Search results for "Insecta"
showing 10 items of 265 documents
Repeated exposure of fluazinam fungicides affects gene expression profiles yet carries no costs on a nontarget pest
2021
Fungicides are used to control pathogenic fungi of crop species, but they have also been shown to alter behavioral, life history and fitness related traits of non-target insects. Here, we tested the fungicide effects on feeding behavior, survival and physiology of the non-target pest insect, the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). Feeding behavior was studied by a choice test of adult beetles, which were allowed to choose between a control and a fungicide (fluazinam) treated potato leaf. Larval survival was recorded after 24-hour and 72-hour exposure to control and fungicide-treated leaves with two different concentrations. The adults did not show fungicide avoidance behavio…
Feces production as a form of social immunity in an insect with facultative maternal care
2015
Background Social animals have the unique capability of mounting social defenses against pathogens. Over the last decades, social immunity has been extensively studied in species with obligatory and permanent forms of social life. However, its occurrence in less derived social systems and thus its role in the early evolution of group-living remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether lining nests with feces is a form of social immunity against microbial growth in the European earwig Forficula auricularia, an insect with temporary family life and facultative maternal care. Results Using a total of 415 inhibition zone assays, we showed that earwig feces inhibit the growth of two GRAM+ bact…
The Odonatoptera of the Late Permian Lodève Basin (Insecta).
2008
8 pages; International audience; The discovery of numerous and very diverse Odonatoptera in the Red Late Permian Lodève Basin questions its current reconstructions of a dry to very dry palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment. It rather suggests the presence of more or less permanent water bodies, surrounded by a diversity of terrestrial biotas. The discovery of large to very large Meganeuridae contradicts the alleged relations between the decrease of body and wing sizes of the insects during the late Permian as a direct consequence of the decrease of the oxygen atmospheric concentrations at that time.
Coupling of endothelin receptors to the ERK/MAP kinase pathway. Roles of palmitoylation and G(alpha)q.
2001
Endothelins are potent mitogens that stimulate extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK/MAP kinases) through their cognate G-protein-coupled receptors, ET(A) and ET(B). To address the role of post-translational ET receptor modifications such as acylation on ERK activation and to identify relevant downstream effectors coupling the ET receptor to the ERK signaling cascades we have constructed a panel of palmitoylation-deficient ET receptor mutants with differential G(alpha) protein binding capacity. Endothelin-1 stimulation of wild-type ET(A) or ET(B) induced a fivefold to sixfold increase in ERK in COS-7 and CHO cells whereas full-length nonpalmitoylated ET(A) and ET(B) mutants failed to …
Survival after pathogen exposure in group-living insects: don't forget the stress of social isolation!
2016
A major cost of group-living is its inherent risk of pathogen infection. To limit this risk, many group-living animals have developed the capability to prophylactically boost their immune system in the presence of group members and/or to mount collective defences against pathogens. These two phenomena, called density-dependent prophylaxis and social immunity, respectively, are often used to explain why, in group-living species, individuals survive better in groups than in isolation. However, this survival difference may also reflect an alternative and often overlooked process: a cost of social isolation on individuals' capability to fight against infections. Here, we disentangled the effect…
Revision of Afrotropical Dyscritobaeus Perkins, 1910 (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)
2016
A revision of Afrotropical species of Dyscritobaeus Perkins is presented with re-description of the four known species ( D. bicolor O’Connor et Ashe, D. comitans Perkins, D. parvipennis (Dodd) and D. sulawensis Mineo, O’Connor et Ashe) and description of six new species ( D. antananarivensis Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov., D. flavus Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov. , D. kilimanjarensis Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov. , D. madagascarensis Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov. , D. ndokii Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov. and D. tanzaniensis Tortorici et Caleca sp. nov.). Dyscritobaeus cerosus is considered to be a junior synonym of D. comitans , D. hannibal is considered to be a junior synonym of D. sulawensis and…
Orthoptera (Insecta: Tettigonioidea, Pyrgomorphoidea, Acridoidea) of Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains National Park and other areas of conserva…
2016
An annotated checklist of 51 Orthoptera taxa (Tettigonioidea, Pyrgomorphoidea and Acridoidea) of Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains National Park and some additional sites in Ethiopia is presented. Ten species are newly recorded for the country. Four species are new to science: Peropyrrhicia attilioi n. sp., P. keffensis n. sp., P. semiensis n. sp. and Coryphosima danieli n. sp. The status of Peropyrrhicia cooperi Uvarov, 1934 and P. scotti Uvarov, 1934 is revised: both are considered valid species.
Influence of microbial symbionts on insect pheromones
2018
Covering: up to 2018 Pheromones serve as chemical signals between individuals of the same species and play important roles for mate localization and mate choice as well as other social interactions in insects. A growing body of literature indicates that microbial symbionts can modulate their hosts' chemical profiles, mate choice decisions and social behavior. This modulation can occur by the direct biosynthesis of pheromone components or the provisioning of precursors, or through general changes in the metabolite pool of the host and its resource allocation into pheromone production. Here we review and discuss the contexts in which microbial modulation of intraspecific communication in inse…
Effects of cuticle structure and crystalline wax coverage on the coloration in young and old males of Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo
2010
Male secondary sexual characters, such as color patterns, are often investigated at the macroscale level. However, micro- and nanoscale levels of morphological investigations may reveal functional features responsible for a particular coloration, thus providing more information, e.g., about the condition dependence of male sexual characters. The aim of this paper was to investigate cuticle color and its structure in males of two congeneric damselfly species, Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo, and reveal possible color changes with age. According to spectrometer measurements, C. splendens males were bluer and had a greater saturation of blue in their abdomen than C. virgo males, whic…
Immunocompetence, developmental stability and wingspot size in the damselflyCalopteryx splendensL.
2000
Calopteryx splendens males exhibit a remarkable variation in wing pigmentation both within and between populations. In this study, we examined whether the wingspots of male C. splendens are related to male quality. We measured the nylon implant encapsulation rate for 85 males and found that males with larger wingspots had a faster encapsulation rate, indicating a better immunocompetence. We also found that the encapsulation rate was positively correlated with the density of haemocytes in the haemolymph. Another measurement of male quality, fluctuating asymmetry of wingspots, correlated negatively with the size of the wingspots. Males with asymmetrical wingspots also had lower encapsulation …