Beyond carrots: Evaluation of gelling agents as wet feeds for Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae.

Previous studies have shown that larvae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), need a source of moisture to grow and perform well. Currently, much research has been oriented towards the effect of dry feed on larval growth and performance. The effect of different wet feeds as moisture source on the performance traits of T. molitor larvae has not been thoroughly investigated yet. This study aims to investigate in laboratory trials the effect of various gelling agents (agar, carrageenans, guar gum, xanthan gum, sodium alginate, modified starch, and pectin) on the growth and performance of T. molitor larvae. A number of 50 newly emerged larvae obtained from the rearings of the LEAZ were inserted in plastic vials together with 4 g of wheat bran as dry feed. Additionally, 1 g of gelling agents was provided 3 times per week as moisture sources. Carrot slices served as control. Larval survival and weight were recorded weekly until the appearance of the first pupa. Dry feed was replenished when depleted. Our data showed that gelling agents efficiently supported the growth of T. molitor larvae, in terms of larval survival and weight, as well as feed utilization expressed as FCR. Interestingly, carrageenans seem to be the most appropriate gelling agent for T. molitor larvae rearing as it can enhance their weight and is also able to reduce their development time and their specific growth rate.

Population Growth of Three Stored Product Beetle Species on Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Meals.

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is an important pest of stored products and at the same time a species with great potential as food and feed that has recently attracted increasing interest as nutrient source. Future predictions show a massive increase of insect meals' production in the near future, therefore, as expected in the case of other durable stored products, insect meals may get infested by insects during their storage. In this context and as a continuance of our previous study on the susceptibility of meal of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to storage insect infestations, the objective of this study was to test the susceptibility of A. diaperinus meals to infestations of three stored products pests, namely A. diaperinus itself, T. molitor, and the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). The population growth of the three species was evaluated on pure A. diaperinus meal, as well as on A. diaperinus meal-based substrates with different percentages of wheat bran (0, 25, 50, 90, and 100% bran). Our results showed that all three insect species tested were able to grow and develop on the A. diaperinus meal-based substrates evaluated, giving in a short time high population densities. This study confirms again our initial theory for insect infestations during storage of insect-based products.

Competition between Prostephanus truncatus and Sitophilus oryzae on maize: the species that gets there first matters.

Laboratory tests were carried out in order to examine the population growth of Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) and Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on maize. These two species were placed either simultaneously or one species was allowed to colonize the kernels 7 days earlier than the other, at two temperatures, 26 and 30 °C for 65 days. Apart from progeny production, grain quality parameters, such as insect-damaged kernels (IDK) and undamaged kernels (NDK), the weight of frass and kernel weight were measured. Our data confirms that temperature plays a key role in the competition of these two species; P. truncatus seems to perform better at the higher temperature (30 °C), regardless of the presence of an additional species. Moreover, the results of the present study demonstrates that P. truncatus outcompetes S. oryzae. Sitophilus oryzae produced fewer progeny than P. truncatus in all combinations. Given the outcome of a competition, we hypothesize that most of the kernel damage was due to feeding by P. truncatus. Based on these data, we surmise that P. truncatus has a competitive advantage as an invasive species in new areas with stored maize, even in the presence of S. oryzae.

The Superworm, Zophobas morio (Coleoptera:Tenebrionidae): A 'Sleeping Giant' in Nutrient Sources.

The aim of this review is to compile up-to-date information on the superworm, Zophobas morio (F.), regarding its biology and ecology, but also its further potential for use as a nutrient source for food and feed. We illustrate certain basic characteristics of the morphology and bio-ecology of this species, which is marginally considered as a 'pest' in durable amylaceous commodities. More recent data show that Z. morio can be a valuable nutrient and antimicrobial source that could be utilized further in insect-based feed and food production. The inclusion of this species in aquafeed has provided promising results in a wide range of feeding trials, both in terms of fish development and health. Additional data illustrate its potential for use in poultry, indicating that this species provides comparable results with those of other insect species that are used in feed. Moreover, Z. morio can be a viable waste management agent. This review aims to summarize the available data and underline data gaps for future research, toward the potential of the utilization of Z. morio for human food and animal feed. Based on the data presented, Z. morio appears to be a well-promising insect-based protein source, which potential still remains to be unfold.

Testing against umbrella or tree orderings for binomial proportions with an adaptation of an insect resistance case.

Alternative hypotheses for order restrictions, such as umbrella or inverse umbrella (a.k.a tree) orderings, have been studied extensively in the literature, although less so when the studied response for each individual is the presence or absence of the event of interest. Two families of test statistics for solving the problem of testing against an umbrella or a tree ordering when the responses are binomial proportions are studied in this work and their asymptotic distributions are derived. A simulation study is conducted to compare the empirical power of some members of the derived families of test statistics with competing approaches. The methodology developed here was driven by an applied problem arising in stored products research where despite universal mortality in the case of doses of 1000 ppm of the insecticide phosphine, unexpected survival was noted at higher doses.

Population Growth of Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on Various Commodities.

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer), is a serious pest, but at the same time has been authorized in European Union (EU) for feed in aquaculture. In this study, we investigated, in laboratory bioassays, the population growth of this species, on a wide variety of commodities. In four series of bioassays, we studied the development of A. diaperinus population on various intact cereal grains, on soft wheat grains with different percentages of cracked kernels, on non-grain amylaceous commodities and on a variety of non-amylaceous commodities. Briefly, 20 g of each commodity were put separately inside plastic cylindrical vials. Then, 20 A. diaperinus adults were placed inside each vial and all vials were incubated at 30°C and 55% r.h. After 30 d, the vials were opened and the progeny production was evaluated. Alphitobius diaperinus showed a clear preference in amylaceous commodities, but in contrast, poor development was recorded on the non-amylaceous commodities tested. Hence, it developed well in most of the cereal intact grains tested, with the hard and soft wheat being the most suitable. Additionally, most non-grain amylaceous commodities were suitable, to a various degree, for the population growth of A. diaperinus. The increase of the percentage of cracked wheat positively affected the population growth of A. diaperinus. To our knowledge, this is the first study that examined the suitability of a wide range of commodities for the population growth of A. diaperinus.

Biological activity of two new pyrrole derivatives against stored-product species: influence of temperature and relative humidity.

Members of the pyrrole group are likely to have interesting properties that merit additional investigation as insecticides at the post-harvest stages of agricultural commodities. In the present work, the insecticidal effect of two new pyrrole derivatives, ethyl 3-(benzylthio)-4,6-dioxo-5-phenyl-2,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-carboxylate (3i) and isopropyl 3-(benzylthio)-4,6-dioxo-5-phenyl-2,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-carboxylate (3k) were studied as stored-wheat protectants against two major stored-product insect species, the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jaquelin du Val adults and larvae and the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller larvae at different doses (0.1, 1 and 10 ppm), exposure intervals (7, 14 and 21 days), temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) and relative humidity (55 and 75%) levels. For T. confusum adults, in the case of the pyrrole derivative 3i, mortality was low and it did not exceed 32.2% in wheat treated with 10 ppm 3i at 30°C and 55% relative humidity. Progeny production was very low (<1 individual/vial) in all combinations of 55% relative humidity, including control. In the case of the pyrrole derivative 3k, mortality reached 67.8% at 30°C and 55% relative humidity in wheat treated with 10 ppm after 21 days of exposure. Progeny production was low in all tested combinations (≤0.7 individuals/vial) of 55% relative humidity, including control. For T. confusum larvae, in the case of the pyrrole derivative 3i, at the highest dose, mortality was 82.2% at 25°C and 55% relative humidity whereas in the case of 3k it reached 77.8% at the same combination. In contrast, mortality at 75% relative humidity remained very low and did not exceed 13.3%. For E. kuehniella larvae, the highest mortalities, 44.4 and 63.3%, were observed in 10 ppm at 25°C and 55% relative humidity for both pyrrole derivatives. The compounds tested here have a certain insecticidal effect, but this effect is moderated by the exposure, the target species, the temperature and the relative humidity.

Susceptibility of Two Strains of the Confused Flour Beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Following Phosphine Structural Mill Fumigation: Effects of Concentration, Temperature, and Flour Deposits.

In this study, we evaluated phosphine efficacy against two strains of the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), one laboratory strain, with no previous exposure to phosphine, and one field strain, originated from the flour mill on which we performed the fumigation. The standard Detia Degesh Phosphine Resistance Kit showed that the adults of the field strain of T. confusum required 4.4 × longer time to be knocked down than the laboratory strain. In order to assess the efficacy of phosphine in the field against these strains, aluminium phosphide (AlP) was applied in a flour mill in Czech Republic, in 2014. In this application, temperature among the six floors of the flour mill varied between 20 and 30°C, relative humidity (RH) between 44 and 78%, and phosphine concentration-time-products (CtP) between 24 and 38 g.m(-3).h(-1). Moreover, the insects were bioassayed in dishes that contained either no commodity or 1, 3, and 5 cm of flour. Nevertheless, despite these variations, all adults and larvae from both strains were dead, regardless of the floor, the quantity of the commodity, and the conditions prevailing. However, larval emergence from eggs that were used in the bioassays for both strains was recorded in some of the locations tested. In addition, larval emergence was negatively correlated with both temperature and RH. At the same time, emergence was generally similar between strains. The results of the present study illustrate that highly visible dead adults and larvae after the application of phosphine falsely imply good fumigation efficacy, given that a considerable number of eggs are very likely to survive in a wider range of conditions, and the concomitant larval emergence may result in rapid population grown right after the fumigation.

Spatial and non-spatial analyses of insect counts in bulk-stored barley.

Stored grain insect species in bulk-stored barley were sampled during 15 consecutive weeks in two ways: direct sampling based on grain trier samples and indirect sampling based on probe trap captures. A total number of 22 insect taxa were found; this study focused on the six most abundant species and their natural enemies. Four aspects were addressed: (i) differences in insect counts when based on either probe trap captures or grain trier samples, (ii) usefulness of grain temperature and moisture content as explanatory variables for insect densities, (iii) density-dependent relationships between natural enemies and their hosts, and (iv) spatial and non-spatial analyses of insect counts. Both total captures and frequencies of insect taxa were consistently higher in captures with probe traps than insect numbers obtained from grain samples. Regression analysis with abiotic conditions and probe trap captures as explanatory variables provided good fits to insect counts in grain samples for four of the six insect species (R2-values>0.40). Using multi-regression analyses, we showed that: (i) the occurrence of natural enemies was only weakly associated with the abundance of hosts; (ii) grain moisture content and temperature appeared to be at least as important variables as host availability; and (iii) the predictive strengths of regression models were similar when based on either data from grain samples or probe traps. Spatial analyses (SADIE) of both sampling data suggested that all data sets followed a spatially random distribution; re-arrangement of the data provided insight into important aspects of SADIE analyses of small data sets. Non-spatial analysis (Lloyd's aggregation index) showed significant differences among species and that the level of non-spatial aggregation was quite sensitive to sampling method used.

Almond seed wasp (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) sex pheromone: effect of trap type, trap position, blend ratio and time of the day on male attraction.

Field trials were carried out in order to evaluate some of the factors affecting male response of the almond seed wasp, Eurytoma amygdali Enderlein, to traps baited with the alkadienes (Z,Z)-6,9-tricosadiene and (Z,Z)-6,9-pentacosadiene, the male attractant of this species. The trials were conducted in Latomia, Microthivae, Kanalia and Sykourion (Thessaly, Central Greece) during the 2004 growing season. In all regions, captures in traps baited with a 7:3 ratio of the above blend significantly and positively correlated with male emergence from infested almonds that had been placed in cages in the experimental fields. Traps baited with the 7:3 pheromone ratio were significantly more effective in capturing males than traps baited with the 1:1 ratio, supporting the hypothesis that (Z,Z)-6,9-tricosadiene is the main component of this attractant. Of four trap types tested, Rebel and Lasiotraps attracted significantly more males than Delta and Funnel traps. Height had no effect on trap efficiency; however, males were captured earlier in the day in traps placed 2.3 m above grown than in traps placed 1.3 m above grown. Most male activity was recorded between 10 and 12 h, but captures were continuously recorded during the entire monitoring interval from 6 to 17 h.

SAGE and antibody array analysis of melanoma-infiltrated lymph nodes: identification of Ubc9 as an important molecule in advanced-stage melanomas.

Although patients diagnosed with melanoma of

Susceptibility of different European populations of Tribolium confusum (coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to five diatomaceous earth formulations.

Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of seven populations (strains) of the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to five commercially available diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations: Insecto, Protect-It, Protector, PyriSec, and SilicoSec. These DEs were applied on wheat, Triticum durum Desf., at two dose rates, 500 and 1000 ppm. The six beetle strains were obtained from Denmark, United Kingdom, Greece, Germany, Italy, and Portugal, whereas a seventh strain came from the Greek strain after laboratory selection with SilicoSec-treated wheat for six generations. Adults of the above-mentioned strains were exposed for 7 d to wheat treated with each DE formulation, and mortality was assessed after exposure. For all DE-dose combinations, significant differences were noted in mortality levels among strains. Generally, the strains from Denmark, United Kingdom, and Germany were the most susceptible to the DEs used, whereas the strain from Portugal was the least susceptible. No significant differences were noted in susceptibility level between the initial Greek strain and the laboratory-selected Greek strain, with the exception of Protector, where the selected strain was significantly more tolerant than the initial strain for both dose rates tested.

Spatiotemporal clustering and association of Ephestia kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and two of its parasitoids in bulk-stored wheat.

To assess the spatiotemporal distribution of insects in a flat storage containing wheat (Triticumn spp.), probe traps were suspended in the wheat bulk and inspected for captured insects at 15-d intervals, from June 2001 to August 2002. The grain bulk was 1 m in height, and traps were placed at the upper and the lower 0.5 m of the bulk. During the entire trapping period, 17 insect taxa were recorded. The most abundant species were Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and its larval parasitoids Harbobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Most individuals were found in the upper bulk part. The highest E. kuehniella trap catches were found between August and November 2001 and during June and July 2002. Of the two parasitoids, H. hebetor was more abundant than V. canescens, with the exception of winter and early spring, when both species occurred at low numbers, especially H. hebetor. Spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) spatiotemporal analysis showed significant clustering of species, especially during summer and autumn. Early in the season and during spring 2002, at low host numbers, V. canescens occupied the locations where E. kuehniella mainly aggregated, but with the increase of E. kuehniella population, H. hebetor occupied these host groups and replaced V canescens. Although the two parasitoids competed for the same host species, both species coexisted in the storage facility during the entire trapping period.

A study of the vicissitudes of identification in twins.

After reviewing the work of a number of authors on the specific problems of identification of twins, the author examines the difficulties met with in the establishment of good symbiotic relationship with a maternal object when a twin is always interposed between the mother and the child. It is very much up to the mother to ensure that the constant presence of a third individual is not experienced as parasitism by the other twin. The disastrous consequences of such a situation in an adult patient are illustrated by a clinical example.