Search results for "VIP"
showing 10 items of 223 documents
Insecticidal Activity and Synergistic Combinations of Ten Different Bt Toxins against Mythimna separata (Walker)
2018
The oriental armyworm (OAW), Mythimna separata (Walker), is a destructive pest of agricultural crops in Asia and Australia. Commercialized Bt crops have performed very well against their target pests
Intraspecific Differences in Spectral Reflectance Curves as Indicators of Reduced Vitality in High-Arctic Plants
2017
Remote sensing is a suitable candidate for monitoring rapid changes in Polar regions, offering high-resolution spectral, spatial and radiometric data. This paper focuses on the spectral properties of dominant plant species acquired during the first week of August 2015. Twenty-eight plots were selected, which could easily be identified in the field as well as on RapidEye satellite imagery. Spectral measurements of individual species were acquired, and heavy metal contamination stress factors were measured contemporaneously. As a result, a unique spectral library of dominant plant species, heavy metal concentrations and damage ratios were achieved with an indication that species-specific chan…
Antipredatory function of head shape for vipers and their mimics.
2011
Most research into the adaptive significance of warning signals has focused on the colouration and patterns of prey animals. However, behaviour, odour and body shape can also have signal functions and thereby reduce predators' willingness to attack defended prey. European vipers all have a distinctive triangular head shape; and they are all venomous. Several non-venomous snakes, including the subfamily Natricinae, commonly flatten their heads (also known as head triangulation) when disturbed. The adaptive significance of this potential behavioural mimicry has never been investigated. We experimentally tested if the triangular head shape typical of vipers offers protection against predation.…
Foraging behavior of two egg parasitoids exploiting chemical cues from the stink bug Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).
2019
Several parasitoids attacking the same host may lead to competition. Adult parasitoids' abilities to find, parasitize and defend hosts determine resource's retention potential. In soybean, two egg parasitoid species, Telenomus podisi and Trissolcus urichi (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), compete on the egg masses of Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) one of the major pest of this crop. We evaluated parasitoid's abilities to exploit hosts' footprints; and parasitoid's behavior when competing for the same host. Both arena residence time and retention time were similar for T. podisi and T. urichi on male or female host footprints. In its turn, T. urichi reentered the area contaminate…
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…
Fitness costs of intrinsic competition in two egg parasitoids of a true bug
2015
Intrinsic competition in insect parasitoids occurs when supernumerary larvae develop in the same host as consequence of multiple ovipositions by females of the same species (intra-specific competition) or by females of different species (inter-specific competition). Studies on intrinsic competition have mainly focused on understanding the factors that play a role in the outcome of competition, while fitness-related effects for the parasitoid surviving the competition have been poorly investigated, especially in egg parasitoids. Interestingly, even the winning parasitoid can experience fitness costs due to larval development in a host in which multiple factors have been injected by the ovipo…
Exploring species-level taxonomy in the Cryptocephalus flavipes species complex (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
2016
In insects, morphological species identification is often challenging. The discrimination of closely related species may be hampered when only subtle differences in phenotypic characters or a continuum in their variability are present. This is exemplified in the Cryptocephalus flavipes species complex (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae) where, until now, the species have been discriminated only by the yellow pattern on frons, pronotum, and epipleurae. In the present study, the phylogeny of the C. flavipes species complex was resolved through a multi-locus sequence approach, and the inclusion in the group of the phenotypically similar Cryptocephalus quadripustulatus Gyllenhal, 1813 was evaluated. Su…
Tieteelliset laskentasovellukset ja pilvipalvelut – erityistarkastelussa AWS
2014
Perinteisesti IT-resurssien hankinta on tapahtunut hankkimalla laitteistoa ja ohjelmistoja omaan tai organisaation omistukseen. Näiden resurssien käyttö on yleensä tarkoittanut merkittäviä investointeja laitteistoihin, ohjelmistoihin ja näiden ylläpitoon. Suuressa organisaatiossa kalliiden IT-resurssien käyttöönotto voi olla joissain tapauksissa hyvinkin byrokraattinen prosessi. Tieteellinen laskenta edellyttää usein erittäin suurta laskenta- ja tallennuskapasiteettia. Tutkijat hyötyisivät raskaaseen laskentaan vaadittavien IT-resurssien hankkimisesta palveluna, jolloin usein niukat resurssit voitaisiin keskittää vaadittavan laitteiston hankkimisen ja ylläpidon sijaan ydinongelman tutkimise…
Mother and offspring fitness in an insect with maternal care: phenotypic trade-offs between egg number, egg mass and egg care
2014
Background Oviparous females have three main options to increase their reproductive success: investing into egg number, egg mass and/or egg care. Although allocating resources to either of these three components is known to shape offspring number and size, potential trade-offs among them may have key impacts on maternal and offspring fitness. Here, we tested the occurrence of phenotypic trade-offs between egg number, egg mass and maternal expenditure on egg care in the European earwig, Forficula auricularia, an insect with pre- and post-hatching forms of maternal care. In particular, we used a series of laboratory observations and experiments to investigate whether these three components no…
Explaining organizational adoption of technology : the case of cloud platforms
2015
The internet of things (IOT) is a vision that represents a world of connected devices which are identifiable and may have capabilities to sense and act on the surrounding environment. Almost every item in the planet has the potential to become part of the IOT. The data exchange between these devices requires that cloud technologies are applied. These cloud computing platforms already exist and need to adapt to the specific needs of the IOT in order to cope with the high demands of the IOT, for example handling the Big Data generated by the IOT devices. Nonetheless, little is known about the adoption levels of these platforms. In the past the UTAUT2 has been used to help explain technology a…