三种夜蛾成虫口器感器的超微形态

为确定不同种类夜蛾口器及其感器在超微结构上的差异, 采用扫描电子显微镜对棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)、 烟夜蛾H. assulta (Guenée)和银纹夜蛾Argyrogramma agnata (Staudinger)3种鳞翅目(Lepidoptera)夜蛾科(Noctuidae)重要农业害虫雌、 雄成虫口器感器的超微形态进行了观察和比较。结果表明： 3种夜蛾雌、 雄成虫口器感器类型均无明显差异。棉铃虫和烟夜蛾口器感器在类型和形状上十分类似, 均具有毛形、 锥形和栓锥形感器; 喙管末端的栓锥感器粗、 密, 棱纹明显。银纹夜蛾口器感器与两种铃夜蛾区别明显, 除上述3类感器外, 还具有腔锥形感器; 其喙管末端的栓锥感器细、 疏, 棱纹不明显。结果显示口器感器可用于夜蛾的分类及亲缘关系研究。     

Fly pollination in Ceropegia (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae): biogeographic and phylogenetic perspectives

Background and Aims

Ceropegia (Apocynaceae subfamily Asclepiadoideae) is a large, Old World genus of >180 species, all of which possess distinctive flask-shaped flowers that temporarily trap pollinators. The taxonomic diversity of pollinators, biogeographic and phylogenetic patterns of pollinator exploitation, and the level of specificity of interactions were assessed in order to begin to understand the role of pollinators in promoting diversification within the genus.

Methods

Flower visitor and pollinator data for approx. 60 Ceropegia taxa were analysed with reference to the main centres of diversity of the genus and to a cpDNA–nrDNA molecular phylogeny of the genus.

Key Results

Ceropegia spp. interact with flower-visiting Diptera from at least 26 genera in 20 families, of which 11 genera and 11 families are pollinators. Size range of flies was 0·5–4·0 mm and approx. 94 % were females. Ceropegia from particular regions do not use specific fly genera or families, though Arabian Peninsula species are pollinated by a wider range of Diptera families than those in other regions. The basal-most clade interacts with the highest diversity of Diptera families and genera, largely due to one hyper-generalist taxon, C. aristolochioides subsp. deflersiana. Species in the more-derived clades interact with a smaller diversity of Diptera. Approximately 60 % of taxa are so far recorded as interacting with only a single genus of pollinators, the remaining 40 % being less conservative in their interactions. Ceropegia spp. can therefore be ecological specialists or generalists.

Conclusions

The genus Ceropegia has largely radiated without evolutionary shifts in pollinator functional specialization, maintaining its interactions with small Diptera. Intriguing biogeographic and phylogenetic patterns may reflect processes of regional dispersal, diversification and subsequent specialization onto a narrower range of pollinators, though some of the findings may be caused by inconsistent sampling. Comparisons are made with other plant genera in the Aristolochiaceae and Araceae that have evolved flask-shaped flowers that trap female flies seeking oviposition sites.Key words: Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Brachystelma, Ceropegia, Diptera, flower evolution, generalization, mutualism, pollination, Riocreuxia, specialization, Stapeliinae     

Irish faba beans (Fabales: Fabaceae) depend on wild bumblebee pollination for marketable yields

1. Quantifying the contributions of insect pollinators to crops provides insight into how pollination services should be managed and protected into the future.
2. Faba bean, Vicia faba var minor (Linneaus), is a widely grown crop globally that can benefit from pollinator visitation, but only from species that are morphologically compatible with the plant's long-corollae flowers. Here, we rank insect pollinators in terms of their potential importance to faba bean pollination and quantify the economic value of pollination for Irish faba beans.
3. Our findings demonstrate that bee pollination contributes significantly to the pod set of faba beans, and, consequently, the crop's production value. We find that pollination services account for almost half of Ireland's total faba bean market value, with the pollinator contribution estimated at almost €4,000,000 per year.
4. We estimate that, relative to other pollinators, wild bumblebees contribute to approximately 70% of the economic value of pollination services in faba bean fields, driven mainly by the contributions of a long-tongued bumblebee species, Bombus hortorum (Linneaus; Hymenoptera: Apidae).
5. Based on these results, we suggest that B. hortorum populations be encouraged on farmland through appropriate management to ensure the continued delivery of pollination services to Irish faba beans.

     

Pedilanthus diazlunanus (Euphorbiaceae): pollination by hymenopterans in a bird-pollinated genus

Pollination in the genus Pedilanthus is commonly effected by hummingbirds. Pollination by vespid wasps in Pedilanthus is documented for the first time based on observations of Pachodynerus nasidens and Eumenes americanus pollinating Pedilanthus diazlunanus. An hypothesis concerning the mechanism by which hummingbird pollination was replaced by insect pollination in Pedilanthus is advanced based on observations of insects on P. bracteatus.     

The cowl does not make the monk: scarab beetle pollination of the Neotropical aroid Taccarum ulei (Araceae: Spathicarpeae)

Taccarum ulei (Araceae, Spathicarpeae) is a seasonal geophytic aroid, native to north‐eastern Brazil, that flowers during two months of the rainy season. Patterns of floral thermogenesis, pollination biology, and floral traits associated with pollination syndromes were studied and compared with those of other Araceae. Two species of cyclocephaline scarabs (Scarabaeidae, Cyclocephalini) were recognized as effective pollinators: Cyclocephala celata and Cyclocephala cearae. Larvae of an unidentified species of fruit fly (Melanoloma spp., Richardiidae, Diptera) were also frequently observed in inflorescences at various maturation stages, feeding on the connectives of male florets and fruits, and thus lowering the reproductive success of individual plants. Beetles were attracted by odoriferous inflorescences in the early evening of the first day of anthesis, during the female phase. The emission of attractive volatiles was coupled with intense thermogenic activity in the entire spadix, unlike other aroids in which only certain zones of the spadix heat up. Pollen release, which marks the beginning of the male phase on the subsequent evening, was not related to floral thermogenesis. Comparative multivariate analysis of the floral traits of T. ulei points to a beetle‐pollinated aroid, although some of the observed traits of the species are not common to other taxa sharing this pollination strategy. Such incongruence might be explained by the evolutionary history of the tribe Spathicarpeae and potential pollinator shifts. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ??, ??–??.     

Floral morphology and late-acting self-incompatibility inApocynum cannabinum (Apocynaceae)

Scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy were used to clarify some aspects of the floral morphology ofApocynum cannabinum. Insects are required for pollination, since the floral morphology prevents autogamy and minimizes intrafloral self-pollination. Flowers hand-pollinated with self-pollen never set fruit, but 10.6% of cross-pollinations produced fruit. Self-pollen did germinate, however, and produced abundant tubes that grew through the pistil and entered the ovule micropyles. The proportion of ovules penetrated by self- and outcross-pollen tubes was not statistically significantly different. These results suggest thatA. cannabium possesses late-acting self-incompatibility, similar to that in the closely related Asclepiadaceae.     

The value of insect pollination to yield of oilseed rape (Brassica rapa) in Bangladesh

Brassica rapa L., is a crop grown globally and studies have indicated that insect pollination can improve yields. However, the importance of insect pollination in this crop depends on cultivar reproductive biology, insect pollinator species and their abundances. In Bangladesh, the acreage of B. rapa for oilseed production has been expanding, but little is known about whether insects contribute to yield improvements. Using the commonly grown variety Tori-7, we found that plants with inflorescences left exposed to flower visiting insects (body width > 1.5 mm) had a 30.8% greater seed yield compared to those where insect flower visitors were excluded. Of 794 insect flower visiting individuals recorded from observation and trapping surveys conducted across four separate fields, Apis bees (four spp.) were the most abundant (66.1%), followed by flies Musca domestica (14.7%), Sepsis fulgens (6.3%) and hoverflies (3.0%; 3 spp; Syrphidae). Other flower visitors included ants, wasps, beetles, butterflies and moths. For the cultivar assessed, we calculated the economic value of oilseed rape was $US 87.5 million per annum in Bangladesh, of which the economic value of insect pollination was $US 26.92 million per annum. Thus, one in every four dollars earned by our Bangladeshi growers resulted from insect crop pollination. This demonstrates to growers the need to promote and protect insect pollination to optimize their economic returns.     

The effects of food and density on the nocturnal behaviour ofArion ater andAriolimax columbianus (Pulmonata: Stylommatophora)

The effects of food supply and population density on the nocturnal behaviour of Arion ater and Ariolimax columbianus were investigated. Density did not significantly affect A. ater's level of activity or short-term movement, resting, or feeding. A. columbianus was more active and moved, rested, and fed more frequently when slug density was high. A. ater foraged and rested more often, but fed less when good food was unavailable. Ariolimax's only response to the food regime was to feed more when good food was available. Seasonal changes in the level of activity and behaviour of Arion were evident, whereas Ariolimax's activity and behavioural repertoire were not similarly affected. Arion ater's nightly activity appeared to be mainly food oriented, while Ariolimax columbianus seemed most responsive to slug density during its nocturnal activity periods.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Blepharodon crabronum</Emphasis> (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae), a new species from the pre-Cambrian serranias of eastern Bolivia

Summary   Blepharodon crabronum from the pre-Cambrian serranias of eastern Bolivia is described and illustrated.     

Mating Behavior and Reproductive Potential in the Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

We investigated the lifetime mating potential and the reproductive behavior of male and female turnip moths Agrotis segetum (Schiff.) under field and laboratory conditions. The sex ratio was 1 : 1 in a lab-reared population as well as in two wild populations. Males were capable of mating repetitively a relatively large number of times (mean of 6.7 ± 2.7 matings) when given access to new virgin females throughout their lifetimes. Females seldom mated more than once (mean ± 1.3 ± 0.6 matings), indicating a male-biased operational sex ratio. The mean potential lifetime mating was five times higher in males, while the coefficient of variance was lower in males. There was no differences in longevity between animals that were allowed to mate and animals not allowed to mate, indicating no direct costs or benefits of mating in physiological terms. In males, the number of matings was positively correlated with longevity, but this was not the case in females. Nor was there a correlation between the number of female matings and the number of fertilized eggs. There was a negative correlation between the number of eggs fertilized and the number of times males had previously mated, indicating that male ejaculates were limited. Male spermatophore size also decreased with number of achieved matings. Laboratory-reared females attracted males in the field throughout their lifetimes, with a peak at 3–7 days of age. Wild males, allowed to choose between pairs of caged females in the field, were attracted in equal numbers to females of different ages. Females did not show any mate-rejection behavior in the field. They mated with the first male that courted them. No incidence of mate replacement by males arriving later to already courted females were recorded.     

Direct costs of forest reproduction,bee-cycling and the efficiency of pollination modes

The bee guild represents direct primary costs of angiosperm reproduction. Tropical flower visitors take an amount comparable to herbivores, exceeding 3% of net primary production energy. Therefore herbivory and aboveground net primary production have been underestimated. Comparing pollinators to other herbivores, harvest in mature forest by tropical bees is greater than leafcutter ants, game animals, frugivores, vertebrate folivores, insect defoliators excluding ants, flower-feeding birds and bats, but not soil organisms. The ratio of total aboveground net primary production to investment in pollen, nectar and resin used by pollinators suggests wind pollination is several times more efficient in temperate forests than is animal pollination in neotropical moist forest. Animal pollination may be favoured by habitat mosaics and an unpredictable or sparse dispersion of conspecifics — consequences of fluctuating abiotic and biotic environments. Natural selection evidently favours diminished direct reproductive costs in forests, for example by wind pollination, regardless of latitude and disturbance regime. An example is “wind pollination by proxy” of dominant trees in seasonal southeast Asian forests. They flower only occasionally and their pollen is dispersed by tiny winged insects that are primarily carried by the wind — rather than the nectar-hungry bees, bats, birds and moths used by most tropical flora. Increasing evapotranspiration is associated with greater net primary production; I show its correlation with species richness of social tropical bees across the isthmus of Panama, which may indicate increasing forest reproductive effort devoted to flowering, and its monopolization by unspecialized flower visitors in wetter and less seasonal lowland forests.     

Noncorrelated effects of seed predation and pollination on the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora remain spatially consistent

By simultaneously manipulating both seed predator and pollinator effects on the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora at two sites in Yucatan (Mexico), the present study evaluated (1) whether a correlation (interaction) existed between seed predator and pollinator effects on R. nudiflora seed production and (2) whether such an interaction varied geographically. We used three populations per site, and a total of 20 plants per population ( N  = 120). Groups of five plants were randomly chosen at each population to simultaneously receive one of two seed predator and pollinator exclosure levels (present or excluded in each case). These two factors were fully crossed, resulting in each group being subjected to one of four possible combinations: pollinators excluded/herbivores present; herbivores excluded/pollinators present; herbivores excluded/pollinators excluded; or control (neither excluded). Response variables were the number of seeds produced per plant and the proportion of attacked fruits by seed predators per plant. Seed predators had a large impact on R. nudiflora seed production but did not show any preference for fruits from plants not excluded from pollinators. In addition, the pollination treatment was not significant, indicating no effect of pollinators on reproductive success. These findings resulted in a nonsignificant herbivory × pollination interaction, which was consistent across sites, indicating lack of correlated selection of these two guilds on R. nudiflora seed production.  © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2009, 96 , 800–807.     

Cryptopolyploidy revisited: the case of Vinca (Apocynaceae)

This investigation presents a look back to ancient times of karyology with modern optical instruments. `Cryptopolyploidy', i.e. an intrinsically polyploid but numerically non-polyploid structure of chromosome complements, today is an obsolete concept of chromosome architecture and evolution, but was actively discussed up to the mid-seventies of the past century. We focus here at a hypothesis of cryptooctoploidy in Vinca difformis (2n = 46), which was based on a measured four-fold chromosome volume compared with V. minor (2n = 46), the proposed diploid. We used DNA flow cytometry and Feulgen densitometry to see, if the postulate of cryptooctoploidy in V. difformis in the retrospect could be justified. It was found not defendable, because V. difformis differed only about 1.55-fold in C-value from V. minor, which is far from a regular multiple and much less than the 4-fold. C-values are given also for V. major, V. herbacea and V. rosea.     

Functional morphology of the Conus proboscis (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

The extended proboscis of the toxoglossan gastropod Conus may exceed four times its contracted length and 1.5 times the shell length. The proboscis wall consists of cuboidal epidermis and circular, crossed helical and longitudinal muscle layers. Between the proboscis wall and its lumen, free longitudinal muscles and nerves course through haemocoel. A thick layer of connective tissue and columnar epithelium surround the proboscis lumen. In C. Catus , muscle comprises about 70% of the volume of the proboscis (exclusive of its lumen) and haemocoel about 20%, in both moderately extended and contracted states. Differentiation along the length of the proboscis includes gradual replacement of muscle by connective tissue distally in the proboscis wall, and a subapical sphincter muscle that probably prevents back-slippage of the detached radular tooth prior to its use in feeding and aids injection of the tooth into the prey during capture.     

A new species of Stomatostemma (Periplocaceae) from Mozambique, Africa

VENTER, H.J. T. & FIELD, D. V., 1989. A new species of Stomatostemma (Periplocaceae) from Mozambique, Africa. A new species of Stomatostemma is described from Mozambique. 11 is [he second species distinguished in the genus Stomatostemma N.E. Br., the other being S. monteiroae (Oliv.) N.E. Br., which was also described from Mozambique. The new species is distinguished from.V. monteiroae by being a virgate shrub, by the pendulous terminal branches and inflorescences, by the long and frail peduncles and pedicels and by the long clavate corona lobes.     

Reproductive biology of the microtype tachinid fly Zenillia dolosa (Meigen) (Diptera: Tachinidae)

Reproductive biology including mating, adult longevity, fecundity and development of the tachinid fly Zenillia dolosa was investigated for optimizing rearing procedures using Mythimna separata as a host in the laboratory. Females lay microtype eggs containing a first instar larva on food plants of the host and then the eggs must be ingested by the host for parasitization. Mating success was 58.5% with mating duration of 80.7 min. Mating was most successful when day 0–1 females were kept with day 2–4 male flies. Female body size was positively correlated with its fecundity but not with longevity. However, females that survived longer produced more eggs during their lifetime. Parasitoids successfully developed in 4th to 6th instar host larvae. Host instars at the time of parasitoid egg ingestion significantly influenced development time of the immature parasitoid, but did not affect body size of the emerging parasitoid. We suggest that pairing newly emerged females with day 2–4 males should result in higher mating success and using the last instar hosts for parasitization should minimize development time of the parasitoid for rearing.     

Any which way will do – the pollination biology of a northern Australian rainforest canopy tree (Syzygium sayeri; Myrtaceae)

The pollination biology of Syzygium sayeri was documented using the special capabilities of the Australian Canopy Crane. Syzygium sayeri is a xenogamous species with poor self-compatibility, moderate levels of natural out-crossing, and the producer of copious amounts nectar throughout the day and night. Of a diverse fauna associated with, and visiting the flowers of S. sayeri , larger vertebrates (blossom bats and honeyeaters) account for approximately half its natural pollination rate, while the balance of pollination is attributable to a host of invertebrate visitors (wasps, flies, thrips, butterflies). Day and night pollinators contributed approximately equally to the successful pollination of S. sayeri ; although the number of individuals visiting flowers was greater during the day, further experimentation might reveal night visitors to be more effective pollinators. The co-occurrence of vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as day and night visitors, suggests that S. sayeri has a generalist pollination system, whereby the absence of a discrete set of faunae could be compensated for by the presence of other pollinators. What is not clear is the contribution of different pollinators to the population success (i.e. gene flow) of this species. Further study is needed to determine the contribution of each pollinator group to the flow of genetic material in populations of S. sayeri . © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 149 , 69–84.