红火蚁自然种群耐寒性的研究

为综合评价红火蚁Solenopsis invicta Buren的抗寒能力, 依据2005-2006年在深圳野外获得的红火蚁自然种群测定了其不同品级及虫态的过冷却点和低温处理后的存活率。研究结果表明：红火蚁各品级及其3个虫态的过冷却点之间存在显著差异。工蚁与雌、雄有翅蚁之间的过冷却点不存在差异, 而雌、雄有翅蚁之间的过冷却点存在差异;不同虫态过冷却点大小依次为蛹﹤成虫﹤幼虫。红火蚁自然种群在越冬前后存在过冷却点波动的现象, 表现为从10月份开始红火蚁野外种群的过冷却点开始逐渐下降, 在2月份达到最低, 为-12.68℃, 3月份回升到-9.51℃。红火蚁低温下的存活率S^T与低温暴露温度T和暴露时间t之间的关系均符合逻辑斯谛曲线方程。当处理时间为0.5 h, 红火蚁在-14℃时存活率为15.3%;当处理时间为1, 2和4 h, 工蚁在处理温度分别为-13, -9和-9℃才可全部致死。当处理温度为-10℃, 需要经过240 min工蚁才全部死亡, 在-11℃, 则需要120 min。相同低温的不同变幅和持续作用对工蚁的存活有较大的影响。总体来说, 经过相同的处理时间, 低温变幅越大存活率越低, 而且存活率降至0所需要的时间也不同, 4±9℃处理时在经过9 d即降为0, 而4±0℃处理则要长于15 d。与对照相比, 4±6℃和4±9℃处理4 d能显著提高工蚁在低温下的存活率。结果提示,不同变幅的持续低温作用对红火蚁的抗寒能力有着驯化作用, 红火蚁对极端气候有较强的适应能力。     

桔小实蝇不同发育阶段过冷却点的测定

对桔小实蝇Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)不同发育阶段的过冷却点进行了测定。结果表明：同一虫期个体间的过冷却点出现不同程度的变异,但均服从正态分布。不同虫期的过冷却点差异显著,其中蛹的过冷却点最低（-12.2℃～-15.0℃）。老熟幼虫的过冷却点为-8.1℃。成虫的过冷却点最低值为7日龄雄虫（-10.5℃）和雌虫（-10.1℃）,最高值为60日龄雄虫（-5.9℃）和雌虫（-6.4℃）,但同一发育时期的雌、雄成虫之间的过冷却点没有差异。测定结果提示蛹期最有可能是该虫在温带地区越冬的虫态。     

寄主植物对南亚果实蝇过冷却点和体液冰点的影响

南亚果实蝇Zeugodacus tau(Walker)是一种世界性的重要检疫害虫,严重危害多种水果和瓜菜。为明确寄主植物对南亚果实蝇耐寒性的影响,本文利用过冷却点仪,对取食苦瓜Momordica charantia L.、黄瓜Cucumis sativus L.、丝瓜Luffa aegyptiaca Miller和杧果Mangifera indica L.的南亚果实蝇5个发育阶段的过冷却点和体液冰点进行了测定。结果显示：每一组寄主植物上的5个发育阶段中,南亚果实蝇5日龄蛹的过冷却点和体液冰点均为最低,显著低于1日龄蛹、幼虫和成虫;不同寄主南亚果实蝇同一发育阶段的过冷却点和体液冰点存在显著差异,均值分别为-23.97～-8.06℃和-14.02～-0.59℃,其中取食苦瓜的南亚果实蝇5日龄蛹过冷却点和体液冰点最低,均值分别为-23.97℃和-14.02℃,但与黄瓜无显著差异;4种寄主中老熟幼虫、1日龄蛹、1日龄雌成虫和5日龄雌成虫过冷却点均为取食黄瓜最低;杧果种群1日龄雌成虫过冷却点最高,均值为-7.47℃,苦瓜种群老熟幼虫体液冰点最高,均值为-0.59℃。本研究有助于了解寄主对南亚果实...     

不同冷藏条件对食蚜瘿蚊过冷却点和冰点的影响

【目的】食蚜瘿蚊Aphidoletes aphidimyza(Rondani)是一种捕食性天敌,其幼虫对蚜虫具有较好的控制潜能。研究不同冷藏条件对食蚜瘿蚊耐寒能力的影响,为食蚜瘿蚊的低温冷藏技术提供了理论依据。【方法】利用热电偶原理,测定食蚜瘿蚊在不同冷藏条件下的过冷却点和结冰点。【结果】25℃条件下,食蚜瘿蚊各虫态的过冷却点及结冰点存在显著差异（P<0.05）,其中2龄幼虫过冷却点（﹣26.18℃）和结冰点（﹣24.98℃）最低,雄成虫过冷却点（﹣22.95℃）和结冰点（﹣21.86℃）最高。在不同变温条件下冷藏食蚜瘿蚊蛹,其过冷却点在冷藏10、20和30 d时均上升且高于对照,冷藏40 d时低于对照;同一冷藏时长下不同冷藏方式间过冷却点的差异均不显著（P>0.05）。食蚜瘿蚊蛹在5℃条件下冷藏50d,每天定时7℃中断4h的结冰点（﹣23.09℃）最低,冷藏30d的结冰点（﹣21.15℃）最高;食蚜瘿蚊蛹在5℃条件下冷藏40 d,每天定时9℃中断4 h的结冰点（﹣22.66℃）最低,冷藏20 d时的结冰点（﹣20.95℃）最高;同一冷藏时长下3种冷藏方式间结冰点差异均不显著（P>0.05）。【结论】食蚜瘿蚊2龄幼虫的耐寒能力最强,雌成虫的耐寒能力要高于雄成虫;变温贮存和恒定低温均适合食蚜瘿蚊的低温贮存。     

桉树枝瘿姬小蜂的耐寒性测定

桉树枝瘿姬小蜂Leptocybe invasa Fisher&LaSalle是一种新入侵的检疫性有害生物,为了明确其对极端低温的耐受性,以了解其适生范围,测定了桉树枝瘿姬小蜂幼虫、蛹、成虫及不同地区、不同寄主条件下雌雄成虫以及广东、广西、海南3省6地越冬幼虫12—3月的过冷却点和冰点。结果表明,不同虫态的过冷却点和冰点由低到高顺序为:蛹<幼虫<成虫。蛹的过冷却点和冰点分别为(-24.93±0.10)℃、(-22.81±0.14)℃,成虫的过冷却点和冰点为(-20.93±0.24)℃和(-17.33±0.27)℃。随着纬度的升高,桉树枝瘿姬小蜂的过冷却点和冰点都呈现降低的趋势。海南地区不同寄主桉树枝瘿姬小蜂过冷却点从低到高的顺序排列为:湛-201<小叶桉<广林9号。在12—3月,桉树枝瘿姬小蜂的越冬幼虫过冷却点和冰点随着环境温度的升高而升高,以广东广州地区1月份的越冬幼虫过冷却点和冰点为最低,其数值分别为(-25.44±0.17)℃和(-24.04±0.21)℃,个体过冷却点的最低值为-26.9℃。由实验结果可知,桉树枝瘿姬小蜂蛹和幼虫的耐寒力最强,以幼虫和蛹越冬。地区、寄主、温度对其耐寒力均有显著的影响,而且其有向现疫区以北的区域扩散的潜能。     

美国白蛾过冷却点的影响因子

美国白蛾是一种重要的国际检疫害虫,作为外来入侵生物在中国不断扩散蔓延。过冷却点是研究其潜在适生区重要的生理指标之一。本文研究了不同虫态、寄主树木、低温驯化时间和地理种群与过冷却点的关系。结果表明:美国白蛾不同虫态过冷却点间存在显著差异(P0.001),蛹期过冷却点最低(-15.91℃),5龄幼虫的过冷却点最高(-6.97℃),过冷却点随虫态龄期增加而升高;用悬铃木饲养的美国白蛾蛹的平均过冷却点为-16.09℃,显著低于复叶槭饲养的美国白蛾蛹的平均过冷却点-14.61℃(P=0.002);在6℃下分别驯化美国白蛾非滞育蛹24、48和72 h,美国白蛾非滞育蛹过冷却点无显著差异(P=0.846);武邑、内黄、濮阳、东营、寿光和沈阳6个不同地理种群美国白蛾蛹的过冷却点间存在极显著差异(P0.001),其中内黄地区美国白蛾过冷却点最低(-21.39℃),东营地区过冷却点最高(-15.35℃)。     

棉铃虫抗寒能力的研究

对棉铃虫（ＨｅｌｉｃｏｖｅｒｐａａｒｍｉｇｅｒａＨｕｂｎｅｒ）９个地理种群的抗寒能力进行了研究,棉铃虫非滞育蛹和滞育蛹的过冷却点分别于分布于－１９．１３℃至－１８．１６和－１９．５３℃范围内,随纬度升高,地理种群的过冷却点呈降低趋势,非滞育蛹在低温下的生存能力显著低下滞育蛹,采自北部特早熟棉区的辽宁省辽阳市种群,其抗寒性和华北种群无明显区别,但长江流域棉区的湖北省武穴种群显著低于华北种群,武穴种群     

柑桔大实蝇老熟幼虫和蛹过冷却点和结冰点的测定

为明确柑桔大实蝇Bactrocera minax (Enderlein)老熟幼虫和蛹的抗寒能力,对柑桔大实蝇老熟幼虫、滞育蛹和滞育解除蛹的过冷却点和结冰点进行了测定。结果显示,同一虫态不同个体间其过冷却点和结冰点具有不同程度的变异,但其变异范围均符合正态分布。柑桔大实蝇不同发育状态间的过冷却点和结冰点均具有显著差异,其中,已解除滞育进入发育状态的蛹的过冷却点和结冰点最低,分别为-11.15℃和-9.76℃;其次为滞育蛹,分别为-8.93℃和-7.63℃;而老熟幼虫最高,分别为-7.09℃和-3.43℃。此外,老熟幼虫的结冰点和过冷却点之间的差值最大为3.24℃,显著高于滞育蛹（1.30℃）和滞育解除蛹（1.39℃）。表明,倒春寒对已进入发育状态的柑桔大实蝇蛹不会造成不利影响。     

悬铃木方翅网蝽越冬种群的过冷却点测定

测定了悬铃木方翅网蝽Corythucha ciliata（Say）2个地理种群（湖北荆州种群和河南郑州种群）的过冷却点,结果表明,荆州种群1日龄和5日龄成虫的过冷却点分别为-16.519℃和-21.646℃,而郑州种群1日龄和5日龄成虫的过冷却点为-17.329℃和-21.617℃。2个地理种群的过冷却点没有明显差异,但同一地理种群1日龄和5日龄成虫间的过冷却点差异显著。     

椰心叶甲的耐寒力测定

测定椰心叶甲Brontispalongissima(Gestro)的过冷却点和结冰点。各虫态中过冷却点值以卵和蛹最低,分别为-9.8℃和-9.0℃,成虫较高,雌、雄成虫分别为-5.9℃和-5.5℃;幼虫的过冷却点最高,平均为-4.5℃。结冰点由高到低依次为2龄幼虫、5龄幼虫、4龄幼虫、1龄幼虫、3龄幼虫、雄成虫、雌成虫、蛹和卵,分别为-0.3,-0.8,-1.1,-1.3,-1.3,-2.4,-2.7,-5.4和-5.5℃。综合分析认为,蛹、卵的耐寒能力最强。根据广东地区常年平均气温分析了在自然条件下该虫各虫态越冬情况,但由于生物学特性的限制,越冬虫态主要是成虫、蛹。     

Group defense by colony-founding queens in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta

Mutualistic associations among nonkin can form when animalsin groups have a greater chance of overcoming challenges presentedby the environment than do solitary animals. Colony foundingby small groups of unrelated queens, a habit documented in severalspecies of ants, is often interpreted as a mutualistic interactionselected by intense competition among incipient colonies. However,many new colonies in these species are founded in areas wheretheir chief enemies are mature ant colonies, rather than othernewly founded colonies. In this study, we tested whether groupnest-founding in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta improved theability of queens to survive attacks by mature colonies. Inthe laboratory, queens in groups of three were more likely thansolitary queens to survive attacks by workers of the nativefire ant Solenopsis geminata. When newly mated queens were establishedexperimentally in the field, workers from mature S. invictacolonies caused the majority of queen deaths. Queens in groupsof two, but not in groups of four, had higher survival ratesthan did solitary queens during the period between colony establishmentand the appearance of the first workers. The advantage of cooperativedefense approximately counterbalanced the disadvantages causedby competition within foundress associations of two to threequeens. Previous studies have shown that colonies founded bymultiple queens produce larger worker populations than coloniesfounded by solitary queens; however, experimentally increasingworker number in incipient colonies had no effect on colonysurvival in the field.     

红火蚁及其他两种蚂蚁毒腺细菌鉴定与多样性分析(英文)

【目的】本研究旨在分析红火蚁Solenopsis invicta毒腺细菌群落多样性,并与热带火蚁Solenopsis geminata和聚纹双刺猛蚁Diacamma rugosum比较毒腺细菌群落差异。【方法】采用Illumine Hiseq 2500测序平台对红火蚁(工蚁、有翅蚁和蚁后)、热带火蚁(工蚁)及聚纹双刺猛蚁(工蚁)毒腺细菌群落16S rRNA基因V3-V4区测序,基于测序数据进行生物信息学分析。【结果】变形菌门(Proteobacteria)在红火蚁工蚁、有翅蚁和蚁后以及热带火蚁工蚁毒腺中占优势,而厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)在聚纹双刺猛蚁工蚁毒腺中占优势。与红火蚁工蚁和有翅蚁相比,柔壁菌门(Tenericutes)在红火蚁蚁后毒腺中更丰富。广州红火蚁蚁后毒腺中假单胞杆菌Pseudomonas相对丰度显著高于其在有翅蚁及工蚁中的。螺原体Spiroplasma相对丰度在热带火蚁毒腺中显著高于在聚纹双刺猛蚁工蚁毒腺中的。毒腺中细菌多样性分析发现,芽孢杆菌属Bacillus和乳酸杆菌属Lactobacillus在广西红火蚁工蚁中的相对丰度显著高于在广州红火蚁工蚁中的。然而,乳酸杆菌属细菌在聚纹双刺猛蚁工蚁毒腺中的相对丰度显著高于广西的热带火蚁工蚁毒腺中的。【结论】毒腺细菌组成和多样性在3种不同种类蚂蚁工蚁和红火蚁不同品级中存在差异。     

CYP4AB1, CYP4AB2, and Gp-9 gene overexpression associated with workers of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren

Two cytochrome P450 genes, CYP4AB1 and CYP4AB2, and the Gp-9 gene were identified as being specifically overexpressed in workers of the red imported fire ant using PCR-selected subtractive hybridization and cDNA array techniques. Full-length CYP4AB1 and CYP4AB2 were cloned and sequenced. The cDNA sequences of CYP4AB1 and CYP4AB2 have open reading frames of 1389 and 1533 nucleotides encoding proteins of 463 and 511 amino acid residues, respectively. Northern blot analysis was performed to compare expression levels of CYP4AB1, CYP4AB2, and Gp-9 for different developmental stages and castes of fire ants. We demonstrate that the expression of these three genes is developmentally and caste specifically regulated in red imported fire ants. Levels of CYP4AB1 mRNA were undetectable in 3rd+4th instars, worker pupae, and alate (mixed sex) pupae; readily detectable in male and female alates; increased (approximately 3-fold) in the queens; and rose to a maximum (13-fold) in workers. Similarly, the expression of CYP4AB2 mRNA was undetectable in 3rd+4th instars, worker pupae, and alate pupae; low in male and female alates and queens; and increased (approximately 7-fold) in workers. Levels of Gp-9 mRNA were readily detectable in male alates; increased (approximately 3-fold) in female alates; and reached a maximum (approximately 12-fold) in workers. Their caste-specific overexpression suggests the functional importance of CYP4AB1, CYP4AB2, and Gp-9 in workers of the red imported fire ant.     

Visual prey discrimination of queen and worker ants by a generalist lizard

Laboratory experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that widelyforaging generalist lizard,Eumeces okadae, visually discriminates palatable queen ants from unpalatable worker ants. The workers ofCamponotus japonicus andLasius niger were rejected on sight, while the queens of both species were eaten with little prior chemical examination by tongue flicks or licks. Comparison of the lizards' responses towards the workers and wingless queens of similar size indicated that neither body size nor presence or absence of wings accounted for difference in responses toward the 2 ant castes. The lizards probably discriminated different ant castes by body proportions.     

Working-class royalty: bees beat the caste system

The struggle among social classes or castes is well known in humans. Here, we show that caste inequality similarly affects societies of ants, bees and wasps, where castes are morphologically distinct and workers have greatly reduced reproductive potential compared with queens. In social insects, an individual normally has no control over its own fate, whether queen or worker, as this is socially determined during rearing. Here, for the first time, we quantify a strategy for overcoming social control. In the stingless bee Schwarziana quadripunctata, some individuals reared in worker cells avoid a worker fate by developing into fully functional dwarf queens.     

Evidence of intracolony transmission of Thelohania solenopsae (Microsporidia: Thelohaniidae) in red imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the first report of spores from pupae.

Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, colonies were infected horizontally by introducing live brood (mainly larvae and pupae) infected with Thelohania solenopsae. Live, infected brood introduced into uninfected colonies were adopted and raised to adulthood instead of being executed by the recipient colony. Introductions of infected larvae with uninfected pupae, which eclose into adult worker caste fire ants, resulted in an 80% infection rate of the inoculated colonies. Infections from introductions of infected pupae with uninfected larvae resulted in a 37.5% infection of inoculated colonies. Infections were also detected in 11.6 and 3.7% of the adult worker caste ants that eclosed from uninfected large larvae and pupae, respectively, that were held with infected adult workers. Microscopic examination of infected brood revealed sporoblasts and large numbers of spores of T. solenopsae in S. invicta pupae.     

The success of alternative reproductive tactics in monogyne populations of the ant Solenopsis invicta: significance for transitions in social organization

Newly produced queens from monogyne (single-queen) coloniesof the ant Solenopsis invicta usually initiate reproductionindependently, that is, without worker assistance. However,some recently mated queens attempt to bypass this risky phaseof new colony foundation by entering established nests to reproduce,although it is unclear how often these queens are successfulin natural populations. We surveyed a mature monogyne populationof S. invicta in both 1995 and 1996 for colonies headed by queensincapable of independent colony founding (diploid-male-producingqueens) in order to estimate the frequency of colonies thatare headed by queens that initiated reproduction within establishednests (adopted queens). Using the frequency of diploid-male-producingqueens among the recently mated queens in this population, weestimated that the overall rate of queen replacement by adoptedqueens is about 0.7% per colony per year. Although theory suggeststhat a change to a novel queen reproductive tactic could beassociated with a fundamental change in social organization(queen number), this does not appear to be the case in monogyneS. invicta. However, the evolution of nest-infiltrating reproductivetactics by queens in a monogyne population and the evolutionof multiple-queen societies may result from similar ecologicalpressures facing newly mated queens. We therefore incorporatethis strategy into an existing theoretical framework that wasdeveloped to explain the evolution of alternative social organizationsin ants, providing testable predictions regarding the distributionand frequency of queen adoption in other single-queen ant societies.     

Queen number and genetic relatedness in a neotropical wasp, Polybia occidentalis

We found that genetic relatedness among Polybia occidentalisworkers was .26±0.057, a value high enough to make altruisticbehavior by workers relatively easy to explain. This comparativelyhigh level of relatedness can be attributed to close relatednessamong queens of .57±0.077 and to great variation amongcolonies in numbers of queens. The harmonic mean of queen numberis 3.1 queens per colony, which is much lower than the arithmeticmean of 10.6 queens per colony. These results are consistentwith a colony cycle called cyclical oligogyny, that is characterizedby a reduction in queen number from colony initiation to colonyreproduction. We did not find any evidence that one or a fewqueens monopolized egg laying or that there was any inbreeding,both of which have been hypothesized to increase relatednessamong workers. Another factor that can increase relatednessamong workers and the brood they rear is withincolony segregationon the basis of relatedness. We found that combmate pupae aresignificantly more closely related to each other (r = .41) thanthey are to pupae in other combs (r = .33), but we have notinvestigated whether workers take advantage of these relatednesspatterns. This distribution of relatedness among combs willoccur if queens do not lay eggs randomly throughout the nest,but concentrate their egg laying on one or a subset of the availablecombs.     

Light and electron microscope study of Thelohania solenopsae n. sp. (Microsporida: Protozoa) in the red imported fire ant,Solenopsis invicta

A new species of Microsporida, Thelohania solenopsae, is described from the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. The Thelohania infections are localized in the fat body of workers. Meronts causing infections of progeny are found in the ovaries of queens. Spores occur only in adult ants and only vegetative stages are present in larvae and pupae. Both uninucleate octospores (eight spores within a pansporoblast membrane) and binucleate free spores (spores developing in isolation) are formed.