Photoperiodic induction of winged females in the black bean aphid. Aphis fabae

Abstract. The Photoperiodic of winged females (alatae) in the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae Scop. (Homopetera: Aphididae), is investigated in detail with emphasis on the interaction of the maternal and embryonic/young larval photoperiodic clocks. Previous work had shown that in uncrowded conditions the induction of gynoparae (winged females that produce sexual females) requires both prenatal and postnatal exposure to long-night (12 h) Photoperidic cycles: present results show that sole postantal exposure to long nights of any lenght does not induce wing formation in early-born aphids.
When aphids were exposed to experimental light-dark cycles postanatally only, their daughters developed as alate in long nights and as apterae in short nights: the critical night lenght (CNL) was 11:1 h. Additional prenatal exposure to experimental regimes resulted in a significantly shorter CNL (10.6 h). This difference could be accounted for by the fact that more experimental light-dark cycles were experienced in the latter case.
Apterous aphids transferred from LD 16:8 h to LD 12:12 h as either third-or fourth-stadium larvae, or young adults, switched for aptera-production to alata-production. The transition form aptera- to alata-production was rather abrupt in third-stadium transfers but more gradual when transfers occurred as fourth-stadium larvae and adults. Moreover, s the number of days required for 50% of the aphids to become alata-producers increased from 7–8 in third-stadium transfers, to 9–10 and 11–12 in the later transfers.     

Differential photoperiodic responses in genetically identical winged and wingless pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, and the effect of day length on wing development

Abstract. Winged and wingless individuals of a pink clone of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), showed differences in the response curves for photoperiodic induction of both males and sexual females (oviparae). The critical night length (CNL) for ovipara induction in winged aphids was 0.75 h shorter than in wingless aphids, whereas the CNL for male induction in winged aphids was 1.0h longer than in wingless aphids. This means that in winged aphids the CNL for male induction in winged aphids was 0.5 h longer than that for ovipara induction, while in wingless aphids the CNL for male induction was 1.0–1.5 h shorter than that for ovipara induction, and also the shapes of the curves differed.
Winged aphids were produced by wingless mothers which were crowded as young adults. However, when young adults were crowded in long nights, winged aphids were not produced, and the CNL for wing inhibition was between 9.5 and 10h. This effect of photoperiod on wing induction was maternal.     

Untersuchung zum Einfluß des Erkundungs- und Spielverhaltens auf das Lernen bei Iltisfrettchen (Mustela putorius X M. furo)

This paper investigates the dependence of learning performance on previous exploration and playing with objects. The subjects are polecats (Mustela putorius X M. furo). Behaviour of social animals, who are offered changing tube systems in certain periods, is described and analysed. A maze-test shows that subjects with tube training are superior to subjects without tube training as regards acquisition and reversal learning. The learning performance in pattern recognition tests is the same in all tests with the different groups, however.     

Laboratory-simulated naturally-decreasing day lengths, twilight and aphid photoperiodism

Abstract. Day-length changes, as well as periods of twilight, that occur in the course of each natural day-night cycle, were recreated for two chosen latitudes in a computer-controlled 'natural-day-length simulator'.The photoperiodic responses of two aphid species, Aphis fabae and Megoura viciae , were examined in conditions which mimicked late summer to autumn at two simulated latidudes, 51.5N (e.g.Ascot, Southern Britain) and 60°N (e.g.southern tip of Shetland Islands, Northern Britain), with temperatures between 16°C ('night') and 18°C ('day').The responses under simulated natural photoperiodic conditions were similar to those observed under conventional experimental conditions of squarewave light-dark cycles (with abrupt lights-on and lights-off and constant light intensities during the light phase): both aphid species responded to civil twilight as light, and the critical day lengths (including civil twilight) for the induction of sexual morphs by the two aphid species observed in the simulator were the same as those found in squarewave light-dark cycles.
Autumn field experiments (51.5°N) with the same clones of A. fabae and M.viciae revealed much longer critical day lengths for gynopara and male induction in A. fabae compared with those in the laboratory, but the same critical day length for ovipara induction in M.viciue. Minimal night temperatures in the field were on average 6°C, whereas maximal day temperatures declined from around 30°C in early September to 12°C at the end of October; it seems that the critical day lengths in A.fabae are temperature dependent, whereas the findings for M.viciae confirm that the critical day length is temperature compensated.     

Mixed colonies of two species of congeneric stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae,Meliponini) display environmentally‐acquired and endogenously‐produced recognition signals

Nestmate recognition is fundamental for the maintenance of social organization in insect nests. It is becoming well recognized that cuticle hydrocarbons mediate the recognition process, although the origin of recognition cues in stingless bees remains poorly explored. The present study investigates the effects of endogenously‐produced and environmentally‐acquired components in cuticular hydrocarbons in stingless bees. The tests are conducted using colonies of Plebeia droryana Friese and Plebeia remota Holmberg. Recognition tests are performed with four different groups: conspecific nestmates, conspecific non‐nestmates, heterospecifics and conspecific, genetically‐related individuals that emerge in a heterospecific nest. This last group is produced by introducing brood cells of P. droryana into a P. remota colony, and the resulting adult bees are tested for acceptance 10 days after emergence. For all groups, 15 individuals are sampled for chemical analysis. The results show the acceptance of all conspecific nestmates, and the rejection of almost every conspecific non‐nestmate and every heterospecific bee. Genetically‐related individuals emerging from heterospecific nests present intermediate rejection (66.7% rejection). Chemical analysis shows that P. droryana individuals emerging in a P. remota nest have small amounts of alkene and diene isomers found in P. remota cuticle that are not found in workers from the natal nest. The data clearly show that the majority of the compounds present in P. droryana cuticle are endogenously produced, although a few unsaturated compounds are acquired from the environment, increasing the chemical differences and, consequently, the rejection percentages.     

The effect of larval temperature and photoperiod on the incidence of larval diapause in the blowfly, Calliphora vicina

ABSTRACT. The blowfly, Calliphora vicina Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae), displays a maternally induced larval diapause. Progeny of adults exposed to short days enter diapause if the larval temperature is 15C or below; exposing adults to long days, or larvae to temperatures above 15C, results in non-diapause. By keeping progeny from short-day parents at the parental temperature of 23.5C for various lengths of time before transfer to 11C, it could be shown that the diapause-averting effect of high temperature operates in the late wandering stage of larva, possibly at the moment of the decision for the brain-ring gland complex to release PTTH/ecdysone at the diapause/non-diapause stage.
Although photoperiodic induction in the blowfly is maternal, previous work had shown that the larvae were also slightly sensitive to photoperiod. From the present study it is evident that also the eggs are photo-sensitive.