Developmental characteristics of the predatory bug Orius similis fed on Tetranychus cinnabarinus were investigated at three constant temperatures (25, 28, and 31°C) under laboratory conditions (75±5% relative humidity and a 14L : 10D photoperiod). The survival of nymphs was highest at 28°C (75.57%) and at this temperature female adults O. similis had the longest oviposition period (21.1 d), the greatest fecundity (40.3 eggs) and the highest potential intrinsic rate of increase (rm: 0.108 d–1). These results suggest that O. similis can maintain greater population densities at 28°C than at the other temperatures tested. In addition, the functional response indicates that the attack rate of O. similis (1.04) and the maximum prey capacity (30.7 spider mites per bug in 24h) are greatest at 28°C. The results of this study provide useful information on the biology and time when to release O. similis in order to reduce the abundance of T. cinnabarinus in cotton fields., Shi-Chang Zhang ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the time ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) survive during actual and simulated flood conditions. The effects of three variants of potential flood conditions were tested: (1) beetles trapped on the surface of flood water; (2) beetles trapped in air pockets; (3) submersion of beetles in flood water without access to air. Ground beetles trapped on the surface of water survived more than two weeks (Carabus granulatus – up to 16 days; Oxypselaphus obscurus – up to 22 days). Carabus granulatus in simulated hibernation chambers that had air-pockets also survived for 15 days. The time for which ground beetles submerged without access to air survived differed significantly among species and was affected by season. They survived longest in mid-spring and late-autumn when water temperature is low. In mid-spring, survival times for C. granulatus and Platynus assimilis were 12 days and 9 days, respectively. During late summer and early autumn all species survived for a shorter period of time. In August, at least half of the individuals tested were dead after three days of immersion (water temperature 16–18°C). Removal of both of the elytra of adult of C. granulatus resulted in them surviving immersion for a shorter period, which indicates that air stored in the sub-elytral cavity is used to prolong the period they can survive immersion. The results of these experiments broaden the knowledge of how adult beetles survive seasonal flooding and are able to persist in floodplain habitats., Felix N. Kolesnikov, Arevik N. Karamyan, W. Wyatt Hoback., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Performance of the invasive horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimic, 1986 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), was studied on two host plants: the white-flowering horse-chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum L. and the Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra Willd. C. ohridella developed successfully on both host plants; however, mine density and survival were much higher on A. hippocastanum than on A. glabra. The pupal mass and potential fecundity were strongly affected by the host plant on which the larvae fed. On A. hippocastanum pupae were significantly heavier and females more fecund than those on A. glabra. Furthermore, on both host plants there was a significant positive correlation between the number of oocytes in ovaries and pupal body mass, and as a consequence, heavier females produced more eggs. Our study demonstrates that the mine density, survival, pupal mass and potential fecundity were significantly lower on A. glabra than on A. hippocastanum. The observed lower performance of C. ohridella on the exotic host plant was assumed to be due to its poor food quality (nutritional and chemical composition)., Urszula Walczak, Edward Baraniak, Piotr Zduniak., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Zbarvení hraje v životě zvířat zásadní roli a je často pod přísným dohledem přírodního a/nebo pohlavního výběru. Abychom mohli objektivně zhodnotit jeho vliv na životní strategie zvířat, je zaprvé důležité barvu správně měřit a zadruhé nahlížet na ni zrakovým aparátem zainteresovaného pozorovatele. Obě tyto metody popisujeme na příkladu ptáků, konkrétně hodnocení mimeze parazitických vajec., Colouration plays a very important role in the life of animals and its evolution is often under natural and/or sexual selection. For objective assessment of the influence of colouration on animal life strategies the colour should be measured properly and evaluated from the perspective of the studied species. These methods are briefly described based on the example of birds, specifically on the mimicry of parasitic eggs., and Michal Šulc, Marcel Honza.
Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most harmful plant viruses and one of its most important vectors is the western flower thrips [Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)]. Recently, we reported the close association of Erwinia sp. gut bacteria with this species of thrips. The first instar larvae acquire these bacteria from their food source. A high proportion of adult western flower thrips transmit TSWV after acquiring the virus during the first larval stage when there are no bacteria in their gut. A considerably lower proportion of adults that acquire the virus early in the second instar transmit virus and none of those exposed to virus late on in the second instar do so. The highest prevalence and total number of symbiotic bacteria are recorded in the guts of second instar thrips. This leads to the hypothesis that the build up of bacteria in the gut reduces the acquisition of TSWV, resulting in a lower capacity to transmit the virus. To test this hypothesis, the transmission of this virus by symbiotic and aposymbiotic adult thrips of the NL3 population was studied. Comparison of virus transmission by adult thrips, the larvae of which either had or lacked gut bacteria and were exposed to virus in either the first or second instar, revealed no difference in the ability of symbiotic and aposymbiotic adults to transmit this virus. We conclude that virus transmission is not affected by the number of the symbiotic bacteria Erwinia sp. present in the gut of thrips larvae., Egbert J De Vries ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Cuckoos parasitize many rare and inconspicuous host species but avoid other common and conspicuous ones. In this article, results of a study that solved this long-standing ecological conundrum are described. I use this work to illustrate va - rious weaknesses of typical ecological studies (sample size, data representativeness, reification) and give suggestions for a better research practice in the future. and Jiří Klimeš, Ivan Literák.
Čeleď kabarovitých představuje pro většinu lidí nejméně zajímavou čeleď kopytníků. Zahrnuje 7 málo známých druhů žijících ve východní Asii (od východního Afghánistánu přes Himálaj, Tibet a Čínu po střední a východní Sibiř). Tento článek obsahuje hlavní charakteristiky jednotlivých druhů včetně jejich fylogeneze a shrnuje dosavadní znalostí o životě kabarů. Vzhledem k tomu, že kabaři představují významný zdroj pro tradiční čínskou medicínu, stávají se v poslední době i jednou z nejvíce ohrožených čeledí kopytníků., The family Moschidae involves 7 species of musk deer, inhabiting forests and mountains of East Asia (from Afghanistan to the Himalayas, from Tibet and China to Siberia). This article summarizes current knowledge of individual species characteristics, including their phylogeny and natural history. Since these animals are a valuable source for the traditional Chinese medicine, they are the most endangered ungulate species in the world., and Jan Pluháček.
There are two genera of Eublepharid geckos described in Africa – Hemitheconyx and Holodactylus. The morphological differences of both species of genus Holodactylus – H. africanus and H. cornii, living in the Horn of Africa, are described. Although the basic information on ethology is also discussed, it is obvious that there are still many secrets concerning these interesting lizards. and Pavel Konečný, Tomáš Mazuch.
Malajsie jako tropická země patří mezi 12 biologicky nejbohatších a druhově nejrůznorodějších států světa. Její přírodní bohatství tak představuje jedno z vhodných míst k prvnímu seznámení se s faunou a flórou tropických lesů. Jedním z největších přírodních lákadel kontinentální Malajsie je světově nejstarší tropický nížinný les národního parku Taman Negara, jehož druhová diverzita obojživelníků a plazů je předmětem tohoto článku., Malaysia is one of the twelve biologically richest and the most species diverse states in the world. One of the biggest natural attractions of continental Malaysia is the world’s oldest lowland tropical forest in the Taman Negara National Park. The species diversity of amphibians and reptiles of the Taman Negara are presented., and Daniel Jablonski.
To explore the debated phylogenetic relationship of two Hesperiidae subfamilies, Pyrginae and Eudaminae, and contribute to the understanding of the evolution of mitogenomic architecture in butterflies, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of Tagiades vajuna. The mitogenome is a typical circular duplex molecule of 15,359 bp. Apart from the standard 22 tRNAs, it has a tandem duplication of trnS(AGN) and trnE, which is unique in lepidopteran insects. Comparison with Ctenoptilum vasava indicates that the trnS1 duplication is not an ancestral state shared with other species of Tagiadini. Independent origin of the trnS1 duplications was further confirmed by the reconstruction of the ancestral character state based on the topology of the phylogram. Furthermore, comparative analysis of mitogenomes with and without tRNA duplications indicates that tRNA duplication does not alter the codon usage pattern. The mitogenome has negative AT- and GC-skews, and it is highly A+T-biased (79.7%). The AT-rich (or control) region (283 bp) contains "ATAGA" and "ATTTA" motifs. Regarding the phylogenetic analysis, we found that removal of the third codon position (3CP) from datasets used for the mitochondrial phylogenomics of Hesperiidae is likely to produce results that are more consistent: Pyrginae were rendered paraphyletic by Eudaminae in both analyses of the dataset from which the 3CP was removed (13 PCGs + all RNAs), but inclusion of the 3CP resulted in a destabilized topology, resulting in both monophyly and polyphyly. We conclude that even shallow-phylogenies of insects should pay close attention to compositional and mutational biases in mitogenomes., Fang-Fang Liu, Yi-Ping Li, Ivan Jakovlić, Xiang-Qun Yuan., and Obsahuje bibliografii