ABSTRACT
Coleopteran insects can produce toxic substances containing multiple components which have so far not been properly described. To report an unusual case of intoxication by excretion from Calosoma alternans Fabricius 1792 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a Venezuelan patient from a periurban neighborhood near the mesothermal raining forest. The toxic activity caused a clinical status characterized by digestive symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, epigastralgia, an increase in bowel movements and probable kidney inflammation with intense pain in both lumbar regions, which did not correspond to the classic dermal damage. In conclusion, a unique case is presented of intoxication by a coleopteran species, with a clinical description not previously reported(AU)
Los insectos coleópteros pueden producir sustancias tóxicas que contienen numerosos componentes que aún no han sido descritos adecuadamente. Presentar un caso inusual de intoxicación por excreciones de Calosoma alternans Fabricius 1792 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) en un paciente venezolano residente en un barrio periurbano cercano a la selva tropical mesotérmica. La actividad tóxica provocó un cuadro clínico caracterizado por síntomas digestivos como náuseas, vómitos, epigastralgia, aumento del número de deposiciones y probablemente inflamación renal, con dolor intenso en ambas regiones lumbares, lo que no se corresponde con el daño dérmico clásico. En resumen, se presenta un caso singular de intoxicación provocada por una especie de coleóptero, con una descripción clínica no reportada anteriormente(AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Signs and Symptoms , Coleoptera , Insecta , Poisoning , Venezuela , Vomiting , Toxic SubstancesABSTRACT
Several coleopterans of the Scarabaeidae family (Pleurosticti) are reported as important pests of agricultural crops, but little information on their biology is available. We describe our observations on the biology of adult Cyclocephala verticalis Burmeister collected with light traps from January, 2006 to December, 2007, in Aquidauana, MS, Brasil. Field collected adults were taken to the laboratory and kept in plastic containers containing soil and seedlings of Brachiaria decumbens under controlled conditions (26 ± 1ºC with 12h of photophase). The embrionary period of C. verticalis took 17.2 days in the average. The duration of first-, second- and third-instar larvae was 22.0, 23.7 and 138.1 days in the average, respectively. The prepupal stage took 12.7 days and the pupal stage 14.8 days. Adults obtained in laboratory lived 37.5 days. The complete cycle reached 228.6 days, making possible the development of a single generation per year. In laboratory conditions, the copulation lasted about 19 min and 20 seconds. The adults fly in a great amount in September and October, being this the main period of oviposition in the field.
Subject(s)
Animals , Coleoptera/physiologyABSTRACT
Damage caused to rice production by coleopteran insects like rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae), a stored grain insect pest and rice hispa (Dicladispa armigera), a pest of the growing plant is quite high. In order to combat the damage, generation of insect resistant transgenic rice plant was considered desirable. CryIIIA endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, a 65 kDa protein toxic to coleopteran insects, figured as the candidate gene product. Thus, the cryIIIA gene was isolated from a local isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis. The gene was tailored at the N-terminal end to its minimal size by using a synthetic ATG codon which replaced the first codon next to ATG of threonine to proline. This modification did not affect the functional property of the gene product.A chimeric construct of the modified cryIIIA gene was developed containing CaMV35S promoter and nos terminator for plant expression. The expressibility of the cryIIIA gene in indica rice was judged through test for transient expression in indica rice protoplasts.