Search results for "Instar"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
From deception to frankness: Benefits of ontogenetic shift in the anti-predator strategy of alder moth Acronicta alni larvae
2014
Abstract Animals can avoid prédation by masquerading as objects that are not food to their predators. Alder moth Acronicta alni larvae go through an impressive ontogenetic change from masquerade to highly conspicuous appearance: early larval stages resemble bird droppings but in the last instar the larval coloration changes into striking yellow-and-black stripes. We hypothesized that such a change may be driven by differential prédation favoring dissimilar anti-predator strategies in different life stages. We show with a series of laboratory assays that larvae are distasteful to birds regardless of their developmental stage, suggesting that ontogenetic color change is not driven by the diff…
A TEST FOR REPRODUCTIVE SEPARATION OF ALTERNATE GENERATIONS IN A BIENNIAL SPIDER, ARANEUS DIADEMATUS (ARANEAE, ARANEIDAE)
2002
In Denmark, two seemingly distinct size-classes, 3rd and 4th instar juveniles and repro- ductive adults, of Araneus diadematus are found during every breeding season in autumn, indicating a non-overlapping biennial life-cycle. We tested the hypothesis that alternate generations might experience a degree of reproductive isolation, using the distribution of nuclear (allozyme) and maternal (mtDNA) genetic markers. Individuals of a locality behaved as belonging to a random mating population, irrespective of size. No differences were found between any size-class pairs, within and between 2 yr, or among geographically distant samples. Processes that may lead to this result are discussed: the bien…
Spatial data of Ixodes ricinus instar abundance and nymph pathogen prevalence, Scandinavia, 2016-2017.
2020
ticks carry pathogens that can cause disease in both animals and humans, and there is a need to monitor the distribution and abundance of ticks and the pathogens they carry to pinpoint potential high risk areas for tick-borne disease transmission. In a joint Scandinavian study, we measured Ixodes ricinus instar abundance at 159 sites in southern Scandinavia in August-September, 2016, and collected 29,440 tick nymphs at 50 of these sites. We additionally measured abundance at 30 sites in August-September, 2017. We tested the 29,440 tick nymphs in pools of 10 in a Fluidigm real-time PCR chip to screen for 17 different tick-associated pathogens, 2 pathogen groups and 3 tick species. We present…
Effects of the ingestion ofSerratula tinctoria extracts, a plant containing phytoecdysteroids, on the development of the vineyard pestLobesia botrana…
1997
We describe here the effects of extracts from Serratula tinctoria, a plant producing phytoecdysteroids, on the growth and development of Lobesia botrana, an economically important pest in vineyards. Leaves, hairy roots, or semi-purified (by Sep-Pak procedure) methanolic extracts from this plant were incorporated into an artificial diet given to insects. Larval growth, mortality, weight, and sex-ratio were investigated, as well as sterol and ecdysteroid contents. Experimental diets induced an important mortality in the first, second, and third larval instars, but also in pupae. As males appeared more sensitive to extracts, sex ratio was significantly modified on experimental diets (particula…
Description and Life History of an Unusual Fern-Feeding Tortricid Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) from Brazil
2004
Tortrimosaica polypodivora Brown & Baixeras, new genus and new species, is described and illustrated from Sao Paulo, Brazil. We also describe and illustrate the last instar and pupa and provide notes on the life history. Larvae of the new species are gall inducers on the stems of Microgramma squamulosa (Kauf.) Sota (Polypodiaceae), an unusual behavior and host for a tortricid. Although placed provisionally in Hilarographini, tribal and subfamilial assignment of the new genus is extremely problematic owing to a mosaic of morphological characters, suggesting placement in a variety of different higher taxa. The larvae have a bisetose L-group on the prothorax, and the pupa has multiple rows of …
An assessment method for the quantification of Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch) (Hem., Phylloxeridae) populations in the field
2003
: Grape phylloxera is a plant parasite that has started to become a pest again in European viticulture in spite of the use of grafted rootstocks. Since the middle of the 1980s, there have been various reports of vine damage caused by phylloxera. It was shown that in some cases there is no direct correlation between the occurrence of phylloxera and vine damage. In this context, phytopathogenic microorganisms, especially fungi, are mentioned in literature. To investigate the possible interactions it is necessary to be able to assess phylloxera populations in the field, e.g. to correlate phylloxera abundance with the vigour of the vines. Because of the non-homogenous distribution of the grape…
Age, pathogen exposure, but not maternal care shape offspring immunity in an insect with facultative family life
2017
International audience; Background: To optimize their resistance against pathogen infection, individuals are expected to find the right balance between investing into the immune system and other life history traits. In vertebrates, several factors were shown to critically affect the direction of this balance, such as the developmental stage of an individual, its current risk of infection and/or its access to external help such as parental care. However, the independent and/or interactive effects of these factors on immunity remain poorly studied in insects.Results: Here, we manipulated maternal presence and pathogen exposure in families of the European earwig Forficula auricularia to measur…
Optimum and Maximum Host Sizes at Parasitism for the Endoparasitoid <I>Hyposoter didymator</I> (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) Differ Greatl…
2007
Host size is considered a reliable indicator of host quality and an important determinant of parasitoid fitness. Koinobiont parasitoids attack hosts that continue feeding and growing during parasitism. In contrast with hemolymph-feeding koinobionts, tissue-feeding koinobionts face not only a minimum host size for successful development but also a maximum host size, because consumption of the entire host is often necessary for successful egression. Here we study interactions between a generalist tissue-feeding larval endoparasitoid, Hyposoter didymator Thunberg (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and two of its natural hosts, Spodoptera exigua Hübner and Chrysodeixis chalcites Esper (Lepidoptera: N…
Development of the wing discs of Zophobas atratus under natural and experimental conditions: occurrence of a gradual larval-pupal commitment in the e…
1999
Using light and electron microscopy, we studied the development of the wing discs in the large beetle Zophobas atratus, under natural and experimental conditions. A reversible differentiation of the wing discs is usually observed during supernumerary instars of crowded larvae. Juvenile hormone analog (JHA) application during the wandering period or compelled experimental crowding during the larval-pupal switchover – or commitment – inhibits the onset of metamorphosis. Isolation, followed by recrowding, also induces the disc cells to secrete unusual cuticular material. Recrowding is able to trigger the reversal of metamorphosis during the 4-day period when larval-pupal commitment is taking p…
External and internal elimination of supernumerary larvae in the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)
2008
Abstract The solitary parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) is one of the key biological control agents of the whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, also known as B. tabaci (Gennadius) B-biotype (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). We present new information on its biology, and particularly about larval elimination during the first instar in cases of superparasitism. For the first time, physical elimination of supernumerary larvae was observed, both outside and inside the host. These findings are documented with confocal microscopy images and video recordings. We observed more than 350 B. argentifolii nymphs, parasitized with one, two or more than two larvae. Physi…