The seasonal activity, age structure and reproduction of the ground beetle Anisodactylus signatus were studied in central and eastern Hungary. A. signatus is a species with summer as well as winter larvae. Beetles showed two seasonal activity peaks: during mid-June, only ''old'' (overwintered) individuals were caught and this activity coincided with peak egg production; another activity peak occurred in mid-July, when more than 86% of the collected Individuals were ''young''. The activity period of old beetles was shorter in the eastern population. Egg numbers in the ovaries were low (2-10 eggs/gravid female). No eggs were found in young adults, which suggests that females do not reproduce during their first adult year; in the subsequent season, they lay an estimated total of 15.6 eggs. Adults can live longer than one year.

The development and fecundity of Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the host-parasitoid relationship of C. capitata and its pupal endoparasitoid, Coptera occidentalis (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Diapriidae) were investigated under conditions in which the host was stressed by heavy metal ingestion. C. capitata larvae (from first instar to pupation) were fed diets that were separately contaminated with three metals; each contaminant was applied at four concentrations that differed by a factor of 2. The lowest concentrations were as follows: copper 100 µg/g, cadmium 25 µg/g and lead 100 µg/g diet dry weight (dw). Larval development, pupation rate and pupal weight of the fruit fly were negatively affected by increasing metal concentrations. Metal concentrations of 400 µg Cu, 50 µg Cd and 400 µg Pb/g diet dw were selected for studying reproductive performance of C. capitata and parasitisation rate, development and reproduction of C. occidentalis. Oviposition, actual fecundity and hatching rates of C. capitata were not significantly influenced by metal contamination. The parasitoid did not discriminate between metal-contaminated and control fruit fly pupae. Parasitisation rates were similar in all treatments (64.6-65%). Heavy metal induced stress of the host altered neither the parasitoid developmental rate nor the proportion of females in parasitoids that emerged from contaminated pupae. Life span and reproductive performance of C. occidentalis females that emerged from metal-stressed hosts were not significantly different from control females. However, a significantly lower percentage of females emerged from copper-and cadmium-contaminated hosts. In groups contaminated by 400 µg Cu, 50 µg Cd and 400 µg Pb/g diet dw, whole body concentrations of the respective metals were determined in pupae and imagines of C. capitata and imagines of C. occidentalis.

Mites carried by coccinellid beetles have been found to be important predators of scale insects. To investigate the possible wider importance of coccinellids as vectors of mites, we undertook a survey of the range of mites carried by coccinellids in one location in the United Kingdom. Deutonymphs of six species of mite were found phoretic upon coccinellids, and one species was observed that was parasitic. The importance of these observations awaits further study on the biology and ecology of the mite concerned. It is clear, however, that introduction of coccinellids to an environment will be accompanied by the introduction of mites.

The effects of combinations of photoperiod and temperature on diapause induction in six species of lacewings (Chrysopidae) from the forest-steppe zone (Russia, 50°N) were examined. Diapause induction in the short day was temperature-independent ill all species, with exception of Chrysopa phyllochroma. In this species the incidence of diapause decreased within the range from 25 to 33°C. The long day prevented diapause only within particular temperature limits, which were species specific. In species with typical long-day photoperiodic response (C. perla, C. septempunctata and Chrysoperla carnea) daily temperature fluctuations were less favourable to diapause induction than constant mean temperature. In C. phyllochroma and C. abbreviata the similar high incidence of diapausing prepupae was induced both by daily natural thermoperiods and constant mean temperature. In experiments carried out under 12-h thermophase: 12-h cryophase conditions it was revealed that photo-thermoperiodic responses of C. phyllochroma were significantly dependent on cryophase temperature, whereas diapause of C. perla was determined mainly by photoperiod. The diversity of seasonal cycles in Chrysopa species and the role of photoperiod and thermoperiod in the development and diapause control in nature are discussed.

A new species of Sisyra is described but not named from the Upper Miocene of France. The study of a new find of Rophalis relicta Hagen, 1856 from Baltic amber (Upper Eocene) shows that it is not a sisyrid but a nevrorthid; however, the genital apparatus of the genus Rophalis is atypical of this family compared with Recent genera.

The adult feeding of Hylobius abietis on five tree species, Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Betula pendula, Fraxinus excelsior and Acer pseudoplatanus was compared in no-choice tests. P. sylvestris was consumed in significantly greater quantities than any of the other species, the order of preference being P. sylvestris >> B. pendula >> P. abies >> F. excelsior > A. pseudoplatanus. In spite of being a broad-leaved tree, Betula pendula was consumed more than the coniferous P. abies, although a high proportion of insects did not feed on B. pendula.

 We examined the foraging behaviour of the aphid parasitoid Pauesia pini (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) when foraging for Cinara piceicola (Cholodkovsky) or Cinara pilicornis (Hartig) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on spruce. The foraging success of P. pini females differed for the two host species but depended also on the hosts' morph as well as on the presence of honeydew-collecting workers of Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Females found most hosts and laid most eggs when searching for C. picieicola-VI morphs feeding on the stem. There, they succeeded in laying more eggs into ant-attended hosts than into those unattended. C. piceicola sexuparae feeding on two-year-old shoots were less often discovered, and P. pini females did not oviposit into these small morphs, independent of the presence of ants. C. pilicornis, which is not attended by ants, was least often attacked but P. pini females occasionally parasitized this host species.

New data concerning geographical distribution of the tortricid moth Epinotia cedricida Diakonoff, a significant insect pest affecting cedars in France, are presented. The species was discovered in Turkey, in two stands of Cedrus libani, where it causes considerable damage. The results of reciprocal crosses between Turkish specimens and specimens native to France and North Africa have confirmed the specific identity of the tortricid. On Cedrus atlantica, E. cedricida is present everywhere in Algeria. In Morocco, it has only been found in three stands of cedar in the Atlas Mountains. With regard to Europe, where the cedar is an introduced species, the tortricid moth has been reported only in France where it has colonized practically all the cedar stands of the Rhône valley, as far as Dijon towards tee north, but is not yet present in those of the Garonne valley or the Poitiers area. Some of these data raise the question of the geographical origin of the strain (either north Africa or Turkey) which was introduced into France accidentally.

Known sex chromosome mechanisms in Aradidae are XX : XY or compound X(X_nY). The present paper adds data obtained from studying testes of adults and stage IV and V larvae of four aradid species. The number of chromosomes and their behaviour during spermatogenesis (in Aradinae for the first time) were documented and illustrated: Aradus cinnamomeus Panter -2n = 35 (32 + X₁X₂Y); Aradus corticalis corticalis (L.) -2n = 28 (26 + XY); Aradus conspiculus Herrich-Schaffer 2n = 28 (26 + XY); Aneurus avenius Dufour -2n = 27 (24 + X₁X₂Y). Mechanisms which could have played a role in karyotype evolution in the family are discussed in the context of this study and data from literature.

In this paper we review recent work on aspects of aphid biology related to evolution and genetics, and suggest some directions for future research. Sections include aphid annual cycles, sexual reproduction, cytogenetics, classical genetics and molecular generics, as well as the influence of annual cycle components on the genetic structure of aphid populations. The related topic of symbiont genome, evolution and function is also briefly reviewed.

The insect corpus allatum hormone known as juvenile hormone (JH) was shown by Wigglesworth 60 years ago to play essential roles in repressing metamorphosis and in stimulating aspects of reproduction. Since then, its many actions in reproduction have been increasingly recognized, and it now appears that, in adult insects of most species, JH is a primary coordinator of reproductive processes. All tissues that are directly or indirectly involved in reproduction can be targets for JH action. In evolution, the reproductive role of JH probably preceded its metamorphic role. At the subcellular level, in adult locust fat body, JH induces the synthesis of factor(s) which bind to specific DNA enhancer sequences and stimulate transcription of a target gene. Since JH effects on transcription factors have recently been reported in larval Manduca epidermis, a common basis for the pre-and post-metamorphic actions of JH may be emerging.

The hatching ability of Bombyx mori eggs subjected to microinjection of about 30 nl plasmid DNA (10 µg/ml) at 1-30 h of embryonic development and eggs injected at 8 h with DNA concentrations (0.5 to 500 µg/ml), averaged to about 22%. In respect to hatching ability, the optimum stage for microinjection is the preblastoderm (8-10 h old eggs) and the DNA concentration up to 10 µg/ml.

Thermopreferenda and supercooling points of the following Siberian species of Carabidae were examined: Pterostichus vermiculosus, P. montanus, P. brevicornis, P. kaninensis, P. dilutipes, P. subaeneus (= wagneri), P. ehnbergi, P. magus and P. drescheri.

Thermopreferenda of the different species were invariable over their area of distribution and correlated with their distribution within natural zones and altitudinal bells. Species examined had no seasonal changes of thermopreferenda. Instar specific thermopreferenda were observed.
The species examined demonstrated slight seasonal dynamics in supercooling points (SCP). All individual's were freeze intolerant. Age variations in SCPs were observed. Larvae demonstrated lower supercooling temperatures than adults, but there were no differences in SCPs between the sexes. The seasonal and age dynamics of the supercooling point temperature were similar for ail species of Pterostichus.

Males of the willow-carrot aphid, Cavariella aegopodii (Scopoli) (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae), that were caged with five or more females had shorter adult lives than those caged with one or no females. Similarly mated females had a shorter adult life than unmated females. The difference in lifespan appears to result from a change in the time of onset of senescence rather than a change in the rate of senescence. Contrary to what is observed in most other animals unmated males of the willow-carrot aphid had much longer lives than unmated females. The asymmetry of the sexes in terms of the factors that affect their fitnesses and the deadline to further egg maturation imposed by leaf fall possibly accounts for why the males of this aphid are potentially the longer lived sex.

The proboscis of butterflies is formed by the linkage of the galeae on their dorsal and ventral sides, thereby enclosing the central food canal. The two galeae, which develop separately in the pupa, can only interlock by a distinct sequence of movements after eclosion. This interlocking process includes a series of uncoiling and recoiling movements which first align the separate galeae into parallel positions. Discharged fluid temporarily holds them together, so that the galeal linking structures can be engaged by sideward movements and anti-parallel displacements of the galeae. During hardening of the cuticle the firm engagement of the structures is achieved while the proboscis is in recoiled position. In nymphalid butterflies, interlocking of the galeae is an irreversible and indispensable process that can occur only once during a short period following eclosion.

A hemagglutinin (HA) was detected during all developmental stages of the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea. The HA titer was relatively low at the onset of each developmental stage; it increased very rapidly during each stage and declined considerably just before the onset of the next. The highest HA titer of 4,096 was attained during days 3-5 of fifth-instar larvae. In contrast, the lowest titer of 8 was obtained in adult insects. Female pupal and adult H. zea had higher HA titers than their male cohorts. The hemagglutinin agglutinated red blood cells (RBCs) from a broad range of animals. Its binding specificity was unusual in that the hemagglutination was inhibited by sucrose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, lactose, galactose, maltose, galactosamine and N-acetyl-galactosamine in that order of decreasing effect. The midgut fluid of H. zea larvae contained agglutinins with a specificity that suggests that they were exogenously derived from dietary ingredients. Unlike H. zea hemagglutinin, which failed to agglutinate flesh mouse erythrocytes, hemagglutinins found in the diet and midgut fluid caused strong agglutination of mouse erythrocytes. HA titer fluctuated between and within the various life stages. Unlike many insect lectins, H. zea hemagglutinin is relatively stable after being subjected to repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. Although it is rapidly inactivated at >= 40°C, this lectin is relatively stable at 20°C. Since it is inhibited by 5 mM EDTA, it is probable that the binding action

In the mid fifth-larval-instar tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, the midgut has high ecdysone 20-monooxygenase (E20MO) activity, with a peak at the onset of wandering on day five. Activities of E20MO, present both in mitochondria and in microsomes, were determined around the time of the peak. During the day preceding the peak the microsomal E20MO increased 60-fold (total activity) or 115-fold (specific activity), and it decreased to one half or less of the peak activities within two days after the peak. The mitochondrial E20MO increased only 1.3 to 2.4-fold (total and specific activities, respectively) before the peak, but declined more rapidly than the microsomal E20MO after the peak. It is concluded that mitochondrial and microsomal E20MO activities are controlled independently and that changes in the physiological rate of ecdysone 20-hydroxylation are effected primarily by changes of the microsomal E20MO activities.

The effect of crowding in nymphal stage on the induction of development of macropterous adults with high flight ability was studied in the laboratory in the water strider Aquarius paludum. High density induced a higher proportion of macropterous morphs than low density. No brachypterous adults developed flight muscles in either experimental density. When kept under high density, about 80% of adults kept indirect flight muscles for 25-30 days after adult emergence, whereas only about 50% or 60% of females and males, respectively, retained theirs when grown under low density. The remaining adults histolysed indirect flight muscles in both groups. Development during the fourth and fifth instars only under high density may induce a higher proportion of macropterous adults than those under low density.

Application of the juvenile hormone analog, 7S-hydroprene, to last instar female larvae of the viviparous cockroach Diploptera punctata on day 1 resulted in vitellogenesis in the basal oocytes of the larval ovary, a peak of juvenile hormone synthesis not seen in controls, as well as maintenance of juvenile characteristics in the instar following the molt. To investigate whether juvenile hormone analog and/or the developing ovary was responsible for such changes in juvenile hormone synthesis, the present study used 7S-hydroprene treatment on intact and ovariectomized last instar females and on last instar males with or without an adult or last instar larval ovary. In last instar males, 400 µg of this JH analog was found to promote vitellogenin synthesis by the male fat body and its uptake by an implanted adult ovary for up to 10 days following treatment.
The metamorphic outcome following these treatments shows that hydroprene treatment in the presence of a larval ovary in females and an adult ovary in males resulted in a greater number of supernumerary larval molts than hydroprene treatment alone. This indicates that the ovary did contribute to higher juvenile hormone titers. However, hydroprene treatment did not result in a peak of juvenile hormone synthesis in females or males either with or without ovaries. Hydroprene treatment did result in vitellogenin in hemolymph and uptake in the ovary when a rapidly growing ovary was present.

Trichogramma danubiense sp.n., an ooparasitoid of eggs of Macrothylacia rubi is described, collected from Prunus cerasus in SW Slovakia. In the laboratory, the species could reproduce in eggs of Mamestra brassicae and Ephestia kuehniella. It can be distinguished from the related T. lingulatum Pang & Chen by an incision on the apex of the dorsal expansion of the gonobase. T. danubiense is arrhenotokous in laboratory conditions (22°C, 55% RH, 16L : 8D). The females obtained from eggs of M. rubi lived 2-14 days, their average fecundity was 262 (maximum 323) progeny and the percentage of males in progeny was between 13.4-42.6%, when eggs of the factitious host M. brassicae were used. The species had 8-9 generations per year in outdoor conditions of SW Slovakia, when reared in eggs of M. brassicae.

An Erratum has been published for this article: Eur. J. Entomol. 94 (4): 579-580, 1997

The impact of the microsporidium Vairimorpha ephestiae on the parasitoid Bracon (= Habrobracon) hebetor increased by increasing the concentration of spores to which its host, Heliothis amigera was exposed. Infecting parasitized hosts with the microsporidia did not significantly affect either the egg or larval duration of the parasitoid, while it caused significant prolongation in pupal duration of B. hebetor. However, infected parasitized hosts produced female parasitoids with reduced longevity, oviposition period and fecundity.
It was concluded that the detrimental impact on the parasitoid might be related to nutritional deficiency caused by the accumulation of nondigestable spores in the parasitoid's gut lumen

Based on field data collected during three consecutive years, in experiments with leek and leek intercropped with subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum), the relationship between larval populations of Thrips tabaci on leeks, the level of injury and the market quality of the product were described. This resulted in a way to monitor both thrips populations and market quality during the growing season by the feeding symptoms and in damage thresholds in monocropped and intercropped leeks. It was found that a given number of thrips larvae per plant caused less injury on intercropped leek plants than on monocropped leeks. This proved to have consequences for the damage thresholds in both growing systems. The total effect of intercropping in leeks is based on thrips population suppression and a reduced development of feeding symptoms.

 First instar larvae of Chrysopa oculata Say cannibalize more eggs without stalks than those with. In choice experiments, unfed males and females of C. oculata avoid feeding on eggs with stalks, but readily cannibalize those without. The degree of cannibalism is similar in both sexes. Although predation of eggs with and without stalks by hungry adult coccinellids is high, the stalks protect the eggs to some extent.

A maternal effect that operates in Sarcophaga bullata normally prevents expression of pupal diapause in progeny of females that are reared under short days. Thus, only the progeny from females reared under long daylength can respond to short daylength by entering pupal diapause. When 20% deuterium oxide (D₂O) was added to the larval diet, the diapause fate of the flies was reversed: progeny from long-day females failed to diapause in response to short days, and some progeny from shea-day females entered diapause. The diapause fate of the subsequent generation was also affected. Progeny from females reared on the 20% D₂O diet had a high capacity for diapause, thus implying that D₂O exerted an effect similar to that of rearing the mothers under long daylength. Several additional effects were noted in flies on the D₂O diet: duration of the larval feeding period increased, differentiation of the adult abdomen was sometimes incomplete, and fecundity decreased. While an alteration of the timekeeping mechanism can account for some of these responses, the effects of D₂O are pervasive and can influence numerous systems.

The photoperiodic and neuroendocrine regulations of diapause termination were investigated in two Antheraea species, A. yamamai and A. pernyi which have pupal diapause to aestivate and overwinter, respectively. The types of photoperiodic responses were inverse between the two species, a short-day type in A. yamamai and a long-day type in A. pernyi. When the diapause intensity was compared among A. yamamai and two strains of A. pernyi, the intensity in the univoltine strain of A. pernyi was the strongest, while that in A. yamamai the weakest. Although the timing of ecdysteroid release, a physiological landmark for the termination of diapause, was equivalent in A. yamamai and the bivoltine strain of A. pernyi namely after about ten cycles of exposure to a diapause-averting photoperiod, the basal levels of ecdysteroids in pupae kept in diapause-maintaining conditions were different, higher in A. yamamai than in the bivoltine strain of A. pernyi. Therefore, one correlate was found between diapause tendency and basal ecdysteroid level: the higher was the basal ecdysteroid level, the weaker the diapause tendency.

Brain monoamine contents were next investigated in A. yamamai and two strains of A. pernyi, the bivoltine and univoltine strains. Catecholamine levels, especially that of ''epinephrine'' in diapause pupae were found to correlate with the general strength of diapause, since the univoltine strain of A. pernyi had the highest level, while A. yamamai the lowest and the bivoltine strain of A. pernyi was intermediate. The result infers that high catecholamine contents may be reflected in the refractoriness of PTTH secreting pathway or low sensitivity to PTTH.

Hansen M. 1998: Hydraenidae (Coleoptera). World Catalogue of Insects. Vol. 1. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 169 pp.

Bradley J.D.: Checklist of Lepidoptera Recorded from the British Isles. Bradley & Bradley, Fordingbridge (UK), 1998, vi + 106 pp.

Four species new to science are described from Vanuatu, namely Holophygdon nishidae sp. n., Idiocysta vanuatuensis sp.n., Nesocypselas minicysta sp. n., and Tingis parvoroe sp. n. New records are provided for six species, five of them being new to Vanuatu: Cysteochila idonea Drake, Stephanitis subfasciata Horváth, Teleonemia scrupulosa Stål, Tingis chazeaui Guilbert, and Tingis irregularis (Montrouzier). A key to genera and species of Vanuatu is added.

Fan Zide (ed.), Chen Zhizi, Fang Jianming, Zheng Shensheng & Tao Zhenliang: Diptera: Calliphoridae. Fauna Sinica (Insecta Vol. 6). Science Press, Beijing, 1997, 707 pp.

There is a limited number of papers which deal with the significance of predation in the decomposer food chain. Microcosm experiments conducted in order to examine the role of predatory microfauna (Protozoa, Nematoda) showed that they increase the rate of decomposition of organic material and enhance the mineralization rate of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Experimental results on the importance of larger predators, belonging to the meso- and macrofauna (Acarina, Araneae, Carabidae, Formicidae) were less consistent. In most cases ii was found that they can retard the process of organic matter decomposition and contribute to system stabilization. However, in some experiments their effect on the decomposition rate was negligible.
Data concerning food composition of spiders show that these animals can be included both in the grazing and detrital food chains. It is likely that assemblages of spiders can affect decomposition processes.