Search results for "moths"
showing 10 items of 129 documents
A catalogue of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) in the California Academy of Sciences, with general and historical comments
2019
A catalogue of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) in the California Academy of Sciences, with general and historical comments. The material representing 168 specimens with 46 species and subspecies belonging to the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) deposited in the California Academy of Sciences was studied. A brief comment on the history of Academy is provided, as well as general comments on natural history, distribution and other details for each mentioned species and subspecies.
Castniidae (Lepidoptera) In The Collection Of The Museum And Institute Of Zoology Polish Academy Of Sciences In Warsaw
2017
The material representing 14 species and subspecies belonging to the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) deposited in the Museum and Institute of Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw was studied. A brief comment on the history of the Museum is provided. General comments on natural history, distribution, and other details are presented for each mentioned species and subspecies.
Independent and interactive effects of immune activation and larval diet on adult immune function, growth and development in the greater wax moth (Ga…
2018
Organisms in the wild are likely to face multiple immune challenges as well as additional ecological stressors, yet their interactive effects on immune function are poorly understood. Insects are found to respond to cues of increased infection risk by enhancing their immune capacity. However, such adaptive plasticity in immune function may be limited by physiological and environmental constraints. Here, we investigated the effects of two environmental stressors - poor larval diet and an artificial parasite-like immune challenge at the pupal stage - on adult immune function, growth and development in the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella). Males whose immune system was activated with an …
Large variation in mitochondrial DNA of sexual and parthenogenetic Dahlica triquetrella (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) shows multiple origins of parthenoge…
2013
Background Obligate parthenogenesis is relatively rare in animals. Still, in some groups it is quite common and has evolved and persisted multiple times. These groups may provide important clues to help solve the ‘paradox of sex’. Several species in the Psychidae (Lepidoptera) have obligate parthenogenesis. Dahlica triquetrella is one of those species where multiple transitions to parthenogenesis are postulated based on intensive cytological and behavioural studies. This has led to the hypothesis that multiple transitions from sexuals to diploid parthenogens occurred during and after the last glacial period, followed by transitions from parthenogenetic diploids to parthenogenetic tetraploid…
Description of a new genus of Euliina with unique coupling adaptations of the male and female (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Cochylini)
2017
Ancoruncus langeri, new genus and new species, is described and illustrated from the Neotropics (Bolivia). It is assigned to the tribe Cochylini (subtribe Euliina) in the family Tortricidae. Ancoruncus langeri is characterized by an unusual, strongly developed uncus, distally expanded into an anchor-like, bilobed apical process and a complex gnathos in male genitalia, as well as an unusual configuration of the anterior lobes of the papillae anales, and tergum 8 with the anterior area bearing a double pocket in the female genitalia. The hypothetical dorsal coupling mechanism of the male and female genitalia is discussed.
Common, but Complex, Mode of Resistance of Plutella xylostella to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac
2005
ABSTRACT A field collected population of Plutella xylostella (SERD4) was selected in the laboratory with Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxins Cry1Ac (Cry1Ac-SEL) and Cry1Ab (Cry1Ab-SEL). Both subpopulations showed similar phenotypes: high resistance to the Cry1A toxins and little cross-resistance to Cry1Ca or Cry1D. A previous analysis of the Cry1Ac-SEL showed incompletely dominant resistance to Cry1Ac with more than one factor, at least one of which was sex influenced. In the present study reciprocal mass crosses between Cry1Ab-SEL and a laboratory susceptible population (ROTH) provided evidence that Cry1Ab resistance was also inherited as incompletely dominant trait with more than one factor…
To quiver or to shiver: increased melanization benefits thermoregulation, but reduces warning signal efficacy in the wood tiger moth
2013
Melanin production is often considered costly, yet beneficial for thermoregulation. Studies of variation in melanization and the opposing selective forces that underlie its variability contribute greatly to understanding natural selection. We investigated whether melanization benefits are traded off with predation risk to promote observed local and geographical variation in the warning signal of adult male wood tiger moths ( Parasemia plantaginis ). Warning signal variation is predicted to reduce survival in aposematic species. However, in P. plantaginis , male hindwings are either yellow or white in Europe, and show continuous variation in melanized markings that cover 20 to 90 per cent o…
Colour polymorphism torn apart by opposing positive frequency-dependent selection, yet maintained in space.
2015
Summary Polymorphic warning signals in aposematic species are enigmatic because predator learning and discrimination should select for the most common coloration, resulting in positive frequency‐dependent survival selection. Here, we investigated whether differential mating success could create sufficiently strong negative frequency‐dependent selection for rare morphs to explain polymorphic (white and yellow) warning coloration in male wood tiger moths (Parasemia plantaginis). We conducted an experiment in semi‐natural conditions where we estimated mating success for both white and yellow male moths under three different morph frequencies. Contrary to expectations, mating success was positi…
DIET QUALITY AFFECTS WARNING COLORATION INDIRECTLY: EXCRETION COSTS IN A GENERALIST HERBIVORE
2009
Aposematic herbivores are under selection pressure from their host plants and predators. Although many aposematic herbivores exploit plant toxins in their own secondary defense, dealing with these harmful compounds might underlay costs. We studied whether the allocation of energy to detoxification and/or sequestration of host plant defense chemicals trades off with warning signal expression. We used a generalist aposematic herbivore Parasemia plantaginis (Arctiidae), whose adults and larvae show extensive phenotypic and genetic variation in coloration. We reared larvae from selection lines for small and large larval warning signals on Plantago lanceolata with either low or high concentratio…
Age and size thresholds for pupation and developmental polymorphism in the browntail moth, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), under …
2009
Size and age thresholds for pupation are important life history traits of insects. They are the ultimate consequences of the underlying physiological mechanism that optimize resource allocation. Such thresholds may have a plastic response under time-varying environmental conditions, developmental polymorphism (i.e., plasticity in the number of instars before pupation) being a common strategy adopted by insects to overcome this challenging situation. In this study, we systematically explore the variables related with both age and size thresholds for pupation and developmental polymorphism in the browntail moth, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), by rearing a group of caterpi…