Glutamine synthetase (GS) is an essential detoxification enzyme that plays an important role in stress responses; however, little information regarding the function of this enzyme in hymenopteran insects is available. In the present study, we isolated and characterized the gene encoding GS in the Asiatic honeybee, Apis cerana cerana. Multiple alignments and a phylogenetic analysis of GS sequences showed that AccGS belongs to the GSII superfamily and clusters with invertebrate GSs. Real-time quantitative PCR data demonstrated that AccGS is expressed at all developmental stages and in all tissues, with the highest expression observed in the sixth larval instar and in the brain. Moreover, AccGS expression is highly regulated by environmental stress, including xenobiotic, temperature, and ultraviolet light stresses. A disc diffusion assay showed that the recombinant AccGS protein confers resistance to mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) stress in E. coli. This suggests that AccGS may play multiple roles in early development and in environmental stress responses.

This paper presents the first description of the life cycle of Cinara mordvilkoi and alary dimorphism of its males. There are 3 phases in its life cycle and during the course of a year 10 generations of parthenogenetic females are produced. The durations of development of subsequent generations over three years were recorded. C. mordvilkoi was observed to change its feeding position on its host from leaves to roots throughout the year. In the third year of this study both winged and wingless males were recorded. The fundatrix, oviparous female and the apterous and winged males are described.

Heteroptera caught during day and night sampling at a height of 200 m above ground at Cardington, Bedfordshire, UK, during eight summers (1999, 2000, and 2002-2007) were compared to high-altitude catches made over the UK and North Sea from the 1930s to the 1950s. The height of these captures indicates that individuals were engaged in windborne migration over distances of at least several kilometres and probably tens of kilometres. This conclusion is generally supported by what is known of the species' ecologies, which reflect the view that the level of dispersiveness is associated with the exploitation of temporary habitats or resources. The seasonal timing of the heteropteran migrations is interpreted in terms of the breeding/overwintering cycles of the species concerned.

The ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) plays a pivotal role in developmental processes and cell survival by participating in protein synthesis relevant signaling pathways. In the present study, an S6K gene (AccS6K-p70) was isolated and characterized from the Chinese honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), an important economic insect in the agricultural industry. The cDNA of AccS6K-p70 was 1683 bp in length and predicted to encode a protein of 467 amino acid residues. Sequence and structure analysis showed that there was a conserved catalytic domain in AccS6K-p70, whilst a phosphorylation site was found in the conserved part of the catalytic domain. Development relevant transcription factor binding sites found in the 5'-flanking region of AccS6K-p70 suggest that AccS6K-p70 might be involved in A. c. cerana development. Furthermore, quantitative PCR revealed that the expression levels of AccS6K-p70 were higher in head and thorax than in other tissues. The AccS6K-p70 was highly expressed in both larvae and adults compared with that in pupae, whilst expression of the gene was significantly down-regulated by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) (although initially and slightly increased by it) and pyriproxyfen (a juvenile hormone analogue insecticide) stresses. These results suggest that AccS6K-p70 may play critical roles in developmental processes and cell survival in A. c. cerana, whilst both oxidative stress and pyriproxyfen may impair S6K-p70 mediated developmental processes by down-regulation of AccS6K-p70 expression.

The aim of this study was to investigate the composition of the fungal community associated with the red-haired bark beetle (Hylurgus ligniperda Fabricius) in two plantations of Pinus sylvestris L. located in the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions (ca. 250 km apart) in the forest-steppe zone in eastern Ukraine. In each plantation, 48 beetles were collected from butts of living trees and 48 beetles from stems of fallen trees, i.e., a total of 96. Half of the beetles from each site were used for culturing fungi and the other half for direct sequencing the internal transcribed spacer of fungal ribosomal RNA (ITS rRNA). Thirty distinct fungal taxa were identified by culturing and 31 by direct sequencing. When pooled, there were 40 fungal taxa among which Ophiostoma piceae (Münch) Sydow & P. Sydow (10.3%), Alternaria alternata (Fries) Keissler (9.7%), Ogataea neopini Nagatsuka, S. Saito & Sugiyama (8.0%), Botryotinia fuckeliana (de Bary) Whetzel (5.1%), Cladosporium sp. Link (5.1%) and Sydowia polyspora (Brefeld & Tavel) E. Müller (4.6%) were the most common. Species of the genus Ophiostoma were the most abundant and included five different taxa O. piceae, O. bicolor R.W. Davidson & D.E. Wells, O. ips (Rumbold) Nannfeldt, O. canum (Münch) Sydow & P. Sydow and O. rectangulosporium Ohtaka, Masuya & Yamaoka, all of which are known to be at most weak pathogens of trees. The plant pathogen Botryotinia fuckeliana and insect pathogens Isaria farinose (Holmskjold) Fries and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin were also detected. Basidiomycetes were rare, among which three wood-decaying fungi Bjerkandera adusta (Willdenow) P. Karsten, Fomitopsis pinicola (Swartz) P. Karsten and Heterobasidion annosum (Fries) Brefeld were detected. In conclusion, in the forest-steppe zone in eastern Ukraine H. ligniperda is a vector of diverse communities of fungi the majority of which, if at all, are only weak pathogens of trees.

In the present study we tested whether long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous) adult females of the firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) differ in their reproductive capacity and length of life. The following seven physiological markers were measured in these females: lengths of the pre-oviposition period (pre-OP), inter-ovipositon period (inter-OP) and post-oviposition period (post-OP), and the mean number of eggs per batch, total number of eggs, mean total number of egg batches laid and lifespan of the females. The results showed that macropterous and brachypterous females significantly differed in the length of the pre-OP, which was significantly shorter in brachypterous (7.95 ± 1.75 days) than in macropterous females (26.84 ± 9.86 days), but there was no significant difference between the lengths of the inter-OP in brachypterous (4.00-8.79 days) and macropterous (3.00-9.89 days) females. In contrast the length of the post-OP was significantly longer in brachypterous (48.23 ± 30.95 days) than in macropterous females (35.02 ± 17.32 days). Except for the 2nd and 3rd egg batches there was no significant difference between the average numbers of eggs in the other egg batches laid by females of the two wing morphs. Total number of eggs laid by macropterous females during their whole lifespan was not significantly lower (326.47 ± 155.65 eggs) than by brachypterous females (382.82 ± 207.52 eggs), but associated with the lower number of egg batches laid by macropterous (13) than by brachypterous females (19). However, there was no significant difference in the longevity of brachypterous (95.43 ± 41.21 days) and macropterous (93.40 ± 21.18 days) females. The relationship of these results to the reproductive arrest, inactivity of the endocrine gland, corpus allatum, and different levels of adipokinetic hormone in macropterous females is discussed.

Hesperomyces virescens is an ectoparasite of some Coccinellidae, which until the mid-1990s was relatively rarely only reported from warm regions in various parts of the world. Analysis of the host and distribution data of H. virescens recorded in the Western Palaearctic and North America reveals several trends in the occurrence and abundance of H. virescens: (1) it has recently been much more frequently recorded, (2) most of the recent records are for more northerly (colder) localities than the early records and (3) the recent records are mostly of a novel host, the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). While in North America H. virescens is almost exclusively found on H. axyridis, all European records of this association are very recent and still less numerous than records of Adalia bipunctata as a host. However, based on a relatively few published cases of the H. axyridis-H. virescens association in Europe and the case described in this paper, it is clear that the harlequin ladybird is currently the main host of this parasite. These changes in the abundance and geographical distribution of H. virescens are probably linked to some features of H. axyridis, such as its abundance, multivoltinism with overlapping generations, high level of promiscuity and overwintering in mass aggregations. The occurrence of these features in one species may make it especially suitable for H. virescens and other parasites that require close contact of host individuals for efficient transmission. Indeed, some of the data indicate that parasites other than H. virescens, like the podapolipid mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae and allantonematid nematodes of the genus Parasitylenchus may also heavily parasitize H. axyridis. We hypothesize that the acquisition of H. axyridis as a host by H. virescens, C. hippodamiae and Parasitylenchus spp. may have further consequences for the abundance and distribution of these parasites, including the expansion of their ranges to other continents colonized by invasive populations of this ladybird and areas in Asia where H. axyridis is native.

Mated females of the small copper butterfly Lycaena phlaeas avoid harassment by males by closing their wings and concealing themselves when in the proximity of a con-specific butterfly. This wing-closing behaviour is less frequently exhibited by virgin females that are two days old or older (i.e., potentially receptive) than by mated females. During the first 2 days after emergence, females of L. phlaeas are sexually immature and unreceptive. To determine whether recently emerged virgin females try to avoid male harassment, age-related changes in the frequency of harassment-avoidance behaviour of virgin females were investigated. On the day of emergence, a high percentage of virgin females exhibited wing-closing behaviour. Over the following 2 days, however, the frequency of this behaviour declined sharply and then reached a constant low level. This observation supports the idea that the harassment-avoidance behaviour exhibited by virgin females of L. phlaeas depends on their receptivity.

Using equations based on the law of total effective temperatures, we estimated the thermal constants (LDT, the lower development threshold, and SET, the sum of effective temperatures) of egg development for 14 populations of 13 species of carabid beetles (eight belonging to the tribe Zabrini, one to Platynini and four to Pterostichini). We compared the estimates of the thermal constants obtained using three commonly used equations (D = SET / (T - LDT); 1 / D = a + b . T, where LDT = -a / b, and SET = 1 / b; and D . T = SET + D . LDT) and two data formats: data points for all the individuals and means for each temperature. We found that, for most species, estimates of both LDT and SET of egg development obtained using the three models were similar and that using means resulted in larger standard errors (SE) than using all data points. We provide evidence for inter-correlation among the thermal constants, showing that a decrease in the estimate of one constant is accompanied by an increase in the estimate of the other constant. For seven species for which sufficient data were available we investigated the geographical variation in their thermal constants. We found significant variation in both constants for three species, in only one in one species and in three species there was no significant variation among geographically distant populations at p < 0.05. For eight out of the nine autumn-breeding species studied, egg mortality significantly increased at high temperatures. For future studies, we recommend the use of the third method (D . T = SET + D . LDT) for estimating thermal constants for several reasons: (i) it is linear (i.e., simple to compute); (ii) the thermal constants are parameters of the equation, and therefore, their SEs are directly estimated; (iii) it allows the use of all data points (i.e., reduces the SE of the estimates of thermal constants); and (iv) the thermal requirements of different species or populations can be directly compared using ANCOVA.

The arboricolous dolichoderine ant Liometopum microcephalum (Panzer, 1798) is considered to be mainly predatory, although there are some reports of it tending aphids. The main objective of the present study was to confirm that this ant has a trophobiotic relationship with aphids and assess seasonal differences in its utilization of honeydew. We hypothesized that the worker ants on trees where they have their nest (nest tree) and trees where they are foraging (foraging trees) should differ in gaster mass and sugar content depending on their direction of movement, and that both should be highest in spring. From spring to summer 2009, ascending and descending workers were collected from nest and foraging trees at a locality in South Moravia, Czech Republic. Mass of their gasters and their content of total and reducing sugars were measured using chemical (photometric) methods. Differences in gaster mass confirmed the flow of liquid food from foraging to nest trees, but there were no significant between-month differences. Contents of total and reducing sugars were positively correlated with gaster mass. The gasters of workers descending from foraging trees contained significantly more reducing sugars than those of workers descending or ascending nest trees. The content of reducing sugars was lowest at the beginning of the ants' activity period in April and highest in June, with a non-significant drop in July. Results for total sugars were similar, with the decrease in July being significant. The concentration of sugars in the gasters of workers ascending and descending nest trees did not differ significantly but the absolute content of total sugars was higher in the gasters of ascending ants. Results from foraging trees confirmed that the ants collected the honeydew from these trees. Possible reasons for the ambigous results for nest trees are discussed. We conclude that trophobiosis is an important component of the nutritional biology of L. microcephalum.

Two species of the Chrysoperla carnea complex: Ch. carnea sensu Henry and Ch. lucasina, occur in the crop environment in western France. Within the framework of a conservation biological control program for protected seed crops, the pollen consumption of these common green lacewings was investigated. The diverticulum contents of collected specimens were analysed to determine their food preference. Ch. carnea sensu Henry and Ch. lucasina are opportunistic feeders, which are attracted to large patches of flowering plants. The establishment of monitoring an attractive environment for these predators is discussed.

Introduction of non-native species of plants affects the existence and feeding preferences of herbivorous insects. The bird cherry ermine moth (Yponomeuta evonymellus) is considered a typical monophagous insect, which feeds only on bird cherry (Prunus padus) leaves. However, in recent years, we have observed Y. evonymellus larvae feeding on leaves of the non-native (in Europe) and highly invasive black cherry (Prunus serotina). We hypothesized that this insect can feed on P. serotina leaves with no negative effects on its growth and development and that the main reason why it does not accept this plant as a host is the phenological difference between the two species of cherry. Moving individuals of the three larval instars (L1, L2 and L3) from bird cherry to black cherry did not affect the percentage of adults that emerged from the pupae or the masses of the moths. In addition, in one experiment, the moths were heavier and the percentage parasitized was lower on P. serotina than on P. padus. Thus, the leaves of black cherry were at least as good a food source as P. padus for Y. evonymellus. During the feeding period, there were low concentrations of defense compounds (phenolics and condensed tannins) in the leaves of both species. However, it is likely that the low success of Y. evonymellus in infesting P. serotina is due to spring frosts and heavy rains, which are deadly for larvae in an early stage of development on black cherry. In the field these weather conditions resulted in a very high mortality of larvae in our experiment. In conclusion, the use of bird cherry as a host by Y. evonymellus is mainly determined by its phenology.

The reproductive alterations induced by maternally inherited α-proteo-bacteria Wolbachia to their hosts is a well-documented phenomenon. In Nesolynx thymus, a gregarious hymenopterous ecto-pupal parasitoid of the uzifly, Exorista sorbillans, diagnostic PCR assay using specific primers revealed the presence of Wolbachia. Following genetic crossing experiments, we observed a female biased sex ratio of 1 : 9.5 at 25°C and 1 : 3 male to female ratio when the populations were exposed to heat shock 33°C for six hours. Furthermore, we found infection polymorphism, where female parasitoids are infected by Wolbachia but males are not infected. Infected eggs develop into females, whereas uninfected eggs develop parthenogenetically into males. The results are discussed in the context of the possible mechanism of sex-ratio bias caused by Wolbachia.

A multi-model ensemble of 15 climate change projections from regional climate models was used to assess the impact of changes in air temperature and precipitation on the phenology of pest species in agriculture. This allowed the bandwidths of expected changes in both meteorological variables to be calculated, forming the basis for assessing and clearly communicating the uncertainties related to the model results. More specifically, we investigated the potential impact of regional climate change effects on the crop invasion of the rape stem weevil, Ceutorhynchus napi Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Central Europe (Luxembourg). Multisite and perennial data from field observations were used to choose a biological model from the literature, based on daily maximum air temperature and daily totals of precipitation to describe the migration of C. napi. Based on this statistical relation, we were able to reproduce the observed crop invasion with a mean root mean squared error (RMSE) of 10 days. Daily values of projected maximum air temperatures and daily totals of precipitation of the multi-model ensemble were used as input data for the threshold-based biological model that projects the immigration of this pest species into oilseed rape crops (Brassica napus L.). We examined three thirty-year timespans, the near (2021 to 2050) and the far future (2069 to 2098) and compared them to a reference timespan (1961 to 1990). The projections showed a significant shift of crop invasion to an earlier onset for the near (14 days) and far future (21 days) compared to the reference period. In addition, the timespan in which the potential crop invasion will take place increased from 53 days in the reference timespan to 73 days in the near and 65 days in the far future based on the ensemble median values. It could be expected that a shifting of the immigration period will increase the risk of missing the appropriate time frame for an insecticide application. A depletion of stored nutrient resources, leading to starvation after diapause, can be eliminated for C. napi under climate change effects, as this species hibernates motionless as an adult in earth cocoons until emergence in early springtime driven by temperature.

Currently the introduction and spread of invasive species is an issue of great concern. To effectively manage this problem it is essential to know what constitute invasion hotspots. In this respect, the role of urban green areas in the conservation of biodiversity is a controversial matter. These areas may either favour colonization by alien species or shelter species of high conservation value. We evaluated the influence of location (island, coastal or inland) on the exotic and native ant fauna recorded in 27 urban green areas in Spain. A forward-stepwise discriminant analysis revealed differences between these locations in terms of the composition of the fauna, with exotic species identified as being the most important discriminating variable. There is a gradient: inland-coastal-island, along which there is significant increase in importance in terms of species richness and abundance of particular exotic species and decrease in the dominance of both common and rare native species. Areas located on the Island were more susceptible to invasion by alien ants. Coastal areas were also more susceptible to invasion than inland areas. These results possibly reflect the greater probability of an invasive species reaching these locations and the milder weather conditions at these sites, which would favour their establishment.

An inventory of the carabid fauna was carried out in two post-industrial areas in central Poland. The two areas studied were a heap of ash generated by a power station and a colliery spoil heap. In each area sites of different ages were investigated using pitfall traps over an eight year period from 2004 to 2011. At the end of this period each of the youngest sites was as old, or even older, than the next oldest site studied in each area. A pine forest growing on natural soil close to the ash heap was included as a reference study site. Changes were described in terms of the numbers of species and individuals, total biomass, Mean Individual Biomass of Carabidae (MIB) and the most frequently collected species. Indirect and direct gradient analyses were carried out in order to determine the environmental basis of the major pattern in variation and analyse the relationships with current environmental parameters. During the eight years of this study 5032 individuals of 84 species were collected. Numbers of individuals decreased significantly with the age of the sites on the ash heap and the MIB values increased significantly on both heaps. Changes in the most frequently collected species were more pronounced on the spoil heap, the study sites on which covered a time span of 26 years, than on the ash heap, for which the period was only 11 years. Characteristic species differed on the spoil and ash heaps and numbers of species were lower on the spoil heap. Despite differences in speed of succession at the sites studied, there was a tendency for the MIB to increase after about 9 to 16 years. Indirect and direct gradients analyses confirmed that the stage of succession (age of the study sites) was an important factor determining the carabid assemblages at the sites studied. The results of this study are important for the restoration and management of post-industrial areas.

Acridids could be an alternative source of protein for feeding to livestock as large numbers can be produced by rearing them on suitable food plants under optimum environmental conditions. The aim of the present study was to find a suitable food plant for the mass culture of the short-horn grasshopper Oxya hyla hyla (Serville). Food consumption and utilization, growth (growth rate, average daily growth, specific growth rate and wet weight gain), survival and life span of this insect reared on Sorghum halepense, Cyanodon dactylon and a mixture of these two plants were determined. The result revealed that the food utilization, growth and survival of this grasshopper depended on the food plant. The nymphs that were reared on C. dactylon consumed less food but had a greater efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body mass, growth performance and survival than those feed on the other two types of food. In contrast, the food consumption and utilization, growth and weight gain of adult grasshoppers was greatest when they were reared on S. halepense. These results indicate that of the plants used in this study C. dactylon is the best for rearing the nymphs and S. halepense for rearing the adults of Oxya hyla hyla.

We describe an antibacterial assay based on bioluminescence of two Gram negative bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescens and transformed Escherichia coli, which can be used as a real-time measurement of antibacterial activity in insect haemolymph. This method is based on the production of the bioluminescence signal depending on the viability of bacterial cells. We observed a significant rapid dose-dependent decrease in bioluminescence using both bacterial species, and Bombyx mori or Galleria mellonella haemolymph, which was confirmed by the decrease in bacterial viability determined by plating. The humoral origin of the antibacterial activity observed in whole haemolymph was confirmed for haemolymph plasma without haemocytes. Antibacterial activity directed against Gram negative bacteria was recorded in unaffected insect larvae as well as after septic injury; increased antibacterial activity of haemolymph was detected in the latter case confirming the inducibility of antimicrobial agents. We think it is likely that this method could be widely used for determining antibacterial activity in insects and other invertebrates.

In this study, we investigate the changes in both vascular plant and carabid beetle assemblages in response to reducing the intensity of management of park lawns in the city of Helsinki. Three levels of mowing were applied to patches of previously managed park lawns: (1) intensively mown, (2) mown until the previous season and unmanaged since, and (3) unmanaged for ten years (benign neglect). The lawns were dominated by plants that disperse vegetatively. This treatment gradient had little or no effect on the flight capability, feeding type or body-size of carabid beetles. However, there was an increase in species richness and the numbers of stenotopic species in the benign neglect treatment. We conclude that benign neglect of open grassland vegetation will result in higher levels of biodiversity than in more intensely managed vegetation. However, we consider it likely that the optimal strategy for maintaining urban biodiversity would be to apply a meadow management regime of mowing once or twice per year and leaving some areas of unmanaged grassland to maintain habitat heterogeneity.

Maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses of Trichogramma buesi, T. embryophagum, T. evanescens, T. piceum, T. principium, and T. telengai were investigated in laboratory conditions. During the experiment, grand-maternal and maternal generations developed at 20°C and one of the 4 photoperiodic regimes: L : D = 12 : 12, 14 : 10, 16 : 8, and 18 : 6 (in total, 16 combinations) while the progeny developed at L : D = 12 : 12 and one of the 3 thermal regimes: 13, 14, and 15°C. The proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of all the studied species was significantly dependent on the direct influence of temperature and on the maternal photoperiodic response. The influence of the photoperiodic conditions during development of the grand-maternal generation was statistically significant in 5 of the 6 studied species, being relatively weak in T. embryophagum and T. telengai, whose geographical ranges extend up to north-western regions of Europe (possibly, these wasps enter diapause so early that the grand-mothers of the diapausing generation develop under long day conditions). Comparative analysis showed that the thresholds of the maternal and grand-maternal photoperiodic responses coincided or almost coincided. The grand-maternal effect was stronger in the progeny of maternal females which developed under short day conditions than in those that developed under long day conditions. This pattern of interaction probably synchronizes the life cycle with seasonal changes because diapause is induced under decreasing day length and thus mothers of diapausing individuals develop at shorter daylength than do grand-mothers. We conclude that the grand-maternal and the maternal effects on Trichogramma progeny diapause are based on one and the same photoperiodic response. In nature, the grand-maternal effect increases the proportion of diapausing individuals in the progeny of females which have developed under short day conditions during two generations, thus achieving a "cumulative" photoperiodic effect.

The Multicoloured Asian Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is known to thrive principally in shrubby and arboreal habitats. This study focuses on the occurrence of this exotic species and its seasonal abundance in various field crops. The abundance of adults, larvae and pupae of H. axyridis was evaluated over a three-year period, from 2009 to 2011, in four important agronomical crops (wheat, corn, broad bean and potato) in Belgium. From May to September, 48 1-m² quadrats were visually inspected in each of the fields sampled on several farms every seven days. H. axyridis colonized and reproduced in all of the four crops studied, with the largest numbers recorded in corn and broad bean crops. Larvae and adults of H. axyridis were recorded mainly in corn and to a much less extent in wheat and potato crops. From 2009 to 2011, the mean weekly abundance of H. ayxridis remained constant except in corn crops, where the recorded densities of all the immature stages and adults were higher in 2011 than in 2009. The population dynamics of aphids and H. axyridis are well described by a symmetric logistic function (S-shape) of cumulative population size. H. axyridis was not always recorded where aphids were abundant, e.g. aphids were abundant on wheat where no H. axyridis were recorded. H. axyridis start reproducing after the peak in aphid population, suggesting that H. axyridis is able to complete its development by feeding on alternative prey such as larvae and pupae of the same and other species of ladybird and other aphidophagous species. H. axyridis is often considered to be bivoltine but it only completes one generation per year in field crops. The second generation generally develops late in the season in other habitats.

A comparison was made of the number of species, species diversity and ecological traits of carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages inhabiting Białowieża Primeval Forest (National Park) and adjacent managed Białowieża forest planted following clear-cutting of the primeval forest 80 years ago. Five pitfall traps were set in each plot in the primeval and managed forests in areas that differed in terms of humidity and soil fertility. The first hypothesis tested was that the type of stand (primeval vs. managed) has a greater effect on species diversity and life history traits of carabid assemblages than soil fertility or humidity. The second hypothesis tested was that a similar hierarchy of these factors affects the occurrence of particular species. It was demonstrated that the number of species in the primeval and managed forest sites did not differ significantly, but that mesic stands within these forests were more species-rich than boggy stands. However, the Shannon index for carabids was higher for the primeval stands. More species of carabids were recorded in the boggy primeval forest than boggy managed forest. The number of species was also higher in highly fertile than less fertile stands. These results indicate that the significant differences in the patterns of ecological traits among the assemblages studied depended mainly on humidity. This indicates the managed forest that was planted where a primeval stand was clear felled 80 years ago is a good quality habitat, which is a strong argument for protecting these stands.

In predatory ladybirds male embryos in clutches of eggs infected with male-killing bacterial endosymbionts do not hatch and are consumed by female hatchlings. Moreover, it is predicted that infection with male-killing bacteria should be prevalent in a ladybird population if the fitness advantage to female ladybirds due to the resulting reallocation of resources is high. We compared male-killer bacterial prevalence in two sibling species of the ladybird genus Harmonia that use different host ranges. Harmonia yedoensis feeds mostly on the highly elusive pine aphid and its hatchlings can greatly enhance their ability to capture prey and thus their survival by consuming un-hatched eggs in the clutch. In contrast, Harmonia axyridis feeds on a wide range of prey and consumption of un-hatched eggs by the hatchlings does not necessarily increase their foraging success. In the study area where these two species of ladybird occur sympatrically 14 of the 22 females of H. yedoensis (64%) laid clutches of eggs of which approximately only a half hatched and did not produce male offspring, whereas only one of 12 of the females of H. axyridis (8%) exhibited symptoms indicating infection with male-killing bacteria. In the H. yedoensis that exhibited symptoms of being infected with male-killing bacteria, the total allocation of resources to each hatchling, which was provided by laying larger eggs and eating the un-hatched eggs in the clutch, was considerable. These results suggest that the difference in the prevalence of infection with male-killing bacteria in these two species of ladybird may reflect differences in the quality of their prey and their foraging behaviour.

The jewel beetle genus Agrilus (Buprestidae), with approximately 2880 recognized species, is taxonomically challenging due to the great similarity of species. An example of taxonomic ambiguity is the Agrilus viridis species group, particularly the viridis complex that comprises many varieties differing both ecologically and morphologically. The status of these varieties has remained largely unresolved and no consensus exists on their status. We used geometric morphometrics in combination with the DNA barcode marker sequence in order to evaluate the possible distinction among populations of A. viridis feeding on Alnus, Betula and a variety of Salix species in Finland. We found that morphology supports the existence of two species, one feeding on Betula and Alnus, the other feeding on Salix. The findings based on DNA barcodes are more complex, suggesting possible introgression events in the species' history. Our results suggest that the Betula/Alnus and Salix feeding forms of A. viridis represent distinct species that have, while maintaining their morphological integrity, probably experienced repeated hybridization events in the past. DNA barcoding provides valuable additional information for taxonomic studies based on careful morphological study and information on their ecology, but drawing taxonomic conclusions from barcode data alone can lead to considerable confusion.

The cuticle of the ground beetle Poecilus lepidus (Leske) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) displays a complex variety of colour morphs that are genetically determined. Besides the colour of the elytra, there is a remarkable intersexual dimorphic difference in its surface structure between males and females, as there is in most Poecilus species. At least in Central European populations of P. lepidus, all males exhibit a bright elytral surface, whereas all females exhibit a matt surface; this difference is due to a nearly plain surface in males but a knobbly sculptured one in females. At first glance, this phenomenon may be easily interpreted as being a result of secondary sexual character inheritance. However, P. lepidus specimens are known from two other regions that differ markedly: females display the same bright elytral surfaces as males in the Italian Apennine Mountain and all over Bulgaria. In the present study, crossbreeding experiments with German and Bulgarian specimens resulted in a dominance of matt over bright in the classical Mendelian F₂ 3 : 1 ratio, although only in females. All the males showed a bright elytral surface. These findings throw into question the interpretation as given above. Because classical modes of inheritance do not provide a sound interpretation of the data as here detailed, we discuss two forms of epigenetic mechanisms which might be responsible for the observed sexual dimorphism: (1) silencing of a gene by genomic imprinting, and (2) haplo-insufficient dominance of one allele to its counterpart. Ultimately, the observed pattern is interpreted by sex-limited inheritance that depends on the presence or absence of a particular allele.

Diglyphus isaea Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is an important ectoparasitic wasp of many leaf miners. Ability of D. isaea to find hosts placed in artificial mines and for its larvae to pupate when the larva is not in a mine was studied. Artificial mines consisted of slits cut in index card sandwiched between two cover slips. Almost 80% of the neonate larvae of D. isaea located host larvae in artificial mines compared to only 50% of those not in a mine. Mature larvae removed from mines did not construct normal pupal chambers. Nonetheless, they pupated and emerged successfully. Larvae of Liriomyza sativae Blanchard (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in mines are more likely to be attacked than those not in mines. Moreover, when close to a host larva this parasitoid can use vibrational cues to locate the larva in a mine. In addition, this parasitoid also did not always use volatile and gustatory cues for short range location of hosts. However, adult females of D. isaea more quickly located L. sativae larvae in the presence of the odour of juice extracted from an uninfested host plant. We conclude by proposing that the host mine is the medium by which the vibrations generated by the host larva are transmitted, which are probably the most important cue used by female D. isaea searching for hosts. That is this parasitoid first perceives mines not host larvae. These results will be helpful for developing techniques for the mass rearing of D. isaea in the future.

Blackwell, Malden, MA & Oxford, 2008, 473 pp. ISBN 978-1-4051-4571-8. Price: USD 69.95.

Poecilus cupreus (L.) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is a typical polyphagous predator species on arable lands. In this study, 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from genomic DNA of P. cupreus. Genotypes of 87 individuals sampled from three localities in Western France were analyzed to characterize the polymorphism at each locus. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 20. All pairs of loci were in linkage equilibrium. The expected and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.165 to 0.890 and 0.103 to 0.926, respectively. From the northern to the southern sites, six, three, and six loci showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, respectively. At one locus, null alleles were suspected as occuring at high frequency in the three populations. A weak genetic differentiation among populations was found, suggesting intense and large scale gene flow coupled with large population size in P. cupreus. These polymorphic microsatellite markers could be used in future population genetics studies of P. cupreus.

Coraebus florentinus (Herbst) is one of the most important wood borer pests of oaks in forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean Region. It is considered to be a heliophilous species as it prefers the sunniest parts of the canopy of isolated trees. The biological significance of this preference is still unknown. Recently, the effect of temperature on the preimaginal development of this insect was established: high temperatures increase its probability of survival and shorten its developmental time. Continuing this line of research, this study was designed to determine whether C. florentinus exhibits selective oviposition behaviour and how variation in temperature due to differences in the position of the branches in which the larvae develop could affect the subsequent development of this species. To determine whether this insect selects the branches in which to lay its eggs, location data (north, south, upper half and lower half of the tops of the trees) for 112 damaged branches were analysed. The results confirm that females of C. florentinus do not lay their eggs at random at the tops of trees but rather choose branches that are exposed to the sun. To determine the effects of larval rearing temperature on the later development stages, an experiment consisting of five treatments was performed. Four of these treatments, each containing 25 infested branches derived from different orientations and positions in a tree (upper half of tree and north facing, upper half and south facing, lower half and north facing and lower half and south facing) were kept in culture chambers maintained at optimal conditions for pupal development (28 ± 2°C and 60-65% relative humidity). The fifth treatment with 25 branches infested collected from the most sun-exposed locations were kept in outdoor conditions. The results indicate that variation in temperature during larval development due to differences in branch location does not significantly affect survival, duration of developmental of pupae, emergence success or sex ratio of the adults.

Abstract. Analyzing life history traits of butterfly communities and faunas frequently reveals a generalist-specialist continuum as the main gradient, where species using wide arrays of resources, with good dispersal ability and fast development are distinguished from those using specialised resources, having limited dispersal ability and developing slowly. To ascertain the validity of the generalist-specialist approach for an intermediately species-rich Central European fauna, we analyzed ten life history traits for 136 species of butterflies currently occurring in the Czech Republic, using principal correspondence analysis (PCA) and controlling for phylogeny. The main gradient extracted indeed revealed a generalist-specialist continuum, while the gradient perpendicular to the main axis distinguished between small-bodied polyvoltine species feeding on small herbaceous plants and large-bodied monovoltine species feeding on grasses or woody plants. We coin "constrained voltinism continuum" for the second gradient and argue that it reflects the effect of anti-herbivore strategies of larval host plants on butterfly development. The position of the butterflies in the PCA ordination mirrors the C-S-R (Competitors - Stress tolerators - Ruderals) strategies of their host plants. Butterflies that feed on C- and R-selected plants tend to be generalists, but differ in voltinism, whereas specialists tend to feed on S-selected plants. Regressing measures of current conservation status of individual species in the Czech Republic against the two extracted life history gradients yielded a significant but weak response for the generalist-specialist continuum and no response for the constrained voltinism continuum. The weak responses were due to a wide scatter of status measures among "mid generalists". The generalist-specialist continuum is hence a rather poor predictor of species conservation status. Species of high conservation concern are found either among specialists, or among mid generalists with low to intermediate values on the constrained voltinism axis.