Search results for " Lepidoptera"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
From non-target risk assessment to Bt resistance management: the example of Bt Brassica sp. and Pieridae
2011
Insecticidal toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been widely used in plant protection in two different ways: 1) by spraying bacterial Bt formulations, 2) by expressing their gene encoding in planta. In the second strategy, only the transgenic plants themselves are protected but insect- resistant plants could spread into natural habitats and/or the gene could be fixed in alternative hosts. It is necessary to estimate the magnitude of the possible effects on naturally occurring herbivorous insects but also on the target species, especially when they have several alternative hosts, as in the case of Pieridae. They are present both in agriculture where they could be considered p…
New records of gall-inducer and inquiline insects in a few mediterranean countries, with biological notes
2014
An annotated list of some gall-inducing and inquiline insects found on herbaceous plants and trees in Italy and in other few Mediterranean countries is reported. Among the gall-inducer species, Phanacis phoenixopodos (Mayr, 1882) is new for the Italian peninsula, Callirhytis rufescens (Mayr, 1882), Andricus quercusramuli (L., 1761) and Plagiotrochus amenti Kieffer, 1901 (Cynipidae: Hymenoptera) are new for Sicily; the latter was previously cited from Italy without collecting data. Oecocecis guyonella Guenée, 1870 was found in Libya and Amblypalpis olivierella Ragonot, 1886 (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera) in Jordan, Libya, Northern Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, Saphonecrus gal…
A mathematical model of exposure of nontarget Lepidoptera to Bt-maize pollen expressing Cry1Ab within Europe
2010
Genetically modified (GM) maize MON810 expresses a Cry1Ab insecticidal protein, derived from Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ), toxic to lepidopteran target pests such as Ostrinia nubilalis . An environmental risk to non-target Lepidoptera from this GM crop is exposure to harmful amounts of Bt -containing pollen deposited on host plants in or near MON810 fields. An 11-parameter mathematical model analysed exposure of larvae of three non-target species: the butterflies Inachis io (L.), Vanessa atalanta (L.) and moth Plutella xylostella (L.), in 11 representative maize cultivation regions in four European countries. A mortality–dose relationship was integrated with a dose–distance relationship t…
Response to Kruse-Plass et al. (2017) regarding the risk to non-target lepidopteran larvae exposed to pollen from one or more of three Bt maize event…
2017
We respond to the paper of Kruse-Plass et al. (Environ Sci Eur 29:12, 2017), published in this journal, regarding the risk to non-target lepidopteran larvae exposed to pollen from one or more of three Bt maize events (MON810, Bt11 and 1507). We emphasise that what is important for environmental risk assessment is not the number of pollen grains per se, but the degree of exposure of a NT lepidopteran larva to Bt protein contained in maize pollen. The main text of this response deals with general issues which Kruse-Plass et al. have failed to understand; more detailed refutations of each of their claims are given in Additional file 1. Valid environmental risk assessment requires direct measur…
The Generalist Inside the Specialist: Gut Bacterial Communities of Two Insect Species Feeding on Toxic Plants Are Dominated by Enterococcus sp.
2016
Some specialist insects feed on plants rich in secondary compounds, which pose a major selective pressure on both the phytophagous and the gut microbiota. However, microbial communities of toxic plant feeders are still poorly characterized. Here, we show the bacterial communities of the gut of two specialized Lepidoptera, Hyles euphorbiae and Brithys crini, which exclusively feed on latex-rich Euphorbia sp. and alkaloid-rich Pancratium maritimum, respectively. A metagenomic analysis based on high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the gut microbiota of both insects is dominated by the phylum Firmicutes, and especially by the common gut inhabitant Enterococcus sp. Staph…
Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richn…
2011
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Lack of Detrimental Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry Toxins on the Insect Predator Chrysoperla carnea : a Toxicological, Histopathological, and …
2006
ABSTRACT The effect of Cry proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis on the green lacewing ( Chrysoperla carnea ) was studied by using a holistic approach which consisted of independent, complementary experimental strategies. Tritrophic experiments were performed, in which lacewing larvae were fed Helicoverpa armigera larvae reared on Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, or Cry2Ab toxins. In complementary experiments, a predetermined amount of purified Cry1Ac was directly fed to lacewing larvae. In both experiments no effects on prey utilization or fitness parameters were found. Since binding to the midgut is an indispensable step for toxicity of Cry proteins to known target insects, we hypothesized that specific bind…
GALLIGENI INTERESSANTI E NUOVI PER LA FAUNA ITALIANA
2011
Influence of a humid zone on entomocoenosis diversity.
2017
The authors studied the insect diversity associated to humid and dry zones in the Caselli Nature Reserve (Pisa, Tuscany) in 2016 by using two Malaise traps. The average number of species and individual captures increased in the humid zone to about 118% for species and to 152% for individuals respectively. This richness increase was observed for some families of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera Aculeata and Apoidea. Surprisingly, a richness decrease of Lepidoptera (to 89% and 66% respectively for species and individuals) and Orthoptera (to 44% and 21% respectively for species and individuals) in the humid zone has been observed.
The usefulness of a mathematical model of exposure for environmental risk assessment
2011
We respond to the Comment of Lang et al . [[1][1]] regarding our mathematical model [[2][2]] of exposure of non-target Lepidoptera to Bt -maize pollen expressing Cry1Ab within Europe. Lang et al . remark on the degree to which the model was subject to uncertainty. Perry et al . [[2][2]] did indeed