Queen larvae of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) are fed with royal jelly, a glandular secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honey bees. The necessary consistency of royal jelly is dependent on a protein-sterol complex (MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈). At low pH, this complex forms fibrillar structures, which increase the viscosity of royal jelly. While the proteins in this complex are produced in the hypopharyngeal gland, the low pH is achieved by the secretion of the mandibular gland, which contains fatty acids. It is shown for the first time that fibril formation of MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈ is not only induced by low pH via a buffer system, but also by the addition of the major fatty acid 10-hydroxy-Δ²-decenoic acid (10-HDA) of the mandibular gland secretion. This result further substantiates that fibril formation of the MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈ complex only occurs after mixing the hypopharyngeal and mandibular gland secretions.

Stable reference genes (RGs) determine the reliability of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses and it is recommended that different reference genes are used for different types of DNA and tissues. The present study aimed to screen for stable RGs for the qPCR analysis of the immune responses of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci to the Wolbachia wMel strain from Drosophila melanogaster. A total of eight candidate RGs were evaluated using five different methods, i.e., Coefficient of Variation analysis, GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and ΔCt. The stability of these RGs was assessed for both genomic DNA (gDNA) and complementary DNA (cDNA). The results indicate that β-actin (Actin) and elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1α) were the most stable RGs for gDNA, whereas 18S rRNA (18S) and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were the least stable; in contrast, Actin and GAPDH were the most stable for cDNA, whereas RPL29 and ATPase were the least stable. The effectiveness of the most stable RGs was then validated against the least stable using qPCR analysis of the titre of wMel (gDNA) and the transcriptional responses of the antimicrobial peptide Alo-3-like and the phosphatidylinositol-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit delta isoform (cDNA) to wMel transfection. The results support the notion that reliable RGs are essential for a qPCR analysis of samples of both gDNA and cDNA.

Orius spp. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is well-known genus of generalist predators, which feed on numerous pest insects and mites infesting crops. In this study, the functional responses of the predatory bugs, Orius laevigatus (Fieber) and Orius vicinus (Ribaut), to different densities of the eggs of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and red spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), were determined under laboratory conditions. Different numbers of eggs (2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128) of both species of prey were offered to females of the above predators for 24-h in a controlled environment of 25 ± 1°C, 60 ± 10% RH and under a 16L : 8D photoperiod. The parameters of the functional responses were assessed using Holling's Disc Equation. Both predators showed a Type II response to both prey. The attack rates (a) and handling times (Th) of the predators were computed for spider mites eggs: O. laevigatus (a: 0.972, Th: 0.007) and O. vicinus (a: 1.113, Th: 0.005), and whitefly eggs: O. laevigatus (a: 1.022, Th: 0.002) and O. vicinus (a: 0.772 Th: 0.006). Furthermore, the average number of B. tabaci eggs consumed by O. laevigatus females was greater than by those of O. vicinus. In contrast, O. vicinus was a more efficient predator of T. urticae eggs than O. laevigatus. Consequently, these results indicate that together these predators might be effective biological control agents in regulating populations of B. tabaci and T. urticae in agricultural ecosystems.

Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée is an important pest of maize. The current use of microbial agents to control O. furnacalis have been relatively successful. However, upon infestation with microorganisms, O. furnacalis initiates an innate immune response to defend itself against foreign invaders. Therefore, understanding the immune mechanisms in O. furnacalis is important to ensure a more efficient use of microbial agents for the control of this pest. In the present study, a gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, and a gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, were used to induce an immune response in O. furnacalis. Transcriptomic sequencing was then used to screen for genes that were significantly differentially expressed after microbial induction and sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis to identify immune-related genes the expression of which was significantly induced. The results show a large number of genes were differentially expressed in O. furnacalis after microbial induction, the majority of which were immune-related genes. The expression of some immune-related genes such as those encoding antimicrobial peptides, peptidoglycan recognition proteins and serine protease inhibitors were strongly induced. Overall, our study increases the understanding of the mechanism of the innate immune response in O. furnacalis and provides a theoretical basis for better biological control using microbial agents.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is a polyphagous species from eastern Asia, which has spread to America and Europe where it damages many crops. In recently colonized areas, facilitative interactions between H. halys and native insects are poorly investigated. In this study, we report for the first time facilitation of native wasp and ant feeding by H. halys in Europe. The facilitation was related to the outflow of plant exudates caused by H. halys feeding on manna ash trees, where they have aggregated in response to an aggregation pheromone, which then attracted species of Hymenoptera to the infested trees. Trees other than manna ash were not involved in the facilitation between these two taxa. The species that frequently visited infested manna ash were Polistes dominula, Vespa crabro, Formica (Serviformica) cunicularia and Lasius emarginatus, while Polistes cf. nimpha, Vespula germanica, Crematogaster scutellaris and Tapinoma subboreale were occasional visitors. The numbers of wasps and ants feeding on plant exudates differed at different times in a day, with more Hymenoptera foraging in the afternoon, when more H. halys individuals were actively feeding. Facilitative interactions, such as those recorded in this study, are important for furthering our understanding of the ecology of invasive species in terms of creating sources of food for native organisms.

The stingless bee Melipona (Michmelia) seminigra Friese is a polytypic species widely distributed in Brazilian Amazon and Bolivia. Seven subspecies are recognized, four are described, which inhabit mutually exclusive areas in the Amazon basin, although zones of hybridization are recorded. The three other subspecies, despite being recognized by taxonomists are undescribed. Melipona seminigra is a good honey-producer and an important pollinator of native flora and crops. Partial DNA sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) mitochondrial gene (526 bp) was used to identify the four described subspecies of M. seminigra (M. s. abunensis, M. s. merrillae, M. s. pernigra, M. s. seminigra) and two other possible subspecies (M. s. ssp1 and M. s. ssp2). We added public data (sequences of ten other Melipona species) of the same subgenera and carried out phylogenetic analyses. The aim was to evaluate if subspecies in the M. seminigra complex could be delimited using COI and measure the genetic distances between them. Our results revealed that the genetic distances between subspecies of M. seminigra ranged from 0.4 to 2.7% (average 1.80 ± 0.47) and among Melipona species from 0.2 to 2.9% (average 2.13 ± 0.5). The average haplotype diversity was 0.8770 ± 0.0140 and average nucleotide diversity 0.0166 ± 0.0004. Phylogenetic and clustering analysis revealed well delimited clusters for subspecies of M. seminigra and that the inter subspecies divergences are similar to inter species divergence. Our findings indicate that the COI gene can be used for delimiting subspecies of M. seminigra.

Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are the most abundant endosymbionts infecting many arthropods, with Coleoptera being the most diverse hosts in terms of taxonomy and ecology. There has been great progress in studies on the relations between Wolbachia and beetles, however, only some of the research details the consequences of infection. In this review, I summarise the knowledge on the evolutionary relations or ecological associations between Wolbachia and its beetle hosts. These bacteria often cause cytoplasmic incompatibility in the infected hosts and are responsible for a selective sweep of the mitochondrial genomes in some beetles. Wolbachia can manipulate the sex ratio or reproduction of some species of beetles, however, it does not induce parthenogenesis, with the possible rare exception of some Naupactini. Proof of the co-evolution of Wolbachia with beetles is missing, but some aquatic groups seem to be prone to co-speciation, unlike terrestrial taxa. On the other hand, there is a growing number of studies indicating or proving horizontal transmission of Wolbachia among beetle hosts, mostly via common host plants or the foraging substrate (such as dung). Wolbachia is not alone in infecting beetles as other endosymbiotic bacteria occur in beetles (Rickettsia, Spiroplasma, Cardinium, Arsenophorus), which have often been reported as interchangeable, suggesting the infection by various bacteria is dynamic. Nonetheless, there are still many issues associated with Wolbachia that are not yet been described in beetles (like the provision of nutrition or protection against pathogens) and high-throughput sequencing should be used to improve our understanding of Wolbachia-Coleoptera relations.

The cucumber moth, Diaphania indica (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major pest of cucurbitaceous plants. The oviposition preference and olfactory response of larvae, mated and unmated male and female adults to volatiles emanating from uninfested and infested plants of four species of cucurbitaceous host plants and odours of conspecifics were recorded. Also the role of experience in the host finding behaviour of D. indica was evaluated. The experiments were done using a wind tunnel, olfactometer attraction assays and oviposition bioassays. The results reveal that fewer eggs were laid on infested plants than on uninfested plants. Females significantly preferred cucumber over squash, melon and watermelon. Cucurbitaceous plants elicited adults of D. indica to fly upwind followed by landing on the plants. The effect of experience on the olfactory preference of D. indica was dependent on the host plant. Females that had experience of cucumber, squash and melon plants were significantly attracted to the same plant, but not in the case of watermelon. Larvae of this pest were attracted only to volatiles of uninfested cucumber, squash and melon, whereas volatiles of conspecifics, infested plants and intact watermelon did not attract larvae. This study is an initial attempt to investigate the role of volatile infochemicals in the host-finding behaviour of D. indica. These results provide baseline information for the development of new control strategies against D. indica.

Chilodendron Schedl, 1953 is resurrected as a valid genus based on Chilodendron planicolle Schedl, 1953. This is the only representative of the tribe Hylesinini Erichson, 1836 found on Madagascar and a molecular phylogenetic analysis of several genes supports a position separate from Hylesinopsis Eggers, 1920 and other putatively close relatives. It is likely that Chilodendron is the oldest living lineage of bark beetles on Madagascar and possibly originated in the late Cretaceous not long after the separation of Madagascar from the Indian subcontinent.

Butterflies belong to one of the most intensively studied invertebrate groups. However, detailed information on the larval ecology is still lacking in many species. This is especially true for the grass-feeding subfamily Satyrinae, to which our study species, the Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa Fabricius, 1787), belongs. At the habitat level, E. medusa exhibits a clear preference for abandoned grasslands with litter accumulation. In this study, we assessed the host-plant and oviposition preferences of E. medusa at the microhabitat level, i.e., within occupied habitat patches, in the Diemel Valley (Central Germany). Only two species of grass, Festuca ovina agg. and F. rubra agg., were systematically used for oviposition. Egg density was positively correlated with patchiness of herb layer, potential daily length of sunshine, and abandonment. However, the explanatory power of these parameters was low. We attribute this primarily to an ample supply of host plants growing under suitable conditions in the occupied habitat patches of E. medusa. The positive effect of abandonment is probably due to the fact that the average height of oviposition sites of E. medusa is greater than in most other satyrine species, which renders the eggs more vulnerable to mechanical disturbance. Moreover, thick layers of litter, which develop after the cessation of grazing or mowing, might be important as they modify the microclimate at the locations of the immature stages.

The progress in constructing a DNA barcode library for German Diptera as published by Morinière et al. (2019, Mol. Ecol. Resour. 19: 900-928) is appraised from a dipterists' perspective. The coverage of the diversity of German Diptera in terms of barcode index numbers (BINs) and identified barcodes is analysed and visualized in simple diagrams. The influence of the project setup, methodology and/or systematic effects on the emerging numbers and trends is elucidated and extensively discussed. In addition, the documentation on the species identification methods in the database is assessed. Based on this evaluation, four ways for improving the future development, utility and reliability of this DNA database and similar projects in general are identified: (1) Sample the collections of experts. This results in a greater and more reliable coverage within a limited time frame, as opposed to random collecting and relying on a posteriori identification. (2) Give priority to medically, agriculturally or ecologically important families. Addressing these gaps will meet the most pressing needs of the community and serve as a good advertisement for the usefulness and wide applicability of the DNA barcode library. (3) Allocate resources to recruiting established experts as opposed to trainees. The fact that half of the recovered BINs remained unidentified mostly results from the insufficient involvement of experts (and expert time). (4) Appropriately document the morphological identifications by experts in the database. This will allow to assess the reliability of DNA-based identifications and to prioritize conflicting identifications within a BIN accordingly.

Diplolepis (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) are gall wasps that induce conspicuous galls on Rosa spp. (Rosaceae). These species are distributed globally and in Europe some are especially common and are founder organisms of biological communities composed of different insects. However, the ecological niches of these species have not been studied in detail. We modelled the potential distributions of these species using the locations of the galls of the four most abundant species of Diplolepis on the Iberian Peninsula (Diplolepis mayri, Diplolepis rosae, Diplolepis eglanteriae and Diplolepis nervosa, the galls of latter two are indistinguishable) using four different algorithms and identified the resulting consensus for the species. We compared the potential distributions of these species, considering their spatial complementarity and the distributions of their host plants. We found that D. mayri and D. eglanteriae/nervosa have complementary distributions on the Iberian Peninsula. The former species is found in the Mediterranean region, while D. eglanteriae and D. nervosa are distributed mainly in the Eurosiberian region. Diplolepis rosae has the widest distribution on the Iberian Peninsula. Our models constitute the first effort to identify suitable areas for species of Diplolepis species on the Iberian Peninsula and could be useful for understanding the evolutionary ecology of these species throughout their distribution in the western Palearctic.

Red wood ants (RWA) of the Formica rufa group are ecosystem engineers and important species in boreal and temperate forests. However, the permanent and temporal loss of forest habitats is a serious threat to their existence and is likely to increase with climate change. Due to the current threat of losing species, quick actions are needed. Reported here is the biogeography, relative abundance and habitat preferences of five species of RWA in Finland based on citizen science data. Species that occur in the lowlands of the Alps also occur throughout the southern parts of Finland. Only two of the five species, F. aquilonia Yarrow, 1955 and F. lugubris Zetterstedt, 1838, were common throughout the country, including northern Lapland. As their name suggests, RWAs occur mostly in forests and forest edges, but they also sometimes inhabit open or semi-open yards, mires and meadows. The most forest-specialist species is F. aquilonia and the least F. rufa Linnaeus, 1761. Surprisingly, the meadow wood ant F. pratensis Retzius, 1783 is the second most forest dwelling species, however, its preference for forest edges is clearly higher than for forest interiors. Based on current data, F. rufa may be the most tolerant of living close to buildings as its relative abundance in yards was much higher than that of the other species. The data obtained on distributions and relative abundances could be compared in the future with the results of similar surveys to detect changes in species distributions, relative abundances and habitat preferences.

Invasive species disrupt the organization and functioning of many ant communities. Little is known about ant assemblages formerly in areas invaded by the little fire ant. In this study, we surveyed the same areas and compared the ant communities there when an invasive species first colonized the areas and 10 years later, using the same methodology (quadrat and baiting). A total of 83,299 worker ants from 17 species or morphospecies, in 4 subfamilies and 10 genera were recorded in the two periods sampled. Seven ant species were found to co-occur with W. auropunctata while 12 species were collected in the same area 10 years later, with no W. auropunctata recorded in any of the traps. In the absence of W. auropunctata, the number and diversity of ant species increased and the ant communities were dominated by the African big-headed ant, Pheidole megacephala. Our findings indicate that the disappearance of W. auropunctata is probably related to population increases in P. megacephala associated with dramatic changes in landscape. Further studies at other invaded locations should be carried out in order to reveal the generality of these patterns throughout this country.

A new genus Oxymorus Borovec & Meregalli gen. n., belonging to the tribe Oosomini Lacordaire, 1863 of the curculionid subfamily Entiminae, is described. It includes nine new species, all from South Africa: Oxymorus uitkyk sp. n., type species, O. antennalis sp. n., O. johnprinei sp. n., O. minor sp. n., O. obesus sp. n., O. oculatus sp. n., O. rikae sp. n., O. strictifrons sp. n. and O. sulcaticollis sp. n. All species are illustrated and keyed.

Colour form polymorphism in Adalia bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1785) and Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) has been extensively studied in the past. Climate, season, and region are known to influence the colour form frequencies of these species, however, this effect is region specific, and the response of populations has changed over time. Here, 5862 photographic records from the UK Ladybird Survey from 2013-2017 were used to assess the geographic variation in colour form frequency (melanic versus non-melanic) of A. bipunctata and H. axyridis across the United Kingdom (UK) in relation to climate and season. Climate data from the UK Met Office were used to determine the effect of climate on melanic form. Seasonal variation in melanic form was observed in H. axyridis but not A. bipunctata. For H. axyridis, the probability of being melanic decreased in areas with higher annual sunlight hours. In A. bipunctata, there was an interaction between sunlight hours and rainfall. In areas with low rainfall, the probability of being melanic was negatively correlated with sunlight hours. Where rainfall was high, the probability of being melanic was positively correlated with sunlight hours. These findings highlight the role of climate in determining the proportion of colour forms in UK populations of A. bipunctata and H. axyridis. Furthermore, the results support the hypothesis that seasonal variation in melanism does not occur in A. bipunctata populations with a low overall proportion of melanics.

Bolbelasmus (Bolbelasmus) unicornis (Schrank, 1789) (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae) is a rare and threatened beetle distributed mostly in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. As a species of special conservation significance it is included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitat Directive of the European Union. Several new records of this species documented using light traps and soil sampling were recently reported in Serbia (the central part of the Balkan Peninsula). In this paper we present and discuss the current distribution of this species in the region studied based on GIS occurrence data. The distribution is mapped and values of environmental variables within this beetle's range are quantified using GIS technology. In addition, we predict its potential range in Serbia using a model based on the current distribution of this beetle, environmental variables and distribution of its food source.

Tree-related microhabitats are important for forest biodiversity. Water-filled tree holes are one such microhabitat and can be abundant in temperate forests. The arthropod community in this microhabitat not only contribute to forest biodiversity but also provides food for terrestrial predators such as arthropods, small mammals and birds. The extent of the threat of attack from terrestrial predators on insect larvae in this microhabitat, however, is poorly known. To measure predation in this microhabitat, we produced fake prey resembling insect larvae using white plasticine and exposed them at the aquatic-terrestrial habitat interface. We recorded: (1) which predators attacked the fake larvae, (2) the predation probability on the fake larvae after two days and after two weeks and (3) whether predation probability on fake larvae differed between managed and unmanaged forest zones in one of the last primeval beech forests, the Uholka division of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve in the Ukrainian Carpathians. By addressing these questions, we aimed to quantify the predation pressure of terrestrial predators on insect larvae in tree-holes. The probability that a fake larva in a tree hole was attacked by predators ranged between 25-58% (95% CI) after two days and between 76-96% (95% CI) after two weeks. Overall, the highest attack rates were recorded for small mammals, followed by arthropods and birds. Arthropods took longer to detect potential prey items than small mammals and birds, and they were the only group that showed significant differences in attack rates between forest zones (unmanaged > managed). This study revealed that sentinel prey might be a suitable method for measuring the predation pressure from terrestrial predators on insect larvae in water-filled tree holes.

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.

The tiger-fly Coenosia attenuata Stein (Diptera: Muscidae: Coenosiini) is a generalist predator that preys on several pests of greenhouse crops and is considered a biological control agent in the Mediterranean region. Previous behavioural observations identified its preferred prey, but a more in-depth evaluation will benefit from using Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification of prey DNA remains in the gut of this predator. To evaluate the rate of decay and suitability of this method for use in the field assessments, we carried out a laboratory feeding calibration experiment on 355 females of C. attenuata, which were killed at different intervals of time after ingestion (10 time points from 0 to 48 h). The prey species tested were: Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae: Trialeurodini), Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Diptera: Agromyzidae), Diglyphus isaea (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Cirrospilini), Bradysia impatiens (Johannsen) (Diptera: Sciaridae) and Drosophila mercatorum Patterson & Wheeler (Diptera: Drosophilidae: Drosophilini). Based on a probit model, amplification success of prey DNA declined exponentially with increasing time after ingestion. The half-time molecular detection differed between species, ranging from an average of 5 h for T. vaporariorum and D. isaea, 6 h for B. impatiens, 15 h for L. huidobrensis to more than 40 h for D. mercatorum. This study confirmed the feasibility of using DNA based detection to identify prey species in the gut contents of C. attenuata and provided calibration curves for a better understanding of predation activity in this agroecosystem.

The distribution of butterflies was analysed in a mosaic of different types of habitats in a typical Ibero-Supramediterranean plant landscape. This mosaic landscape is composed of oak forests (Quercus pyrenaica) and their corresponding shrub and grassland successional communities. The observed patterns were based on butterfly-flower interactions in two consecutive years (2017-2018) recorded in different habitats. The results of the nestedness analysis indicated that the same butterfly community exploits all of the successional plant-communities, but some differences due to the availability of flowers. The foraging for nectar sources was mostly restricted to a few flowering plants: Rubus ulmifolius, Carduus carpetanus, Thymus pulegioides and Dianthus deltoides. Some butterflies changed their flower-visiting patterns over the two years studied. The distribution of butterflies was strongly linked to the distribution of their preferred nectar sources and changes in the use of these sources modified habitat use. The area of Rubus shrubland is a small but highly used habitat in this area, given the presence of Rubus ulmifolius, a plant species with high coverage and abundance of nectar, makes this area much better for foraging than other habitats. The Cytisus and Rubus shrublands were used more than grassland, indicating that seral habitats can be more valuable than traditional open grassland and forest habitats for butterflies.

We evaluated the effect of different ecological factors on epigeic harvestmen (Opiliones) in stands of Norway spruce of different ages planted on former agricultural land in the Western Carpathians (Slovakia). In total, 15 species of harvestmen were recorded, which is 42.9% of the 35 species of harvestmen currently recorded in Slovakia. The most abundant species were Nelima sempronii, Lacinius ephippiatus, Mitopus morio, Oligolophus tridens, Leiobunum gracile and Platybunus bucephalus. Species richness and diversity was not associated with any forest characteristic. There was a negative association between the percentage of Norway spruce and abundance of harvestmen and positive association between the chemical element Ca²⁺ and harvestmen abundance. Beta diversity of harvestmen assemblages was low. Composition of harvestmen assemblages was significantly related to percentage of spruce, humus content, Ca²⁺, C/N and soil pH. Lacinius ephippiatus was most abundant in pitfall traps with a low percentage of spruce, Oligolophus tridens plots where there was low humus content and Leiobunum gracile tended to be more abundant in plots with more alkaline soils.

Movements are involved in several routine processes and may scale up to important ecological processes such as dispersal. However, movement is affected by a wealth of factors including flight capacity and behavioural traits. Both frequently differ in the sexes, which may well affect movement. We here aim to disentangle the relative importance of sexual differences in flight capacity versus behaviour on small-scale movements under controlled laboratory conditions in the temperate-zone butterfly Lycaena tityrus. The morphology of males is typically associated with increased flight capacity in this species. Nevertheless, the flight performances of the sexes did not differ, but the mobility of the females was higher. Thus, flight capacity and patterns of movement may not be intimately associated. Rather, the costs and benefits of flight seem to differ substantially between the sexes, with females being more mobile, potentially as a risk spreading strategy, while males are territorial and thus more sedentary. Thus, predictions regarding movement based on morphology are difficult.

The phenology of fungal fruiting has changed in the UK over the last 70 years, but whether the associated mycophagous insects are able to exploit 'out of season' fruit bodies is unknown. This study focused on whether fungal baits can be used as a proxy to examine changes in fungal fruiting on insect communities. Using Agaricus bisporus as a bait, mushrooms were placed into two separate woodlands monthly from November 2020 to July 2021. Megaselia rufipes (Phoridae) and Bradysia spp. (Sciaridae) were reared from both wild fungi and fungal baits at different times, making them appropriate species to consider for possible host tracking. Various factors affect an insect's ability to track a fungal host, these include host preference, season, period of fungal fruiting and age of mushroom. Increased fruiting of macrofungi in the future may benefit generalist mycophagous insects, by providing enhanced temporal and spatial resource opportunities. Using fungal baits as a proxy for the effects of climate change on fungal fruiting should be beneficial in uncovering the host preferences of mycophagous insects and may potentially indicate whether mycophagous insects can track fungal hosts across seasons.

Pollinating insects are important and therefore, it is important to be able to assess and monitor changes in their abundance. Consequently, it is essential that the methods used to collect data have some level of precision and are accurate. In the present study, two commonly used methods: colour pan-traps and sweep netting along transects, were compared. A total of 1775 specimens of 120 species of four insect families were caught in twelve clear-cuts in southern Sweden. Overall, Lepturinae (Cerambycidae; 5 species) and Cetoniidae (Scarabaeidae; 2) were trapped in larger numbers by pan-traps and Syrphidae (62) and Apoidea, both social (10) and solitary (41), by sweep netting. The catches of none of the above groups of insects by the two methods were correlated. These results show that the composition of catches of the two methods are very different, which has implications when choosing a method for sampling or monitoring and comparing and analysing published data.

This study investigated the effectiveness of field releases of nymphs of Anthocoris nemoralis (F.) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in controlling the olive psyllid, Euphyllura olivina Costa (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). Field trials were conducted in two successive years (2014 and 2015) in two organic olive orchards located in the region of Sfax (Tunisia) using two treatments: low (release of 10 A. nemoralis nymphs/tree) and high (release of 40 A. nemoralis nymphs/tree) applied two times, the first on March 3 and second on March 17. In both olive orchards, the high treatment was the most effective in controlling the increase of E. olivina in the spring. The A. nemoralis population grew gradually and reached a single peak towards the end of April. In control and low treatment plots, despite the significant increase in predator populations, psylla abundance was not controlled. After the second release, however, in high treatment plots a reduction in psyllid density was recorded. An expected effect of the A. nemoralis releases was a reduced parasitic activity of Psyllaephagus euphyllurae (Masi) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae).

Phenotypic diversity depends on genotype diversity, but the degree of genotype-by-environment interaction is species-specific. Red wood ants (Formica s. str) are keystone species in boreal forests and very variable phenotypically. These variations are used for species identification and proposed as ecological indicators of anthropogenic disturbances. However, their origin is unknown. Here we aimed to provide a preliminary answer to this question and outline the direction for future research. We determined the interrelation between nest mate worker relatedness (kinship) and the diversity of colour morphs, degree of melanisation and size of the red wood ant, Formica rufa. In Finnish populations of this species polyandry, which involves multiple mating by queens is the principal determinant of the relatedness between workers. We hypothesised, that if phenotypic diversity is a result of genetic diversity, then polyandrous colonies should produce more phenotypically diverse workers. A total of 336 individuals belonging to 20 colonies were used for this study. We collected ants from coniferous and broadleaf forests in Finland, fixed them in 96% alcohol, then digitally photographed, genotyped and analysed the phenotypic variation. The average colony nest mate worker relatedness was used as an estimate of the level of polyandry (more than one if r < 0.6). Our results revealed no associations between the diversity of the phenotypic traits measured and worker kinship in F. rufa. As a further step to reveal the degree of genotype-by-environment interaction in determining the colour traits of the red wood ant we suggest more sophisticated genetic studies indicating the heritability of phenotypic traits between patrilinies and testing of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, UV-radiation, food and pollution.

The wild silkmoth genus Samia Hübner, 1819 (Saturniidae) contains a number of economically important species in industrial silk production. However, the interspecific relationships within the genus remain unclear. We sequence the mitogenomes of Samia watsoni Oberthür, 1914 and Samia wangi Naumann & Peigler, 2001. Both mitogenomes are annotated and found to be cyclized, with 37 genes (13 PCGs, 2 rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes). Using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, we analyze these mitogenomes together with a further 68 downloaded from GenBank (65 Bombycoidea and 5 Lasiocampidae as the outgroup) to investigate the phylogenetic relationships both within the genus and those among the three families of the 'SBS' group: Bombycidae, Saturniidae and Sphingidae. The results show that within Samia, S. ricini is closely related to S. canningi, and not S. cynthia of which it has previously been considered to be a subspecies. Although arguments have been proposed to treat S. ricini and S. canningi as conspecific, we choose to accept the morphological arguments and continue to treat them as two separate species. Samia watsoni is corroborated as the sister group of all other Samia species, but nevertheless should be included within Samia rather than being placed in its own monobasic genus. Our analysis recovers the following relationship among the three families of the 'SBS' group: (Saturniidae + (Bombycidae + Sphingidae)). This agrees with previous studies based on analysis of mitogenomes but continues to contradict the results derived from phylogenomic analysis of nuclear genomes.

Oulema melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher, 1874) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are two native West Palaearctic species developing on various cultivated and wild grasses. Along with O. obscura they are considered to be secondary pests of cereal crops. However, local outbreaks have been recorded recently and their status as secondary pests may evolve, especially as the use of broad-spectrum insecticides is now greatly reduced. Oulema melanopus and O. duftschmidi are considered to be sibling species. They are morphologically very close and difficult to distinguish from each other, which makes it difficult to study them. We tested the reliability of the standard barcode fragment (COI) for distinguishing between these species. A total of 92 samples of the two species, covering the majority of their natural range, was sequenced for the barcode fragment and inter- and intraspecific genetic distances were estimated. Our results confirm those of Bezděk & Baselga (2015, Acta Entomol. Mus. Nat. Prag. 55: 273-304) in that this marker cannot differentiate between all the species of the Oulema melanopus complex, which in the Mediterranean basin contains several described and possibly some undescribed cryptic species. However, this marker may be useful in an agricultural context in areas where only O. melanopus and O. duftschmidi occur (such as in cereal crops in France) where it can be used to reliably and rapidly separate all stages of these two taxa and can therefore help in studying their ecology and dynamics.

The initial stages of diapause induction - as summer gives way to autumn - involve a process of time measurement in which the duration of daylength (or nightlength) is determined by a photoperiodic 'clock' based upon the circadian system. In many insects so far examined, a photophase of sufficient duration and illuminance resets a photoperiodic oscillator to a constant phase equivalent to the beginning of the 'subjective night' (Circadian time, CT 12 h) whereupon it proceeds to measure nightlength in a clock of the external coincidence type. A possible exception may be found in the linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, which - in laboratory studies using relatively low light intensity - suggests that daylength is measured rather than the night. Earlier studies of photoperiodic responses (pupal diapause induction) in the flesh fly Sarcophaga argyrostoma, however, showed that 'weak' or short light pulses giving rise to Type 1 phase response curves could be converted by increasing light intensity to Type 0 responses that phase set the oscillation to the beginning of the subjective night (CT 12 h) whereupon it could begin to measure the night. Based upon these data it is therefore suggested that the photoperiodic clock in P. apterus might also measure nightlength if the bugs were exposed to photophases of higher irradiance simulating daytime exposure to the light intensity experienced by these diurnally active insects in their natural environment.