The ghost ant (GA), Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793), is one of the most common invasive species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the world. While in its native tropical region it is both an ordinary indoor and outdoor pest, it occurs only indoors in the temperate zone, where increasingly more records of this species have been published since 1887. In this study, the current distribution of GA in Europe, including the new records published since Wetterer (2009), is reviewed. Furthermore, we report the first record of GA in the Czech Republic, where a large colony of GA was discovered in a block of flats in České Budějovice in 2014, and present a case study of its eradication. The revised distribution of GA shows that despite previous concerns about the threats posed by this new pest only three other European countries (including Czech Republic) reported the presence of this species after 2009. Although GA is currently documented as occurring in 18 European countries, which were invaded mainly after 1990, there is only a single (or dubious) record for ten of these countries. Abundance of workers was monitored in two flats in an infested building using traps baited with yolk-honey and GA were subsequently eradicated with imidacloprid (0.01% w/w). The pre-treatment revealed abundances that ranged up to 524 workers per trap (mean = 99, S.D. = 142, 80% of baits occupied). Despite the initial success of the treatment (no ants observed after 3 weeks), monitoring of the building a year later revealed it was still infested with GA and in a similar rate. We suggest alternative methods of eradicating GA in the temperate zone based on studies carried out in the tropics. Our study indicates the difficulty of eradicating the species from buildings when its colony is already established. Furthermore, it highlights the bias in the discovery-probability of GA as a household pest probably due to the species cryptic appearance and lack of attention to it outside of the scientific community.

Herbivory on liverworts is rarely reported. We studied the effects of feeding by larvae of the sciarid fly Scatopsciara cunicularius on the growth of the thalloid liverwort Marchantia polymorpha at two different constant temperatures, 12°C and 22°C. Larvae reared at the lower temperature fed slower and over a longer period of time, which resulted in more damage and a greater reduction in the growth of the liverwort than that caused by those reared at the higher temperature. The reduction in growth of the liverwort was positively density-dependent in terms of number of larvae at both temperatures. These results indicate that the larvae of S. cunicularius are likely to be an effective means of controlling M. polymorpha, which is a common weed in plant nurseries and greenhouse cultures.

Vanda falcata is a species of orchid native to China, Korea and Japan. While it is arguably one of the most celebrated orchids in Japan there is no information on its pollinators. Although most species of the subtribe Aeridinae, to which V. falcata belongs, have a short spur, V. falcata has a long spur. The results of the current study provide strong evidence that V. falcata is pollinated by long-tongued hawkmoths (Theretra spp.), which indicates that the evolution of long spurs in V. falcata could be an adaptation to pollination by long-tongued moths.

The term cellular immune response refers to haemocyte-mediated responses, including phagocytosis, nodulation, and encapsulation. In the present study, we identified five types of circulating haemocytes in larvae of the haemolymph of the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée), including granulocytes, oenocytoids, plasmatocytes, prohaemocytes, and spherulocytes. The relative number of total free haemocytes per larva decreased significantly 0.5, 24, and 36 h after the injection of Beauveria bassiana conidia. Upon conidia challenge, both phagocytosis and nodulation were observed in the collected haemolymph from O. furnacalis larvae. In addition, plasma was found to be necessary for both phagocytosis and nodulation. Therefore, we here confirm that phagocytosis and nodulation are involved in O. funacalis larvae during their fight against infection by B. bassiana, and further, that the cellular immune response of O. furnacalis helps eliminate the invading organisms despite the fact that not all the fungal conidia are killed.

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.

There are records of glands that produce sexual pheromones that are released into the environment or applied directly on sexual partners. Within Opiliones (Arachnida), several harvestmen in the suborder Laniatores have sexually dimorphic glands on legs I and IV, the mode of use of which is recorded only in two species but their function is unknown: while walking, males rub the glands against the substrate or against their body. Here we test an alternative and non-exclusive hypothesis that the glands present on the legs of male Gryne perlata (Cosmetidae) produce contact pheromones used in mating. We predicted that males would touch the females with the gland openings or with other male body parts previously rubbed by these glands. We also predicted that there are chemoreceptors on those parts of the females where males touch them. We analyzed 13 videos of G. perlata mating, a species in which the males have glands on legs I and IV of unknown function. We also analyzed 14 videos of Discocyrtus pectinifemur (Gonyleptidae) mating as a control, a species that lacks these glands. Finally, we looked for chemoreceptors on the legs of female G. perlata using a scanning electron microscope. During copulation, males of both species rubbed the legs of females with their first pair of legs, but not with the regions of these legs where the openings of the glands are. The fourth pair of legs were only used to support the body. Rubbing other body parts of the female by males with their glands was not observed during mating. Setae on the legs of the female did not have tip pores and therefore do not seem to be chemoreceptors. We therefore did not find any evidence that these sexually dimorphic glands in G. perlata release contact pheromones during mating.

In this study three common European species of the genus Adialytus Förster, 1862 were examined: Adialytus ambiguus (Haliday, 1834), Adialytus salicaphis (Fitch, 1855) and Adialytus thelaxis (Starý, 1961). Molecular analysis involved the DNA barcoding of a region of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI). The genetic difference based on Kimura s two-parameter model for computing pairwise distances showed that A. thelaxis differs from both A. ambiguus and A. salicaphis by 4.9 and 6% on average, respectively. The genetic distance between A. ambiguus and A. salicaphis was 1.5% on average, suggesting that barcodes based on the COI gene are insufficiently informative for separating these two species. Geometric morphometrics analysis of forewing size and shape revealed statistically significant differences. The R1 vein on the forewing of A. ambiguus is more elongated than on the wings of A. salicaphis and A. thelaxis. The geometric morphometrics analysis of the forewings also revealed that A. salicaphis and A. thelaxis have much broader forewings, suggesting strong flight ability associated with their parasitizing arboricolous aphids. The distal part of the forewing of Adialytus ambiguus is narrower, which in this case suggests poor flight ability associated with parasitizing Sipha aphids on grasses. An illustrated key for identifying the European species of Adialytus is provided.

Many territorial species of butterfly are sexually dimorphic in their wing colours, and males of such species frequently fight each other, probably attracted by the rival's wing colour. On the other hand, male behaviour should be directed to acquiring mates to increase their fitness, and thus should be sensitive to (usually cryptic) female wing colour. The present experiments aimed to determine whether the conspicuous male colour or cryptic female colour is more attractive to the territorial males of two lycaenid species, Chrysozephyrus smaragdinus and Neozephyrus japonicus. A pair of female and male wing models was presented simultaneously in the field to a male. The results indicate that the males of both species were preferentially attracted by the female wing model. In N. japonicus, in which the wing colour of females is polymorphic, males preferred particular types of female wings, in that they were more strongly attracted to the type-B model with a blue patch on the forewing than the type-O model, which lacked a blue patch.

We studied a population of the Red-winged grasshopper Oedipoda germanica, which is a highly stenotypic and endangered species in Central Europe. The locality studied is completely isolated and at the northern limit of this species distribution (north-west of the Czech Republic). We used capture-mark-recapture in 3 consecutive years (2008-2010). We estimated the total population size using POPAN software to be 136 adults in 2008, 70 in 2009 and 122 in 2010. Estimated daily survival rate (Ф) ranged from 0.950 to 0.987. We constructed linear mixed models to test for apparent survival in relation to temperature data. Temperatures (i.e. mean air temperature and maximum air temperature) were found to have significant effects on survival. The population studied is small, isolated and thus threatened by extinction, as are other O. germanica populations at the northern limit of their distribution. The preservation of indigenous populations in their localities can be achieved by active management, including the removal of shrubs and trees.

Aphid species Aphis pomi (de Geer, 1773) is oligophagous on pomoideous host plants, whilst Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914 is a polyphagous species alternating between Spiraea spp., its primary host, and a wide variety of secondary hosts, also including pomoideous species. Despite the biological distinction, these species are difficult to separate using their morphological characters. Partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and nuclear EF-1α genes were analyzed for samples from Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Turkey, China together with available data from GenBank. Interspecific pairwise sample divergences of the COI fragment ranged from 3.1 to 4.3%. One COI haplotype of A. pomi was predominant (n = 24), with a pan European distribution. The most abundant COI haplotype of A. spiraecola (n = 16) occurred in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Turkey and China. Interspecific pairwise sample divergences of the EF-1α fragment ranged from 0.6 to 1.2%. Analyzed partial sequences of EF-1α were identical in A. pomi. The most abundant EF-1α haplotype of A. spiraecola (n = 14) occurred in Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Turkey and China. The length of ultimate rostral segment appeared to be the most reliable morphological character for discrimination between apple and spirea aphid species. It allowed a 100% correct identification of A. pomi (n = 143) and 91.5% of A. spiraecola (n = 94) specimens in the European samples used for the molecular analysis. The existence of A. spiraecola in the Eastern Baltic region of Europe is documented for the first time.

The Asian long-horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, is a serious destructive pest of forests throughout China as it attacks a wide range of host plants. The effect of host trees on the cold hardiness of A. glabripennis larvae could be the basis for predicting the performance of this forest pest on different common hosts.To evaluate the effect of different species of host plant on the cold hardiness of overwintering larvae of A. glabripennis, we measured the supercooling point (SCP), fresh mass, protein content and concentrations of low molecular weight substances in overwintering larvae collected from three different host species (i.e., Populus opera, Populus tomentosa and Salix matsudana). Mean SCPs and protein contents of larvae from these three hosts differed significantly. The SCPs and protein contents of the larvae collected from P. opera and P. tomentosa were significantly higher than those collected from S. matsudana. The concentrations of glycerol, glucose and trehalose in overwintering larvae collected from these host species also differed significantly, but there were no significant differences in the concentrations of sorbitol and inositol. The larvae that were collected from S. matsudana had the highest concentrations of glycerol and trehalose and those from P. opera the lowest contents of glycerol, whereas those from P. tomentosa had the lowest concentrations of trehalose but the highest concentrations of glucose. Because of the significant differences in the quantities of these biochemical substances in their bodies, the cold hardiness of overwintering larvae of A. glabripennis was significantly dependent on the tree they fed on. These effects on the cold hardiness of the overwintering larvae might affect the selection of a host tree and therefore the spread of this beetle.

Trypargilum is a subgenus of solitary spider-hunting wasps whose males guard the nest, an unusual behaviour for male wasps. A male pairs with a female and copulates repeatedly with her during the nesting process, although females regularly copulate with satellite males, which employ an alternative reproductive strategy. The purpose of this paper was to determine the sociogenetic structure in twenty-nine nests of Trypoxylon albitarse sampled at six sites in Brazil. A total of 367 wasps were genotyped for eight species-specific polymorphic microsatellite loci. Genotypic segregation analyses were conducted to test whether the nests sampled were monogamic family groups. The results indicated that all the offspring in 12 of the 29 nests could be attributed to a single couple (genetic monogamy). Approximately 9% of the offspring probably resulted from extra-pair copulations and 3% of the total offspring were attributed to a second mother (usurpation by conspecific females, a form of intraspecific parasitism). The sequential replacement of parents throughout the nesting process indicates that the 29 nests analyzed included 35 family groups. Thus, our findings indicate that Trypoxylon albitarse has a predominantly monogamous genetic mating system, despite the social polygamy reported in previous studies.

Glacial retreat creates new habitat which is colonized by plants and animals during the process of primary succession. Traditionally, invertebrate succession along the glacier forelands has been spatially and temporally described by the following predictors: species richness, diversity/similarity indices and species traits. In this paper another approach is used and applied to carabid beetle assemblages in two alpine glacier forelands. It utilizes mean individual biomass (MIB), which is considered by several authors to be a good indicator of habitat successional stages. MIB increased with time since deglaciation and this is related to species turnover along the glacier forelands. Specifically, MIB is able to separate early from late successional stages. The former are characterized by carabid assemblages with low MIB values and species typical of pioneer habitats, while the latter are characterized by carabid assemblages with high MIB values and species typical of stable and mature habitats. Therefore, MIB seems to be a sensitive indicator of carabid beetle successional stages also along the glacier forelands.

The poplar lace bug, Monosteira unicostata (Mulsant & Rey), is one of the most important pests of almond trees in the Mediterranean area. The developmental times and survival of the immature stages of this tingid were determined at 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 35.5, 37 and 39°C, 60 ± 10% relative humidity and under a 16L : 8D photoperiod. At 16 and 39°C, 100% mortality was recorded during immature development, with the egg, first and second nymphal instars the most susceptible. The lowest mortality was recorded at 28°C (9.8%). As temperature increased, the total developmental period decreased and the shortest duration was recorded at 34°C (12.1-12.2 d). At 37°C, the developmental time was slightly longer (12.5-13.0 d). The thermal requirement for complete development, from egg to adult, was 229.2 DD. Several non-linear models were fitted to the developmental rate data recorded for the range of temperatures tested. Selection criteria indicated that the Lactin model best described the relationship between developmental rate and temperature. It predicted lower and upper thermal thresholds for the complete preimaginal period of 14.8 and 39.1°C, respectively. Models were validated by comparing their predictions for the total preimaginal period with the developmental times recorded at three different fluctuating temperature regimes. The Lactin model again best fitted the actual durations recorded. This model could be used in IPM programs for predicting the moment of occurrence of the most damaging generations of this species.

The oldest butterfly fossil known, which was formed about 55 Ma in what is now Denmark, is described. The fragments of its forewing venation indicates it belongs to the Hesperiidae. Further reconstruction indicates that it fits in the Coeliadinae and is close to the extant genera Hasora and Burara. It is here described as Protocoeliades kristenseni gen. et sp. n. It is the first butterfly fossil found on a continent (Europe) where its closest relatives do not currently occur. Its position on the phylogenetic tree of the Coeliadinae and its importance in understanding the time dimension in the evolution of butterflies, and their ecological and biogeographic implications are discussed.

Parasitoid females may adjust offspring sex allocation according to the number and quality of hosts available. Because in solitary species only one offspring survives per host, already parasitized hosts are of low quality and generally rejected. Superparasitism (i.e., sequential oviposition by the same or different females) results in aggressive interactions and competition for nutritional resources among larvae. We examined variations in the offspring sex ratio of Dendrocerus carpenteri (Curtis) (Hymenoptera: Megaspilidae), a solitary ectoparasitoid developing as a hyperparasitoid on the prepupae and pupae of primary aphid parasitoids inside mummified aphids. Mated females produced a female-biased sex ratio of 0.433 (proportion of sons) when caged singly and provided with 12 mummies for 2 h; they parasitized an average of four mummies/h and rarely superparasitized. Superparasitism increased when two females were caged together and provided with 12 mummies, from 1.18 to 1.24 and 1.38 eggs/host parasitized in 1, 2 and 3 h, respectively. The offspring sex ratio became increasingly more female-biased with increase in superparasitism; however, sex ratio variations were not correlated with cohort size. One mated and one unmated female provided with 12 mummies and caged together for 1 h produced a mean cohort sex ratio of 0.645, which differed from the one predicted (0.717) by an algebraic model incorporating the assumptions that both females contribute equal numbers of offspring and that the mated female does not change her offspring-sex allocation strategy. The observed shift in the cohort sex ratio to an increased female-bias indicates that mated females of D. carpenteri change their behaviour when encountering parasitized mummies or a conspecific competitor in the same patch. By depositing fertilized rather than unfertilized eggs, a female can increase the proportion of her daughters among parasitoids competing for a diminishing host supply.

Two blacklight traps were operated in a non-agricultural setting in Cary, North Carolina, USA, from spring through fall in 2004 and 2005 and all Coccinellidae collected and identified. More than 1300 lady beetles were collected in each of the two years, with Harmonia axyridis dominant (> 98%) and collected consistently over the course of the trapping period. Although other coccinellid species were observed in the vicinity of the traps during photophase, their appearance in blacklight traps was negligible. Harmonia axyridis exhibited a distinct diel periodicity in appearance at the traps, beginning approximately an hour after sunset and ending about midnight. Sunrise and sunset collections from flight interference and sticky traps in a local alfalfa field suggest that H. axyridis may be more flight active during the scotophase than Coleomegilla maculata, Hippodamia convergens, and Coccinella septempunctata. This study supports the suggestion that blacklight traps give a biased depiction of coccinellid species composition in a given area, and indicates that seasonal and circadian thresholds for flight activity, phototaxis, or both in H. axyridis may diverge from those in most other Coccinellidae.

A new species of Isotomidae (Collembola) was collected from submerged stones on the edge of nine lakes on Tasmania's Central Highland Plateau. Because it did not comply fully with the characters of any existing genus, a new genus, Chionobora gen. n. is erected for it here. An Antarctic species, Desoria klovstadi (Carpenter), has characters which conform with the new genus so is formally transferred to the new genus here. The Antarctic Continent and Tasmania were last in proximity 60 million years b.p. so it is suggested both species are relicts persisting in probable ice-free refugia during glacial cycles. Gut contents of specimens of the new species exclusively contained diatoms in various stages of digestion and the species appears to graze on aquatic macrophytes, a feeding habit not recorded before for Collembola. We note the high numbers of endemic invertebrate taxa of restricted distributions in cold habitats of southern regions compared to warmer regions and stress their conservation values and threats to their populations.

Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is an oligophagous herbivorous beetle that feeds on Ambrosia artemisiifolia. It is native to North America, but was accidentally introduced into Japan in 1995 and Europe in 2013. We analyzed partial DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene for O. communa collected from 29 locations in the United States, Japan and Italy. Overall, the results of our analyses indicate that the introduced Japanese populations have lower genetic variation than the native populations. The sequences for the Italian specimens did not share haplotypes with Japanese specimens. These results indicate that the introduced Japanese populations originated from a single introduction, and that the Italian and Japanese populations have different origins.

An invasive sawfly Aproceros leucopoda Takeuchi, 1939, which originates from East Asia, has colonized elms (Ulmus spp.) in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Ukraine, at least since 2003. In Europe, the larvae can completely defoliate native and non-native elm trees and may cause at least partial dieback. Field observations indicate that elms are infested independent of their age and site characteristics. The life cycle of A. leucopoda is described based on material reared in Hokkaido, Japan. Parthenogenetic reproduction, short life cycle of summer generations and the ability to produce four generations per year result in the production of numerous progeny. The evolution of a seasonal dimorphism in head morphology, a simple cocoon that is attached directly to the host plant and a short period spent in the cocoon stage during summer, are putative apomorphies shared by Aproceros Takeuchi, 1939 and Aprosthema Konow, 1899. These traits reduce developmental costs and contribute to the proliferation of A. leucopoda. No specialized parasitoid, that can effectively reduce outbreaks of this species, is known. It is likely that this pest will spread into central and south-western Europe. Further monitoring of A. leucopoda is required to assess future range extensions in Europe, its exacerbating effect on Dutch elm disease and to find a suitable biocontrol agent. Concise keys to imaginal and larval stages are presented that will facilitate the identification of A. leucopoda.

Pitfall trapping is one of the most commonly used methods of sampling ground-dwelling arthropods. There are many studies on the effect of design of pitfall traps on their capture efficiency but, so far, none on the influence of the colour of the pitfall trap. In this study the abundances of seven invertebrate groups (Apidae, Araneae, Carabidae, Diptera, Formicidae, Isopoda, Vespinae) caught in pitfall traps of different colours (white, yellow, green, brown) at a dense and dry grassland site in Northwestern Germany were determined. White and yellow pitfall traps caught by far the highest numbers of individuals of Apidae, Araneae, Carabidae, Diptera and Formicidae. Isopoda were most abundant in the catches of green and brown traps. Differences among numbers caught were significant for Apidae, Araneae, Carabidae and Diptera. The effect of colour on the catches did not differ significantly between sites. Knowledge of the variation in the catching efficiency of differently coloured pitfall traps is important for designing invertebrate surveys, both from a scientific and ethical point of view.

The relationship between species richness of plants and animals and altitude can be either hump-shaped, a monotonic decrease or increase. In this study the altitudinal distribution of moths on one of the highest mountains in South Korea was investigated. Moths were captured using a UV-light trap from May to October in 2007 and 2008. This revealed that the relationship between the total numbers of moth species and individuals and altitude is hump-shaped. A significant relationship was also recorded between the size of the area at each altitude and moth abundance and richness. However, the evenness index yielded a consistent decrease with increase in altitude because of the dominance of few species at high altitudes. Non-metric multidimensional scaling identified two major axes for the moth assemblage on Mount Jirisan. The correlations between the axes and variables demonstrated that the first axis was strongly correlated with altitude and aspect and the second axis with forest and site location.

The plant stress and plant vigour hypotheses are competing paradigms pertaining to the preference and performance of herbivorous insects on their host plants. Tests of these hypotheses ideally require detailed information on aspects of soil nutrition, foliar nutrient levels and parameters of herbivore fitness, but such studies are uncommon. These hypotheses were tested using the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), reared on its host plant, Brassica napus (L.), grown in an experimental system of five nutrient regimes. Different levels of fertilizer treatments significantly affected the nutrient content of B. napus foliage and this in turn affected the preference and performance of P. xylostella. Ovipositing females discriminated among host plants grown in soils subjected to different fertilizer treatments and selected plants on which pre-imaginal survival was highest, development fastest and longevity of the next generation of adults the longest, even when food was scarce. Plants subjected to herbivory by P. xylostella responded by producing elevated levels of some nutrients (e.g., sulphur), but other nutrient levels declined in infested leaves (e.g., nitrogen). Regardless of the rate of fertilizer application, plants compensated for herbivory by increasing root mass compared to un-infested control plants; plants grown in soils receiving the optimum quantity of fertilizer developed the most robust root systems when infested. The plant stress and the plant vigour hypotheses are likely to be at the opposite ends of a continuum of responses between insects and their host plants. Our investigations indicate a complex set of interactions involving both bottom-up and top-down effects, which interact to affect host plant quality, oviposition site selection by female herbivores and the fitness of their offspring.

Geographic isolation, altitude, climate, landscape and habitat are significant predictors of butterfly diversity in mountain ecosystems. Their diversity and its dependence on altitude, aspect (compass bearing) and biogeographic characteristics of the butterflies were surveyed on the karst mountain Biokovo in southern Croatia. The results affirm that there is a high diversity of butterflies in the study area and the species composition and biogeographic elements are more dependent on altitude than aspect of the mountain. The present study indicates that climate, relief and habitat preferences strongly influence the biogeographic features of species and the relationship between species richness per site and altitude, aspect and the altitude-aspect interaction.

The ladybird beetle Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius) is widely distributed throughout the intermediate latitudinal and equatorial regions. It exhibits elytral colour polymorphism with a geographical cline showing increased prevalence of melanic morphs with increasing latitude. Over the past 100 years, this species has extended its distribution towards higher latitudes in Japan because of climatic warming. In this study, long-term changes in the frequency of different morphs and adult body size of this species during this range extension were analyzed based on a survey of specimens in collections. First, we examined specimens collected from areas that were colonized (34-36°N) during the period of range extension (1949-1989) and when it ceased (1990-2005). Chronologically, both the proportions of melanic morphs increased and body size decreased significantly. Next, specimens were examined from newly colonized regions and the former range of distribution (32-34°N); these specimens were collected during period when range extension had ceased. In newly colonized regions, the frequency of melanic morphs was higher and the body size was smaller than in the former range of distribution. These two findings indicate that the smaller, melanic morphs may have undergone a positive-selection driven range extension to higher latitudes.

Industrial air pollution constitutes a major environmental disturbance, and its impacts on insect communities have considerable implications for ecosystem structure and functions. Existing information on insect responses to pollution generally addresses abundant taxa, whereas few studies examine the effects of pollution on rare species. To begin rectifying this bias, ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were quantitatively collected annually from 2002-2014 in 13 sites located 0.7 to 39.7 km from the nickel-copper smelter in Monchegorsk, north-western Russia. Seven of eight recorded species were found only in severely and /or moderately polluted sites. Both Shannon's diversity index and coccinellid abundance decreased with increasing distance from the smelter. Thus, some groups of predatory insects, in particular the Coccinellidae, may benefit from environmental changes caused by severe industrial pollution, whereas the most abundant invertebrate predators generally suffer from such changes.

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 correlation between dorsal wing colours and spectral sensitivity of the compound eyes of 13 species of thecline butterflies, consisting of 8 sexually monomorphic and 5 dimorphic species, was investigated. Spectral reflectance of the dorsal surfaces of the wings was measured using a spectrophotometer and spectral sensitivities using electroretinography. All 13 species examined showed a common basic pattern of spectral sensitivity with a primary peak at a wavelength of 440-460 nm. Detailed analyses of the deviations in sensitivity from the basic pattern revealed a correlation in monomorphic species with conspicuous wing hues, especially in males.

The predatory bug Orius sauteri (Poppius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is an important biological control agent in Asia that is often released on field crops and in greenhouses to control pests on vegetable and ornamental plants. This study compared the developmental and reproductive performance of O. sauteri on monotypic diets of four aphid species, western flower thrips, and two-spotted spider mite. Thrips emerged as the optimal prey type, consistent with findings for many other Orius spp. A diet of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) yielded the fastest development, largest adult body size, shortest pre-oviposition period, and highest fecundity and longevity. Tetranychus urticae (Koch) was the next most suitable prey by most performance measures. Among aphids, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) was the most suitable and Aphis gossypii Glover the least suitable, with Aphis craccivora Koch and Megoura japonica (Matsumura) intermediate. Female O. sauteri were larger than males and female body mass varied more with prey type than did that of males. Despite the variation in performance among prey, all prey species yielded equally good juvenile survival and none would be expected to negatively impact the numerical response of O. sauteri in biological control applications where these arthropods form part of the prey complex.

This paper reports the results of a comparative study of the demographic parameters of two phenotypes of Harmonia axyridis Pallas, reared on the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli at 25 ± 1°C, 65 ± 2% RH and a photoperiod of 16L : 8D. The values of the intrinsic rate of increase and the finite rate of increase, which were obtained by bootstrapping, were greater for the succinea morph (0.182 females/female/d and 1.200, respectively) than the spectabilis morph (0.168 females/female/d and 1.183, respectively). The net reproductive rates and mean generation times of the two morphs did not differ. The risk of death of the succinea morph was significantly greater. However, there was no significant difference between the estimated survival times. Mean survival times were 95.2 d and 89.3 d for the spectabilis and succinea morphs, respectively.