The ladybird, Serangium japonicum (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is one of the most important predators of whiteflies in China, however, the suitability of different kinds of prey and nutritional requirements of this predator are poorly studied. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the pre-imaginal development, percentage survival of immatures, adult longevity and fecundity of S. japonicum when reared on two different species of prey, mixed ages of the cotton whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biotype-B (i.e., eggs and nymphs) and green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in order to quantify their relative suitability as prey under laboratory conditions of 25 ± 1°C, 50 ± 10% RH and a photoperiod of 16L : 8D. The results of this study indicate that the total developmental period (from egg to adult) was shorter when they were fed on B. tabaci (18.29 ± 0.13 days) than on M. persicae (19.85 ± 0.22 days). The percentage survival of the immatures, growth index, development rate, adult fresh weight, fecundity and percentage of eggs hatching were higher and the pre-oviposition period was significantly shorter when S. japonicum were fed on B. tabaci than on M. persicae. In contrast, there was no significant difference in their longevity and oviposition period when fed on B. tabaci and M. persicae. The results indicate that as a diet for S. japonicum M. persicae is inferior to B. tabaci. This is the first record of S. japonicum being able to complete its development feeding exclusively on M. persicae. Since B. tabaci and M. persicae often simultaneously occur in vegetable fields, these results indicate that it is likely that S. japonicum could be utilized to control mixed populations of aphids and whiteflies, and furthers our understanding of ladybird population dynamics in the field in relation to the availability of different species of prey.
The genus Platesthes Waterhouse, 1845 (Pimeliinae: Praocini), distributed in the Patagonian steppes in southern Argentina and Chile, is revised. A phylogeny of its 13 species is proposed, based on 48 morphological characters. The cladistic analysis provides one most parsimonious cladogram showing that three unambiguous synapomorphic characters of external morphology and male genitalia support the monophyly of Platesthes. This article includes a redescription of the genus, redescriptions of its species, an identification key, habitus photographs of the most representative species, illustrations of external morphology, genital features and metendosternites, a cladogram and distribution maps. A discussion of the biogeography and status of conservation of Platesthes in the Patagonian steppes and in Central Chile is presented. A new Platesthes species is described: P. neuquensis sp. n. and P. hirtipes Kulzer, 1962 stat. n. is elevated to species status. Other valid species of the genus are: P. depressa (Guérin-Ménéville, 1841), P. similis Kulzer, 1956, P. unicosta Kulzer, 1956, P. nigra Kulzer, 1956, P. pilosa Kulzer, 1956, P. vidali Peña, 1986, P. burmeisteri Haag-Rutenberg, 1877, P. granulipennis Kulzer, 1956, P. kuscheli Kulzer, 1958, P. humeralis Kulzer, 1958 and P. silphoides Waterhouse, 1845 (type species), for which a lectotype is designated.
A revision of the genus Angulaphthona Bechyné, 1960 is provided, with a description of Angulaphthona confusa sp. n. from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and A. rossii sp. n. from Sierra Leone. The following synonymies are proposed: Angulaphthona latipennis (Pic, 1921) = A. latipennis zambeziensis (Bechyné, 1959) syn. n. and Angulaphthona pelengensis Bechyné, 1960 = A. exalta Bechyné, 1960 syn. n. The precedence of the name pelengensis is discussed. Angulaphthona violaceomicans (Chen, 1936) comb. n. (transferred from Aphthona) from Sri Lanka is established, and some hypotheses to explain the presence of the genus outside Africa are put forward. A key to the seven known species is supplied, with microphotographs of diagnostic characters, including male and female genitalia.
1_Insects feeding on the foliage of oak were studied on a mountain where species of Mediterranean deciduous and evergreen oak coexist. There were 58 insect species (54 Lepidoptera, 1 Coleopteran and 3 Hymenoptera) belonging to twenty families in the assemblage feeding on eight species of Quercus, two of which are introduced from nearby regions. The overlap in occurrence in time and of feeding niches of the insects feeding on the foliage of the different species of oak was determined using the: (a) Poole-Rathcke method, which tests phenological overlap and (b) Petraitis method, which tests niche overlap. This indicated that insect families partition seasonal time in a random and the entire assemblage in a regular way. All groups of insects partitioned season randomly except for the pairs of monophagous-oligophagous and Palearctic-Eurosiberian species, which partition season regularly. Oak folivorous insects correctly perceive the three subgenera of oaks with the exception of the planted Q. robur pedunculiflora. The folivorous insects recorded on the Mediterranean evergreen oaks (subgenus Sclerophyllodrys) differ from those on the other two subgenera (Quercus and Cerris) and co-occurring deciduous trees. The hypothesis of complete general overlap is rejected for groups based on feeding specialization, zoogeographical categories and taxonomic families. The same was the case when the entire insect assemblage was considered. The percentage of specific niche overlap of the folivorous insects is low and greatest among the monophagous species (13.8%) and those with a Mediterranean distribution (15.4%). Voltinism is not very important for this assemblage and only seven species are bivoltine of which four fed on a different species of oak in the second generation., 2_The overall conclusion is that the co-occurrence in space of these species is possible because they occur regularly at different times during the season whereas that of insect groups based on zoogeographical, taxonomic or feeding specialization are randomly dispersed in time., Maria Kalapanida, Panos V. Petrakis., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The systematics of the genus Zabrus Clairville, 1806 is currently based on morphological characters that show a high degree of parallelism. The aim of this study is to find new characters in the female genitalia, which give a better understanding of the phylogeny of the genus and result in a new classification based on monophyletic taxa (subgenera and species groups). For this purpose slides of the whole female reproductive tract were studied under light microscopy and the gonocoxa IX under scanning microscopy. The study of species belonging to eight subgenera of Zabrus, and of twelve subgenera of its sister taxon Amara, shows that Zabrus is characterised by the lack of a spermatheca. This apomorphy is reported for the first time in carabids, and corroborates the monophyly of the genus in comparison to Amara. A villous canal that is intimately joined to the distal bursa copulatrix was found in both genera and in species of related tribes. This feature could be an apomorphy of the Harpalidae sensu Deuve (1988). However, only in Zabrus does the villous canal end in a long falciform head, which is probably another autapomorphy of the genus. It is postulated that the primitive bursa copulatrix of the genus was made up of a moderately inflated basal half and an elongated and simple distal half. This pattern is found in species of the subgenus Zabrus, which are widely distributed, and the subgenera Euryzabrus, Platyzabrus, and Epomidozabrus, which are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Extra lobules arising in the region where the two parts of the bursa meet, and cup-like infoldings of the distal bursa are possible apomorphic states that characterise the subgenera Pelor and Iberozabrus. Gonocoxite 2 does not have the strong and short spines found in species of related taxa. Differences in size and shape of both gonocoxites, distribution of setation and microtrichia, and presence of furrow "pegs" are characters of potential phylogenetic interest, which should be thoroughly investigated in other subgenera.
The genus Anthelephila Hope, 1833 and its type species, Anthelephila cyanea Hope, 1833, are redescribed. Based on examination of the type material, the following new synonymy is proposed, Anthelephila Hope, 1833 (= Formicoma Motschoulsky, 1845 syn. n.) and A. cyanea Hope, 1833 (= Notoxus caeruleus Thunberg, 1787 syn. n.). Five genus-group names are regarded as unjustified emendations and are placed as synonyms: Anthelephila Hope, 1833 (=Anthelephilus LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849; Formicosoma Motschoulsky, 1845; Myrmecosoma Mannerheim, 1846; Formicomus LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849; Orthauchen Krekich-Strassoldo, 1925 syn. n.). A lectotype is designated for Anthelephila cyanea Hope, 1833.
The genus Microplinthus Zherikhin, 1987 is revised. It is assigned to the tribe Aminyopini Voss, 1956, based on the female genitalia and the presence of appendiculate claws in one species. The following new species are described: M. parbatensis sp. n. (Central Nepal); M. kaligandaki sp. n. (Central Nepal); M. shiva sp. n. (India: Darjeeling); M. laurae sp. n. (India: Darjeeling; Sikkim; Central-western Nepal?). The genus is apparently the sister group to Falsanchonus Zherikhin, 1987. Mutual relationships among the nine species of Microplinthus are suggested based on a phylogenetic analysis.
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
After a brief presentation of some historical, taxonomical and biological data on the Chironidae, the third instar larva of Chiron senegalensis Hope & Westwood, 1845 is described and illustrated on the basis of larval characteristics. The systematic position of the genus Chiron Mac Leay, 1819 within the Scarabaeoidea complex is discussed.
The Chinese white pine beetle, Dendroctonus armandi Tsai and Li is a native species of bark beetle and one of the most destructive in much of western China. Little is known about the characterization of the pheromones trans-verbenol and verbenone, and their functions in D. armandi are unknown. Electroantennogram tests (EAG) and olfactory assays (Y-tube assays) in the laboratory revealed that (1) trans-verbenol may be an anti-aggregation pheromone for male and an aggregation pheromone for female D. armandi and (2) female beetles are more attracted to controls (hexane) than low concentrations of verbenone and male beetles more attracted to controls than high concentrations of verbenone. Field trials indicated that the addition of verbenone to bait used to trap D. armandi remarkably decreased the efficiency of field trapping. These results indicate that verbenone is an anti-aggregation pheromone for male D. armandi. This research provides evidence of the role of verbenone among the different types of pheromones. The pheromone verbenone clearly could be used to protect healthy Chinese white pines., Mingzhen Zhao, Lulu Dai, Yaya Sun, Danyang Fu, Hui Chen., and Obsahuje bibliografii