The zoophytophagous mirid bug Macrolophus caliginosus is an important biocontrol agent of whiteflies in the Mediterranean region. Periods of low productivity in commercial breeding units and unsuccessful establishment in greenhouses prompted this study of mating behaviour. Here we describe copulation behaviour, the diel mating periodicity and post-copulatory refractory period. A natural plant substrate needs to be provided if one wants to observe the copulatory behaviour of M. caliginosus in the laboratory. There was no apparent directional orientation in the approach of the two sexes, instead males pursued females after "accidentally" contacting them. Males mounted females from above, very rapidly, and without any obvious courtship behaviour, and copulation duration was very consistent (286.33 ± 4.23 s, mean ± SE). Observations over a 24-h period showed that mating was most frequent in the 8-h scotophase and first half of the 16-h photophase than in the second half of the photophase. Mated females became strongly unreceptive to new male mounting attempts, shaking their abdomen and leaving the plant if harassed. To determine the duration of the post-mating refractory period mating receptivity of females that had mated 1 or 2 weeks earlier was compared with that of virgin females of similar age. Mated females remained unreceptive even 2 weeks after mating, whereas half of the virgin females of equivalent age mated. Mated females were more likely to abandon a plant than virgin females when harassed by a male. Most males remated a few minutes after mating for the first time. M. caliginosus is atypical among mirids in that females apparently mate only once.

As a part of ongoing cytogenetic studies on the bug family Nabidae (Heteroptera), the karyotypes and meiotic patterns of male Nabis (Aspilaspis) viridulus Spinola, 1837, N. (A.) indicus (Stål, 1873) (subfamily Nabinae) and Prostemma guttula (Fabricius, 1787) (subfamily Prostemmatinae) are described.
N. viridulus and N. indicus differ from P. guttula in their chromosome numbers, which are 2n = 32 + XY and 2n = 26 + XY, respectively, and behaviour of the sex chromosomes in male meiosis, which, respectively, show "distance pairing" and "touch-and-go pairing" in spermatocyte metaphase II. The karyotype of 2n = 34 and "touch-and-go pairing" are considered to be plesiomorphic characters in Nabidae. The evolutionary mechanisms that might underlie different chromosome numbers, the taxonomic significance of karyotype variation and the distribution of meiotic patterns in the family, are discussed.

The aphids Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (greenbug) and Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Russian wheat aphid, RWA) were collected from several localities in Argentina and Southern Chile. Clones were established from aphids collected at each location. The host preferences were studied in free choice tests. Biotypes were characterized on the basis of aphid antibiosis and host plant tolerance. The production of sexuals was assessed under natural conditions, from March to November in 1997-2001, at La Plata (34°55' S, 57°57' W). The greenbug distribution ranged from 24°40' to 43°28' S, and was bounded between isothermals 18-20°C and 8-10°C, and isohyets 400-600 mm and greater than 1200 mm. The aphids at all localities were collected from a wide range of cultivated and wild hosts. The biotypes in ten out of thirty-four populations were identified. One population was obligatorily parthenogenetic, the remainder cyclically parthenogenetic. No correlation was found between the region they came from and the period required for the induction of sexuals. RWA was found between 26°50' and 43°28' S, bounded by the isothermals 20-22°C and 8-10°C, and isohyets 400-600 mm and 2000 mm. In Chile, this aphid was only found in Osorno County, which lies on isothermal 8-10°C and is bounded by the isohyets 1000 mm and 2000 mm. Only a few RWA genotypes (clones) produced sexuals irrespective of the host they were collected from, period of the year, region, current host, or the day length and average temperature of the rearing conditions. For the first time, RWA was found infesting cultivated as well as wild oats in South America. At low latitudes, populations of both aphid species were found only infesting wild Sorghum halepensis (L).

Diapause fixation and development were studied in females of a Czech population of Aquarius paludum by monitoring changes in oxygen uptake, weight and reproduction potential in field adults between August and February. The fall in oxygen uptake related to fresh weight (from > 1000 µl O₂ per g per h to around 500 µl O₂ per g per h) in field adults during early diapause was similar in two age cohorts, although the time of adult ecdysis differed by 50 days and thus occurred at markedly different temperatures and photoperiods of late August vs. early October. The different conditions affected the weight of females and thus also the absolute value of oxygen consumption: both parameters were much lower in the October females. The seasonal time of diapause termination in A. paludum did not differ from findings in other cold temperate insects: diapause and the photoperiodic response ended in the winter, as was shown by the possibility of insects' reactivation by 26°C in spite of a diapause promoting daylength of 12L : 12D. In most females (78.6%) ovaries matured after transfer to these conditions in mid-February, while ovarian maturation occurred in only 16.7% of females transferred in early January and no ovarian maturation was observed in females transferred in early December. Ovarian maturation was preceded by a transient increase in oxygen consumption from 600 µl O₂ per g per h to 1400 µl O₂ per g per h.

The role of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in the metamorphosis of the central nervous system was investigated by recording feeding, wandering and pupariation behaviour as the measures of hormonal effects on the neural tissues in the flesh fly Neobellieria (Sarcophaga) bullata. The minimum amount of food essential for the commitment to metamorphosis is rather small and constant and the larvae ingest it during the first 4 to12 h of the last instar. Underfed larvae maintain food appetency for a certain time and this period of hunger can be considerably shortened by the application of 20E. Application of 20E also significantly shortens or abolishes the intake of additional food offered to starving larvae. Thus 20E has an effect on neural mechanisms controlling both termination of the period of hunger and suppression of feeding behaviour. Application of 20E at any time during the wandering stage stimulates the precocious onset of pupariation. The central neurons controlling motor patterns of pupariation behaviour are committed to perform properly their programme some 15 h earlier than the larval integument is ready to transform into normal puparium. As a result of this temporal shift of tissue determination, some precociously formed puparia are not properly shaped despite the fact that the larva is exhibiting normal patterns of pupariation behaviour.

Overwintering adults of the water strider, Aquarius paludum were collected from the field in fall and kept under short days (12L : 12D) at 20°C for a week. A control group was then kept at 12L : 12D and fed daily, and three experimental groups were transferred to 15.5L : 8.5D and fed at different frequencies: daily or every 2nd or 3rd day. Temperature was kept at 20°C. Flight behaviour of the adults in the four groups was recorded every 10 days up to the end of the 5th week when the adults were dissected. State of the flight muscles and reproductive organs (ovaries and testes) was recorded. Flight ability of the adults fed every 3rd day (Group 3) was higher than that of those fed daily (Group 1). Seventy percent of the females that were fed every 3rd day (Group 3) remained in diapause for 5 weeks, in spite of the reproduction promoting long-days, while none of the females fed every day remained in diapause (Group 1). Flight muscle histolysis, promoted by long-days, was inhibited by poor feeding conditions. Thus, they can migrate and seek more suitable water bodies rich in food. The modifying effect of the availability of food on the trade-off between reproduction and flight is recorded here for the first time for a carnivorous insect.

Internal and external features of the head of Ascioplaga mimeta (Coleoptera: Archostemata) were studied with micro X-ray computertomography (µCT) and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI). These methods allowed the reconstruction of the entire internal anatomy from the only available fixed specimen. The mouthparts and their associated musculature are highly derived in many aspects. Their general configuration corresponds to that of Priacma serrata (the only other archostematan studied in comparable detail). However, the mandible-maxilla system of A. mimeta is built as a complex sorting apparatus and shows a distinct specialisation for a specific, but still unknown, food source. The phylogenetic analysis resulted in the identification of a new monophylum comprising the genera [Distocupes + (Adinolepis +Ascioplaga)]. The members of this taxon are restricted to the Australian zoogeographic region. The most prominent synapomorphies of these three genera are their derived mouthparts.

Historical data sources on abundance of organisms are valuable for determining responses of those organisms to climate change and coincidence of changes amongst different organisms. We investigate data on the general abundance of Lepidoptera over an 89 year period 1864-1952. We related abundance to monthly mean temperature and precipitation and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, and to numbers of migrants from an independent source. Abundances of Lepidoptera were significantly positively correlated with current year temperatures for May to September and November and significantly negatively correlated with temperatures in January. Numbers were also negatively correlated with rainfall for April and May and annual total of the current year and with August in the previous year. Abundance of Lepidoptera decreased significantly with an increasing winter NAO index. Increased overall abundance in Lepidoptera coincided significantly with increased numbers of migrants. The climate associations were very similar to those previously reported for butterfly data collected by the British Butterfly Monitoring Scheme; although warm and drier summers were generally beneficial to Lepidoptera populations, wet summers and winters and mild winters were not. We discuss the implications for Lepidoptera biology and populations in regions of Britain in the face of projected climate changes.

Ecological studies on the buprestid beetle Capnodis tenebrionis (Linnaeus, 1767) were carried out in the laboratory and the field. In particular, attention focussed on the effects of seven different temperatures at different times during the day on the movement and feeding activity of this beetle. Field experiments in an apricot orchard recorded the flight activity of C. tenebrionis, with particular reference to the effect of temperature and wind. The experiments highlighted the marked response of movement, feeding and flight activity to increase in temperature. The optimal temperature for feeding, movement and flight was 30°C and above with negative effects occurring at 45°C. Flight generally occurred in the middle of the day. Wind had a negative effect on flight activity. Wind speeds in excess of 4 m/s prevented the insect from taking off. The spread of this phytophagous beetle from one orchard to another is unquestionably influenced by the daily activity and flight behaviour of the adult.

The predation rate of the polyphagous predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) when offered two aphid species, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), was investigated. Equal or unequal numbers of nymphs of each instar of the aphids were offered to the predator alone or together. Aphids were placed on an eggplant leaf, together with a fifth instar nymph of the predator in a plastic Petri dish and kept in growth cabinets at 25°C, 65 ± 5% r.h., and a 16L : 8D photoperiod. The predation rate of M. pygmaeus was always higher on M. persicae than on M. euphorbiae. However, biomass consumption was highest when instars of M. euphorbiae were offered in unequal numbers. The predator showed a strong preference and higher biomass consumption of first and second instar M. persicae. In tests where M. euphorbiae was the prey, preference and biomass consumption were almost always higher for the first instar. Therefore, first and second instar M. persicae and first instar M. euphorbiae provide optimal prey for M. pygmaeus. The implication of the prey preference shown by M. pygmaeus for the biological control of these two aphid species is discussed.

Centre suisse de cartographie de la faune & Schweizerische Entomologische Gesellschaft, Neuchâtel, 375 pp. ISBN 2-88414-026-3. Price CHF 56.00.

Poor synchronisation is considered to be one important reason for the ineffective control of the invasive horse chestnut leafminer by native parasitic Hymenoptera. Parasitoids hibernating in dry horse chestnut leaves break diapause early in spring and presumably leave the vicinity, since no hosts are available when they emerge. As a consequence, the percentage parasitism of the first generation of the leafminer in early summer is low. The experiments presented below were designed to test this hypothesis. Horse chestnut saplings were brought on in a greenhouse and infested artificially with C. ohridella prior to parasitoid emergence in the field. These saplings were then exposed to parasitoid attack under natural conditions to eliminate the synchronisation problem. In addition, the parasitoid complexes of other leafmining hosts, which appear early in the season, were analysed. The results confirm that the most important parasitoids of the horse chestnut leafminer are active early in the season, long before the larvae of the first generation of the host are present. Nevertheless, poor synchronisation with the invasive host did not significantly influence the abundance of the most important parasitoid in the complex, Minotetrastichus frontalis, and consequently had no impact on the parasitism of C. ohridella. Nevertheless, a detailed analysis of the parasitoid community shows that certain species are affected by poor synchronisation, while others are probably limited by ecological parameters, such as a specialisation to foraging in particular strata of vegetation. Several leafmining flies were found early in spring infesting other host plants commonly planted in urban green areas, including species with a parasitoid complex similar to that of C. ohridella. The role of these alternative hosts in the food web associated with the horse chestnut leafminer should be subject to further study.

Seasonal cycles constitute a major challenge for organisms since they may influence the genetic composition of a population, the species structure of a community and the interactions between organisms. Diapause is frequently used by insects to synchronize their life cycle with seasonal changes and is regarded as a key factor in the coexistence of competing species. Here the occurrence, abundance and emergence patterns of three poorly-known species of carnid flies (Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch, 1818, Hemeromyia anthracina Collin, 1949 and Hemeromyia longirostris Carles-Tolrá, 1992), which overwintered in the nests of several bird species at two localities, are reported and evidence of possible interspecific competition sought. Larvae of all three species were found in association with carrion and detritus. Both Hemeromyia species co-occurred in around 50% of the nests and Carnus with each of the Hemeromyia species at a lower rate (30-40% of the nests). Coexistence of all three carnid species was rare. We did not find any evidence of interspecific competition in the larval stage. Coexistence did not reduce the number of flies that emerged of any of the three species and the abundance of some species was even positively related. Species-specific emergence patterns and different habitat selection criteria (Carnus hemapterus seemed to avoid nests lined with vegetable material), which diminished the overlap between species were found. Such spatial and temporal segregation could facilitate the coexistence of these closely related species, which have similar ecological requirements, and might influence the seasonal dynamics of this poorly-known assemblage of insects inhabiting the nests of birds.

The genus Berchmansus Navás, which was previously assigned to the tribe Leucochrysini, consists of three very rare species, all described from the Neotropics and all poorly known. Our report (1) provides the first description of a Berchmansus larva, the first instar of Berchmansus elegans (Guérin Méneville), (2) illustrates and redescribes the B. elegans adult, with emphasis on male and female genitalia, and (3) examines the larval and adult characters vis-à-vis the tribal affiliation of the genus. Given that the B. elegans adult and first instar share many apomorphies with other belonopterygine genera, this species belongs in the cosmopolitan tribe Belonopterygini, rather than the New World tribe Leucochrysini. Although Berchmansus larvae have not been collected in the field, we suspect that, like other belonopterygines, they are associated with ant nests. B. elegans exhibits a number of highly modified and unusual structures, some of which (#1 to #5) are not reported for any other chrysopids. Specifically: Males have (1) a unique, quadrate, dome-like hood above the gonarcus and (2) large, coiled parameres on the gonosaccus. First instars have (3) a greatly enlarged subapical seta on the flagellum, (4) a transverse row of long, hooked setae along the dorso-anterior margin of the pronotum, and (5) setose laterodorsal tubercles on the meso- and metathorax, with (6) multi-pronged, hooked setae.

During the past four decades, several species of aphidophagous Coccinellidae became established in North America, including Coccinella septempunctata, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia variegata, and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata. After their establishment, unknown circumstances favoured a rapid increase in population densities and distribution of H. axyridis and C. septempunctata at localities hundreds and thousands of kilometers from their release sites. Propylea quatuordecimpunctata and Hippodamia variegata have spread more slowly after becoming established in northeastern North America. Comparative studies based upon allozyme variation in these four introduced species and in six native North American species of ladybird beetles revealed no significant differences in genetic diversities. Genetic variation, assessed by allelic diversity and heterozygosity, was uncorrelated with the establishment and spread of these predatory species in North America. All ladybirds studied show a remarkable degree of dispersion with little detectable population subdivision.

The availability and quality of nectar for adults are thought to affect fecundity of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Experiments were conducted to analyze the effect of adult feeding on the fecundity, and oviposition pattern of moths, and larval performance (egg hatch). The moths were fed either on distilled water, honey solution, or one of a range of concentrations of sucrose solution. The results showed that diets with sugars significantly increased fecundity and adult lifespan. Lifespan, total numbers of eggs and egg mass were significantly higher for females that fed on sugar during adult life. Egg hatch (a measure of offspring fitness) decreased over time regardless of sucrose concentration, but had always higher levels in the groups fed sugars. The peak of the ovipositing period was delayed and prolonged, with more eggs deposited, when moths were fed on sugar solution. In conclusion, adult feeding increases the fecundity of female moths and plays an important role in enhancing the fitness of individual cotton bollworm offspring.

Seasonal variations in the supercooling point, survival at low temperatures and sugar content were studied in field-collected codling moth larvae. The supercooling point of field-collected larvae decreased significantly from a mean value of -13.4°C in August 2004 (feeding larvae) to -22.0°C in December 2004 (overwintering larvae). Survival at -20°C/24 h was 0% during early autumn, whereas it increased to approximately 60% during winter. The survival at low temperature was well correlated with the supercooling point. The supercooling point of the diapause destined larvae decreased from -16.9 to -19.7°C between September and October as the larvae left the food source and spun a cocoon. For early-diapause larvae, exposure to 5°C/30 days has an additional effect and decreased the supercooling point from -19.7 to -21.3°C. One-month exposure of overwintering larvae to 5°C led to a mortality of 23% in early diapause larvae, while only 4% of diapause larvae died after acclimation. Overwintering larvae accumulated trehalose during winter. There was approximately a threefold increase in trehalose content between larvae at the onset of diapause (5.1 mg/g fresh weight) and larvae in a fully developed diapause (18.4 mg/g fresh weight) collected in January. Trehalose content was correlated with supercooling capacity, survival at low temperatures and chilling tolerance, suggesting that trehalose may play some role in the development of cold tolerance in this species.

Afroaltica subaptera, a new genus and species of flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) from the eastern regions of southern Africa (Eastern Transvaal and Kwazulu-Natal), is described. Afroaltica gen. n. shows some similarities with the genus Dibolia Latreille, 1829 but it is easily distinguishable mainly by the simple-shaped apical spur of hind tibiae, not bifid. External habitus, scanning electronic micrographs of particular morphological features and line drawings of metafemoral spring and male and female genitalia of the new taxon are provided.

A total of 39 Amiota species are found from the southern portion of Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China, including 12 new species: A. gaoi sp. n., A. gracilenta sp. n., A. multispinata sp. n., A. yifengi sp. n., A. angustifolia sp. n., A. bacillia sp. n., A. biacuta sp. n., A. cultella sp. n., A. deltoidea sp. n., A. pianmensis sp. n., A. setosa sp. n. and A. bifoliolata sp. n. A key to all the studied species from Hengduan Mountains is provided.

A new genus of velvety shore bugs, Pristinochterus gen. n., with one new species, Pristinochterus zhangi sp. n., are described. The specimens were collected from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation and Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in northeastern China. This finding represents the first record of fossil velvety shore bugs from China. Among the specimens, four well-preserved nymphs are reported for the first time. The placement of the new genus within Ochteridae is briefly discussed. A key to the world genera of Ochteridae is provided.

Cardiocondyla is one of the few ant genera in which winged dispersing males coexist with wingless fighter males, which predominantly mate inside their maternal nests. Male polymorphism is not genetically determined but induced by environmental conditions (e.g., a decrease in temperature). The factors leading to the production of winged males were studied in more detail by exposing colonies of C. obscurior to a specific set of rearing conditions. A "stressful" environmental condition (rearing temperature lowered on average by 5°C) experienced for at least two days, the decrease of temperature by a minimum of 3°C, and the addition of protein-rich food triggered the development of winged males. In contrast, a smaller decrease in temperature, starvation, encounters with workers from other species, and encounters with alien, conspecific winged males did not induce the production of winged males. Colonies differed strongly in their reaction to changing environmental conditions, which might indicate a difference in their threshold sensitivity. The results are discussed and compared with data from other dimorphic insect species.

Genetic variation for thermal plasticity plays an important role in the success or failure of a species with respect to the colonization of different thermal habitats and the ability to deal with climatic change. The aim of this paper is to study the relative contribution of the additive and non-additive components of genetic variation for the slope of the temperature reaction norm for juvenile growth rate in the springtail Orchesella cincta. We present the outcome of an artificial selection experiment for steep and flat temperature reaction norms and the results of a parent-offspring heritability experiment. There was a considerable phenotypic variation for the slope of the reaction norm. The selection experiment and the offspring to parent regression analysis, however, yielded no evidence for significant additive genetic variance. There were also no indications for maternal effects. The full-sib analysis, on the other hand, revealed a significant broad sense heritability of 0.76. An unforeseen result was that the slopes of females were steeper than those of males. This influenced the broad sense heritability of the full-sib analysis, since accidental female or male biased broods inflate the estimate of heritability. A randomization test showed that the probability level of the observed "between group" variance on the basis of the sexual differences alone was less than 10^-5. From this we conclude that autosomal genetic variation played its own separate role. In conclusion, the thermal reaction norm for growth in juvenile O. cincta is not very much determined by the additive effects of a large number of independent genes, but more likely based on a still unknown but mainly non-additive, partially sex-related genetic mechanism, possibly including both dominance and epistatic effects. Hypotheses about the role of phenotypic plasticity in processes of local adaptation and speciation should thus be alert to such a complex genetic architecture.

Species number - body weight distributions are generally thought to be skewed to the right. While this pattern is well documented in vertebrates, comparative studies on species rich invertebrate taxa are still scarce. Here I show that the weight distributions of central European Coleoptera (based on 8257 species body weight data compiled from Freude et al., 1964-1994) are predominantly right skewed. Skewness and species richness per taxon were positively correlated. The number of modes of the body weight distributions was negatively correlated with species richness. 273 of the 558 genera had bimodal distributions. Species richness per genus did not significantly depend on mean genus body weight. In general the coleopteran size distributions differed from those of European Hymenoptera but were similar to the respective distributions of vertebrates. I conclude that we should be cautious when generalizing patterns found in one taxon.

The performance of the aphid-specific fungal pathogen Pandora neoaphidis was studied in relation to changes in herbivore resources for the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, on different host plant species. Dose-response bioassays were conducted with A. pisum which had been reared on dwarf bean then inoculated with P. neoaphidis and returned to dwarf bean or inoculated and transferred to field bean, pea or lucerne. The smallest estimated median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) was 7.7 conidia mm^-2 (95% confidence interval 5.4-11.2) for aphids returned to dwarf bean, with LC₅₀s of 13.0 (9.2-19.1) and 14.6 (10.2-21.5) conidia mm^-2 for aphids transferred to field bean or pea, respectively. The LC₅₀ when aphids were transferred to lucerne [2941.0 conidia mm^-2 (237.3-2.1x10⁹)] was greater than for the other three plants. In a subsequent experiment, A. pisum were reared on pea as well as dwarf bean for four generations before bioassays. The LC₅₀ was 7.3 conidia mm^-2 (4.4-12.4) for aphids reared and incubated on dwarf bean, compared to 13.3 (8.0-23.9) and 15.3 (8.8-29.9) conidia mm^-2 when aphids were transferred between dwarf bean and pea, and vice versa, respectively. The LC₅₀ for aphids reared then incubated on pea plants was 27.9 (15.8-57.3) conidia mm^-2. Hence, the virulence of P. neoaphidis, measured by LC₅₀, was greatest when A. pisum was reared and maintained on dwarf bean, the plant used for long-term routine culturing of the aphid in our facilities. In conclusion, virulence of P. neoaphidis was greater on plant species to which A. pisum had become adapted during long-term laboratory rearing. Plant resources may affect infection by P. neoaphidis and the fungal entomopathogen will have a greater impact on aphid herbivores which are not suffering physiological stress related to a change in host plant.

A serine protease gene was cloned from the bumblebee, Bombus ignitus. The B. ignitus serine protease (BiSP) gene spans 1702 bp and consists of four introns and five exons coding for 250 amino acid residues. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA suggested that BiSP gene is a single copy gene. The cDNA encoding BiSP was expressed as a 28-kDa polypeptide in baculovirus-infected insect cells and the recombinant BiSP showed activity in a protease enzyme assay. BiSP was specifically expressed in the midgut of B. ignitus queens, males, and workers, suggesting that the BiSP is a gut enzyme involved in the digestion of dietary proteins.

The horse chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, is a species of unknown origin that recently invaded most of Europe, causing serious damage to horse chestnut trees, Aesculus hippocastanum. Parasitism was studied over a period of three years in the region of Plzeň in the Czech Republic. Additional collections were made in Slovakia and Slovenia. The parasitoid complex, dominated by polyphagous idiobiont parasitoids of the family Eulophidae, is similar to that found in other studies in Europe. Minotetrastichus frontalis (Nees) was the most abundant parasitoid found, except in Slovakia where Pediobius saulius (Walker) dominated. One parasitoid species, the eulophid Cirrospilus diallus (Walker) was recorded for the first time from C. ohridella. A new method is proposed to calculate stage-specific and total parasitism rates. Parasitism rates of spinning larvae and pupae were higher than of feeding larvae; however, total parasitism was low. We estimated that between 1% and 17% of moths died from parasitism during the larval and pupal stages whereas the rate of mortality caused by other factors varied from 7% to 62%, depending on the locality, year and generation. The proposed method for calculating total parasitism, based on the integration of stage-specific parasitism rates, which takes into account the mortality not directly attributed to parasitism, is discussed and compared with other methods commonly used in studies on C. ohridella.

The number of sperm a male ejaculates is influenced, among other factors, by male age, time since last copulation and possibly a combination of both. Males of Chorthippus parallelus erythropus were subjected to three successive matings in which males had a remating interval of either one or three days. The first ejaculate was very variable. It contained a mean of 433,000 sperm. If there was a one-day interval between matings, the second and third ejaculate comprised 16-19% of the number of sperm in the first ejaculate, respectively. Its sister taxon, the subspecies Chorthippus p. parallelus showed a similar second ejaculate size but the third ejaculate further declined to 8-10% compared to the first. If there were three days between matings, second and third ejaculates comprised 148.3% and 63.1% of the number of sperm in the first ejaculate in Chorthippus p. erythropus. This was markedly different to two individuals of Chorthippus p. parallelus where second and third ejaculates comprised 597% and 416% of the first. It is speculated that this indicates an overall higher sperm production because testis size was also larger in Chorthippus p. parallelus than Chorthippus p. erythropus. The results also show that theoretical models on sperm allocation may underestimate the rate and age-dependency of sperm replenishment.

Insects have provided much of the best evidence to date concerning possible costs and benefits of multiple mating, and here we investigate the benefits of polyandry in the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, by attempting to replicate the highly promiscuous mating system in this species. We compared the temporal pattern of reproductive success of females mated multiple times to one male with that of females mated an equal number of times to multiple males, and found transient differences in offspring production and hatch rate over time. Our data suggest that polyandrous females benefit from multiple mating in some circumstances, but the patterns are complex. Following how both the costs and benefits to mating accrue over time will be necessary if we are to fully understand why polyandry evolves.

An Erratum has been published for this article: https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2010.054

The cuticular structure of juveniles of several oribatids of different families with wrinkled cuticles were compared: Hermannia gibba, Tectocepheus velatus, Scutovertex minutus, Achipteria coleoptrata and Eupelops occultus. Both the surface and internal structures of the "plissée" were studied. Light microscopy revealed several patterns in mites studied with Masson's triple stain and these results were supported by TEM. Although the "plissée" looks similar at the body surface, the structure and ultrastructure differ among groups. Some types of wrinkling is supported by small muscles, probably for changing body shape. Differences in the structure of the cuticle of the prosoma and opisthosoma were observed. The differences in the wrinkling in the cuticle in diferent lines is associated with change in the body shape in response to different moisture conditions.

The geometrid genus Cleorodes is shown to belong in the tribe Gnophini (sensu lato) and not in Boarmiini as previously assumed. The conclusion is based on an analysis of morphological characters of a number of genera in these tribes. Moreover, the result is unambiguously supported by a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence variation in three nuclear gene regions (segments D1 and D2 of 28S rRNA, and elongation factor 1α) and a mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase-1. The phylogenetic hypothesis is based on a combined sequence data set, which was analysed using direct optimisation.