Conservation needs of the Altona skipper butterfly, Hesperilla flavescens flavescens Waterhouse (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), near Melbourne, Victoria

Surveys of larval shelters and adult butterflies at two key localities for the Altona skipper butterfly (Hesperilla flavescens flavescens) in southern Victoria (Australia) in 2006–2007 revealed only very low numbers. Levels of occupation of Gahnia filum tussocks were low, and approaches to rejuvenating and extending suitable habitat through increasing the availability of suitable tussocks are noted. Fire may play a critical role in habitat management, and its use in the coastal sedgefield areas important for the butterfly is summarized.     

Can the NHS cope in future?

Four potential pressures are likely to determine whether the NHS will be able to cope in future: the change in population structure, changes in level of morbidity, introduction of new technologies, and increasing expectations of patients and NHS providers. New technology and changes in expectations are likely to have the biggest effect and are also the most difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, these pressures are to some extent amenable to control. If the growth in funding continues as it has in the past there is no convincing evidence that the NHS will not continue to cope.     

Pitfall Trapping for Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Mesic Australia: What is the Best Trapping Period?

Increasing trapping periods from 48 h through 5 days and 7 days to 14 days increased species richness of ants captured. However, a high proportion of genera (15/20) and morphospecies (22/33) were taken in the initial 48 h period, and 7 day periods yielded all species later accumulated by 14 days trap use. The shorter periods provide samples that may be adequate for appraising representativeness or typicalness of local ant assemblages, as the data most commonly needed for site evaluation or comparisons, but more extensive sampling is necessary to accumulate all rarer species, including those that may have individual conservation significance.     

Characterising insect diversity on Australia’s remnant native grasslands: ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and beetles (Coleoptera) at Craigieburn Grasslands Reserve,Victoria

Ants and beetles sampled by pitfall trapping on a large grassland remnant near Melbourne, Victoria, are enumerated and discussed. Species richness of both groups differed little between grassy flat areas and more rocky knolls, or between early and late summer. Seasonal differences in abundance were found in both taxa: beetles were more abundant in early summer, and ants more abundant in late summer. Implications of such differences for rapid sampling of grassland insects in the region are discussed.     

The biochemical basis for genotyping 21-hydroxylase deficiency

Summary We describe three different forms of 21-hydroxylase deficiency—classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), late-onset 21-hydroxylase deficiency, and cryptic 21-hydroxylase deficiency—and we present hormonal standards by which to assign the appropriate 21-hydroxylase deficiency genotype for these disorders. The late-onset and cryptic forms of 21-hydroxylase deficiency are biochemically indistinguishable, although patients with the late-onset disorder present with marked clinical symptoms (e.g. virilization) whereas patients with cryptic 21-hydroxylase deficiency are clinically asymptomatic. Our latest studies suggest that late-onset 21-hydroxylase deficiency, like the classical and cryptic 21-hydroxylase deficiencies, is also genetically linked to HLA, the major histocompatibility complex of man. Our biochemical findings provide evidence that a spectrum of 21-hydroxylase deficiencies exist in the population.This investigation was supported in part by USPHS, NIH Grants HD-00072 and HD-15084 from the NICHHD; CA-22507 from the NCI; and by a grant (RR47) from the General Clinical Research Centers Program of the Division of Research Resources