Search results for "beetle"
showing 10 items of 138 documents
Występowanie Carabus (Morphocarabus) scheidleri scheidleri Panzer, 1799 na wyspie Bolko w Opolu
2015
Carabus scheidleri scheidleri is a very rare, legally protected in Poland species of ground beetle, occurring on single localities mainly in southern part of the country. The Authors present new data about occurrence of this species on the Bolko Island, one of the most valuable nature areas in town of Opole. General distribution of this species in Poland, commentson its systematic position and discussion about establishing protected area on the Bolko Island are also provided.
Kantojen ja metsänreunan etäisyyden vaikutus kaarnakuoriaisten jakautumiseen hakkuuaukoissa
2017
Viime vuosina kantojen korjuu energiapuuksi on lisääntynyt, mikä vähentää eliöstön monimuotoisuutta hakkuualoilla. Hakkuuaukoille jätetyt kannot tarjoavat resursseja esimerkiksi kaarnakuoriaisille, jotka ovat nilaa syöviä kovakuoriaisia. Kaarnakuoriaiset toimivat tärkeinä lahottajina aloittaen lahotusprosessin, mutta toisaalta ne aiheuttavat myös taloudellisia tappioita vahingoittaessaan metsäteollisuudessa käytettävää puuta. Kantojen jättäminen hakkuuaukolle voi herättää taloudellisesta näkökulmasta huolen, että kaarnakuoriaiset lisääntyvät kantojen myötä myös terveessä pystymetsässä. Tutkimuksessa tavoitteena oli selvittää, houkuttelevatko kannot kaarnakuoriaisia ja vaikuttaako kantojen s…
The carabid Pterostichus melanarius uses chemical cues for opportunistic predation and saprophagy but not for finding healthy prey
2017
The sentinel prey method can quantify predation pressure in various habitats. Real prey is assumed to more realistically mimic the predator experience but the predator can rarely be identified. Artificial prey made of plasticine may lack real chemical cues, but provides information about predator identity. However, the relationship between predation pressure registered by artificial versus real prey is not clear. We tested the relative attractiveness of artificial caterpillars, and intact, wounded, or dead larvae of the cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae) for the carabid predator Pterostichus melanarius Illiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae). P. melanarius adults were attracted to dead caterpillars …
From arsenic to DDT: Pesticides, Fascism and the invisibility of toxic risks in the early years of Francoist Spain (1939-1953)
2021
This paper reviews the way in which Spanish agriculture climbed onto the pesticide treadmill. We claim that Fascist policies and expert advice assembled in the early 1940s accelerated the introduction of pesticides into Spanish agriculture and promoted the emergence of the Spanish pesticide industry in the times of autarky. Agricultural engineers were the key protagonists in this process, but other human and non-human actors also played a pivotal role: a new pest (the Colorado beetle), Francoist politicians, farmers, landowners and industry managers. Our focus is on the use of pesticides against the Colorado beetle (the main threat to the potato crop), and the transition from arsenical pest…
Plant-herbivorous beetle networks : molecular characterization of trophic ecology within a threatened steppic environment
2015
DNA barcoding facilitates many evolutionary and ecological studies, including the examination of the dietary diversity of herbivores. In this study, we present a survey of ecological associations between herbivorous beetles and host plants from seriously threatened European steppic grasslands. We determined host plants for the majority (65%) of steppic leaf beetles (55 species) and weevils (59) known from central Europe using two barcodes (trnL and rbcL) and two sequencing strategies (Sanger for mono/oligophagous species and Illumina for polyphagous taxa). To better understand the ecological associations between steppic beetles and their host plants, we tested the hypothesis that leaf beetl…
Sex-specific effects of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of life span and ageing in Drosophila simulans
2014
Summary Variation in the strength of age-dependent natural selection shapes differences in ageing rates across species and populations. Likewise, sexual selection can promote divergent patterns of senescence across the sexes. However, the effects of these processes on the evolution of ageing have largely been considered independently, and interactions between them are poorly understood. We use experimental evolution to investigate how natural and sexual selection affect life span and ageing in Drosophila simulans. Replicate populations were evolved under lifetime monogamy (relaxed sexual selection) or lifetime polyandry (elevated sexual selection) and at one of two temperatures, 25 °C (rela…
Degradation of an alkaloid pheromone from the pale-brown chafer, Phyllopertha diversa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), by an insect olfactory cytochrome P…
1999
AbstractThe pale-brown chafer, Phyllopertha diversa, utilizes an unusual alkaloid, 1,3-dimethyl-2,4-(1H,3H)-quinazolinedione, as its sex pheromone. This compound is rapidly degraded in vitro by the antennal protein extracts from this scarab beetle. Demethylation at the N-1 position and hydroxylation of the aromatic ring have been identified as the major catabolic pathways. The enzyme responsible for the pheromone degradation is membrane-bound, requires NAD(P)H for activity and is sensitive to cytochrome P450 inhibitors, such as proadifen and metyrapone. The ability to metabolize this unusual pheromone was not detected in 12 species tested, indicating that the P450 system, specific to male P…
Photoperiodic effects on diapause-associated gene expression trajectories in EuropeanLeptinotarsa decemlineatapopulations
2014
Behavioural and physiological changes during diapause, an important strategy of insects for surviving harsh seasonal conditions, have been intensively studied. The genetic and molecular mechanisms underpinning diapause development are less well known. We took a candidate gene approach to study prediapause gene expression patterns in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), an invasive insect that has rapidly spread northwards to high seasonality environments. Newly eclosed beetles originating from southern (Italy) and northern (Russia) Europe were reared under short- [12 h light (L):12 h dark (D)] and long-day (18L:6D) photoperiods for 10 days. This time period includes the s…
Materiały do rozmieszczenia wybranych, chronionych chrząszczy saproksylicznych (Coleoptera) w województwie opolskim: pachnicy próchniczki Osmoderma b…
2021
The paper presents unpublished data on the occurrence of rare, protected species of saproxylic beetles: Osmoderma barnabita, Protaetia speciosissima, Lucanus cervus and Cerambyx cerdo in the Opole voivodeship (south-western Poland), together with maps of distribution. The paper also includes comments on the current situation of these species in the region and predictions about possible changes in their population trends. New sites of these rare beetles significantly improve the knowledge about their distribution in the region and will help local authorities in investments planning and natural resource management.
Longhorn beetles of the Ficuzza woods (W Sicily, Italy) and their relationship with plant diversity (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae
2010
The woods in Sicily are the result of centuries of anthropogenic activities that have reduced the surface of wood and changed the original composition even with the introduction of alien species to native flora. The value in terms of biodiversity of these forests remains, however, high for they are the last refuge areas for many animals and plant species. This study was conducted within the Ficuzza woods (West Sicily), extended about 5,000 hectares on the slopes of limestone-dolomite rock of Busambra (1615 m asl), within which lies the largest remaining forest area in western Sicily. It is an area with a wide diversity of vegetation, represented mainly by native forests (holm oak, cork oak,…