ABSTRACT
A new species, Colopalpus hibiscus sp. nov. (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) is described from Hibiscus in Hainan province, China. The ontogenetic changes in the idiosoma and leg chaetotaxy on adults (female and male) and immature stages of this new species are presented. A key to species of Colopalpus is also provided.
Subject(s)
Hibiscus , Mites , Spiders , Animals , China , Female , Larva , MaleABSTRACT
Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharting) is a leaf-eating pest widely distributed in the world. In this study, the first complete mitochondrial genome of P. Versicolora (Laicharting) was assembled and analyzed. The complete mitochondrial genome of P. Versicolora (Laicharting) is 16,857 bp with 22.39% GC containing, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA), as well as an AT-rich region. Phylogenomic analysis indicated that P. Versicolora (Laicharting) is sister to Chrysomela populiThis study provides useful information for the identification of this species and the study of genetic evolution with other species of Chrysomelidae.
ABSTRACT
In this study, the first complete mitochondrial genome of Chrysolina aeruginosa Fald was assembled and analyzed. The total length of this mitochondrial genome is 16,335 base pairs. It consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, two ribosomal RNAs, and an AT-rich region. Phylogenomic analysis indicated that C. aeruginosa Fald is sister to Chrysodinopsis sp. This study provides new molecular data for the further taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of the Chrysomelidae of Coleoptera.
ABSTRACT
The complete chloroplast genome of Cryptomeria japonica var. sinensis Miquel was assembled and analyzed. The chloroplast genome of C. japonica var. sinensis Miquel did not have a typical quadripartite structure with the inverted repeats (IR) absent, and the size of C. japonica var. sinensis is 131,412 bp. The overall GC content was 35.4%. The genome encoded a set of 119 genes, containing 83 protein-coding genes, 32 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Phylogenomic analysis indicated that C. japonica var. sinensis is sister to C. japonica (Thunb. ex L. f.) D. Don.
ABSTRACT
Two species of the mite family Celaenopsidae, Pleuronectocelaeno barbara Athias-Henriot, 1959 and Schizocyrtillus fuzhouensis sp. nov., were recorded in China. Specimens were collected in bark and rotten wood on Pinus massoniana Lamb. in Sanming city and Fuzhou city, respectively. Information on current distribution, host association and morphological diagnostics of these two mites is provided.
Subject(s)
Acari , Mites , Animals , China , PinusABSTRACT
The ontogenetic stages of a tenuipalpid mite, Tenuipalpus orilloi Rimando, are described with detailed illustrations of the larva, protonymph, deutonymph and adult male and female specimens recently collected from Evodia lepta (Spreng.) Merr. (Rutaceae) in the Fujian province of China. The ontogenetic changes in idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy are discussed.
Subject(s)
Acari , Mites , Animals , Female , Larva , MaleABSTRACT
A new species, Prolixus splendens sp. nov., collected from leaves of the grass Austroderia splendens (Poaceae) in Auckland, New Zealand, is described and illustrated. Only five species of Prolixus have previously been reported, and all were recorded from the genus Gahnia (Cyperaceae). In this paper, we present the ontogenetic additions in idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy from larva to adult for the new species. A key to world species of Prolixus is also proposed.
Subject(s)
Poaceae , Animals , Cyperaceae , Larva , New ZealandABSTRACT
We found that Pantana phyllostachysae, a dangerous pest of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens), showed differences in growth and development after feeding on diverse types of moso bamboo leaves. The mortality rate of Pa. phyllostachysae due to Beauveria bassiana, an entomopathogenic fungus, was also affected by the varied larval diet. Larval and pupal developmental duration of Pa. phyllostachysae was longer when feeding on "off-year" bamboo leaves. Pupal weight and adult fertility were higher when feeding on "on-year" bamboo leaves. Mortality due to B. bassiana was significantly lower in larvae fed on on-year bamboo leaves than in larvae fed on off-year bamboo leaves. Larvae fed on new bamboo leaves had a shorter development period and higher survival rate than those fed on off-year bamboo leaves. However, mixed feed (mixture of new, on-year, and off-year bamboo leaves) decreased the egg production of Pa. phyllostachysae. After infection by the second generation of B. bassiana, the survival time of Pa. phyllostachysae fed on mixed feed increased significantly compared with the first generation. We also fed Pa. phyllostachysae different proportion of new bamboo leaves in mixed feed to simulate natural conditions. We found that increasing the proportion of new bamboo leaves in the food promoted pupal development and increased egg production; it also increased the resistance of larvae to the first generation of B. bassiana. The pathogenicity of the second generation of B. bassiana declined in all mixed feed treatments.
Subject(s)
Beauveria/physiology , Food Chain , Moths/microbiology , Moths/physiology , Poaceae/physiology , Animals , China , Feeding Behavior , Larva/growth & development , Larva/microbiology , Larva/physiology , Moths/growth & development , Pest Control, Biological , Plant Leaves/physiology , Population DynamicsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Parasitism detection and species identification are necessary in fruit fly biological control. Currently, release of mass-reared Fopius arisanus is practiced worldwide, as it is effective in controlling Bactrocera dorsalis and Ceratitis capitata. To detect and assess parasitism in parasitoid mass-rearing colonies and parasitism levels in field populations across all life stages of hosts, the development of a rapid, specific and sensitive method is important. RESULTS: A species-specific probe was designed for F. arisanus, as well as a universal tephritid probe. Utilizing rapid DNA extraction techniques coupled with quantitative-PCR, a simple and fast assay has been developed to detect parasitism of F. arisanus that is sensitive enough to detect the parasitoid across all developmental stages, including a single egg per host egg or 0.25 ng of parasitoid DNA in 40 ng of host DNA. The qPCR methods also detect a higher parasitism rate when compared with rearing-based methods where parasitism rate is based on wasp emergence and where unemerged wasps are not included. CONCLUSION: This method is a rapid, sensitive and specific technique to determine the parasitism rate of F. arisanus across all life stages of B. dorsalis, which will be useful to predict parasitoid output from mass rearing and evaluate the outcome of pest suppression after mass release in the field.
Subject(s)
Tephritidae/parasitology , Wasps/genetics , Animals , Pest Control, Biological , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Tephritidae/genetics , Wasps/growth & developmentABSTRACT
A series of feeding experiment and regular observation were conducted in laboratory to explore the effects of diet and temperature on the longevity of Coccobius azumai adults and their temporal rhythm of emergence. Diet had significant effects on the longevity of the adults. Without any diet supply, the mean longevity of the females and males was 1.5 d; but with the supplement of 20% honey water and of 20% honey water + fresh pine needles, the mean longevity reached 14.8 d and 11.3 d, and 17.3 d and 12.3 d, respectively. Temperature also played an important role on the longevity of the adults fed with 20% honey water. At 23 degrees C and 26 degrees C, the longevity of the females and males was obviously longer; while at 32 degrees C, the longevity was the shortest. At same temperatures, the mean longevity of the females was significantly longer than that of the males. In their circadian cycle, most of the females emerged from 11:00 to 15:00, but most males emerged from 9:00 to 12:00. Few females emerged after 18:00, and few males after 17:00. Most of the adult parasitoids enclosed from July to September. The amount of emerged adults peaked in July, and showed a fluctuant and descending trend in the subsequent August and September. Over 80% of the emerged adults were female in most days, and the males were always fluctuating in a low level in this period. A separate experiment showed that in the collection of the adult parasitoids, cloth shed was more superior to paper box. This study showed that limited energy was conserved in the parasitoids before adult emergence, and thus, supplementing suitable diet to newly emerged adults before release was necessary for prolonging their longevity and improving the efficiency of biological control. In Fujian and Guandong of China, there would be some potential disadvantage factors against the continuation of the parasitoid population, e.g., high temperature in summer, lack of temporal synchronization between the adult parasitoid females and their hosts (adult females of pine armored scale), and greatly high proportion of parasitoid females. Cloth shed benefited the collection of large amount of the parasitoids, being available in the biological control activities.
