Olfactometric evidence for aggregation pheromone production by females of the four-eyed fir bark beetle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polygraphus proximus</Emphasis> Blandf. (Coleoptera,Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Chemical communication of the four-eyed fir bark beetle Polygraphus proximus Blandf., an aggressive invasive pest of the Siberian fir Abies sibirica Ledeb., was experimentally studied using a four-way olfactometer of a modified design, in which the tested insects were allowed to move on their own from a lightproof plastic container onto the lighted arena. Young hibernated adults of P. proximus were offered four variants of odor: fir log segments infested with (1) 10 males, (2) 10 females, (3) 10 couples of P. proximus, and (4) clean air as the control. The pheromone of P. proximus was shown to be produced by females; a similar response of both sexes characterized it as an aggregation pheromone. All the three variants with infested fir logs were much more attractive than the control variant with clean air. Volatiles from fir tissues not only seem to serve as markers facilitating host selection by the first-to-arrive beetles before direct contact with the tree bark, but also to be used as pheromone precursors or synergists. The absence of difference in response to the logs infested with males and couples of the bark beetle indicated that pheromone synthesis was inhibited after couple formation.     

Female Responses to Synthetic Pheromone and Plant Compounds in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agriotes brevis</Emphasis> Candeze (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Traps baited with synthetic pheromone components of Agriotes brevis [geranyl butanoate + (E,E)-farnesyl butanoate] captured significantly higher numbers of not only male, but also female beetles, compared to unbaited controls. Catches of both sexes showed a clear positive relationship with increasing doses. In electroantennogram tests, antennal responses of females and males to a number of known Agriotes pheromone components, identified from pheromone glands, showed a similar trend, with geranyl butanoate eliciting the strongest responses. This suggests that the female and male A. brevis antennae are similar with respect to the perception of pheromone compounds, and female beetles have the sensory capabilities to perceive the pheromone components which they produce. Addition of the plant-derived compounds (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, methyl benzoate, (Z)-3-hexenol and methyl salicylate (identified earlier from foliage as attractive for A. brevis) to the synthetic pheromone significantly increased catches. All the above results suggest that geranyl butanoate and (E,E)-farnesyl butanoate are constituents of an aggregation pheromone of A. brevis, in contrast to the general view of click beetle pheromones being “classical” sex pheromones. These findings could be useful for more precise monitoring and forecasting of damage, based on female catches.     

Pine wilt disease and possible causes of its incidence in Russia

Surveys of forests and stockpiled timber of pine, spruce, larch, and silver fir in 14 administrative subjects of the Russian Federation revealed widespread occurrence of the coniferous wood parasitic nematode Bursaphelenchus mucronatus. Twenty species of bacteria belonging to 13 genera have been detected in 25 B. mucronatus isolates, and their identity has been determined by direct sequencing of the 16S RNA gene. The most frequently occurring were bacteria from the genera Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Pantoea, Bacillus, Burkholderia, and Serratia. Prevalence of Pseudomonas brenneri and P. fluorescence, which were also found in the nematode dauer larva (L_IV) isolated from the fir sawyer beetle Monochamus urussovi, have also been assessed. Two nematode B. xylophilus isolates from Portugal and one isolate from the United States have been examined, and 10 symbiotic bacteria species have been isolated, including Agrobacterium tumefacience, P. fluorescens, P. brenneri, Rahnella aquatilis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, S. rhizophila, and Yersinia mollaretii.     

Effects of insecticide application on parasitism rates of pollen beetle larvae (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassicogethes aeneus</Emphasis> (Fabricius)) by tersilochine parasitoids

Larval parasitoids can substantially reduce the population density of the pollen beetle [Brassicogethes aeneus (Fabricius), syn. Meligethes aeneus (Fabricius)]. The most abundant tersilochine parasitoids of pollen beetle are Tersilochus heterocerus, Phradis interstitialis and P. morionellus. The main activity of these parasitoids was observed in the period shortly before flowering to full flowering of oilseed rape. Insecticide applications during this period may have negative effects on parasitoids. In the present study, the effects of the insecticides Biscaya (a.i. thiacloprid), Mavrik (a.i. tau-fluvalinate) and Karate Zeon (a.i. lambda-cyhalothrin) applied during the bud or flowering stage of winter oilseed rape on parasitization of pollen beetle larvae by T. heterocerus were studied in 12 field trials at different locations in Germany in 2013–2015. The effects on parasitism by Phradis spp. were assessed in 2015. Parasitism of pollen beetle larvae by T. heterocerus was found in all field trials in all experimental years, but in most trials not before full flowering. Maximum percentage of parasitized larvae at different locations ranged between 3.4 and 16.8% in 2013, 8.3 and 22.4% in 2014 and from 11.1 to 29.1% in 2015. Levels of parasitism were not significantly different between the untreated control and insecticide treatments within each location. In contrast to T. heterocerus, Phradis spp. was not detected at all locations and not before flowering declining. In field trials at Lucklum and Puch, the maximum level of parasitism by Phradis spp. was 9.4 and 18.3%, respectively. No significant effect of insecticide application on parasitism by Phradis spp. was observed between the treatments. The results of this study showed that the insecticides used in the field trials did not affect parasitization of pollen beetle larvae by T. heterocerus and Phradis spp., regardless whether applied at the bud stage, at the beginning of flowering or full flowering.     

Beetles (Coleoptera) associated with the polypore <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daedaleopsis confragosa</Emphasis> (Bolton: Fr.) J. Schrot (Basidiomycetes,Aphyllophorales) in Forests of the Urals and Transurals

The beetle complex associated with Daedaleopsis confragosa (Bolton: Fr.) Schrot. (Basidiomycetes, Aphyllophorales) in the Urals and Transurals is characterized. A total of 54 species of 16 families were found in this complex, the commonest species including Cis comptus Gyll., Sulcacis affinis (Gyll.) (Ciidae), Tritoma subbasalis (Rtt.), Dacne bipustulata Thunb. (Erotylidae), Mycetophagus multipunctatus F., M. piceus (F.) (Mycetophagidae), and Thymalus oblongus Rtt. (Trogossitidae). The main trends of the ecological and trophic specialization of the mycetophilic beetles are discussed; some features of formation of their complexes at different stages of the tree-fungi fruit bodies formation were established.     

Coleoptera associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitopsis pinicola</Emphasis> (Sw.:Fr.) Karst. (Basidiomycetes,Aphyllophorales) in the forests of the Urals and Transurals

A detailed characteristic of the beetle fauna associated with Fomitopsis pinicola (Sw.: Fr.) Karst. (Basidiomycetes, Aphyllophorales) in the Urals and Transurals is given. Thirty species from 14 families have been revealed, the commonest species including Eridaulus jacquemarti Mel., Ennearthron laricinum (Mel.) (Ciidae), Dorcatoma dresdensis Hbst., D. lomnickii Rtt., D. punctulata Muls. (Anobiidae), Diaperis boleti (L.) (Tenebrionidae), Scaphisoma agaricinum (L.), S. inopinatum Löbl, S. subalpinum Rtt. (Scaphidiidae), Ostoma ferruginea (L.), and Peltis grossa (L.) (Peltidae). The main trends in the ecological and trophic specialization of mycetophilous beetles are discussed, and some regularities of formation of mycetophilous complexes at different stages of the trees fungi fruit body development are revealed.     

Reproduction and potential range expansion of walnut twig beetle across the Juglandaceae

Biological invasions by insects that vector plant pathogens have altered the composition of natural and urban forests. Thousand cankers disease is a new, recent example and is caused by the complex of walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, and the fungus, Geosmithia morbida, on susceptible hosts, notably some Juglans spp. and Pterocarya spp. Host colonization by P. juglandis may be particularly important for disease development, but the beetle’s host range is not known. In the United States and Italy, this insect has expanded its geographic range by colonizing naïve hosts. The objective of this study was to characterize limits to, and variation within, the host range of P. juglandis and infer the extent to which hosts might constrain the geographic distribution of the insect. We examined colonization and reproduction by P. juglandis in no-choice laboratory experiments with 11 Juglans spp., one Pterocarya sp., and two Carya spp. over 2 years and found that all but the Carya spp. were hosts. Reproduction was generally greater on Juglans californica, J. hindsii, and J. nigra, than on J. ailantifolia, J. cathayensis, J. cinerea, J. major, J. mandshurica, J. microcarpa, or J. regia. Escape of an insect vector into populations of evolutionary-naïve hosts can facilitate rapid range expansion by the pest and massive mortality to hosts. Multi-continental plantings of suitable species may facilitate geographic range expansion of P. juglandis and place other, native Juglans spp. at risk.     

Additions to the check list of bark beetles (Coleoptera,Curculionidae: Scolytinae) from Leningrad Province,Russia

The field work of the authors during the last 16 years in both the western and the eastern parts of Leningrad Province, Russia, has resulted in the addition of 7 species to the regional list of bark beetles, namely: Hylurgus ligniperda F., Crypturgus subcribrosus Egg., Pityogenes irkutensis Egg., Scolytus mali Bechst., S. scolytus F., S. pygmaeus F., and Xyleborinus attenuatus Blandf. Of these species, P. irkutensis occurs only in the eastern districts of Leningrad Province, C. subcribrosus, over the whole territory, and the remaining species, only in the western districts. We suggest excluding Polygraphus proximus Blandf. from the regional faunal list. As a result, the updated list of the bark beetle species of Leningrad Province comprises 75 taxa. New data on findings of rare species in the region are considered.     

Taxonomy and pathogenicity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptographium</Emphasis> species associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ips subelongatus</Emphasis> infestations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix</Emphasis> spp. in northern China,including two new species

The larch bark beetle (Ips subelongatus), which occurs in larch plantations over a vast area of eastern Asia, infects both dying and fallen trees. When its population reaches a high density, the beetle may also infect healthy trees, resulting in tree decline and, eventually, death. Leptographium spp., in both their sexual and asexual states, are mainly associated with conifer-infesting bark beetles; some species are important tree pathogens. The aims of this study were to identify the Leptographium spp. associated with I. subelongatus infestations of Larix spp. in northern China and to examine their pathogenicity towards the tree. Morphological studies and phylogenetic approaches based on multilocus DNA sequence data (ITS2- partial r28S, partial β-tubulin, and EF-1α gene regions) showed that three Leptographium species occur in association with I. subelongatus in the areas investigated: Leptographium taigense, which is recorded in China for the first time, and two new species, namely L. innermongolicum sp. nov. and L. zhangii sp. nov. Leptographium innermongolicum is closely related to L. taigense, whereas L. zhangii belongs to the Grosmannia piceaperda species complex. The pathogenicity of these Leptographium species towards mature Larix spp. was tested by stem inoculation in forests. All inoculations only resulted in small lesions on the inner bark; therefore, the three Leptographium species were not considered to be pathogenic.     

Dynamic associations between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ips sexdentatus</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) and its phoretic mites in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus pinaster</Emphasis> forest in northwest Spain

The relationship between the pine bark beetle Ips sexdentatus and its phoretic mites in a Pinus pinaster forest in northwest Spain was studied during 2014. Four species of mites were collected, three of them from the body of the beetle—Histiostoma ovalis, Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus and Trichouropoda polytricha—the fourth, Cercoleipus coelonotus, was collected from the sediments. The main aims of this study were to explore (1) mite diversity and related parameters, (2) the location on the body of the (male and female) beetle, as well as mite assemblages, and (3) the seasonal dynamic association between mite species and the beetle. Results indicated that the diversity oscillated around 0.71 through the study period and the most dominant, frequent and abundant mite was H. ovalis. Histiostoma ovalis was found attached to almost all parts of the body (mainly on the elytral declivity and ventral thorax), whereas D. quadrisetus was exclusively found under the elytra, and T. polytricha displayed affinity towards the elytral declivity as well as the ventral thorax. None of the mite species displayed any preference for the sex of the beetle and the most frequent mite assemblage was H. ovalis, T. polytricha and D. quadrisetus all together. Maximum abundance of each phoretic mite species was related with each of the flight peaks of the beetle that would indicate that these mite species use phoresy as a primary method of transport for colonizing new food sources.     

Compatibility and efficacy of the lady beetle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thalassa montezumae</Emphasis> and the entomopathogenic fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isaria fumosorosea</Emphasis> for biological control of the green croton scale: laboratory and greenhouse investigations

The lady beetle Thalassa montezumae and the entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea (Ifr) were assessed alone and in combination to suppress green croton scale, Phalacrococcus howertoni, populations on croton plants using laboratory bioassays and greenhouse cage studies. The acquisition of Ifr blastospores by beetle larvae (3rd instar) and adults during contamination in well plates was used to simulate exposure to direct spraying and subsequent possible fungal infection was assessed. Spore dispersal by the insects was determined after the blastospore-contaminated T. montezumae life stages roamed on agar plates for 24 h by counting the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) produced in the plates. There were no significant differences in survival times at 14 days post-treatment between beetle larvae and adults exposed to Ifr and those exposed to water only. Mean survival time of larvae exposed to Ifr was 14 days and water 12 days, whereas for adults it was 13 days compared to 13 days, respectively. Plates with Ifr blastospore-contaminated T. montezumae adults roaming on the agar surface displayed significantly more fungal trails as CFUs compared to plates with larvae. In greenhouse cage studies, the mean mortality rates of the scale exposed to beetle larvae, either alone (80.8%) or in combination with Ifr (89.1%), were not significantly different. Scale mortality rates in the fungus-only (60.5%) and beetle larvae-only treatments were statistically similar. The treatment with both biocontrol agents had a significantly higher scale mortality rate compared to the treatment with Ifr only. Therefore, spraying Ifr prior to releasing T. montezumae is an effective and compatible biological control strategy for management of the green croton scale on croton plants.     

Identification and Pathogenicity of Fungal Pathogens Causing Black Point in Wheat on the North China Plain

Fungi associated with black point were isolated from three highly susceptible wheat genotypes in the North China Plain. The 21 isolates represented 11 fungal genera. The most prevalent genera were Alternaria (isolation frequency of 56.7%), Bipolaris (16.1%), and Fusarium (6.0%). The other eight genera were Curvularia, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Exserohilum, Epicoccum, Nigrospora, Penicillium, and Ulocladium; their isolation frequencies ranged from 0.8 to 4.8%. The pathogenicity of the isolates was individually assessed in the greenhouse by inoculating wheat plants with spore suspensions. Ten of the 21 isolates caused significantly higher incidences of black point than that the controls. These isolates belonged to eight fungal species (A. alternata, B. sorokiniana, B. crotonis, B. cynodontis, C. spicifera, F. equiseti, E. rostratum, and E. sorghinum) based on morphological traits and phylogenetic analysis. The average incidences of black point in the eight fungal species were 32.4, 54.3, 43.0, 41.9, 37.2, 38.8, 50.1, and 34.1%, respectively. B. sorokiniana and A. alternata were determined to be the most important pathogens in the North China Plain based on fungal prevalence and symptom severity. This study is the first to identify E. rostratum as a major pathogen causing black point in wheat.     

Comparative analysis of immune responses in Colorado potato beetle larvae during development of mycoses caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Metarhizium robertsii</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. brunneum</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. pemphigi</Emphasis>

Development of mycoses and progress of humoral and cellular immune responses were compared in larvae of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata infected with entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium robertsii, M. brunneum and M. pemphigi. The larvae were found to be highly susceptible to the strains of M. robertsii and M. brunneum but weakly responsive to M. pemphigi. The extent of susceptibility to the pathogens was not related to the stimulating effect of epicuticular extracts on fungal growth. Metarhizium pemphigi, which is non-specific to the Colorado potato beetle, did not cause any significant changes in the immune response and did not colonize the hemocoel. When infected with M. robertsii and M. brunneum, the larvae exhibited an increase in hemocyte count during the early stage of mycosis (day 2) followed by a drastic decrease on day 3. The immunocompetent cells, plasmatocytes and granulocytes, exhibited the greatest decrease. Elevated phenoloxidase activity was recorded in the hemolymph and cuticle on days 2 and 3 post-infection. These changes in the immune responses correlated with strain-specific virulence. Thus, the immune response in Colorado potato beetle larvae is an important factor, which determines differences in the development of mycoses caused by different Metarhizium species.     

Nutritional symbionts of a putative vector, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xyleborus bispinatus</Emphasis>, of the laurel wilt pathogen of avocado, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Raffaelea lauricola</Emphasis>

Ambrosia beetles subsist on fungal symbionts that they carry to, and cultivate in, their natal galleries. These symbionts are usually saprobes, but some are phytopathogens. Very few ambrosial symbioses have been studied closely, and little is known about roles that phytopathogenic symbionts play in the life cycles of these beetles. One of the latter symbionts, Raffaelea lauricola, causes laurel wilt of avocado, Persea americana, but its original ambrosia beetle partner, Xyleborus glabratus, plays an uncertain role in this pathosystem. We examined the response of a putative, alternative vector of R. lauricola, Xyleborus bispinatus, to artificial diets of R. lauricola and other ambrosia fungi. Newly eclosed, unfertilized females of X. bispinatus were reared in no-choice assays on one of five different symbionts or no symbiont. Xyleborus bispinatus developed successfully on R. lauricola, R. arxii, R. subalba and R. subfusca, all of which had been previously recovered from field-collected females of X. bispinatus. However, no development was observed in the absence of a symbiont or on another symbiont, Ambrosiella roeperi, recovered from another ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus crassiusculus. In the no-choice assays, mycangia of foundress females of X. bispinatus harbored significant colony-forming units of, and natal galleries that they produced were colonized with, the respective Raffaelea symbionts; with each of these fungi, reproduction, fecundity and survival of the beetle were positively impacted. However, no fungus was recovered from, and reproduction did not occur on, the A. roeperi and no symbiont diets. These results highlight the flexible nature of the ambrosial symbiosis, which for X. bispinatus includes a fungus with which it has no evolutionary history. Although the “primary” symbiont of the neotropical X. bispinatus is unclear, it is not the Asian R. lauricola.     

Defense Responses and Changes in Symbiotic Gut Microflora in the Colorado Potato Beetle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptinotarsa decemlineata</Emphasis> under the Effect of Endophytic Bacteria from the Genus Bacillus

Phytophagous insects and host plants have a complex of microsymbionts and make up a united co-evolving system with them. Microsymbiotic complexes are actively involved in stress responses of macrosymbionts. We established that a treatment of potato plants with endophytic bacterial strains Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis-5689, B. th. var. kurstaki-5351, and Bacillus subtilis 26D decreased the survival rate of the plant feeder, Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say. The B. th. strains suppressed phenoloxidase and acetylcholinesterase activities in the beetle hemolymph. An antagonistic relationship was found between endophytic bacteria B. subtilis 26D and beetle symbiotic bacteria from the genera Acinetobacter and Enterobacter, with the former being able to suppress the growth of endophytic colonies. The recombinant B. subtilis strain 26D Cry, containing the B. th. var. kurstaki δ-endotoxin cry1Ia gene, combined the ability of the original B. subtilis 26D strain to suppress the development of beetle symbionts and immune responses with a production of the Cry toxin, thus leading to a high mortality of the phytophage.     

Triassic radiolarians of Kotel’nyi Island (New Siberian Islands,Arctic)

Triassic radiolarians from Kotel’nyi Island (New Siberian Islands, Arctic Region) are studied. Radiolarians occur in the Middle and Upper Triassic beds, which are well dated by ammonoids, nautiloids, and bivalves. In the Middle Triassic beds, which are composed of dark gray and black clays and claystones with interbeds of combustible schist, siltstone, clayey limestone, and many phosphatic concretions, the following two assemblages are recognized: (1) a Late Anisian assemblage, including Glomeropyle clavatum Bragin, sp. nov., G. boreale Bragin, G. manihepuaensis Aita, G. insulanum Bragin, sp. nov., Triassospongosphaera multispinosa (Kozur et Mostler), Tetraspongodiscus hibernus Bragin, sp. nov., T. borealis Bragin, sp. nov., Eptingium abditum Bragin, sp. nov., E. manfredi Dumitrica, Spongostephanidium japonicum (Nakaseko et Nishimura), and Ladinocampe vicentinensis Kozur et Mostler; (2) Late Ladinian assemblage, with Muelleritortis firma (Gorican), M. kotelnyensis Bragin, sp. nov., Tiborella nivea Bragin, sp. nov., Pseudostylosphaera goestlingensis (Kozur et Mostler), P. omolonica Bragin, Triassospongosphaera multispinosa (Kozur et Mostler), Sarla cincinnata Bragin, sp. nov., S. obscura Bragin, sp. nov., S. prava Bragin, sp. nov., and Eonapora stiriaca Bragin, sp. nov. The Upper Triassic beds, composed of gray and black clays and claystones with lenses of clayey limestones, with sideritic and phosphatic-calciferous concretions have yielded (1) an Early Carnian assemblage, with Pentactinocarpus colum Bragin, sp. nov., Glomeropyle cuneum Bragin, sp. nov., G. algidum Bragin, sp. nov., G. aculeatum Bragin, sp. nov., Kahlerosphaera isopleura Bragin, sp. nov., Stauracanthocircus folium Bragin, sp. nov., Tetraspongodiscus uncatus Bragin, sp. nov., Poulpus costatus (Kozur et Mostler), Eonapora robusta Kozur et Mostler, Planispinocyrtis kotelnyensis Bragin, sp. nov., Annulotriassocampe baldii (Kozur), and Pseudoeucyrtis annosus Bragin, sp. nov.; (2) a Middle-Late Carnian assemblage with Pseudostylosphaera glabella Bragin, sp. nov., P. gracilis Kozur et Mock, P. voluta Bragin, sp. nov., P. gelida Bragin, sp. nov., Kahlerosphaera unca Bragin, sp. nov., K. aspinosa Kozur et Mock, K. fuscinula Bragin, sp. nov., K. acris Bragin, sp. nov., Capnuchosphaera kuzmichevi Bragin, sp. nov., C. triassica De Wever, C. angusta Bragin, sp. nov., Sarla intorta Bragin, sp. nov., S. compressa Bragin, sp. nov., S. aequipeda Bragin, sp. nov., Betraccium irregulare Bragin, B. kotelnyensis Bragin, sp. nov., Spongotortilispinus carnicus Kozur et Mostler, S. subtilis Bragin, sp. nov., Dumitricasphaera simplex Tekin, D. aberrata Bragin, sp. nov., D. arbustiva Bragin, sp. nov., Zhamojdasphaera epipeda Bragin, sp. nov., Z. proceruspinosa Kozur et Mostler, Vinassaspongus subsphaericus Kozur et Mostler, Palaeosaturnalis triassicus Kozur et Mostler, Paronaella concreta Bragin, sp. nov., P. aquilonia Bragin, sp. nov., Tetraspongodiscus cincinnalis Bragin, sp. nov., Annulotriassocampe baldii (Kozur), Canoptum zetangense Wang et Yang, Whalenella speciosa (Blome), Syringocapsa turgida Blome, Droltus gelidus Bragin, sp. nov., and D. niveus Bragin, sp. nov.; (3) an Early Norian assemblage with Pseudostylosphaera glabella Bragin, sp. nov., P. gelida Bragin, sp. nov., P. voluta Bragin, sp. nov., Kahlerosphaera retunsa Bragin, sp. nov., Capnuchosphaera deweveri Kozur et Mostler, Sarla globosa Bragin, sp. nov., Palaeosaturnalis mocki Kozur et Mostler, Paronaella aquilonia Bragin, sp. nov., Syringocapsa turgida Blome, and Droltus gelidus Bragin, sp. nov.; (4) a Middle Norian assemblage with Sarla globosa Bragin, sp. nov., Sarla sp., Syringocapsa turgida Blome, Canoptum sp., and Laxtorum? sp. The fact that these assemblages include taxa that are recorded more southerly, including paleotropical localities, and support dating based on mollusks, enables the use of these data for Boreal-Tethyan correlation. The greatest similarity to Tethyan associations is observed in the Late Carnian and Early Norian, that is, the periods of the greatest penetration of thermophilic mollusks into this basin. A total of 69 radiolarian species of 3 orders, 18 families, and 29 genera are described; 44 species are newly described; the stratigraphic and geographical ranges of the majority of taxa are improved considerably.     

Fullerene transformations as analogues of radiolarian skeleton microevolution

The analogy in the structures of fullerenes (i.e., polyhedral molecules with only the pentagonal and hexagonal facets) and radiolarian skeletons (Heliosphaera inermis, H. tenuissima, H. actinota, H. echinoides, H. elegans; Circogonia dodecahedra; Haliomma capillaceum, Ethmosphaera siphonophora Hkl., etc.) is briefly considered. Modern chemical methods allow fullerenes to be changed to desirable forms, e.g., the most symmetrical and, therefore, stable ones. The computer algorithms (e.g., SW-transformations) divide the variety of fullerenes-isomers into the classes of equivalency. The hypothesis is stated that the transformations of fullerenes simulate the radiolarian skeleton microevolution, while the classes of equivalency are of taxonomic significance.     

Flies (Diptera) Associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polygraphus proximus</Emphasis> Blandford, 1894 (Coleoptera,Curculionidae) in Siberia and the Russian Far East

The faunal composition of Diptera (Insecta) inhabiting the galleries of Polygraphus proximus over the territory of Siberia and the Russian Far East was studied. As a result, 14 species of Diptera were discovered representing 8 families. Within its secondary range, the invasive beetle P. proximus Blandford, 1894 is affected not only by the well-known introduced species Medetera penicillata Negrobov, 1970 but also by numerous other widespread predatory flies, such as Medetera excellens Frey, 1909, M. pinicola Kowarz, 1877, Xylophagus cinctus (De Geer, 1776), and Toxoneura ephippium (Zettersted, 1860). Four predatory fly species, M. penicillata, M. signaticornis Loew, 1857, Lonchaea bukowskii Czerny, 1934, and Xylophagus sachalinensis (Pleske, 1925), affect P. proximus within its native range in the Russian Far East. Data on the predation of each species of Diptera on several species of bark beetles testify to their polyphagy. Saprophagous larvae of Dicranomyia modesta (Meigen, 1818), Chalcosyrphus piger (Fabricius, 1794), Xylosciara lignicola (Winnertz, 1867), and Pseudolycoriella unispina (Mohrig et Krivosheina, 1983) were discovered in bark beetle galleries for the first time.