Establishment ofNeltumius arizonensis(Coleoptera: Bruchidae) on Mesquite (ProsopisSpecies: Mimosaceae) in South Africa

Species ofProsopis(Mimosaceae), or mesquites, are invasive rangeland weeds in South Africa's Western Cape and Northern Cape Provinces. Two bruchid seed-weevil species,Algarobius prosopis(Le Conte) andA. bottimeriKingsolver, were released for biological control in 1987 and 1990, respectively. Seed-feeding biocontrol agents were selected because mesquite pods are valued as livestock fodder. Livestock grazing of bruchid larvae developing in mesquite seeds, however, limits the effectiveness of these agents. Livestock grazing also exacerbates mesquite infestations because scarified seeds are dispersed widely in vertebrate dung. In response to the livestock grazing problem,Neltumius arizonensis(Schaeffer), a bruchid reputed to be capable of ovipositing on immature, tree-borne pods, was released at three sites in Western Cape Province in 1993 and 1994. Small populations ofN. arizonensishave become established at the release sites. Overall,N. arizonensiswas 18 times less abundant thanA. prosopis.In some monthsN. arizonensiseggs were heavily parasitized byUscanasp. (Trichogrammatidae), but the effect of this onN. arizonensispopulation dynamics is uncertain. Western CapeN. arizonensispopulations need more time to increase in size. The introduction of other, more injurious biocontrol agents such as the cecidomyiid bud feederAsphondylia prosopidisCockerell should be considered.     

Myology of the Feeding Apparatus of Myrmecophagid Anteaters (Xenarthra: Myrmecophagidae)

The musculoskeletal feeding apparatus of anteaters in the family Myrmecophagidae (Eutheria: Xenarthra) is described, compared among the three extant genera (Tamandua, Myrmecophaga, Cyclopes), and interpreted in a phylogenetic framework. Character polarities are assessed with reference to other xenarthrans, eutherians, and didelphid marsupials. Xenarthrans are widely regarded as basal eutherians, and this is reflected in the apparent retention of plesiomorphic character states in jaw and pharyngeal musculature. Jaw closing muscles are architecturally simple, the stylohyoideus is absent, the stylopharyngeus is robust and architecturally complex, and the superior pharyngeal constrictor is weak. At the same time, the highly specialized trophic ecology of myrmecophagids is reflected in derived features of the jaw, tongue, and palatal musculature. The sternomandibularis is present, the tongue is largely composed of a sternog-lossus with no attachments to the hyoid apparatus, other glossus muscles are modified and do not enter the tongue, and the mylohyoideus and stylopharyngeus contribute to the soft palate, while other palatal muscles vary among the myrmecophagid genera. Feeding apparatus mycology provides further support for myrmecophagid monophyly. Documentation of the morphological transformations that lead to the myrmecophagid condition is hampered by incomplete data on feeding apparatus structure in nonmyrmecophagid xenarthrans (sloths and armadillos) but a tentative character mapping onto an independently derived phylogeny is offered.     

Carbon dioxide-induced changes in beech foliage cause female beech weevil larvae to feed in a compensatory manner

The phenology of Fagus sylvatica was unaffected by exposure to an atmosphere of elevated CO₂ (600 μL L^-1) after two years of fumigation. Non-significant changes in nitrogen and phenolic content of the leaves decreased the nutritional status of beech for female larvae in elevated CO₂ such that they responded by eating in a compensatory manner; males were unaffected. Rates of development, mortality and adult biomass of Rhynchaenus fagi were no different from those in ambient CO₂ concentrations (355 μL L ^-1). It is possible that, with the changes in leaf chemistry affecting the females, fecundity will be altered, with important consequences for populations of beech weevil.     

Seed Swallowing in Tamarins: Evidence of a Curative Function or Enhanced Foraging Efficiency?

Nonhuman primates represent a major component of the frugivore biomass in several rain-forest communities. Although there is considerable evidence that prosimians, monkeys, and apes serve as dispersal agents for many tropical trees, little attention has been paid to the more basic questions of why certain species of primates swallow and void seeds, and what, if any, are the advantages to an animal of having a large, hard, bolus pass through its digestive tract. We examine patterns of fruit-eating and seed-swallowing in two species of free-ranging tamarins: Saguinus mystax and Saguinus geoffroyi. Fruits commonly eaten by tamarins contain large seeds surrounded by a fibrous and adhesive pulp or arilate seed coat. They generally swallow seeds and pulp together. Intact seeds are voided over a 1- to 3-h period. Measurements of 132 seeds naturally voided by Panamanian tamarins average 11.2 mm in length and 0.3 g. The greatest number of large seeds contained in the digestive tract of a single animal at one time was 13. In the case of moustached tamarins, we collected 220 seeds. Average seed length is 11.9 mm and average seed weight is 0.3 g. At the time of capture, one animal had 26 seeds in its digestive tract. In both tamarin species, there is evidence of sex-based differences in feeding behavior. Adult female moustached and Panamanian tamarins swallowed and voided seeds of larger size than adult males did. Seed size is positively correlated with pulp weight (p <. 001), therefore females were selecting food items with higher nutritional rewards than adult males did. Given their small body size and relatively short digestive tract, why do tamarins swallow such large seeds? Although several explanations are possible, we propose that the large number and size of undigested seeds continuously passing through the tamarin gut serve a curative role in mechanically dislodging and expelling intestinal parasites—Ancanthocephala (spiny-headed worms)—from their digestive tracts.     

The usefulness of destructive host feeding parasitoids in classical biological control: theory and observation conflict

Abstract.

• 1 We examine the conventional wisdom among biological control practitioners that destructive host feeding is a desirable attribute in parasitoids employed for classical biological control, using both the predictions of population dynamics theory and historical data on biological control introductions of Hymenoptera against Homoptera.
• 2 Population dynamics theory predicts that destructive host feeders, compared with other parasitoids, are (a) either just as likely or more likely to become established, and (b) unable to depress host equilibria as strongly.
• 3 Analyses of the B IOC AT database suggest that among parasitoids of Homoptera destructive host feeders are superior to other parasitoids with respect to both establishment rate and success rate.
• 4 We present likely explanations for the disparity between the predictions of population dynamics theory and the results of database analysis. A partial explanation for the mismatch between theory and observation with respect to the degree of pest suppression may be that females of destructive host feeding parasitoids rely less upon hosts as a food source when alternative foods such as honeydew and nectar are plentiful.
• 5 We conclude that, despite the predictions of population dynamics theory, destructive host feeders are probably better biological control agents than other parasitoids, and certainly no worse, but that it would imprudent to use destructive host feeding as the sole, or even primary, selection criterion when seeking agents for classical biological control.

     

Effect of carbohydrate on age-related feeding behaviors and longevity in adult black cutworm,Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Age-related consumption and longevity were monitored in the laboratory for adultA. ipsilon fed either a 1M sucrose solution or water. An additional group was completely starved. Adults consumed sucrose solution and water just after eclosion; the percentage feeding daily and the mean daily consumption for females and males fed sucrose solution declined with time, whereas the percentage feeding daily and the mean daily consumption of those fed water increased with time. Total consumption was significantly higher for those fed sucrose solution (P<0.01) because they lived longer, but consumption per day averaged over the entire adult stage was not significantly different between those fed sucrose solution and those fed water (P>0.05). Mean longevity was significantly extended for females and males fed sucrose solution over those fed water or starved (P<0.01). Moreover, consumption of either fluid was significantly correlated with extended longevity in all groups (P<0.05). These data on fluid consumption by adultA. ipsilon are discussed relative to posteclosion migratory activities.     

梭曼对大鼠摄食中枢的抑制作用

采用双侧下丘脑外例区（摄食中枢）局部给药的方法,观察梭曼对大鼠摄食中枢的作用。实验结果表明,双侧下丘脑摄食中枢各注入梭曼３μｇ,给药当日大鼠平均摄食量下降６０．９％,抑制作用持续３ｄ,与给药前比较,差别显著（Ｐ＜０．０１或０．０５）;各注入阿托品０．１ｍｇ,平均摄食量下降４１．０％,第２天后恢复正常。胆碱酪酶重活化剂ＨＩ－６与梭曼同时注入下丘脑摄食中枢,或者中枢注入梭曼后立即肌注阿托品、美加明,均可部分对抗梭曼引起的中枢性摄食抑制。说明梭曼抑制大鼠摄食中枢与乙酰胆碱酯酶及乙酰胆碱受体确实有密切关系。     

The diets of two co-occurring marine teleosts, Parequula melbournensis and Pseudocaranx wrighti, and their relationships to body size and mouth morphology, and the season and location of capture

The dietary compositions of the co-occurring gerreid Parequula melbournensis and the carangid Pseudocaranx wrighti have been determined, using samples collected seasonally from a 200 km stretch of coastal water in temperate Australia, in which these species are very abundant. Although the small representatives of P. melbournensis and P. wrighti both fed to a large extent on copepods, the latter ingested a wider variety of prey and thus had a greater dietary breadth. The diets of both species changed markedly as body size increased. The larger representatives of P. melbournensis fed mainly on onuphid and other polychaetes, whereas those of P. wrighti consumed a considerable volume of crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes other than onuphids, and echinoderms. The above differences account for the dietary breadth being far greater in large P. wrighti than large P. melbournensis. Schoener's index and classification showed that dietary overlap between P. melbournensis and P. wrighti was low, suggesting that food resources were partitioned between these two demersal species. Intraspecific overlap was less amongst the length classes of small fish than among those of larger fish, indicating that any competition for food would be less among small fish, when growth would have been most rapid. The larger P. melbournensis fed mainly on prey types which were relatively sessile and can protrude from the substrate, such as tube-dwelling onuphid polychaetes, whereas the larger P. wrighti fed on a variety of epibenthic and/or more mobile species, such as mysids, amphipods, bivalves, gastropods, nereid polychaetes and echinoderms. Although P. melbournensis foraged to a far greater extent on a sessile fauna that occurs on or in the substrate, it ingested a far smaller amount of sand than P. wrighti, even though this latter species fed on a more epibenthic fauna. The presence of smaller amounts of sand in the stomach contents of P. melbournensis than of P. wrighti, presumably reflects the possession of a smaller and far more protrusible mouth, which enabled its sessile prey to be targetted more precisely. The dietary composition of P. melbournensis and P. wrighti underwent some seasonal changes, presumably reflecting seasonal fluctuations in the densities of prey species, and that of P. melbournensis differed slightly between some sites.     

穴蚁蛉幼虫期的食物量对各虫态历期的影响研究

穴蚁蛉在自然条件下１年发生１代,本实验证明,不同的饲食频率可影响幼虫的发育历期,在每天饲给１头米蛾成虫的情况下,１年可发生３代。１个世代可以在全历期都处于长日照和没有低温的条件下完成,其发育可以不需要光周期变化诱发,１５日饲食１次的穴蚁蛉,３龄 虫     

Stylet activity of cowpea aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) on leaf extracts of resistant and susceptible cowpea cultivars

Electrical penetration graph recordings using direct current (DC-EPGs) were used to analyze aspects of the probing behavior of cowpea aphid,Aphis craccivora Koch, on intact plants and on hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of leaves of aphid-resistant (ICV-12) and aphid-susceptible (ICV-1) cultivars of cowpeaVigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. In one set of experiments, recordings were done on plants with or without parafilm wrapping, or on plants painted with raw leaf juice and extracts of the two cultivars. In another study, recordings were done on leaf extracts homogenized in water or in 0.5M sucrose solution and then placed in parafilm membrane sachets. Electrodes were inserted into soil mix for the experiments on potted plants or into extract fractions and raw juice for the membrane feeding experiments on leaf extracts in parafilm sachets. Waveform signals were recorded from resistance fluctuations from interactions between aphids and substrates, and electromotive forces generated within each preparation. ICV-12 plants with or without parafilm wrapping, and ethyl acetate extracts and raw juice of that cultivar significantly (P≤0.05) reduced stylet penetration behavior. Thus, antixenosis as manifested by disruption of aphid stylet activity on host substrates, appeared to be a governing modality of aphid resistance in ICV-12.