Adipokinetic hormone of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta: immunohistochemistry, amino acid analysis, quantification and bioassay

Abstract A cluster of five to seven AKH-like immunoreactive cells lie in each lobe of the paired corpora cardiaca of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta. These cells form a mesh work of immunoreactive processes within the corpora cardiaca, and immunoreactive tracts projecting posteriorly over the aorta.
Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of extracts of the corpora cardiaca of P.unipuncta revealed a single large U.V. absorbent peak with a retention time identical to synthetic Manduca- AKH. Amino acid analysis of the contents of this peak yielded a composition identical to that of synthetic Manduca-AKH which was analysed in a parallel manner. Furthermore the material within the peak possessed adipokinetic activity when bioassayed in day 2 adult male P. unipuncta. The corpora cardiaca of similar individuals were found to contain approximately 17.6ng (17.6pmol) of Manduca-AKH equivalents per pair.
Injection of Manduca-AKH into 2-day-old adult male P.unipuncta resulted in a dose-dependent elevation in haemolymph lipid levels with a maximum level of 80–90μmg/μl obtained with 5–10 ng of Manduca-AKH. Continuous flight also elevated haemolymph lipid levels in day 4 adult males with a significant elevation evident in the first samples taken after 15 min of flight and lipid levels plateauing at approximately 100 μg/μl by about 60 min of flight.     

Insect tissue culture systems: models for study of hormonal control of development

Summary The regulation of growth and development of insects is under endocrine control and involves both juvenile hormones and ecdysteroids. Neuropeptides are master regulators which control the secretion of these hormones. Most experiments in insect endocrinology have been conducted in vivo, but tissue culture methodology is playing an increasing role due to the great interest in simpler model systems for the study of complex processes that occur in vivo. The availability of appropriate media has allowed the culture of a variety of insect organs and cell lines of defined origin which have kept certain properties of the parent tissues. Tissue culture approaches have been useful for studying hormonal control of morphogenetic processes. Cell lines are particularly suited to the study of hormonally regulated mechanisms of macromolecular biosynthesis and gene expression. Thus, the value of in vitro analysis in studies of regulation of hormone production is now recognized. Results obtained from tissue culture allow more precise definition of the hormonal requirements of insect cells and tissues for growth and differentiation and might make possible the discovery of new growth regulators.     

Distribution of PERIOD-immunoreactive neurons and temporal change of the immunoreactivity under long-day and short-day conditions in the larval brain of the flesh fly Sarcophaga similis

The flesh fly Sarcophaga similis show a clear photoperiodic response; they develop into adults under long days, whereas they arrest their development at the pupal stage under short days. Although the involvement of a circadian clock in photoperiodic time measurement is suggested in this species, the anatomical location of the clock neurons responsible for the time measurement has been unknown. We detected two PERIOD-immunoreactive cell clusters in the larval brain; one cluster was located at the dorsoanterior region and the other at the medial region. We further investigated their temporal changes in PERIOD-immunoreactivity and compared their patterns under different photoperiods.     

Host plant variation in plant-mediated indirect effects: moth boring-induced susceptibility of willows to a specialist leaf beetle

Abstract.  1. We examined the plant-mediated indirect effects of the stem-boring moth Endoclita excrescens (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) on the leaf beetle Plagiodera versicolora (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in three willow species, Salix gilgiana , S. eriocarpa , and S. serissaefolia.
2. When the stem-boring moth larvae damaged stems in the previous year, willows were stimulated to produce vigorously growing lateral shoots on these stems. These new lateral shoots were significantly longer and the upper leaves had significantly higher nitrogen and water content than current-year shoots on unbored stems, although the carbon content and leaf dry mass were not different between lateral and current-year shoots.
3. In the field, leaf beetle larvae and adults had significantly greater densities on lateral shoots of bored stems than on current-year shoots of unbored stems. A laboratory experiment showed that female beetles had significantly greater mass and fecundity when fed on leaves of newly-emerged lateral shoots. Thus, the stem-boring moth had a positive effect on the temporally and spatially separated leaf beetle by increasing resource availability by inducing compensatory regrowth.
4. The strength of the indirect effects on the density and performance of the leaf beetle differed among willow species, because there was interspecific variation in host quality and herbivore-induced changes in plant traits. In particular, we suggest that the differences in magnitude of the changes among willow species in shoot length and leaf nitrogen content greatly affected the strength of the plant-regrowth mediated indirect effect, coupled with host-plant preference of the leaf beetle.     

Oecophylla smaragdina food conversion efficiency: prospects for ant farming

Oecophylla ants are sold at high prices on several commercial markets as a human delicacy, as pet food or as traditional medicine. Currently markets are supplied by ants collected from the wild; however, an increasing interest in ant farming exists as all harvest is easily sold and as ant farming can be combined with the use of the ants in biological control programmes in tropical plantations where pest insects are converted into ant biomass. To assess the cost‐benefits of ant farming based on artificial feeding, food consumption and food conversion efficiency (ECI) of Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius) was tested under laboratory conditions. Of the two types of food offered, the ants ingested 76% pure sucrose and 24% insect prey (dry weights) leading to ECI’s of 29% and 39% including brood only or brood plus imago gain, respectively. Based on Thai sugar and protein food costs and ant brood selling prices these efficiencies led to rates of return from 1.52 to 4.56, respectively, if: (i) protein is supplied from commercial products; or (ii) alternatively supplied from free sources such as insects and kitchen waste. These results suggest that Oecophylla ant farming may become highly profitable and deserves further research.     

Patch area, population density and the scaling of migration rates: the resource concentration hypothesis revisited

Empirical research has for a long time observed that animal densities may both increase and decrease with patch size, and these variable responses have been difficult to explain using the current theoretical framework. The most influential hypothesis, the resource concentration hypothesis, predicts only positive density–area relations, as a consequence of different emigration and immigration rates in small and large patches, and empirical deviations have inspired a flurry of alternative explanations. In this paper, we use realistic rules for the relationship between patch size and migration rates and show a wider predictive range for density–area relations than previously believed. Comparisons with published data suggest that observed density–area relations may easily fit in a framework based on a minimum set of behavioural and population processes. This does not imply that other mechanisms are unimportant, but merely that their quantitative importance can only be evaluated relative to patch geometry and local growth.     

Entomofauna resource distribution associated with pig cadavers in Bogotá DC

A cadaver represents a temporal energy‐loaded resource, which provides arthropods with food, protection and a place in which to find a mate. Insects are usually the first organisms to discover and colonize a cadaver; as decomposition progresses, insects colonize cadavers in a predictable sequence. This work aimed to establish cadaverous entomofauna relationships with regard to stages of decomposition and environmental conditions using multiple correspondence analysis and thereby to identify the way in which insects distribute a perishable and changing resource. Entomofauna were thus collected in a semi‐rural area near Bogotá from the cadavers of three pigs (Sus scrofa L.) which had been shot. Environmental variables were recorded for each sampling. Multiple correspondence analyses were carried out for adult forms belonging to Diptera and Coleoptera families and stages of decomposition, and for Diptera and Coleoptera adult forms and environmental conditions. Stages of decomposition were a primary determining factor for structuring four guilds of entomofauna. However, environmental conditions influenced insect activity and were therefore a relevant factor in the structure of the entomofauna community. The results showed that the insects' distribution of available resources was related to changes in the stage of decomposition.