The Tisza River Basin is an important area as it is a green corridor in which there are highly endangered habitats and a high level of biodiversity. The patterns in the species richness of invertebrates and the environmental conditions affecting these patterns are poorly studied in the grassy habitats in the lower reaches of the Tisza River Basin. The present study focuses on the effects of flooding, habitat and landscape features on the species richness of orthopterans at 24 grassland sites in two different landscapes. The relations between the explanatory variables and the pattern of diversity of orthopterans with different life-history traits were studied, using ordination and Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Although the influential factors for the different trait groups differed, we suggest that landscape features are the most important in shaping orthopteran assemblages, whereas habitat characteristics and flooding have comparatively little effect. Habitat characteristics affected only the non-xerophilous and Ensifera species and only the species richness of non-xerophilous orthopterans in flooded and non-flooded sites differed. We emphasize that even in countries where there are still considerable areas of high value natural grasslands, such as Hungary, non-protected meadows, linear grassy habitats (dikes, ditch banks, road verges, etc.) need more attention and should be given higher priority in the conservation of invertebrates., Attila Torma, Miklós Bozsó., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky), is a major pest of stored grain kernels. Irradiation is an established technique for controlling insects in stored grain and is a major stress factor affecting these insects. Since heat shock protein (hsp) genes respond to this stress, we proposed that hsps may be associated with irradiated stress tolerance in S. zeamais. The responses of the maize weevil to exposure to ultraviolet-C (UV-C) and microwave irradiation were assessed at four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The results revealed that exposure to UV-C (254 nm, < 8 h) did not affect the survival of the maize weevils; however, Szhsp70, Szhsc70 and Szhsp90 mRNA levels significantly increased during the first 1 h of UV-C exposure. The median lethal time (LT50) of exposure to microwave irradiation indicated that the adult stage was more tolerant of microwave irradiation than the other developmental stages. Microwave irradiation enhanced the expression of the three hsps, but the intensity of up-regulation differed among the three genes, with Szhsp70 the most highly up-regulated. Our experiments revealed that UV-C and microwave irradiation influenced the expression profile of hsp genes in S. zeamais. At the tissue level, the gene responses to UV-C and microwave irradiation varied greatly in different tissues., Jatuporn Tungjitwitayakul, Nujira Tatun, Boongeua Vajarasathira, Sho Sakurai., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Traps baited with plant volatiles and/or bark beetle pheromones have been used to survey for exotic and potentially invasive bark and wood-boring beetles in North America since the mid-1990s. Recent discoveries of sex and aggregation pheromones in the Cerambycidae offer means of improving detection rates of longhorn beetles, but little is known of their effects on detection of bark and ambrosia beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae. Our objectives were to determine the efficacy of host volatile trap lures for survey and detection of Scolytinae species and whether that efficacy was affected by the addition of longhorn beetle pheromones. More than 12,000 specimens and 36 species of Scolytinae were collected in two field trapping bioassays conducted in the Russian Far East in 2009 and 2010. The lure combination of spruce blend (a blend of racemic α-pinene, (-) β-pinene, (+)-3-carene, (+)-limonene, and α-terpinolene) and ethanol significantly increased detection rates and mean catches of Hylastes brunneus Erichson, Hylastes obscurus Chapuis, Ips typographus (L.), and Dryocoetes striatus Eggers compared with unbaited traps. The addition of the longhorn beetle pheromones, E-fuscumol, or E-fuscumol acetate, to traps baited with spruce blend and ethanol, slightly reduced mean catches of D. striatus but otherwise did not affect catch of any Scolytine species. Baiting traps with ethanol significantly increased mean catches of Anisandrus apicalis (Blandford), Anisandrus dispar (Fabr.), Anisandrus maiche (Kurenzov), Xyleborinus attenuatus (Blandford), Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg), Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford), Scolytoplatypus tycon Blandford, and Trypodendron lineatum (Olivier). By themselves, the longhorn beetle pheromones, racemic hydroxyhexan-2-one and racemic hydroxyoctan-2-one, were not attractive to any Scolytine species. However, when added to ethanol-baited traps, hydroxyhexan-2-one lures significantly increased mean catch of S. tycon, hydroxyoctan-2-one lures significantly reduced mean catches of A. maiche and X. attenuatus, and lures of either hydroxyketone significantly reduced mean catch of T. lineatum. The lure treatments that detected the greatest number of species per sampling effort were spruce blend plus ethanol in 2009 (16 Scolytinae species and 13 species of Cerambycidae combined in an eight-trap sample) and hydroxyhexan-2-one plus ethanol in 2010 (20 Scolytinae species and 7 species of Cerambycidae combined in an eight-trap sample). Species accumulation curves did not reach an asymptote for any lure treatment, indicating that many species would go undetected in samples of 8-9 traps per site., Jon D. Sweeney, Peter Silk, Vasily Grebennikov, Michail Mandelshtam., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Entomopathogenic nematodes from families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabdi - tidae and the molluscoparasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita are enigmatic soil creatures. These lethal pathogens of invertebrates can also be used as effective and safe biocontrol agents. In this article, we review the biology, ecology and distribution of these organisms and we de - pict their current use in biological control. and Jiří Nermuť, Vladimír Půža, Zdeněk Mráček.
Ernst Schäfer (1910-1992) byl německý zoolog, sběratel přírodnin a cestovatel známý zejména díky třem průkopnickým výpravám do Tibetu, území, kam se přírodovědci prakticky nedostali až do druhé poloviny 20. století. Třetí expedice z let 1938-39 je poněkud kontroverzní, neboť se stala součástí nacistické propagandy a její cíle nebyly čistě jen vědecké., Ernst Schäfer (1910–92) was a German zoologist, collector and explorer who is primarily known for his three pioneering expeditions to Tibet, which was virtually closed to science well into the second half of the 20th century. The third expedition, in 1938–39, was rather controversial as it became a part of Nazi propaganda and its goals were not purely scientific., and Jan Robovský, Jiří Hrubý.
Until recently, the Canadian distribution of the blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), was restricted to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The insect was first mentioned in southern Quebec in 1996 and, to date, it has not reached the Lac St-Jean region, where 34% of Canadian blueberry acreage is located. Two questions concerning the northern limit of distribution of the blueberry maggot in Quebec were addressed. First, are wild plants suitable hosts for larval development? We collected the fruit of five wild plants, (e.g. Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Gaylussacia baccata, and Aronia melanocarpa) growing in southern Quebec and allowed larvae to complete their development into pupae. Blueberry maggot pupae were recovered from Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, and Gaylussacia baccata, indicating that these plants are suitable for larval development. Second, are harsh winter temperatures a factor limiting the northern distribution of the blueberry maggot? Pupae collected in Quebec and Nova Scotia were put in the soil in the fall and were brought back to the laboratory to determine their supercooling points at different times during winter. The supercooling points of pupae collected in Quebec and Nova Scotia averaged -22.6°C. In natural conditions, air temperatures <-20°C are frequently observed in Quebec in January, February and March. However, due to snow cover, soil temperatures are rarely <-12°C. If -22.6°C constitutes the lower limit for the survival, then winter temperatures are probably not a limiting factor to its northern distribution in Quebec, because blueberry maggot pupae overwinter in the soil., Charles Vincent, Pierre Lemoyne, Sonia Gaul, Kenna Mackenzie., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Thrips are important agricultural pests and accurate identification is important for their effective management. In order to determine species, however, they need to be mounted on slides and the traditional process is time-consuming. The aim of this paper is to describe a simple and fast method to prepare temporary slides for the routine identification of thrips, which is not dependent on their colour and hardness. Four species of thrips of different colours were used in the preparations: Frankliniella occidentalis (yellow with brown tergal markings), Frankliniella schultzei (entirely brown), Haplothrips gowdeyii (dark brown to carmine) and Caliothrips phaseoli (brown to black). Slides of each species were prepared using three different methods: traditional (3 days), simplified (6 h) and fast method (10 min). The thrips on the resulting slides were observed under a microscope and important structures used in their identification were compared. The quality of the slides prepared using the traditional method was superior to those prepared using the other two methods if only the transparency and general position of the insects on the slides were considered. The transparency of the slides prepared using the simplified method was also good, but only for the pale coloured species (yellow and grey-brown). The fast method, on the other hand, was very efficient for routine identification since it resulted in slides of sufficient quality for identifying species regardless of their colour. It is important, however, to stress that the fast method is only suitable for preparing temporary slides for routine identification and is not a substitute for the traditional method of preparing permanent slides., Luís C.P. Silveira, Marcelo M. Haro., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Faunistika není mrtvý obor zoologie. V prvním dílu diskutujeme záludnosti faunistiky a rozdíly mezi faunistikou a sběratelstvím. Měkkýši byli vybráni jako modelová skupina organismů, na nichž ukazujeme historii vývoje oboru v Českých zemích a vývoj měkkýší faunistiky., Faunistics is not a dead subject of zoology. The challenges of faunistics and the difference between faunistics and collecting are discussed. Molluscs were chosen as a model group to show the history of the subject in the Czech Republic and the development of mollusc faunistics., and Vojen Ložek, Lucie Juřičková.