikánů., The discovery of the larva of one of the most enigmatic Australian Buprestid beetles, Julodimorpha saundersii, is briefly discussed. The taxonomic position of the genus has been clarified using comparative larval morphology. Regardless of the morphological similarity of the adults with the genus Julodis (subfamily Julodinae), the larval characteristics of the genus Julodimorpha confirmed its placement as an independent, primitive tribe of the subfamily Buprestinae. Another example of good luck in scientific research is described, concerning buprestid beetle Coomaniella violaceipennis from Thailand, larvae of which are borers in the canopy climbers., and Svatopluk Bílý.