Search results for "coleoptera"
showing 10 items of 134 documents
Indagine su Henosepilachna elaterii (Rossi) (=Epilachna chrysomelina (F.)) e Raphidopalpa foveicollis (Lucas) in meloneti biologici della Sicilia occ…
2011
Investigations on Henosepilachna elaterii (Rossi) and Raphidopalpa foveicollis (Lucas) in an organic cultivation of winter melon in western Sicily. A study on H. elaterii and R. Foveicollis, serious pests of winter melon, was conducted in two organic melon fields of the western Sicily. Dynamics of population and infestation levels were investigated. In addition, the possible influence of mulching on R. Foveicollis infestation has been taken into account. Our results showed that H. elaterii occurred only in one field from the beginning of June and it infested 60% of the plants in the mid-July, then the pest population density dropped to about 10%. R. foveicollis occurred in both locations fr…
Nutritional symbionts enhance structural defence against predation and fungal infection in a grain pest beetle
2022
ABSTRACT Many insects benefit from bacterial symbionts that provide essential nutrients and thereby extend the hosts’ adaptive potential and their ability to cope with challenging environments. However, the implications of nutritional symbioses for the hosts’ defence against natural enemies remain largely unstudied. Here, we investigated whether the cuticle-enhancing nutritional symbiosis of the saw-toothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis confers protection against predation and fungal infection. We exposed age-defined symbiotic and symbiont-depleted (aposymbiotic) beetles to two antagonists that must actively penetrate the cuticle for a successful attack: wolf spiders (Lycosidae) an…
Burying beetles regulate the microbiome of carcasses and use it to transmit a core microbiota to their offspring
2017
Necrophagous beetles utilize carrion, a highly nutritious resource that is susceptible to intense microbial competition, by treating it with antimicrobial anal and oral secretions. However, how this regulates the carcass microbiota remains unclear. Here, we show that carcasses prepared by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides undergo significant changes in their microbial communities subsequent to their burial and ‘preparation’. Prepared carcasses hosted a microbial community that was more similar to that of beetles’ anal and oral secretions than to the native carcass community or the surrounding soil, indicating that the beetles regulated the carcass microbiota. A core microbial comm…
Sequencing, De Novo Assembly and Annotation of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Transcriptome
2012
Background. The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is a major pest and a serious threat to potato cultivation throughout the northern hemisphere. Despite its high importance for invasion biology, phenology and pest management, little is known about L. decemlineata from a genomic perspective. We subjected European L. decemlineata adult and larval transcriptome samples to 454-FLX massively-parallel DNA sequencing to characterize a basal set of genes from this species. We created a combined assembly of the adult and larval datasets including the publicly available midgut larval Roche 454 reads and provided basic annotation. We were particularly interested in diapause-specific g…
New taxa of Orthoptera (Insecta Tettigoniidae Phaneropterinae) from Madagascar.
2017
The author reports the results of a study on Orthoptera collected in Madagascar and preserved in two European Natural History museums. He describes Symmetroraggea depravata n. sp., Parapyrrhicia longipodex n. sp., Madagascarantia bartolozzii n. gen. n. sp., Mimoscudderia spinicercata n. sp. In addition, he lists new records or unknown taxonomical characters of Xenodus nobilis Carl, 1914 and Parapyrrhicia virilis Carl, 1914.
Could Europe Apply a Suitable Control Method for the Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)?
2022
Abstract The European bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is a fundamental resource for the pollination of a great variety of botanical species used by humans for sustenance. Over the last few decades, bee colonies have become vulnerable to a new pest that has advanced beyond its native sub-Saharan territory: the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). This currently presents a pressing problem in the United States and Australia, but it has also been recorded in Portugal and Italy and it is likely to spread in the rest of Europe too. This study represents a systematic review, based on EFSA guidelines, of the various control treatments for small hive bee…
The genus Bolbelasmus in the western and southern regions of the Mediterranean Basin (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae: Bolboceratinae)
2016
The Bolbelasmus Boucomont, 1911 species of the western and southern regions of the Mediterranean Basin (Northern Africa, Iberian Peninsula and France) are revised. The following three new species are described: Bolbelasmus brancoi Hillert & Král sp. nov. and Bolbelasmus howdeni Hillert & Král sp. nov., both from Spain and Gibraltar, and Bolbelasmus nikolajevi Hillert, Arnone, Král & Massa sp. nov. from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Bolbelasmus vaulogeri (Abeille de Perrin, 1898) stat. restit. is removed from synonymy with B. bocchus (Erichson, 1841) and reinstated as a separate species. Bolbelasmus romanorum Arnone & Massa, 2010 is considered a junior subjective synonym of B. vaulogeri. Lectoty…
Living in isolation for almost 40 years: molecular divergence of the 28S rDNA and COI sequences between French and Polish populations of the cave bee…
2021
The paper gives the results of the first studies on the molecular divergence between native and non-native populations of Speonomus normandi hydrophilus (Jeannel, 1907). This species is endemic to Massif Arize in the Central Pyrenees (France), and represents highly specialised organisms that live underground. In 1982, one hundred specimens of S. normandi hydrophilus had been experimentally introduced into the Dzwonnica Cave (Poland). Since then, a numerous population has developed in the Towarna-Dzwonnica cave system, and the neighbouring Cabanowa Cave. After almost 40 years of isolation between native and non-native populations, the genetic variations were examined using the COI and 28S rD…
New data on Calomera panormitana panormitana (Ragusa, 1906) in Sicily (Coleoptera Cicindelidae)
2021
Calomera panormitana panormitana (Ragusa, 1906) (Coleoptera Cicindelidae) is an endemic species of Sicily, of remarkable biogeographic and ecological importance. It belongs to a small group of species of eastern Mediterranean distribution and it is peculiar for living on the low rocky coasts, near the sea. In this paper we provide new and summarized data on the presence of this species in Sicily. We examined its habitat, ecology and phenology in detail, and we provide useful elements for a better protection. In particular, the presence of this species also in some small islands, located at a short distance from the coast, highlights the presence of important refuge areas to be protected and…
PALAZZO STERI DI PALERMO, SOFFITTO LIGNEO DELLA SALA MAGNA INDAGINE FITOSANITARIA
2012
ABSTRACf - Steri Palace of Palermo; Wooden Ceiling of the "Sala Magna ", Phytosanitary Survey. The Steri Palace (from Hosterium = fortified residence) of Palermo was built in the early fourteenth century, exactly from 1307 to 1320, it was Chiaramonte's family residence. Later, it became the seat of the viceroy of Sicily (from 1412 to 1577), of the Director of the Royal "Magna Curia", and Royal Customs (until 1698), of the Inquisition Tribunal (from 1701 to 1792), of the Judicial offices and Custom offices (from 1800 to 1958). Today it is the Centre of the Chancellor's offices of the University of Palermo. It contains several interesting cultural heritage artefacts, including the beautiful d…