Search results for "Hexapod"
showing 10 items of 24 documents
Jumping on the Edge—First Evidence for a 2 × 6-meric Hemocyanin in Springtails
2019
Hemocyanins are respiratory dioxygen carrier proteins found in many arthropods including ancient terrestrial species such as spiders and scorpions as well as marine horseshoe crabs. As hemocyanins are highly conserved in this lineage, it is possible to observe an evolutionary descent through its subunits and their overall structure. Unfortunately, little is known about the structure and function of hexapod hemocyanins. Using recent springtail taxa (Collembola) as models for basal hexapods, and the help of electron microscopy, light scattering, SDS PAGE, and Western blot, we could demonstrate for the first time the presence of 2 × 6-meric hemocyanins in the hemolymph of hexapods. The quatern…
How many scales on the wings? A case study based on Colias crocea (Geoffroy, 1785) (Hexapoda: Lepidoptera, Pieridae)
2019
Abstract The covering by scales of the wings of Lepidoptera contributes to multiple functions that are critical for their survival and reproduction. In order to gain a better understanding about their distribution, we have exhaustively studied 4 specimens of Colias crocea (Geoffroy, 1785). We have quantified the sources of variability affecting scale density. The results indicate that the scale covering of butterfly wings may be remarkably heterogeneous, and that the importance of the sources of variability differs between forewings and hindwings. Thus, in forewing the greatest variability occurs between sectors, while in the hindwings it occurs between sides, with a higher density of scale…
Trioxys liui Chou & Chou, 1993 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae): an invasive aphid parasitoid attacking invasive Takecallis species (Hemiptera, …
2020
Biological invasion of aphids and other insects has been increased due to long distance commercial transportation of plant material. The bamboo-aphid-parasitoid association is strictly specific and even though it does not develop interactions with the local environment it should be listed as part of the fauna of southwestern Europe. On-going research regarding aphids and their aphidiine parasitoids in Spain has yielded a new association of Trioxys liui Chou & Chou, 1993 with an undescribed species of Takecallis aphids on bamboo, Phyllostachys spp. Here we present the first association of T. liui with aphids of the genus Takecallis that attack bamboos. Trioxys liui is known as a parasitoid o…
Diplurans of subsurface terrestrial habitats in the Iberian Peninsula, with a new species description (Diplura: Campodeidae)
2017
Although Iberian subsurface terrestrial habitats have been sampled for a half century, they remain poorly known. During the last five years much more sampling of these subsurface habitats has been made, mainly in scree slopes (also called colluvial Mesovoid Shallow Substratum habitats, MSS) but also in alluvial debris of temporal watercourses (alluvial MSS). In our study, diplurans, a basal hexapod group, were extracted from two hundred traps installed in 69 locations in the mountain ranges of six different regions of the Iberian Peninsula, from north to south: Cantabrian, Pyrenees, Iberic System, Central System, Prebaetic and Penibaetic Mountains. A total of 1251 specimens in fifteen diplu…
Fauna Europaea: Coleoptera 2 (excl. series Elateriformia, Scarabaeiformia, Staphyliniformia and superfamily Curculionoidea)
2015
Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including synonyms) of all living European land and freshwater animals, their geographical distribution at country level (up to the Urals, excluding the Caucasus region), and some additional information. The Fauna Europaea project covers about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. This represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many users in science, government, industry, nature conservation an…
Can Deliberately Incomplete Gene Sample Augmentation Improve a Phylogeny Estimate for the Advanced Moths and Butterflies (Hexapoda: Lepidoptera)?
2011
Abstract This paper addresses the question of whether one can economically improve the robustness of a molecular phylogeny estimate by increasing gene sampling in only a subset of taxa, without having the analysis invalidated by artifacts arising from large blocks of missing data. Our case study stems from an ongoing effort to resolve poorly understood deeper relationships in the large clade Ditrysia ( > 150,000 species) of the insect order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Seeking to remedy the overall weak support for deeper divergences in an initial study based on five nuclear genes (6.6 kb) in 123 exemplars, we nearly tripled the total gene sample (to 26 genes, 18.4 kb) but only in a…
Cave-adapted campodeids (Hexapoda, Diplura, Campodeidae) from the Dinarides and adjacent karst regions
2021
Five new species are described, Plusiocampa (Didymocampa) cvijici Sendra & Antić, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Plusiocampa) atom Sendra & Antić, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Stygiocampa) barethae Sendra & Rađa, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Stygiocampa) dulcici Sendra & Rađa, sp. nov. and Plusiocampa (Venetocampa) pirnati Sendra & Borko, sp. nov. This brings the number of cave-adapted species of campodeids known from the Dinarides, Eastern Alps, Balkan System and Rodope Massif to 28 (one species in the genus Campodea and 27 in Plusiocampa). Among Plusiocampa, four out of five subgenera are present (Pentachaetocampa is not present in the region studied): Didymocampa (one species), Plusiocampa s. str. (15 speci…
Topical bioassay of Oberon® on Drosophila melanogaster pupae: delayed effects on ovarian proteins, cuticular hydrocarbons and sexual behaviour
2021
International audience; Spiromesifen (Oberon? 240 SC; concentrated solution; Bayer CropScience, Germany) a pesticide derived from spirocyclic tetronic acids, acts mainly though blocking lipid biosynthesis via acetyl-CoA carboxylase. However, its mode of action requires further analyses. This study aims to evaluate the sublethal effects of spiromesifen on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The treatment was carried out by topical application on newly moulted pupae using two concentrations (LD10 = 21.45 and LD25 = 39.53 ?g a.i./pupa). Our results showed that the developmental duration of larvae and pupae were not significantly affected by treatment. However, spiromesifen caused delayed ef…
Motor-skill learning in an insect inspired neuro-computational control system
2017
In nature, insects show impressive adaptation and learning capabilities. The proposed computational model takes inspiration from specific structures of the insect brain: after proposing key hypotheses on the direct involvement of the mushroom bodies (MBs) and on their neural organization, we developed a new architecture for motor learning to be applied in insect-like walking robots. The proposed model is a nonlinear control system based on spiking neurons. MBs are modeled as a nonlinear recurrent spiking neural network (SNN) with novel characteristics, able to memorize time evolutions of key parameters of the neural motor controller, so that existing motor primitives can be improved. The ad…
Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis
2011
Background: Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications. Methodological/Principal Findings: A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, parti…