bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Laboratory evaluation of the sex pheromone and mating inhibitor of the red bollworm Diparopsis castanea Hampson (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)
Authors: Marks R. J. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe four components of the synthesised sex pheromone of Diparopsis castanea Hmps. are dodecan-1-yl acetate (I); trans-9-dodecen-1-yl acetate (IIA); 11-dodecen-l-yl acetate (IIB); and trans-9,ll-dodecadien-l-yl acetate (IV). Increasing the proportion of IIA in a I/IIA/IIB/IV mixture progressively decreased male excitation in a laboratory bioassay, whilst in the absence of I all concentrations of IIA tested were equally inhibitory. The synthetic combination of 80% IV (93% trans: 7% cis) and 20% IIB (=dicastalure), was 485 times more potent in eliciting male activity than a female sex pheromone gland extract. Reduction in male response to crude extract occurred through exposure of males to glandular IIA and through reduced pheromone volatility caused by extracted triglycerides. Maximum quantities of pheromone were detected in the female sex pheromone gland 6–12 h into scotophase and for at least 30 min into photophase. Significantly greater bioassay responses were elicited by the optimal field combination of 80% IV and 20% IIB than for other ratios tested. Excitation and clasper extension were observed in response to the non-attractive IIB moiety and this indicates a role in close-range mating behaviour for this component. The threshold level of male response was estimated to occur in response to sex pheromone at an aerial concentration of 9·2 molecules IV mm3/s−1. This suggests that aerial concentrations of 102–103 times the male threshold response level may be sufficient to cause successful communication disruption in the field. The problems of relating the non-oriented responses in an assay of this type to directional responses in traps are briefly discussed.
The diurnal activity of the chicken-biting black fly,Simulium griseicolleBecker (Diptera, Simuliidae) in Northern Sudan
Authors: El Bashir S. , El Jack M. H. , El Hadi H. M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe diurnal flight activity ofSimulium griseicolleBecker was determined at Shambat, Khartoum, by means of a suction trap and a vehicle-mounted trap; and the biting activity by means of a chicken-baited trap. Only incidental observations of mammal-biting activity were made. The three trapping methods indicated two peaks of activity, one in the morning and the other late in the afternoon. Fly activity was lowest in the early afternoon when temperature and light intensity were highest, wind speed was moderate and relative humidity was least. Females outnumbered males in all the catches, except in the early morning when more males were sometimes recorded.
The development and termination of the 1968 plague of the desert locust,Schistocerca gregaria(Forskål) (Orthoptera, Acrididae)
Authors: Bennett L. V. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe population dynamics of the desert locust,Schistocerca gregaria*(Forsk.), in Africa, the Middle East and Asia from 1966 to 1969 have been analysed to determine the causes of the beginning and the abrupt end of the plague of 1968. Evidence indicates that in 1966 there were no persistent sequences of breeding by gregarious populations, but in 1967 and early 1968 there were four sequences of breeding by initially solitary behaving locusts, each resulting in a substantial increase in numbers and density. These events led to a plague that ended by mid-1969.The threshold rainfall requirement for successful breeding, defined as an increase in numbers from mature adults of the parent generation to filial fledglings, has been related to the rainfall required for the germination of ephemerals and their growth to sizes that can provide food and shelter for hoppers throughout their development. It is suggested that the minimum quantity of rainfall required initially over a large area is 25 mm. This requirement is usually met in the summer breeding areas. Rainfall in the winter-spring breeding areas is more variable, and falls exceeding the threshold are most commonly associated with deep troughs in the mid- and upper-tropospheric westerly winds in winter and spring. A season in which many such troughs occur may be essential for plague development. It is also suggested that the timing of successive periods of rainfall allowing successful breeding is critical in determining the occurrence of upsurges.Control against non-gregarious infestations failed to contain the upsurge, but later control measures against hopper bands and swarms contributed to the plague decline. The most economical strategy for plague prevention might be one of upsurge elimination, that is to say control in selected areas against gregarious locusts only. The implications of adopting such a strategy are discussed.
Tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) eradication by aerial (helicopter) spraying of persistent insecticides in Nigeria
Authors: Spielberger U. , Na'isa B. K. , Abdurrahim U. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe technique of applying persistent insecticides (largely dieldrin or endosulfan) from the air by helicopter against Glossina spp. in northern Nigeria is described. In the Guinea savanna vegetation zone, a high degree of discrimination was practised. Where the riverine species G. tachinoides Westw. and G. palpalis palpalis (R.-D.) only were present, spraying was confined to the fringing forest vegetation along drainage lines and in flood plains. Where the savanna species G. morsitans submorsitans Newst. was also present, Isoberlinia woodlands were also sprayed in swaths along the outside edges and penetrating swaths at maximum intervals of 200 m; the denser vegetation encircling the many flat-topped hills was also sprayed, as well as the main tracks and cattle routes. The more undifferentiated woodlands in the southern Guinea savanna zone were sprayed as a grid with swaths at intervals of 150 to 200 m. The degree of discrimination varied according to the fly species and density of the vegetation; usually 5 to 16% of the totally infested area was actually sprayed. So far, approximately 10 000 km2 have been reclaimed from tsetse by this technique. The degree of reinvasion encountered per annum was approximately 25% of each project area. All reinfested areas have been successfully resprayed. Costs averaged approximately 18 Naira/ha actually sprayed or 2 Naira/ha of reclaimed area in the northern Guinea savanna zone. In the southern Guinea savanna zone, the reclaimed area averaged 3 Naira/ha. The ultra-low-volume spraying technique was introduced in 1972, and this has gradually replaced the conventional spraying technique using emulsion concentrates and booms and nozzles. The ULVA-Bals single-disc atomisers were modified and improved so that droplet sizes within a range of 70 to 200 μm volume median diameter can be produced as required. Many insecticides have been tested in the laboratory, preliminary tests on permethrin indicate; that it may prove to be a useful alternative to dieldrin and endosulfan.
Biology and host specificity of the Chondrilla crown moth, Oporopsamma wertheimsteini (Rebel) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
Authors: Hasan S. , Wapshere A. J. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe tortricid moth Oporopsamma wertheimsteini (Rebel) is a potential biological control agent of Chondrilla juncea, which is a serious introduced weed in Australia. The biology of the moth was studied on wild C. juncea growing in Azerbaidzhan (Iran). It has one generation per year and undergoes two periods of diapause, aestivating as a pupa and hibernating as an egg. The larvae live in cases attached to and feeding on the collar region of C. juncea and may destroy plants with thin stems. Larval infestations are common on C. juncea growing in sandy soils. The braconid Chelonus asiaticus Telenga was recorded as a larval parasite. Host specificity assessment by laboratory tests in France, in which trimmed crowns of various Compositae were exposed to late-instar larvae, suggested that they had a broader host range within that plant family than would be desirable in an organism to be used for biological control. However, tests under both field and glasshouse conditions in Iran indicated that the first-instar larvae select only Chondrilla juncea as hosts. The species was therefore introduced into Australia under quarantine for further host-safety studies.
The biology and host specificity of the Echium leaf miner Dialectica scalariella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)
Authors: Wapshere A. J. , Kirk A. A. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe gracillariid leaf miner Dialectica scalariella (Zell.), which occurs in Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Canaries, is a potential biological control agent for the weed Echium plantagineum in Australia. The moth has a high fecundity and oviposits on the leaves of Echium spp. and other Boraginaceae. The larvae destroy the leaves by forming large bulbous blotch mines. There are 5-7 generations per year. Host restriction of D. scalariella to Boraginaceae was tested by exposing a wide range of cultivated plants considered to be most at risk from it because of their close relation to Boraginaceae, because they were of Australian or non-European origin, because they did not occur in the same ecoclimatic region as D. scalariella, because their entomological fauna was poorly known, and because they or related plants were known to be attacked by insects closely related to D. scalariella. The host restriction of the moth was confirmed as only boraginaceous plants were attacked. It was concluded that both in terms of effectiveness and specificity D. scalariella could serve as a biological control agent in Australia for E. plantagineum.
Radiolsotopes as metabolic labels forGlossina(Diptera: Glossinidae). I. Laboratory determination of the relationship between radioisotope metabolism, respiration and temperature
Authors: Taylor P. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe turnover of the radioisotope137Cs is shown to be of a one-component nature and to be positively correlated with temperature for males of bothGlossina morsitansWestw. andG. pallidipesAust. A direct correlation with oxygen consumption is also demonstrated, and the relation for both species may be described by the same regression line. The feasibility of using137Cs as a metabolic label for tsetse is therefore confirmed, and it is suggested that the predictive nature of the relationship between radioisotope turnover and metabolism may extend beyond closely related species.
Mating disruption of the red bollworm of cotton Diparopsis castanea Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by ultra-low-volume spraying with a micro-encapsulated inhibitor of mating
Authors: Marks R. J. , Nesbitt B. F. , Hall D. R. , Lester R. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractCommunication between adult male and female Diparopsis castanea Hmps. was disrupted by ultra-low-volume spraying of cotton in a 0·2-ha field cage and in an open-field plot in Malawi with a polyurea-based microencapsulated formulation of the mating inhibitor 80% (E)- and 20% (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate (IIA). When sprays containing 38·7 or 105·3 g IIA/ha were applied at 6-day intervals within the cage, reductions in mating of 62–66% and in oviposition of 72–78% resulted. Larval infestation was reduced by an average of 61% over a 52-day period. Effective release rates during these experiments were 4–19 mg/IIA/ha. Spraying at 6-day intervals with 15·9 g IIA/ha, however, had no significant effect on mating, and applications of 25·8 g of IIA/ha at 12–14 day intervals in the presence of high moth populations produced a reduction in female mating of only 19% despite a release rate of 4·4–53·0 mg/ha/h. Physical and chemical evaluations of microcapsule deposition on cotton plants indicated a low application efficiency, with an ‘effective’ spray deposition on plants of only 3·25–20·05% between pre-flowering and maturity. In an open-field spraying trial, applications of 38·7 g IIA/ha at 14–15 day intervals reduced oviposition by 75% from expected levels. Application of 15·7 g IIA/ha, however, had no disruptive effect in the field. Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis revealed no chemical interaction or marked effect on the release rate of IIA when carbaryl and IIA were sprayed in combination. Indirect evidence indicated that the microencapsulated formulations used possessed a considerable ability to withstand rain when applied to plants.
The influence of pheromone trap design and placement on catch of the red bollworm of cotton Diparopsis castanea Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Marks R. J. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThree suitable sex pheromone trap designs for trapping the red bofiworm of cotton, Diparopsis castanea Hmps., including a simple omnidirectional monitoring trap, are described. In trials in Malawi, Diparopsis was more readily trapped on open horizontal trapping surfaces (water or adhesive) than in enclosed types of traps. The presence of a roof above the trapping surface, at spacings of up to 20 cm, significantly reduced catches. White traps, or unpainted traps in the case of vane traps constructed from galvanised metal, caught more moths than traps of other colours. Catches were greatest when monitoring traps in cotton were placed at ground level or at a height of 0·5 m and, when dicastalure was released from polyethylene vials, by employing a trap 60 cm in diameter. Evidence was obtained that competition may exist between female-baited traps spaced up to 73 m apart, although catches in traps baited with dicastalure were not significantly different when traps were 40–60 m apart. The greatest catches of moths in cotton were in traps located in insecticide-sprayed fields, but moths were also trapped in considerable numbers in other crops and to a reduced extent in open areas 4·8 km from the nearest cotton. From about the end of February, catches in maize, groundnut and fallow areas frequently exceeded the catches recorded within cotton fields, which may indicate an increased dispersal flight from cotton by adult moths later in the season. Weekly replacement in monitoring traps of polyethylene vials containing dicastalure produced maximum moth catches, but there was no significant difference in catch between traps in which pheromone was replaced at intervals of 2, 3, 4 or 6 weeks.
A revision of Tachinaephagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of four new species
Authors: Subba Rao B. R. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe encyrtid genus Tachinaephagus is revised, and a key to species presented. Four species are described and illustrated: T. stomoxicida sp. n., a very important parasite of Stomoxys nigra Macq. from Uganda and Mauritius; T. malayensis sp. n. from Malaysia; T. javensis sp. n. from Indonesia; and T. congoensis sp. n. from Zaïre. A lectotype is designated for T. zealandicus Ashm., the type-species of Tachinaephagus, and this genus as defined here is restricted to larval and pupal parasites of Diptera. Zeteticontus, which is superficially similar, is in fact distinct, and characters separating the two genera are tabulated.
Laboratory observations on the bionomics of Aedes fluviatilis (Lutz) (Diptera: Culicidae)
Authors: Cônsoli R. A. G. B. , Williams Paul 
Published: July 2009

AbstractA laboratory colony of Aedes fluviatilis (Lutz) was established in ambient conditions in Brazil in which temperature varied from 22 to 31°C and relative humidity from 61 to 73%. Females laid eggs 3–13 days (mean 5·6 days) after a blood-meal and produced, on average, 64·3 eggs per batch. Eggs were usually deposited directly on the surface of water and preferentially on water that had previously contained fourth-instar larvae. The eggs proved to have little resistance to desiccation, hatching rates being reduced when eggs were kept on dry filter paper for only 1–3 days. Hatching took place following the detachment of a cap-like portion of the anterior end or through an irregular longitudinal split along the side of the egg. In different experiments, about 10–20% of eggs failed to hatch. Eggs usually hatched 2 days after oviposition. The average length of larval life was 10·2 days, and the highest proportion of larvae pupated on day 9. The duration of the successive immature stages increased geometrically with age. Mortality was 1–2% in each of the first 3 larval instars but rose to about 10% in the fourth. In the larval stage, males developed more rapidly than females. Crowding lengthened the duration of the larval stage, reduced the numbers surviving to pupate and resulted in a disparate sex ratio with emergent males much more abundant than females. Pupation occurred throughout the day and night with a slight peak at 05.00–06.00 h. The pupal stage lasted 1–3 days, usually 2 days, and was the same in both sexes.
Effects of host spectra on feeding behaviour and reproduction of soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae)
Authors: Galun Rachel , Sternberg S. , Mango Christine 
Published: July 2009

AbstractArgas persicus (Oken) fed readily on avian hosts and consumed more blood and produced more eggs than on mammalian hosts. Ornithodoros tholozani (Lab. & Mégn.) fed equally well on chicken and various laboratory animals and converted the blood of all hosts into eggs at equal rates. O. moubata (Murr.) was intermediate, feeding more readily on chicken, rabbit and guineapig than on mouse, rat or hamster, and showing greater utilisation of blood of chicken and rabbit than of the other hosts. The relation of these phenomena to the natural host spectra of the 3 tick species is discussed.
The possible use of methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate, an ant trail pheromone, as a component of an improved bait for leaf-cutting ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) control
Authors: Robinson S. W. , Cherrett J. M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractA trail pheromone, methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate (M4MP2C), of Atta texana (Buckley) was tested in the laboratory as a possible component of attractive poison bait for the leaf-cutting ants A. cephalotes (L.), A. sexdens (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich). For all three species, M4MP2C when impregnated onto paper discs increased pick-up of the discs. It also increased pick-up by Atta sexdens of a citrus-pulp bait. The addition of M4MP2C made them easier to find, although at high concentrations it was repellent. It did not affect the average number of ant investigations before the bait was picked up. The pheromone remained on citrus-pulp bait in active concentrations for approximately four days. To test -the effect of M4MP2C as a foraging stimulant for A. cephalotes, an apparatus was constructed in which the ants passed in single file over a transparent section of the trail where they were counted with a photoelectric cell. When bait impregnated with M4MP2C was placed on the foraging table, large increases in activity were recorded away from the nest but only small increases were recorded in the nest and at the nest entrance. When air containing M4MP2C vapour was injected into the fungus chamber, an increase in activity was recorded at the nest entrance, but this increase was not repeated when known amounts of the pheromone impregnated onto baits of filter-paper discs were added directly to the fungus chamber. It is suggested that factors other than M4MP2C are also involved in the stimulation of foraging activity. The experiments suggest that M4MP2C could play some part in the formulation of an attractive bait for the control of leaf-cutting ants.
The use of serology in evaluating invertebrate prey-predator relationships : a review
Authors: Boreham P. F. L. , Ohiagu C. E. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractSeveral methods, including the use of serology, are available for evaluating prey-predator relationships. Two basic methods involving precipitation and agglutination reactions have been utilised, both of which depend on the production of specific antisera with high titres. A critical account is presented of methods of preparing antisera, with particular reference to the amount of antigen required, the route of inoculation and testing antisera, together with a review of the five precipitation and two agglutination techniques available. The main limitations of serological methods are tje specificity of the arrtisera and the difficulties in quantifying results unless assumptions are made as to the number of prey eaten at each feed. Details of studies employing serological techniques to identify the predators of specific prey and the food od invertebrates are given intwo tables. The value of serological techniques is discussed in relation to the ecology of invertebrates by considering, as examples, te insect fauna on broon (Sarothamnus scoparius), predation of mosquitoes and the food of triclads. Errors in the quantification of predation may occur by including positive reactions resulting from carrion feeding or material ingested acidentally on plants by phytophagous arthropods.
Olfactory responses of the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the laboratory
Authors: Littledyke M. , Cherrett J. M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) were tested in a moving-air olfactometer for their responses to a variety of odours from leaves, fruit, flowers, essential oils, other ants and a fungus garden. The line of a foraging trail established in still air tended to loop downwind in the presence of a laminar air flow. The ants exhibited positive, negative and neutral responses to the test odours, confirming the existence of attractants and repellents in substrate materials. Neutral responses to the odours of several of the materials that were acceptable for cutting showed that arrestive materials were not necessarily attractive. Ants orientating towards the source of an odour often secreted a pheromone trail. Atta and Acromyrmex responded differently to several of the materials tested, and the responses to odours of young and old leaves were not totally consistent with the observed cutting preferences. Removal of wax from non-attractive leaves made them attractive. Both species responded negatively to lemon-oil odour, but some Acromyrmex workers showed a hostile response. A hostile response was also elicited by the odour from other ants. Fungus-garden odour elicited a positive investigatory response, and no response was shown to queen odour. Laden Atta workers did not respond to an odour that was attractive to unladen ants, and laden examples of Acromyrmex responded in small numbers to such odours. The addition of attractive chemicals to baits for the control of leaf-cutting ants would improve pick-up by making the bait particle easier to find.