Towards the automated identification of Chrysomya blow flies from wing images

The Old World screwworm fly (OWSF), Chrysomya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is an important agent of traumatic myiasis and, as such, a major human and animal health problem. In the implementation of OWSF control operations, it is important to determine the geographical origins of such disease‐causing species in order to establish whether they derive from endemic or invading populations. Gross morphological and molecular studies have demonstrated the existence of two distinct lineages of this species, one African and the other Asian. Wing morphometry is known to be of substantial assistance in identifying the geographical origin of individuals because it provides diagnostic markers that complement molecular diagnostics. However, placement of the landmarks used in traditional geometric morphometric analysis can be time‐consuming and subject to error caused by operator subjectivity. Here we report results of an image‐based approach to geometric morphometric analysis for delivering wing‐based identifications. Our results indicate that this approach can produce identifications that are practically indistinguishable from more traditional landmark‐based results. In addition, we demonstrate that the direct analysis of digital wing images can be used to discriminate between three Chrysomya species of veterinary and forensic importance and between C. bezziana genders.     

Internest sex-ratio variation and male brood survival in the ant Pheidole pallidula

Sex allocation in social insects has become a general modelin tests of inclusive fitness theory, sex-ratio theory, andparent-offspring conflict. Several studies have shown that colonysex ratios are often bimodally distributed, with some coloniesproducing mainly females and others mainly males. Sex specializationmay result from workers assessing their relatedness to malebrood versus female brood, relative to the average worker-relatednessasymmetry in other colonies of their population. Workers thenadjust the sex ratio in their own interest This hypothesis assumesthat workers can recognize the sex of the brood in their colonyand selectively eliminate males. We compared the primary sexratio (at the egg stage) and secondary sex ratio (reproductivepupae and adults) of colonies in the ant Pheidole pallidula.There was a strong bimodal distribution of secondary sex ratios,with most colonies producing mainly reproductives of one sex.In contrast, there was no evidence of a bimodal distributionof primary sex ratios. The proportion of haploid eggs producedby queens was 0.35 in early spring and decreased to about 0.1in summer. Male eggs also were present in virtually all fieldcolonies sampled in July, although eggs laid at this time ofyear never give rise to males. All male brood is, therefore,selectively eliminated beginning in July and continue to beeliminated through the rest of the year. Finally, the populationsex-ratio investment was female-biased. Together, these resultsare consistent with the hypothesis that workers control thesecondary sex ratio by selectively eliminating male brood inabout half the colonies, perhaps those with high relatednessasymmetry.[Behav Ecol 7: 292–298 (1996)]     

Relationship between Plant Size and Ant Associates in Two Amazonian Ant‐Plants1

A survey of two Amazonian melastome ant‐plants, Maieta guianensis and Tococa bullifera, revealed a significant difference in plant size according to the species of ant inhabiting the plant. Plants with Crematogaster laevis, on average, were smaller than those with Pheidole minutula (in M. guianensis) and those with Azteca sp. (in T. bullifera). There is no evidence that these patterns were due either to the deterministic replacement of C. laevis by another ant species during host‐plant ontogeny or to a habitat effect on plant growth rates coupled with colony survival. More likely, the smaller size of C. laevis plants can be explained by its effects on host‐plant performance. Plants with C. laevis lost their associated ant colonies more frequently than plants with P. minutula and Azteca sp. Plants that lost their C. laevis either died, or more commonly, were severely defoliated. Defoliated plants, once sprouted, tended to become recolonized, but such recolonizations were not deterministic so as to favor one species over another. Plants with C. laevis showed similar, or only slightly greater, standing levels of herbivory than plants with P. minutula or Azteca sp. This suggests that when C. laevis is present, it confers some degree of protection to its hosts. It was found that early in colony development, queens of C. laevis moved off their host plants to build satellite nests in dead twigs on the ground, a behavior not seen in the other two species and one that possibly renders colonies more vulnerable to mortality from predation, flooding, or nest decay. Comparable 8¹⁵N values in C. laevis and P. minutula indicate that the two species are equally dependent on food supplied by the host plant.     

Identification of a component of the trail pheromone of the ant Pheidole pallidula (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

ABSTRACT The poison gland of minor workers of P.pallidula. Nyl. contains 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine which induces trail-following in other workers, but does not account for the full trail-following effect of one worker's poison gland. No pyrazines were detected in major workers and their glands do not contain the pheromone.     

Colonization and coexistence of non-native ants on a model Atlantic island

Aims

Colonization by non-native ants represents one of the gravest potential threats to island ecosystems. It is necessary to identify general mechanisms by which non-native species are able to colonize and persist in order to inform future prevention and management. We studied a model-island assemblage of 17 non-native ant species with aim of identifying the spatial source of introductions and assessing how such a diversity of species are able to coexist.

Location

Data were collected on Ascension Island: an ideal study system for its intermediate area, compact shape, spatial heterogeneity, lack of native ant species, and availability of non-native ant records dating back to the 1800s.

Methods

We collected over 47,000 individual ants from 73 sites using a range of baited traps and survey techniques. We combined this novel data with past occurrence records in order to determine whether human settlements have historically been the source of ant introductions and to quantify the mean rate at which species have dispersed across the island. Analysis of standardized field data revealed the extent to which ants were partitioning ecological niche space via (1) habitat separation, (2) fine-scale resource partitioning and (3) climatic heterogeneity.

Results

Ants were radiating at a linear rate of approximately 0.5 km² per year from human settlements on this island, with the most widespread species having been introduced earliest. After accounting for incomplete colonization, we found no evidence to suggest habitat separation between species. Instead, we found significant niche separation through resource partitioning and weather-dependent activity patterns.

Main Conclusions

Our results indicate that non-native ants can coexist in very close proximity and are therefore capable of existing at great diversity on even small islands. It is inevitable that ant colonization will continue without increased biosecurity measures, habitat restoration around settlements and conservation of native species populations.     

不同饲料对大头金蝇生殖力的影响

研究了不同饲料对大头金蝇生殖力的影响。结果表明在25℃下,大头金蝇Chrysomyamegacephala(Fabricius)成蝇取食油菜花粉、奶粉、白砂糖、蜂蜜、白砂糖+油菜花粉,其个体死亡50%所需时间分别为15,13,90,70,50d;雌蝇平均寿命分别为13.0,17.4,74.7,54.3,45.4d;产卵期分别为1.9,1.5,38.4,40.9,29.7d;平均产卵量为2.9,1.8,717.1,439.0,513.9粒。平均寿命、产卵期、产卵量最高水平均出现在饲喂白砂糖、蜂蜜、白砂糖+油菜花粉,三者差异不显著,但与油菜花粉、奶粉有显著差异。大头金蝇雌雄成虫间的寿命稍有不同。在人工饲养大头金蝇成蝇时添加适量糖可提高其生殖力。     

大头金蝇的飞行能力

通过飞行磨测定和扩散观察,研究大头金蝇Chrysomya megacephala(Fabricius)的飞行能力。结果表明:雌、雄虫的平均飞行距离、平均最大飞行速度、平均飞行时间间没有显著的差异。大头金蝇的平均飞行距离25℃时达最高,为4·4783km,之后随着温度的进一步增高而逐渐下降;平均飞行时间20℃时最大,为1·2262h;最大飞行速度25℃最大,为1·2210m/s。50%,60%,70%和80%相对湿度的平均飞行距离有显著差异,分别为5·7475,0·7913,0·3850和0·7575km;50%RH的平均飞行时间最长为2·7868h,平均最大飞行速度中80%RH最高,为2·0792m/s。在塑料大棚(长30m)释放大头金蝇呈扇形扩散,最快速度0·3m/s,从一端扩散到塑料大棚的另一端所需时间平均为(2·52±0·63)min,最长需要3·08min,表现出大头金蝇有较强的飞行能力。     

大头金蝇的综合利用研究进展

大头金蝇Chrysomya megacephala是重要的法医昆虫、资源昆虫和卫生害虫。大头金蝇的各个发育阶段与人类活动关系密切。本文简要介绍了大头金蝇的分布、分类鉴定及生物学背景,着重从法医学应用、幼虫在有机废弃物转化中的应用、幼虫的活性物质及成虫传粉应用4个方面总结其在资源综合利用方面的研究进展,并讨论了大头金蝇其幼虫和成虫存在的风险及可能的控制方法。新型法医学手段的开发拓宽了大头金蝇在法医领域的应用范围;大头金蝇幼虫能够有效地转化粪便、餐厨垃圾、污泥等多种有机废弃物创造环境和经济效益;幼虫具有多种活性物质,有利于其高附加值产品的开发;虽然成虫的自然传粉效果好,但是其作为传粉昆虫人工释放仍有局限性,仅适用可控空间内。大头金蝇的病媒特性仍是限制其广泛应用的绊脚石,这一问题的解决,有赖于多种技术的有机结合。     

Spatio‐temporal patterns and interactions with honeydew‐producing Hemiptera of ants in a Mediterranean citrus orchard

• 1 The role of ants in the citrus agro‐ecosystem is controversial and understanding their ecology may help to clarify their function. The present study determined the daily and seasonal foraging patterns, the spatial distribution, the feeding sources and the associations with honeydew‐producing Hemiptera of three ant species that forage in citrus canopies.
• 2 The dominant ants Pheidole pallidula (Nylander) (Myrmicinae) and Lasius grandis Forel (Formicinae) foraged in mutually exclusive territories within the field, although they both shared their territory with the subordinate Plagiolepis schmitzii Forel (Formicinae), a distribution pattern known as ‘ant mosaic’.
• 3 The observed mean overlap for the spatial distribution was significantly lower than the generated by null models, providing strong evidence of spatial interspecific competition, especially between the two dominants.
• 4 Ants ascended to the canopies from April until November. Colony nutritional requirements and temperature probably shape their seasonal foraging patterns. The daily activity pattern of P. schmitzii was strictly diurnal, whereas L. grandis and P. pallidula were active during the entire day.
• 5 The ants' diet in the canopies consisted principally of hemipteran honeydew, whereas citrus nectar and predation/scavenging did not represent important food sources. More than 60% of the total honeydew sources and 100% of the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri colonies were tended by ants during spring and summer.

     

伊大头蚁蚁巢的结构与分布

伊大头蚁Pheidole yeensis是舞草Codariocalyx motorius种子的主要搬运者, 在舞草的扩散中起着重要作用。2000年在西双版纳和思茅地区景谷县对伊大头蚁种群数量、蚁巢结构与分布进行了调查。结果表明:伊大头蚁主要在土壤中筑巢,深度可达地下50 cm;每巢蚁量一般在2 000～3 000头,最多的可达万头;伊大头蚁大多在海拔1 000～1 200 m的山腰筑巢, 以西坡的蚁巢密度最大,南坡次之,北坡最少;在丢荒2～3年的地里筑巢最多,其次为玉米和花生地,在森林里筑巢的相对较少;伊大头蚁的蚁巢呈均匀分布,但巢群间相互排斥。伊大头蚁筑巢生境与舞草生长的环境基本一致,蚁巢结构与蚁量有利于舞草的扩散与建群。