Search results for "COLEOPTERA"

Next-generation biological control

2020

Biological control is widely successful at controlling pests, but effective biocontrol agents are now more difficult to import from countries of origin due to more restrictive international trade laws (the Nagoya Protocol). Coupled with increasing demand, the efficacy of existing and new biocontrol agents needs to be improved with genetic and genomic approaches. Although they have been underutilised in the past, application of genetic and genomic techniques is becoming more feasible from both technological and economic perspectives. We review current methods and provide a framework for using them. First, it is necessary to identify which biocontrol trait to select and in what direction. Nex…

Key carabid species drive spring weed seed predation of Viola arvensis

2020

Exploratory behaviour is not related to associative learning ability in the carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis.

2020

Abstract Recently, it has been hypothesised that as learning performance and animal personality vary along a common axis of fast and slow types, natural selection may act on both in parallel leading to a correlation between learning and personality traits. We examined the relationship between risk-taking, exploratory behaviour and associative learning ability in carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis females by quantifying the number of trials individuals required to reach criterion during an associative learning task (‘learning performance’). The associative learning task required the females to associate odour and direction with refugia from light and heat in a T-maze. Further, we assessed lea…

Choosy beetles : How host trees and southern boreal forest naturalness may determine dead wood beetle communities

2021

Wood-living beetles make up a large proportion of forest biodiversity and contribute to important ecosystem services, including decomposition. Beetle communities in managed southern boreal forests are less species rich than in natural and near-natural forest stands. In addition, many beetle species rely primarily on specific tree species. Yet, the associations between individual beetle species, forest management category, and tree species are seldom quantified, even for red-listed beetles. We compiled a beetle capture dataset from flight intercept traps placed on Norway spruce (Picea abies), oak (Quercus sp.), and Eurasian aspen (Populus tremulae) trees in 413 sites in mature managed forest…

Microbiome-assisted carrion preservation aids larval development in a burying beetle

2018

Significance Ephemeral diets such as carrion are high-quality resources that are susceptible to microbial spoilage. Carrion-feeding insects that breed on decaying carcasses must overcome challenges arising from competing microbes. Here we report that a carrion-feeding burying beetle preserves carcasses by regulating its microbial growth, resulting in changes in its biochemical properties including the reduction of toxic polyamines associated with putrefaction and nutrient loss. The beetle’s microbial symbionts form a biofilm-like matrix on carcasses, which is important for optimal larval development. The beetles and their microbiome thus coordinate a specialized adaptive strategy of carrion…

Using host species traits to understand the Wolbachia infection distribution across terrestrial beetles.

2019

AbstractKnowledge of Wolbachia prevalence with respect to its hosts is restricted mainly to taxonomic/phylogenetic context. In contrast, relations between infection and most host’s ecological and biological traits are poorly understood. This study aimed to elaborate on relations between bacteria and its beetle hosts in taxonomic and the ecological contexts. In particular, the goal is to verify which ecological and biological traits of beetles could cause them to be prone to be infected. Verification of Wolbachia infection status across 297 beetle taxa showed that approximately 27% of taxa are infected by supergroups A and B. Only minor support for coevolution between bacteria and its beetle…

Bacterial community diversity harboured by interacting species

2016

International audience; All animals are infected by microbial partners that can be passengers or residents and influence many biological traits of their hosts. Even if important factors that structure the composition and abundance of microbial communities within and among host individuals have been recently described, such as diet, developmental stage or phylogeny, few studies have conducted cross-taxonomic comparisons, especially on host species related by trophic relationships. Here, we describe and compare the microbial communities associated with the cabbage root fly Delia radicum and its three major parasitoids: the two staphylinid beetles Aleochara bilineata and A. bipustulata and the…

Burying beetles regulate the microbiome of carcasses and use it to transmit a core microbiota to their offspring

2017

Necrophagous beetles utilize carrion, a highly nutritious resource that is susceptible to intense microbial competition, by treating it with antimicrobial anal and oral secretions. However, how this regulates the carcass microbiota remains unclear. Here, we show that carcasses prepared by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides undergo significant changes in their microbial communities subsequent to their burial and ‘preparation’. Prepared carcasses hosted a microbial community that was more similar to that of beetles’ anal and oral secretions than to the native carcass community or the surrounding soil, indicating that the beetles regulated the carcass microbiota. A core microbial comm…

Preliminary evidence of the horizontal transmission of Wolbachia between Crioceris leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and their Asparagus host …

2017

Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia (alpha-Proteobacteria) are the most widespread endosymbionts of insects. Host infection is usually associated with alterations in reproduction, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, the induction of parthenogenesis and offspring sex ratio bias: all phenomena that may influence host speciation. In the present study, by using well-established molecular tools, we investigated the presence of Wolbachia in leaf beetles of the genus Crioceris and their host plants, which are various species of Asparagus. Multilocus sequence typing of bacterial genes showed that despite their occurrence in the same habitat and feeding on the same plant, two species of C…

How Hosts Taxonomy, Trophy, and Endosymbionts Shape Microbiome Diversity in Beetles.

2019

Bacterial communities play a crucial role in the biology, ecology, and evolution of multicellular organisms. In this research, the microbiome of 24 selected beetle species representing five families (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Scarabaeidae) and three trophic guilds (carnivorous, herbivorous, detrivorous) was examined using 16S rDNA sequencing on the Illumina platform. The aim of the study was to compare diversity within and among species on various levels of organization, including evaluation of the impact of endosymbiotic bacteria. Collected data showed that beetles possess various bacterial communities and that microbiota of individuals of particular species h…