Seven species in the spatulata group were studied, namely Anastrepha alveata Stone, 1942, Anastrepha manihoti Lima, 1934, Anastrepha montei Lima, 1934, Anastrepha pickeli Lima, 1934, Anastrepha spatulata Stone, 1942, Anastrepha entodonta Canal, Uramoto & Zucchi, 2013, and Anastrepha hadropickeli Canal, Uramoto & Zucchi, 2013. The molecular analysis was based on sequencing of a fragment of the cytochrome oxidase I gene and morphometric studies were based on the aculeus (traditional morphometry) and wings (geometric morphometry). The aculeus tip length, the aculeus width at the end of the cloacal opening, and the serrate part length contributed significantly to the differentiation among species in the group. Based on multivariate tests, the canonical variables were statistically significant, indicating a difference in the wing shape among species. The landmarks related to intersection of veins R_{4 5} and C, intersection of vein M with apical margin, intersection of vein A₁ Cu₂ with posterior margin, and intersection of vein Cu₄ and M contributed most to the wing shape. The molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that A. entodonta was closer to the group comprising A. pickeli and A. manihoti. Specimens of A. alveata from Mexico and Brazil clustered together with 100% support. A. spatulata was recovered as a sister group of A. montei, despite the clear differences in the aculeus shape of these two species.

Belonging to the Staphylinidae, the largest animal family known, recent Omaliinae are a diverse and widespread group of rove beetles. There are omaliine representatives known since Early—Middle Jurassic compressions, but members of the tribe Omaliini have been known only from the Cenozoic. Duocalcar geminum Peris and Thayer gen. et sp. nov. is described as the oldest definitive fossil of the tribe Omaliini worldwide, originating from opaque mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian) amber of Charentes, south-western France. The discovery and description were made possible with the use of the propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron imaging technique, which allows the detailed study of otherwise invisible specimens in opaque amber.

Cycloneuroterus wangi Abe, Ide, & Odagiri sp. nov. and Dryocosmus nanlingensis Abe, Ide, & Odagiri sp. nov. are described from Mainland China. Gall wasps associated with Quercus (Cyclobalanopsis) sessilifolia Blume, which is distributed in Japan, Taiwan, and Mainland China, have not yet been recorded. However, this evergreen oak species is considered to be the host plant of C. wangi on the basis of an observation in which eight females of this gall wasp species inserted their ovipositors into the buds of Q. (C.) sessilifolia. This is the first record of the Cynipidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea) being associated with Cyclobalanopsis from Mainland China. As cynipids associated with Cyclobalanopsis have previously been known from Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, the discovery of C. wangi indicates that oak gall wasps associated with Cyclobalanopsis are widely distributed in Asia, as predicted previously. The collection of an adult male of D. nanlingensis by sweeping Fagaceae trees represents the first observation of a sexual generation of Cynipini in winter. Further investigations are necessary to elucidate the life cycle and to identify the host plant of D. nanlingensis. Cynipid species richness in broadleaf forests dominated by Fagaceae is considered to be high in Mainland China because of remarkable diversity of potential host plants, such as oaks and related taxa.

Two new fossil species of Kalligramma Walther (Neuroptera: Kalligrammatidae) are described from the Middle Jurassic locality at Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China: Kalligramma elegans n. sp. and Kalligramma albifasciatum n. sp. The subcosta anterior wing vein is found in both species. K. albifasciatum n. sp. is remarkable by its forewing color pattern in having the broad white transverse fascia through wing, hitherto unknown in the genus. Kalligramma turutanovae Martynova is transferred to Huiyingogramma Liu et al., n. sit. A new diagnosis of the genus Kalligramma is provided (amended from Panfilov 1968).

Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott) (Hemiptera: Ciaadellidae) is the most important leafhopper vector of maize plant pathogens in the Americas. However, until now, no study has investigated the overwintering biology of its egg parasitoids. The objective in this study was to find egg parasitoids of D. maidis in perennial grass, volunteer maize, stubble, and drip-irrigated maize habitats in the winter season. Two-week-old D. maidis females were allowed to oviposit on young maize plants for 72 h under laboratory conditions. The oviposited healthy D. maidis eggs (sentinel eggs) on the young maize plants were exposed to natural parasitism maintained on perennial grasses, volunteer maize, and stubble 2 mo after the onset of winter, and on perennial grasses, volunteer maize, and drip-irrigated maize at the end of winter. The abundance of D. maidis adults in these habitats was also determined. Two months after the start of winter, D. maidis eggs were parasitized by the wasp Oligosita sp. from perennial grasses and volunteer maize, whereas at the end of winter, the eggs were parasitized by the wasps Oligosita sp. and Anagrus columbi Perkins from perennial grasses, volunteer maize, and drip-irrigated maize. Overall, more adult parasitoids of D. maidis eggs were found on perennial grasses. Adult corn leafhoppers were absent from perennial grasses at the end of winter; however, other Deltocephalinae leafhopper species were present, suggesting that egg parasitoids of D. maidis use another leafhopper host during winter. Furthermore, adults of five Deltocephalinae species were parasitized by dryinids and strepsipterans throughout the 2012–2013 winter in perennial grasses.

Climate change is relevant to life around the globe. A rise in ambient temperature and carbon dioxide (CO₂) may have various impacts on arthropods such as altered life cycles, modified reproductive patterns, and changes in distribution. The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is a global pest responsible for significant losses of agricultural yields annually. This study was conducted to determine the impacts of changing temperature and CO₂ levels on selected life history parameters of B. tabaci biotype B. Populations were established at three temperature regimes (25,28, and 33°C), and each population was evaluated in all three environments. Collard, Brassica oleracea ssp. acephala de Condolle (Brassicaceae), was used as the host. These results were based on data from 5 to ≈30 generations. Oviposition, nymphal survival, and reproduction were significantly affected by temperature, with net reproductive success declining to 36.4% at 33°C. Overall, 28°C was most favorable for whitefly fitness. However, the optimal temperature for B. tabaci reproduction may be between 28 and 33°C. There were no temperature effects on total nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations in collard, and impacts of the host plant on whitefly development in the different environments were determined to be minimal. An environment of enriched CO₂ (750 ppm) was not observed to have an adverse effect on whitefly reproduction. Temperature was negatively correlated with adult body size. Length and width of males and females were affected by temperature. Data regarding population dynamics of B. tabaci in response to climate change are important for accurate predictions and improving management practices.

Maternal decisions, like the choice of a site for laying eggs, have important ecological and evolutionary implications. In the current study, we investigated variation both within and between populations in oviposition site preference (OSP) in a collection of isofemale lines derived from three Drosophila melanogaster Meigen natural populations of western Argentina. In the oviposition preference assay, we used two resources that fruit flies use as egg-laying sites in nature. Results revealed 1) the distribution of eggs across the two alternative resources offered to the flies deviated from random when flies were given the chance to choose between grape and orange, 2) OSP varied within and between populations, and 3) a substantial proportion of OSP variation has a genetic basis as suggested by the significant contribution of variation among lines to total trait variance. Our survey represents an initial step in understanding patterns of natural variation in oviposition preferences for natural resources in D. melanogaster.

Here we compare rates of molecular evolution in sexual and parthenogenetic lineages of Aspdiotus nerii Bouché (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) using the genealogies of three protein-coding loci from A. nerii (one mitochondrial and two nuclear), and two protein-coding loci from the primary endosymbiont Uzinura diaspidicola Gruwell (Proteobacteria: Gammaproteobacteria). To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine how the loss of sex affects DNA sequence substitution rates across nuclear, mitochondrial, and endosymbiont genomes. We find no differences between ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) in sexual and parthenogenetic lineages for nuclear loci (CAD and EFlα) and endosymbiont loci (rspB and GroEL). We do find, however, for a fragment spanning portions of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase 1 and 2 (CO1-CO2) that a model including separate dN/dS ratios for the sexual and parthenogenetic lineages is a significantly better fit for the data (P = 0.003) than a model that includes a single dN/dS ratio for both lineages. We find this result striking because for asexual lineages nuclear, mictochondrial, and endosymbiont genomes share a similar mode of transmission (i.e., vertical from mother to offspring), yet our results show that elevated dN/dS ratios were only observed in the mitochondrial genome. This result supports a recent hypothesis that interactions between the endosymbiont and nuclear genomes may limit the accumulation of deleterious mutations in the endosymbiont genome, and suggests that these same interactions may influence mutation rates in the nuclear genomes of asexual organisms as well.

It is important to determine the suitability of parasitoid density and the parasitism period to obtain the desired number and quality of parasitoid offspring. The aim of this study was to establish the parasitism, emergence, number of progeny, duration of the life cycle (egg to adult), and sex ratio of Tetrastichus howardi (Olliff) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) with two parasitoid densities and eight parasitism periods on third-instar Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) caterpillars. Each caterpillar of this host was exposed to one or three T. howardi females for different periods of time (0.016, 0.5, 1, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h) in plastic glass (100 ml). The parasitized hosts were transferred to glass tubes (8.5 cm in height by 2.5 cm in diameter) with an artificial diet and were placed in a climatic chamber at 25 ± 2°C, 70 ± 10% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h until the emergence of adult parasitoids. T. howardi parasitized and developed in D. saccharalis caterpillars at all the female densities and parasitism periods tested. The emergence and progeny of T. howardi increased with the length of the parasitism period. The shortest life cycle (egg to adult) of T. howardi was 17.00 d at a density of 3:1 and 12 h of parasitism. The parasitism, emergence, and number of T. howardi progeny were highest at a density of 3:1 and at 96 h of parasitism on D. saccharalis third instars.

Biological parameters of Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) fed with third-instar Lepidoptera larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith, Spodoptera cosmioides (Walker, 1858), and Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner, 1818), as well as eggs of Euschistus heros (F., 1798), the brown stink bug, were evaluated. Experiments were performed under controlled conditions (25 ± 1°C; 70 ± 10% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16:8 [L:D] h). P. nigrispinus had good nymphal development with >87% larval survival (viability), as well as high fecundity in adults, when fed with A. gemmatalis, S. frugiperda, and S. cosmioides larvae. Differently, adults of P. nigrispinus originating from nymphs fed with eggs of E. heros completed their life cycle; however, larval survival (viability) was reduced to 45.7%. Furthermore, these adults did not oviposit, and their body mass was from 50 to 73% lower than in individuals originating from nymphs fed with other tested prey. Taking into consideration that neither E. heros nor Spodoptera spp. are controlled by Bt soybean varieties expressing the Cry 1Ac protein, it can be assumed that the predator P. nigrispinus will still find prey species to feed in soybean fields even after the adoption of this pest control technology. This might help lower any potential negative impact of Bt soybean adoption above this insect predator. Moreover, the studied caterpillars proved to be potential prey for the predator's mass rearing, similarly to what is presently being done with coleopteran larvae.

Cryptic species meet the biological definition of species, but are morphologically identical or quite similar. Several ecological studies underestimate richness and neglect important information on cryptic species, as they are rather difficult to identify. Among insects, drosophilids of the willistoni subgroup, which includes Drosophila willistoni Sturtevant, Drosophila paulistorum Dobzhansky & Pavan, Drosophila equinoxialis Dobzhansky, Drosophila tropicalis Burla & da Cunha, Drosophila insularis Dobzhansky, and Drosophila pavlovskiana Kastritsis & Dobzhansky, are good examples of cryptic species. Although several studies have shown that this subgroup is one of the most abundant in the Neotropical region, no identification to species level has been reported for areas where these individuals live in sympatry. This study evaluates the seasonal oscillations in abundance of this subgroup in biomes with contrasting vegetation and rainfall regimes: the Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest, in northeastern Brazil. Approximately 39,000 drosophilids were captured in 24 collections, of which 18,000 belonged to the willistoni subgroup. The most abundant were D. willistoni, D. paulistorum, and D. equinoxialis, in this order. D. equinoxialis was recorded in only one of the environments surveyed, represented by few individuals. In all environments, individuals of the willistoni subgroup were more abundant in the rainy season, when richness often was higher. The results underline the importance of humidity and of temperature for the subgroup willistoni and indicate the ecological versatility of some of its species.

The University of Minnesota Insect Collection holds a rich collection of bees from Itasca State Park, MN, from 1937 and 1938. This collection formed the historical baseline data for comparison with a new survey conducted from 2011 to 2013, to measure changes in bee species over the last 75 yr. Bees were collected with timed net surveys and trap nests at eight different sites within the park. Megachilidae were the focal family for the current study, due to their importance as commercial pollinators and their unique nesting habits. Species richness and diversity of Megachilidae in the new survey were both significantly lower than that of the historical collection but were not significantly different when species accumulation curves were extrapolated to estimate the true species richness. Eleven species in the historical collection were not rediscovered, while three species not previously collected in Itasca State Park were found in 2011–2013.

Recently, interest in the effects of global climate change on biological communities has grown substantially. Both historical records and model predictions indicate that temperatures and aridity will likely increase in the continental interiors, although the effects of increased aridity have been less studied. The Brazilian savanna has a strong annual dry season, during which time drosophilid populations experience bottlenecks. In this study, we monitored a drosophilid assemblage in the core area of the Brazilian savanna throughout 1 yr. We then compared fly wings collected in the dry and rainy seasons for two common drosophilid species, Drosophila mercatorum Patterson & Wheeler and Drosophila simulans Sturtevant. Drosophilid abundance and richness decreased significantly in the dry season, confirming previous findings. In addition, although no significant differences in wing shape were observed for flies collected during the two seasons, the wing size of both focal species was significantly higher in the dry season. Considering the reported association between Drosophila Fallén wing size and body size, we deduced that the flies were larger in the dry season. D. mercatorum and D. simulans were also found at higher relative abundances in the dry season, when most species were not collected in the field. The observed difference in wing size could have been the result of biotic or abiotic factors, such as larval density and climate. More efforts are necessary to untangle the factors that lie behind this pattern, but it is possible that increased size is an advantageous trait when struggling against dry conditions.

The impacts of the plant growth regulator, gibberellic acid (GA₃) were investigated on hemolymph free amino acids (FAAs) of Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae and its endoparasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) reared on host treated with different doses (50–5,000 ppm) of GA₃ in diet. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the hemolymph revealed that out of the 20 amino acids detected, 18 FAAs were found in the hemolymph of treated and untreated host larvae, whereas 19 were present in that of parasitoid. The total pool of FAAs in host larvae after treatment by GA₃ fluctuated among doses and the ratio of essential amino acids in the pool increased to reach 9.54% at 1,000 ppm. Parasitoid larval total FAA concentration exhibited an increase at all treatments. However, the ratio of essential amino acids in the pool decreased >50% at all doses except for 50 ppm. Dose-dependent variations in individual FAAs in larval hemolymph of both species were also detected. Tyrosine, methionine, isoleucine, lysine, and tryptophan generally occurred in lowest amount both in control and treated G. mellonella larvae. The amount of serine, asparagine, glycine, isoleucine, leucine, and phenylalanine displayed differences only among GA₃ doses in treatments. Great variations in the amount of all amino acids occurred at most of the treatment doses in wasp larvae hemolymph. Our study indicated that application of GA₃ resulted in different effects on the quantity of FAAs associated with energy metabolisms of the pest species and its natural enemy.

The nipa palm hispid, Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is considered to be the most important invasive pest of palms in southern China. To evaluate the differences in the damage potential of O. nipae on three different host palms, the daily feeding rates of O. nipae were studied based on the age-stage, two-sex life table theory. There were no significant differences in consumption rate during the first to third instar among palm species. However, O. nipae consumed a greater area on Chinese windmill palm Trachycarpus fortunei (Hooker) H. Wendland and Canary Island date palm Phoenix canariensis Chabaud leaves than on pygmy date palm Phoenix roebelenii O' Brien leaves. Females consumed more food than males on all three palms tested. The net consumption rates were 11,007.6, 8,998.0, and 5,773.5 square millimeters per individual for O. nipae reared on Chinese windmill palm, Canary Island date palm, and pygmy date palm, respectively. The host palm had a significant effect on consumption by both male and female O. nipae, and the damage potential was higher on Chinese windmill palm and Canary Island date palm. According to the finite consumption rate, O. nipae could cause more severe damage on Chinese windmill palm and Canary Island date palm than on pygmy date palm. These results provide the first assessment of leaf area consumed and the potential damage by O. nipae on three host palms. Population projections based on age-stage, two-sex life tables, and stage-specific consumption rates can reveal the stage structure and damage potential of the pest population. This approach offers a promising tool for quantitative assessment of the feeding capacity of this invasive beetle.

A BmSG-SWUl cell line was established from the silk gland tissues of newly hatched Bombyx mori L. larvae by performing primary cultures for 2 yr. The cell line was comprised of long and thin shuttle cells. The percentage of cells with the chromosome number 2n = 56 was 76.28%. Therefore, the cell line was considered a diploid cell line. Fingerprint analysis of BmSG-SWUl cells and four other cell lines indicated that BmSG-SWUl cells had a specific fingerprint, and that the genetic relationship between BmSG-SWUl cells and the original silk gland tissue was the closest. We used whole genome microarray data, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence quantitative real-time—polymerase chain reaction to analyze the expression profile of BmSG-SWUl cells. On day 3 of the fifth instar silk gland, the two known silk gland-specific genes Fib-L and P25 as well as 18 other highly expressed genes were found in the whole genome microarray data. Only some of these were expressed in the BmSG-SWUl cell line, which showed that this cell line had maintained some gene expression characteristics of silk gland. The key cell cycle-control genes BmCyclinB and BmCyclinB3 of the G2 and M phase were expressed at low levels in silk glands. Contrarily, they were highly expressed in BmSG-SWUlcells, in the ovaries and other cell lines, which suggested that BmCyclinB and BmCyclinB3 are important for the transformation of BmSG-SWUl cell line from endoreduplication to the mitotic cycle.

In this study, we explored variations in the magnitude and the direction of sexual dimorphism in three parasitoid species from the genus Aphidius Nees (Aphidius balcanicus Tomanović and Petrović, Aphidius rosae Haliday, and Aphidius urticae Haliday). We also explored the variation in sexual dimorphism within one of these species, A. urticae, which parasitizes and develops in three different hosts that belong to three aphid genera. To estimate sexual size dimorphism, we selected two developmentally and functionally unrelated morphological structures: the mesoscutum and the wing. Our results showed that sexual dimorphism in mesoscutum and wing size differ (sexual dimorphism in mesoscutum size appears to be insignificant, whereas the wings are larger in males). We found a high level of variation in sexual dimorphism in wing shape within and between species. We also found that the observed shape changes are not due to size-related, allometric changes in wing shape. These results indicate that sexual dimorphism in wing size and wing shape is highly variable and could be influenced by various factors, including host effects, whereas mesoscutum size appears to be a conserved trait in aphid parasitoids.