The cixiid planthopper Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret is an efficient vector of the stolbur phytoplasma, the cause of various crop diseases. In the field, this monovoltine species feeds on a wide variety of woody and herbaceous plants. It overwinters as larvae on the roots of its host plants. During this study, we collected adults mainly from lavender (Lavendula angustifolia Miller), bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L. and C. sepium L.), hoary cress (Cardaria draba L.), and occasionally from plantain (Plantago cynops L.), toadflax (Linaria striata L.), bedstraw (Galium verum L.), and mountain savory (Satureia montana L.). Fertility of field collected females from sites at two different elevations differed significantly. Fertility at 300 m (50.6 eggs per female; N = 28) was more than twice that at 900 m (22.8 eggs per female; N = 19). Only one specimen of the species was found to be parasitized by an undetermined species of Dryinidae (Hymenoptera). H. obsoletus was reared in controlled conditions on lavender. Unlike in the field, larvae developed in the laboratory at the base of the host plant and on basal shoots. Egg incubation averaged 7 ± 1.2 weeks (N = 10). Total development time from egg to adult averaged 27 ± 4 weeks (N = 5) on lavender. A morphological description of the five instars is provided. The study was supplemented by scanning electron microscopy. Particular attention was paid to the structure of the wax-plates and the absence of compound eyes in the early larval stages., René Sforza, Thierry Bourgoin, Stephen W. Wilson, Elisabeth Boudon-Padieu, and Lit
We measured energy substrates in haemolymph and flight muscles of the large blister beetle Mylabris oculata at rest and after tethered, lift-generating flight. Flight of 1 min duration at an ambient temperature of 38-42°C did not effect a change in the concentration of lipids in the haemolymph, whereas a small, significant decrease in the concentrations of carbohydrates and a 3-fold larger one in the levels of proline were noted, as well as a concomitant increase in alanine. In the flight muscles, glycogen and proline concentrations were diminished slightly but significantly upon flight, whereas alanine levels were increased. Two hours of rest after a flight of 1 min completely reversed the metabolic situation in haemolymph and flight muscles to pre-flight levels. We could isolate two neuropeptides from the corpora cardiaca of M. oculata, which by retention time and mass analyses are characterised as the decapeptide Del-CC (pGlu-Leu-Asn-Phe-Ser-Pro-Asn-Trp-Gly-Asn-NH2) and the octapeptide Tem-HrTH (pGlu-Leu-Asn-PheSer-Pro-Asn-Trp-NH2) previously fully identified from the corpora cardiaca of the blister beetle, Decapotoma lunata (Gäde, 1995). Subsequently, it was unequivocally demonstrated that low doses of Del-CC and Tem-HrTH elicited increases in the concentration of proline and carbohydrates in the haemolymph of D. lunata and M. oculata, but did not change the concentration of lipids in both species. In conclusion, the two endogenous peptides are hypertrehalosaemic and hyperprolinaemic, thus very likely regulating the mobilisation of the two important flight substrates of blister beetles, namely carbohydrates and proline., Gerd Gäde, Lutz Auerswald, and Lit
From 1994-1997 the food of Coccinella septempunctata L. was investigated on the basis of gut dissections of adults and larvae collected in the field. Additionally, the gut contents of adults fed under laboratory conditions were investigated. The likelihood of recovering different prey types during gut dissection was variable, which will be illustrated by presenting some common prey fragments. The food eaten by adult C. septempunctata throughout a year was studied at a locality in Berlin-Staaken. Ladybirds were collected from March 1994 until November 1997 in different crops and habitats on roughly a monthly basis. Aphid feeding was detectable from April until October. In May and June they were the most frequent food type. Fungal spores, in most cases the conidia of Alternaria spp., became most frequent in July. Additionally non-aphid arthropods were frequently preyed upon in July. A very common non-aphid prey item were thrips. Pollen was important in May and September. Comparing the food components of newly emerged adults with those of overwintered adults some remarkable differences were detected. In newly emerged adults non-aphid arthropods and fungal spores were much more frequent than in overwintered adults whereas aphids were less frequently found. The diet of adults and larvae was also investigated in June and July in cereal fields at two other localities, Northern Flaeming and Magdeburger Boerde. No difference in adult diet was found between the three localities. The composition of the larval diet was relatively similar to that of the adults., Holger Triltsch, and Lit
The aim of the present study was to find groups of moths suitable for estimating changes in the abundance and richness of local and regional biodiversity in a temperate forest. We captured macro-moths from May to October over a 5-year period (2005–2009) at various sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park (JNP) in southern Korea. Six taxa were selected based on a strong correlation between the number of species in these taxa and total number of species of large moths: Ennominae (Enn), Arctiinae (Arc), Hermininae (Her), Notodontidae (Not), Drepanidae (Dre) and Ophiderinae (Oph). Of these, combinations of four groups were found to have the best predictive capability. We determined whether these indicator groups could be used to reveal mean differences in species abundance according to spatial (forest type, altitude) and temporal variables (monsoon season) since moth composition and abundances were closely related with these variables. The mean differences in the groups of moths in the two types of forest (Arc, Dre, Enn, Not), two altitudes (Dre, Enn, Her, Oph) and two seasons (Dre, Enn, Oph) were significant. Overall, it was revealed that a set of four groups, including two taxa (Dre and Enn), could be used to show differences in local and regional biodiversity of moths in southern Korean temperate forest., Jeong-Seop An, Sei-Woon Choi., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) is the main (23 individuals) breathing mode in resting adult Platynus assimilis. Few of the beetles tested (13 individuals) displayed a pattern of cyclic gas exchange or CGE. The burst of CO2 release in DGE and CGE was always accompanied by abdominal pumping (active ventilation or V). Seven individuals displayed a pattern of continuous respiration, characterized by regular abdominal pumping. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) in continuously breathing beetles was higher than in those using DGE and CGE. After treatment with sub-lethal doses of alpha-cypermethrin DGE ceased. Treated beetles were characterized by continuous pumping and almost regular periods of activity. RMR increased significantly after treatment with a pyrethroid., Irja Kivimägi ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Silk production quantity is the most economically important characteristic of the domesticated silkworm moth, Bombyx mori. It is controlled by multiple loci. The cocoon and silk production quantity of silkworm strains Jingsong and Lan10 have significantly diverged. A backcross population (BC1) was bred using Jingsong and Lan10 as parents to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for silk quality. In this research, a genetic linkage map of the silkworm was constructed using the BC1 mapping population. The map contained 85 sequence-tagged site markers, 80 simple sequence repeat markers, and 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms. A linkage map was constructed from the data, which consisted of 181 markers distributed over 28 expected linkage groups and spans 2147.1 cM in total length. Fourteen QTLs were detected for cocoon filament length, whole cocoon weight, pupae weight, filament weight, and cocoon shell weight. The 14 QTLs were distributed in 5 linkage groups (linkage groups 1, 14, 18, 23 and 25) based on the constructed linkage map. In addition, five QTLs, which had the highest logarithm (base 10) of odds (LOD) values, were located on the first chromosome, three of which located at the same region in linkage group 1. These results represent an important foundation for the map-based cloning of QTLs and marker-assisted selection for improving the silk quality of economically important silkworm strains., Bing Li ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury