Times for recovery from cold-torpor in the Queensland fruit fly Dacus tryoni: the relation to temperature during and after chilling

Recovery time after experience of a given minimum temperature below torpor threshold is related to the value of that minimum, the length of time spent at that minimum, and the temperature prevailing during the recovery period above torpor threshold. A model can predict recovery time for flies experiencing a given temperature fluctuation if the length of time spent at the minimum is expressed as a proportion of LE₅₀ at that minimum.The model has applications in defining the optimal protocol for chilling insects for use in the Sterile Insect Release Method. The model was confirmed by experiments showing that it is likely that flies will recover from non-lethal frosts before ant predators become active.

---

Résumé Le temps de récupération après avoir subi une température minimal située au-dessous du seuil d'engourdissement dépend de la valeur de ce minimum, du temps passé à ce minimum, et de la température au-dessus du seuil d'engourdissement pendant la période de récupération. Un modèle mathématique permet d'estimer le temps de récupération après avoir subi une chute de température déterminée, en fonction du temps passé au minimum thermique exprimé comme une fraction du LE₅₀ (temps nécessaire pour tuer 50% des mouches) à ce minimum.Ce modèle s'est trouvé étayé par des observations montrant qu'il est probable que les mouches se remettent des gelées sublétales avant la reprise d'activité des fourmis prédatrices. Ce modèle peut être utilisé pour définir les conditions optimales de refroidissement des insectes utilisés lors de la libération d'individus stériles.

     

Demographic analysis of insect reproductive levels, patterns and heterogeneity: case study of laboratory strains of three Hawaiian tephritids

Reproductive data were collected on individually-held adult oriental fruit flies, Dacus dorsalis, melon flies, Dacus cucurbitae, and Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata including age-by-parity relations, birth interval, frequency distribution of individual egg production levels and the concentration of reproduction among females in a cohort. Specific findings include: i) delay in reproductive peaks in a cohort after eclosion is due almost entirely to the variance in attainment of reproductive maturity among individuals; ii) low reproductive output of reproductively mature melon flies is due mostly to long birth intervals; iii) high egg production in both the medfly and the oriental fruit fly is due to their consistency of egg laying levels and frequency (short birth intervals). Discussion stresses the importance of viewing reproduction, not as a singular and discrete life history trait, but as consisting of subcomponents of daily parity, cumulative parity and birth interval.

---

Résumé Les informations sur la reproduction ont été obtenues à partir d'adultes de Dacus dorsalis, D. cucurbitae, C. capitata, élevés individuellement. Elles portent sur les paramètres suivants: distribution par âge en fonction de la fécondité, échelonnement des pontes, distribution des niveaux quotidiens de ponte, fréquence des pondeuses par cohorte.Différents caractères spécifiques ont été mis en évidence: 1) La variabilité de la date d'apparition de la maturité reproductive est pour l'essentiel responsable du retard dans les dates de reproduction maximale; 2) De 30 à 50% des femelles de D. dorsalis âgées de 10 jours pondent plus de 50 oeufs/jour pendant les deux semaines qui suivent, tandis que seulement 10 à 20% des femelles des deux autres espèces parviennent à pondre cette quantité d'oeufs à n'importe quel âge; 3) D. cucurbitae ayant atteint sa maturité pond environ pendant 40% des jours (c.à.d. chaque 2,5 j), tandis que les deux autres espèces pondent au moins quelques oeufs pendant 80% des jours (c.à.d. chaque 1,25 j); 4) La production élevée d'oeufs de C. capitata et de D. dorsalis est due à la régularité de leur niveau de ponte et à la fréquence (faible espacement); 5) Les fractions des effectifs qui ont pondu au moins 600 oeufs en 30 jours étaient approximativement de 0,8, 0,7, et 0,4 pour D. dorsalis, C. capitata, D. cucurbitae; 6) 50% des femelles de chacune des trois espèces contribuent en gros pour 65% à la ponte.

     

植物提取物和常用药剂对蚜虫重要天敌瓢虫孵化、存活和捕食效能的影响

为解决目前化学合成杀虫剂长期大量使用所带来的“3R”问题 ,有必要从对人畜无毒或低毒、对害虫天敌安全的植物和其它天然产物中筛选与环境相容性好的物质作为害虫控制的手段。已经从 63种植物中筛选出两种对蔬菜蚜虫有较好控制作用的植物苍耳 Xanthium sibiricum Petr.et Widd.和白蝴蝶Syngonium podophyllum Schott。报道该两种植物乙醇提取物以及几种常用天然源药剂 (鱼藤酮精、机油乳剂和 0 .3%印楝素乳油 )对深圳菜区蚜虫重要天敌瓢虫 (六斑月瓢虫 Menochilussexmaculata( Fabricius)和狭臀瓢虫 Coccinella trasversalis Fabricius)的影响。结果表明 ,两种植物提取物 ( 0 .0 4 g DW/ml)对所测试瓢虫的孵化、存活和捕食效能与对照之间在 0 .0 1或 0 .0 5水平均无显著差异 ,表明两种植物提取物对瓢虫安全、无明显毒性。而鱼藤酮精 ( 80 0× )、机油乳剂 ( 4 0 0× )和 0 .3%印楝素乳油 ( 2 0 0 0× )在所测试的浓度对瓢虫卵的毒性较强 ,瓢虫卵的孵化率明显降低 ,仅有对照瓢虫卵孵化率的 7.74%～ 1 4.31 % ,因此应避免在田间瓢虫大量产卵的季节使用。苍耳和白蝴蝶提取物对蚜虫的重要天敌瓢虫没有负面影响 ,可以考虑作为保护十字花科蔬菜免遭蚜虫危害的植物保护剂配方。     

蜜蜂褪黑素的测定方法

在脊椎动物中,褪黑素(5-甲氧基-N-乙酰色胺,MLT)是一种由松果体分泌的具有典型光周期信号作用的神经内分泌激素。近年在昆虫头部也发现了这种化学物质。该文简述了褪黑素常见测定方法,详细介绍了褪黑素的免疫测定方法RIA(radionimmunoassay),并使用该方法初步测定了中华蜜蜂ApisceranaFabricius工蜂头部褪黑素的含量,结果显示褪黑素含量与工蜂的社会分工相关。     

Intercropping cucumber with amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.) to suppress populations of major insect pests of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

A study was conducted in 2007 and 2008 to investigate the effectiveness of grain amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.) planted at different times in an amaranth/cucumber intercrop to reduce the density of cucumber insect pests. Cucumber varieties, Marketmore and hybrid F_1, were established from seed as a monocrop or intercropped with amaranth, and with amaranth established at two weeks before cucumber (2 WBC) on the same day as cucumber (SDC) or two weeks after cucumber (2 WAC). The population of cucumber beetles and fruit flies was lower with amaranth established 2 WBC and SDC than with 2 WAC. Populations of the insects were influenced by cropping system and time of introducing amaranth. Fruit damage by cucumber beetles and fruit flies was lower with 2 WBC and SDC than with 2 WAC. However, the damage was reduced in the intercrop compared with the monocropped cucumber. With SDC, the reduction was about 75 and 50% in 2007 and 2008, respectively. In intercrops and monocrops, cucumber fruit yield was influenced by the time of inter-cropping; in the mono- and inter-crop, the highest yield was with SDC. The highest land equivalent ratios for cucumber were 1.0 and 0.7 in 2007 and 2008, respectively, with SDC. Planting amaranth and cucumber on the same day (SDC) achieved effective control of cucumber insect pests.     

中华蜂体内放线菌的分离、多样性及抗菌活性研究

【目的】探索药用昆虫中华蜂(Apis cerana cerana Fabricius)体内可培养放线菌的分离方法,研究其物种多样性及抗菌活性,挖掘更多微生物资源。【方法】选用7种分离培养基对中华蜂样品体内放线菌进行分离;通过采用16S rRNA PCR-RFLP和16S rRNA基因序列分析方法研究其多样性;选用4种致病菌对菌株进行抗菌活性初探。【结果】共分离得到180株放线菌,根据菌落的形态和细胞特征观察结果,从中选取84株作为代表菌株,其分属于3个目、4个科中的4个属,其中6株为潜在新种;最适的表面消毒方法:浓度为0.2%的Cl O2(二氧化氯)作为消毒剂,作用60 s;拮抗实验显示,31.0%、48.8%、27.4%、16.7%的代表菌株分别对大肠杆菌、枯草芽孢杆菌、玉米弯孢病菌、西瓜枯萎病菌有不同程度的抗菌活性,71.4%的代表菌株对至少一种病原菌有拮抗作用。【结论】分离方法的选择对昆虫体内放线菌的分离效果影响较大;中华蜂体内放线菌具有丰富的多样性,展现出很好的抗菌活性,表明其在发现新型生物活性物质中具有很大的潜力。     

大尺度生态景观对麦长管蚜迁入的影响

【目的】解析不同生态景观对于麦长管蚜Sitobion avenae(Fabricius)迁飞和降落的影响,为预测预报提供科学指导。【方法】在麦长管蚜迁入期,选取了多个山脉、河流、湖泊等典型的大生态景观,抽样调查其周围麦田中麦长管蚜有翅成蚜的百株蚜量。【结果】调查显示,有翅成蚜量山的南侧比北侧多,而湖泊和河流附近的有翅成蚜量一般少于远处。山脉对麦长管蚜有翅成蚜迁入有明显阻挡作用,高海拔地区有利于有翅成蚜的迁入,孤山也对有翅成蚜迁入降落存在影响,虽然河流和湖泊对有翅成蚜的迁飞不会产生生态阻隔,但河流和湖泊景观附近不利于有翅成蚜的降落。【结论】大尺度生态景观对麦长管蚜的迁入具有明显影响,不同的生态景观类型影响程度存在差异。     

The relationship between the amount of insect-repelling phenolic compounds in pennywort tea and the number of infesting cigarette beetles in the tea bag during one-year storage

Cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (F.), is a common food-product pest widely found in homes. This paper investigated the relationship between the number of infesting cigarette beetles and the phenolic content of pennywort tea made from young and mature leaves during one-year storage. It was found that cigarette beetles started to appear in tea bags after six months of storage. More adults were found than larvae and pupae. In addition, the number of cigarette beetles infesting pennywort tea made from mature leaves was higher than when it was made from young leaves. The amount of phenolic compounds in pennywort tea was analyzed by Folin–Ciocalteau assay. The results of a regression analysis indicated that the number of adult cigarette beetles correlated negatively with the amount of phenolic compounds in pennywort tea made from young leaves – when the total phenolic content decreased, the number of infesting cigarette beetles increased (r² = 0.80). The number of larvae and pupae showed a weak negative correlation with the amount of phenolic compounds (r² = 0.40 and r² = 0.56, respectively). Similar correlations were found in pennywort tea made from mature leaves, but the number of infesting beetles was higher due to the lower phenolic content of the mature leaves.     

The evolution of immune defense and song complexity in birds

Abstract There are three main hypotheses that explain how the evolution of parasite virulence could be linked to the evolution of secondary sexual traits, such as bird song. First, as Hamilton and Zuk proposed a role for parasites in sexual selection, female preference for healthy males in heavily parasitized species may result in extravagant trait expression. Second, a reverse causal mechanism may act, if sexual selection affects the coevolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions per se by selecting for increased virulence. Third, the immuno-suppressive effects of ornamentation by testosterone or limited resources may lead to increased susceptibility to parasites in species with elaborate songs. Assuming a coevolutionary relationship between parasite virulence and host investment in immune defense we used measures of immune function and song complexity to test these hypotheses in a comparative study of passerine birds. Under the first two hypotheses we predicted avian song complexity to be positively related to immune defense among species, whereas this relationship was expected to be negative if immuno-suppression was at work. We found that adult T-cell mediated immune response and the relative size of the bursa of Fabricius were independently positively correlated with a measure of song complexity, even when potentially confounding variables were held constant. Nestling T-cell response was not related to song complexity, probably reflecting age-dependent selective pressures on host immune defense. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that predict a positive relationship between song complexity and immune function, thus indicating a role for parasites in sexual selection. Different components of the immune system may have been independently involved in this process.