Predation and parasitism of cotton leafworm eggs,Alabama argillacea [Lep.: Noctuidae]

The identification and efficiency of arthropod predator and parasites related to natural control of cotton leafworm eggs,Alabama argillacea (Huebner), were studied in a cotton field, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. Plants were marked randomly and the eggs found on them were indicated by arrow tapes for predation and parasitism observations. To evaluate and identify the arthropod fauna in the row-meter containing the marked plant, visual countings and collections using D-Vac ® and “beat sheet” were used. The average predation rate during the season, in the presence of 23.0 predators per row-meter, was 50.6% and the parasitism byTrichogrammatoidea annulata was 44.9% totaling 95.5% of egg reduction. In decreasing order of abundance, the arthropod predators found were the antPheidole sp., the spiderChrysso clementinae Petrunkevitch, the hemipteraOrius insidiosus Say andCeratocapsus mariliensis Carvalho & Fontes, and the coccinellidHyperaspis festiva (Mulsant).     

In vitro production of zoospores by the mosquito pathogen Lagenidium giganteum (Oomycetes: Lagenidiales) on solid media

Reliable, large-scale production of Lagenidium giganteum zoospores was obtained on solid media. The fungus was grown for 7 days in a liquid medium of wheat germ, hemp seed, yeast extract, and glucose, then placed onto hemp-seed agar. Zoosporogenesis was induced on agar by immersing the fungal cultures into water. Zoospore production began 10 hr postimmersion, peaked at 18 hr, and ceased by 36 hr. A single, 10-cm Petri dish of fungus on hemp-seed agar produced 1.7?3.8 × 10⁷ zoospores during the 26 hr of zoosporogenesis. Optimal zoospore production occurred with 4- to 7-day-old cultures; cultures older than 10 days produced few zoospores. The temperature range for zoosporogenesis was 15–35°C. The extent of zoosporogenesis was directly related to the volume of water used to induce zoospore formation and inversely proportional to agar thickness. Bioassay of zoospores against second instar Culex quinquefasciatus larvae yielded an LD₅₀ of 400 zoospores/ml.     

Effect of Aedes aegypti (Diptera:Culicidae) Age on Sex Ratios in Romanomermis culicivorax (Nematoda:Mermithidae)

First, second, third, early and late fourth-instar larvae, and pupae of Aedes aegypti were infected with Romanomerrais culicivorax and reared at 20, 25, and 30 C. An increase in the ratio of male to female nematodes was observed with increase in host age at the time of infection at each temperature. The number of pupal and late fourth-instar infections was low, but R. culicivorax continued to develop in adult A. aegypti. Since male nematodes were recovered from both male and female hosts infected as late fourth instars or pupae, the sex of the host did not influence the sex of the nematode.     

Biological studies including population growth parameters of the predatory miteAmblyseius barkeri [Acarina.: Phytoseiidae] at 25°C in the laboratory

Amblyseius barkeri (Hughes) fed onThrips tabaci (Lind.) at 25°C showed an average duration of 2.2, 0.8 and 3.2 days for the egg, larval and nymphal stages, with mortalities at 1.0, 1.0 and 3.1%, respectively. Females represented 63% of the population and required multiple matings for optimal fertility. The oviposition period was 20.3 days and the average oviposition rate 2.3 eggs per day. The intrinsic rate of increase was 0.22 per day. The expected life span was 29.6 days for ♀♀ and 27.4 days for ♂♂.A. barkeri ♂♂ and ♀♀ both consumed 3.3 nymphs of thrips per day (mean value for the feeding stages). The larva does not take up food. In the absence of thripsA. barkeri was able to consume two-spotted spider mites,Tetranychus urticae (Koch), and their eggs, adult broad mites,Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks), and pollen of various plants. Cannibalism was observed when food was lacking. Certain morphological features, egglaying, mating and predatory behaviour are described.      

Bionomics ofTrioxys indicus [Hym.: Aphidiidae], a parasitoid ofAphis craccivora [Hem.: Aphididae]: 31. Effect of host haemolymph on the numerical response of the parasitoid

The influence of kairomones on the numerical response of the parasitoidTrioxys indicus against its hostAphis craccivora at its varying density was studied. The kairomones (applied as aqueous extract of the host) significantly enhanced the rate of parasitisation and multiplication and the area of discovery of the parasitoid and also the K-values of mortality of the host at all parasitoid densities introduced (1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 parasitoids) into troughs having about 200 hosts. The sex-ratio of F₁ offspring decreased at lower parasitoid densities and remained more or less unchanged at higher parasitoid densities after the application of kairomones. The present findings indicate that if kairomones are applied properly, the number of hosts destroyed by a stimulated parasitoid will be about 200, twice the number reported earlier, thus fewer parasitoids will be needed to regulate an estimated population of the hosts.      

北疆荒漠的锈菌

本文报告新疆北部荒漠的锈菌11属92种。大多数标本是作者1986年8—9月间在巴尔鲁克山、塔尔巴哈台山、准噶尔盆地西缘及南缘地区、西天山的巩留及博格达山等地采得。这一带植被主要由超旱生灌木、半灌木及草本所组成,天山北坡山地发育着较丰茂的草甸及森林植被,植物区系属于中亚荒漠植物区系。文中描述了一个新种,即葛缕子生柄锈Puccinia caricola J.Y.Zhuang;我国新记录种有12个,它们是葱杨栅锈Melampsora allii-populina Kleb.、柳叶栅锈Melampsora epitea Thuem.、尖头多胞锈Phragmidium acuminasum(Fr.)Cooke、胀柄多胞锈Phragmidium bulbosum(Str.)Schlecht.、阿尔及利亚柄锈Puccinia algerica Patouill.、伯内特柄锈Puccinia burnettiiGriff.、巨堆柄锈Puccinia gigantea Karst.、科马罗夫柄锈Puccinia komarovii Tranz.、高山蓼柄锈Puccinia polygoni-alpini Cruchet & Mayor、新塔花柄锈Puccinia zizi-phorae Sydow、柴胡单胞锈Uromyces bupleuri P.Magn.及角果藜单胞锈Uromycesceratocarpi Sydow。所有标本保藏在中国科学院微生物研究所真菌标本室。     

亚洲产Clavicorona的形态学及亲和性研究

中国产的Clavicorona pyxidata与北美的种样本间配对实验结果显示该种在不同的地理分布区内的种群之间完全性亲和或具有相同的交配型等位基因,表明中国产与北美产的该形态学种同属于一个生物种。日本产的标本与C. pyxidata在子实体外部形态及孢子尺度上有差异,虽然在日本被鉴定为该种。日本产的菌株与C. pyxidata菌株间配对实验证明二者之间完全不亲和,即属于不同的生物种。生殖隔离拌随着形态学变异。     

嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌质粒的分离

从堆肥和污泥中分离到一批抗药性高温细菌,经电泳检查,发现6株高温细菌细胞中有质粒存在。其中,嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌T653的细胞DNA提取液电泳图谱上,有三条非染色体DNA条带,用电镜直接观察,证明它们是T653细胞中的三个质粒。测得两个较小质粒的分子量分别为3.6×10~6和45×10~6道尔顿。研究了嗜热脂肪芽孢杆的T653的温度生长条件与其细胞中质粒的关系。T653细胞中三个质粒的明确功能有待进一步探讨。     

Impact of Paecilomyces lilacinus Inoculum Level and Application Time on Control of Meloidogyne incognita on Tomato

Microplot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of inoculum level and time of application of Paecilomyces lilacinus on the protection of tomato against MeIoidogyne incognita. The best protection against M. incognita was attained with 10 and 20 g of fungus-infested wheat kernels per microplot which resulted in a threefold and fourfold increase in tomato yield, respectively, compared with tomato plants treated with this nematode alone. Greatest protection against this pathogen was attained when P. lilacinus was delivered into soil 10 days before planting and again at planting. Yield was increased twofold compared with yield in nematode-alone plots and plots with M. incognita plus the fungus. Percentages of P. lilacinus-infected egg masses were greatest in plots treated at midseason or at midseason plus an early application, compared with plots treated with the fungus 10 days before planting and (or) at planting time.     

The brain organization of butterflyfishes

Synopsis The encephalization indices of angelfishes (Pomacanthidae) and butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) are typical of advanced perciform fishes: both families lie in the upper part of the polygon of teleost indices. The chaetodontids seem to be a little more encephalized than pomacanthids. The general morphology of the brains in both families is very similar: small olfactory bulbs, large optic tectum and a cerebellum which covers the brain structures in front of it like a cap. This morphology is shared by another family of the coral reef biotope, the Acanthuridae. The histological architecture is also typical of advanced teleosts, with a cortex-like pallium, a laminated nucleus geniculatus (= pretectalis superficialis), a complex valvula cerebelli and a corpus glomerulosum with a clear neuropile centre. The quantitative analysis of the main subdivisions of the brain, either from relative volumes or from indices, shows small olfactory bulbs (microsmy) but important telencephalic and diencephalic centres, large tectal centres (vision) and large cerebellum (precise locomotion). Many of these peculiarities are shared by other fishes inhabiting coral reefs. The differences between the two families seem to be primarily correlated with food habits: the angelfishes, which are sponge-feeders and may have an overweight due to the ballast of the sponge-skeleton in their digestive tract, and which do not need either such good vision or such precise locomotion to pick up their prey, could be a little less encephalized than the butterflyfishes.