Search results for "Insect"
showing 10 items of 2033 documents
Reproductive site selection: evidence of an oviposition cue in a highly adaptive dipteran, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
2020
Abstract Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is a vinegar fly species that originates from Eastern Asia and has spread throughout Europe and the Americas since its initial detection in United States in 2008. Its relatively large, sclerotized, and serrated ovipositor enables the ability to penetrate ripening fruits, providing a protected environment for its egg and larval stages. Because the mechanism of oviposition site selection of D. suzukii is a matter of hypothesis, the aim of the present study was to elucidate behavioral and chemical aspects of short-range ovipositional site selection within the context of D. suzukii reproductive biology. The preference of D. suzukii to lay eggs on artifici…
No inbreeding depression in sperm storage ability or offspring viability in Drosophila melanogaster females.
2013
Mating between relatives usually decreases genetic quality of progeny as deleterious recessive alleles are expressed in inbred individuals. Inbreeding degrades sperm traits but its effects on sperm storage and fate within females are currently unknown. We quantified the relationship between the degrees of inbreeding relevant to natural populations (f=0, 0.25 and 0.50) and the number of sperm inseminated and stored, sperm swimming speed, long-term sperm viability while in storage, pattern of sperm precedence, mating latency, and offspring viability of female Drosophila melanogaster. The use of transgenic flies that have either red or green fluorescent sperm heads allowed us to distinguish tw…
Dynamics of PHA-induced immune response and plasma carotenoids in birds: should we have a closer look?
2009
SUMMARY Allocation trade-offs of limited resources are thought to ensure the honesty of sexual signals and are often studied using controlled immune challenges. One such trade-off between immunity and ornaments is that involving carotenoids. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced immune response is a widely used immune challenge, yet more details on the underlying physiological mechanisms and potential costs are needed. We investigated the temporal dynamics of PHA-induced immune response and associated changes in blood carotenoids, body mass and a carotenoid-based coloured signal. We found variation in individual response patterns to PHA after peak swelling was reached, with birds showing either …
Elevated oxidative stress in pied flycatcher nestlings of eumelanic foster fathers under low rearing temperatures
2019
Striking variation in melanin coloration within natural populations is likely due to the different fitness outcomes of alternative phenotypes in varying environmental conditions. There are two types of melanin: eumelanins yield blackish hues, whereas pheomelanins yield reddish hues. The production of eumelanins requires low levels of glutathione (GSH), which is the most important intracellular antioxidant, whereas the production of pheomelanins requires high levels of GSH. We investigated the oxidative status of male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) with different degrees of melanin coloration under different temperatures during the nestling period. Moreover, we assessed the oxidative …
Genomic Analysis of European Drosophila melanogaster Populations Reveals Longitudinal Structure, Continent-Wide Selection, and Previously Unknown DNA…
2020
Genetic variation is the fuel of evolution, with standing genetic variation especially important for short-term evolution and local adaptation. To date, studies of spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation in natural populations have been challenging, as comprehensive sampling is logistically difficult, and sequencing of entire populations costly. Here, we address these issues using a collaborative approach, sequencing 48 pooled population samples from 32 locations, and perform the first continent-wide genomic analysis of genetic variation in European Drosophila melanogaster. Our analyses uncover longitudinal population structure, provide evidence for continent-wide selective sweeps, ide…
Relationship between maternal transfer of immunity and mother fecundity in an insect.
2012
Trans-generational immune priming (TGIP) corresponds to the plastic adjustment of offspring immunity as a result of maternal immune experience. TGIP is expected to improve mother's fitness by improving offspring individual performance in an environment where parasitism becomes more prevalent. However, it was recently demonstrated that maternal transfer of immunity to the offspring is costly for immune-challenged female insects. Thus, these females might not provide immune protection to all their offspring because of the inherent cost of other fitness-related traits. Females are therefore expected to adjust their investment to individual offspring immune protection in ways that maximize the…
Sourdough “ciabatta” bread enriched with powdered insects: Physicochemical, microbiological, and simulated intestinal digesta functional properties
2021
Abstract Powdered mealworm (MW) and buffalo worm (BW) larvae were used to functionalize sourdough Italian-style breads. Sourdough inoculum was started with Levilactobacillus brevis, Weissella cibaria and Leuconostoc citreum. The doughs were SBS (semolina plus powdered BW larvae and sourdough) and SMS (semolina plus powdered MW larvae and sourdough) whose pHs (4.32 and 4.21, respectively) were higher than that of control (3.81). The highest fermentation quotient (lactate/acetate molar ratio) was recorded in SMS (4.46). LAB reached viable counts of about 109 CFU g−1 in almost all doughs. Insects impacted bread VOCs with dodecanal, 2.4-dodecadienal and 2-octenal-2-butyl. SBS and SMS increased …
A new rare species of Oedipoda Latreille, 1829 (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from South Italy
2019
Oedipoda cynthiae n. sp. (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) is described from Apulia (South Italy). In the past, the same population here considered had been assigned to O. miniata and later to O. charpentieri. Morphological features, biogeographical considerations, and a preliminary molecular analysis confirm that this population must be assigned to a new species, which is described and illustrated here.
New Mediterranean records of Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1829) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae)
2018
The occurrence of Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) is reported for the first time at Linosa (Pelagian Islands, Sicily Channel, Italy) and Libya. T. mannipara was approved by USA authorities for release as biocontrol agents against invasive saltcedars. The potential impact of this species, that in the Mediterranean area showed to be occasionally invasive, is discussed.
Megymenum tuberculatum, a new species of Megymenini from Java and a review of distribution of M. brevicorne (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Dinidoridae)
2020
Megymenum tuberculatum Hemala & Kocorek, sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Dinidoridae: Megymeninae: Megymenini) from Java (Indonesia) is described, illustrated and compared with M. brevicorne (Fabricius, 1787). Although the description is based on only one female specimen, the differences in the morphology of head, pronotum, and spermatheca are significant. In addition, M. brevicorne is briefly redescribed and its distribution and biology reviewed along with its first record from Nepal.