The Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis is an invasive insect in Europe and the Americas and is a great threat to the environment in invaded areas. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that non native species are resistant to many groups of parasites that attack native insects. However, very little is known about the complex microbial community associated with this insect. This study based on sequencing 16S rRNA genes in extracted metagenomic DNA is the first research on the bacterial flora associated with H. axyridis. Lady beetles were collected during hibernation from wind turbines in Poland. A mean ± SD of 114 ± 35 species of bacteria were identified. The dominant phyla of bacteria recorded associated with H. axyridis were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Representatives of these phyla are common in the environment, e.g. in the soil, and are often identified as the dominant bacteria associated with arthropods. We also identified animal pathogenic bacteria, such as Burkholderia, Rhodococcus, Chlamydiae and Anaplasmataceae spp. (Neorickettsia helminthoeca and Ehrlichia ovina). We also identified Wolbachia pipientis in a single beetle. This bacterium is a causative agent of reproductive alterations in arthropods. These results support the enemy release hypothesis in the case of this ladybird invasion. Pathogenic bacteria were recorded in only a few samples. Moreover, male-killing bacteria such as Spiroplasma spp., Wolbachia spp. and Rickettsia spp. were only recorded in single insects so they cannot be responsible for the observed alterations in the sex-ratio of the ladybird population studied., Krzysztof Dudek, Kinga Humińska, Jacek Wojciechowicz, Piotr Tryjanowski., and Obsahuje bibliografii
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 článku autor upozorňuje na velmi rychlý ústup krasce Eurythyrea quercus (Buprestidae) z jeho donedávna nejrozsáhlejších lokalit v České republice, a to v dolní části jihomoravského luhu. Až do začátku 90. let minulého století se jeho zdejší metapopulace zdála být dostatečně stabilní. Po rozsáhlých vodohospodářských úpravách zdejší krajiny však výrazně poklesla hladina spodní vody. A poněvadž tak většina velmi starých solitérních dubů letních (Quercus robur), jeho zdejší jediná živná rostlina na nivních loukách, rychle uschla, ocitl se tak stejně rychle i tento brouk na hranici vymření. Pro jeho záchranu v tomto luhu proto autor doporučuje urychleně vyzkoušet oslunění starých dubů dosud uzavřených v okolních souvislých porostech, a tím vytvořit pro E. quercus nové biotopy., The article warns of the very rapid disappearance of the beetle Eurythyrea quercus (Buprestidae) from the lower section of the South Moravian meadowland, until recently the most extensive sites of the species in the Czech Republic. Until the beginning of the 1990s its local metapopulation seemed to be sufficiently stable. However, after extensive water regime alterations, the groundwater level sank considerably. As the majority of very old solitary Pedunculate Oaks (Quercus robur), its only local host plant on alluvial meadows, are quickly drying up, this beetle has found itself on the brink of extinction., and Mladen Kaděra.
We analyzed the abundance, distribution and niche overlap of species (Pianka's Ojk index) in tenebrionid beetle communities inhabiting different biotopes in Tyrrhenian and Adriatic sand dunes. The rank abundance distribution of the different species has the form of a geometric series in both communities as predicted by the niche preemption hypothesis for communities in harsh environments. Mean niche overlap values did not deviate significantly from null expectations, which indicates random interspecific interactions. These results, coupled with evidence of species habitat preferences, led us to conclude that the community organization of tenebrionid species inhabiting coastal dunes is determined more by habitat preferences than interspecific competition., Simone Fattorini, Davide Bergamaschi, Cristina Mantoni, Alicia T. R. Acosta, Andrea Di Giulio., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Chráněná krajinná oblast Beskydy je charakteristická zachovalými pralesovitými porosty i pastvinami, jež po staletí obhospodařovali místní lidé. Množství dnes už vzácných a z krajiny mizejících biotopů představuje útočiště řady ohrožených organismů včetně mnoha druhů brouků. Významnou skupinou jsou především druhy žijící v tlejícím dřevě a pod kůrou mrtvých stromů. Díky nezanedbatelnému zastoupení jedle bělokoré (Abies alba) i množství dostupné odumřelé dřevní hmoty můžeme dodnes v beskydských rezervacích nalézt brouky, kteří již na téměř celém území České republiky vyhynuli., Well-preserved remnants of old-growth forests and pastures managed for hundreds of years are typical for this area. A substantial representation of fir trees and large volumes of decaying wood support populations of several beetle species considered extremely rare/extinct in other parts of the Czech Republic. A few species have gone extinct in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, mainly because of the abandonment of traditional management. Other species have recently been recorded in this area for the first time., and Jiří Procházka, Jiří Schlaghamerský.
The ladybird beetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius), has been extending its distribution in and around urban areas at higher latitudes in Japan over the past 100 years. Between 2003 and 2011, we investigated the seasonal occurrence, aphid prey and population dynamics of this species in an urban park in Osaka City, central Japan. We found that C. sexmaculata completes three generations a year in Osaka. Overwintered adults emerge in March or April and produce two (or rarely one) generations by summer. Second-generation adults aestivate and subsequently produce another generation in autumn. This species feeds on five species of aphids that infest planted shrubs and alien weeds throughout the vegetative season. We analyzed the association between accumulated temperature and when overwintered adults first emerged. In addition, we determined the association between their time of emergence, peak abundance and last occurrence, and meteorological conditions. There was no association between the sum of effective temperatures and termination of adult overwintering. There was, however, an association between first occurrence and peak abundance, and climatic conditions, such as warm temperatures or low humidity. This species maintained a stable population in an urban park by becoming quiescent when climatic conditions were unfavourable or prey was scarce. We discussed these findings in relation to urban environmental factors, such as climate, food conditions and vegetation., Yasuko Kawakami, Kazuo Yamazaki, Kazunori Ohashi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia (α-Proteobacteria) are the most widespread endosymbionts of insects. Host infection is usually associated with alterations in reproduction, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, the induction of parthenogenesis and offspring sex ratio bias: all phenomena that may influence host speciation. In the present study, by using well-established molecular tools, we investigated the presence of Wolbachia in leaf beetles of the genus Crioceris and their host plants, which are various species of Asparagus. Multilocus sequence typing of bacterial genes showed that despite their occurrence in the same habitat and feeding on the same plant, two species of Crioceris, C. quinquepunctata and C. quatuordecimpunctata, are infected by two different strains of Wolbachia. C. asparagi, C. paracenthesis and C. duodecimpunctata, which are sympatric with the infected species, do not harbour the bacterium. Interestingly, DNA of Wolbachia was detected in host plant tissues that are exploited by the beetles, providing evidence for the horizontal transmission of the bacterium between beetles and their host plants. Moreover, Wolbachia was detected in species of Crioceris that are not closely related., Michał Kolasa, Matteo Montagna, Valeria Mereghetti, Daniel Kubisz, Miłosz A. Mazur, Łukasz Kajtoch., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Gender-specific reproductive roles are important factors determining sexual dimorphism. Here, we investigate the effects of sex-based differences and reproductive status on the defence of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) against infection by Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev, 1934) (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae). Female and male beetles, either virgin or post-copulation, were exposed individually to nematodes. Individuals were then sampled every 12 h, dissected, and checked for the presence of nematodes; we also measured their phenoloxidase (PO) activity. Reproductive status affected resistance to nematodes and PO activity as infected virgin individuals had a higher PO activity and lower mortality than reproducing individuals, with no differences between sexes. Mortality also increased with time, while PO activity did not change. Parasite load was related to reproductive status and sex, with reproducing females with the highest parasite loads in all treatments, and virgin males with more nematodes than sexually active males. Our results indicate that the costs of reproduction impair the immunological system of T. castaneum similarly in both sexes. It is possible, however, that other components of the immunological system that we did not measure, such as lysozyme activity, are impaired by infection with S. feltiae in a sex-specific way., Paulina Kramarz, Dariusz Małek, Maria Gaweł, Szymon M. Drobniak, Joanna Homa., and Obsahuje bibliografii