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In order to enhance the mass production of the house fly, Musca domestica, five aspects of its oviposition biology were analyzed. Oviposition substrate and the manner of its presentation, the composition of the diet of the adults, size of the pupae and numbers of flies in a cage were identified as critical. Females preferred to lay eggs on a substrate which was presented within a shelter and with increased linear edges against which the flies could oviposit. Different types of oviposition substrate resulted in comparable yields of eggs. The presence of an oviposition attractant (ammonia) in the manure was found to have a potentially positive effect on female fecundity. Egg yield increased when two protein sources (yeast and milk) were included in the adult diet. However, flies fed a mixture of sugar and yeast laid over 50% fewer eggs than those fed the same proportion of sugar and milk. The fecundity of flies decreased with increase in the number of flies per cage, but the highest total number of eggs per cage was obtained when the flies were most crowded (14.2 cm3 per fly). The size of the pupae did not significantly affect egg production.

This research was funded by the ERA-Net BiodivERsA, with the national funders French National Research Agency (ANR-11-EBID-0004), German Ministry of Research and Education (FKZ:01LC1104A) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, part of the 2011 BiodivERsA call for research proposals. The contribution from the UK was funded by the UK Government Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as project WC1034.

Amino acids play a central role in aphid-plant interactions. They are essential components of plant primary metabolism, function as precursors for the synthesis of defense-related specialized metabolites, and are major growth-limiting nutrients for aphids. To quantify changes in the free amino acid content of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) leaves in response to green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) feeding, plants were infested with a low (20 aphids/plant) or a high (200 aphids/plant) aphid density in time-course experiments ranging from 3 hours to 7 days. A parallel experiment was conducted with pepper plants that had been subjected to water stress. Factor Analysis of Mixed Data revealed a significant interaction of time x density in the free amino acid response of aphid-infested leaves. At low aphid density, M. persicae did not trigger a strong response in pepper leaves. Conversely, at high density, a large increase in total free amino acid content was observed and specific amino acids peaked at different times post-infestation. Comparing aphid-infested with water-stressed plants, most of the observed differences were quantitative. In particular, proline and hydroxyproline accumulated dramatically in response to water stress, but not in response to aphid infestation. Some additional differences and commonalities between the two stress treatments are discussed.

Ivermectin is a veterinary pharmaceutical generally used to control the ecto- and endoparasites of livestock, but its use has resulted in adverse effects on coprophilous insects, causing population decline and biodiversity loss. There is currently no information regarding the direct effects of ivermectin on dung beetle physiology and behaviour. Here, based on electroantennography and spontaneous muscle force tests, we show sub-lethal disorders caused by ivermectin in sensory and locomotor systems of Scarabaeus cicatricosus , a key dung beetle species in Mediterranean ecosystems. Our findings show that ivermectin decreases the olfactory and locomotor capacity of dung beetles, preventing them from performing basic biological activities. These effects are observed at concentrations lower than those usually measured in the dung of treated livestock. Taking into account that ivermectin acts on both glutamate-gated and GABA-gated chloride ion channels of nerve and muscle cells, we predict that ivermectin’s effects at the physiological level could influence many members of the dung pat community. The results indicate that the decline of dung beetle populations could be related to the harmful effects of chemical contamination in the dung.

GS and AR positions at CIBIO (University of Alicante) were funded by Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2013/034; http://www.ceice.gva.es/en) and CAMPUSHÁBITAT5U (CEI15-05; http://campushabitat5u.es/), respectively.

Physiological traits in insects are useful to understand their distribution at different spatial scales, their presence and abundance, and the use of different habitats. This study explored physiological parameters of dung beetles in two contrasting ecoregions of Argentina: Paranaense Forest and Dry Chaco. We capture dung beetles from both regions and habitats with different degrees of disturbance within each region, and performed lab experiments on metabolic rate and thermal tolerance. This study revealed that dung beetles inhabiting regions or habitats with higher temperatures (Dry Chaco and open pastures) showed greater temperature tolerance compared to those inhabiting regions or habitats with lower temperatures (Paranaense Forest and habitats preserving tree canopy). Furthermore, in the Dry Chaco, more species exploit open disturbed habitats, indicating less physiological sensitivity to temperature changes than dung beetles in the Paranaense Forest. This study is the first to compare dung beetle assemblages at both regional and local scales. The findings highlight the importance of preserving tree canopy in land use planning to mitigate microclimatic changes, especially in humid forests, to support dung beetle populations and their crucial ecosystem roles in the face of climate change.

Ecological restoration is considered a tool for repairing anthropogenic habitat disturbances, but the biodiversity recovering needs to be monitored. Here we evaluate a comprehensive approach for biodiversity: Biodiversity Quality, which comprises a set of 10 indices representing different components of diversity and providing an holistic overview. This approach was tested in a hyper-diverse insect group, the Ichneumonidae family in three different levels of conservation, i.e., a degraded area, a well-conserved area and an area undergoing ecological restoration for 10–15 years. Comparisons were done in three different ecosystems from southern Ecuador, i.e., Andean forest, rainforest and dry forest. We also compared the species assemblages through beta diversity indices. A total of 36 Townes style white Malaise traps were installed at three different conservation levels in 12 natural reserves, and all Ichneumonid insects collected were sorted, mounted and identified to operational taxonomic units (OTUs). A total of 2929 individuals in 708 OTUs were collected, which represented 1264.78 g of biomass. No differences were found between conservation levels, but all indices showed significant differences when comparing ecosystem types. Andean forests had significantly more richness, diversity, population and biomass than the other ecosystems, and less dominance and rarity than dry forests. Species composition of Ichneumonidae assemblages were also different between ecosystems and not so between conservation levels. When comparing in every ecosystem separately, degraded areas in dry forest had significantly more density and biomass than conserved areas. This represents a first attempt of applying this comprehensive approach in such a species-rich family.

Project AICO/2020/031 (Generalitat Valenciana). Project PID2019-105418RB-I00 (MCIN/AEI /https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033). Project TED2021-130304B-I00 (MCIN/AEI /https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 and European Union NextGenerationEU/ PRTR). Project OAPN 3036/2023 (Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales, MITECO). GRISOLIAP/2021/185 (Dirección General de Ciencia e Investigación, Consellería de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, Generalitat Valenciana).

Wild biodiversity is usually larger in semi-natural habitats than in croplands, but this pattern is not ubiquitous because it varies among taxa and geographic regions. Knowing how the diversity of natural enemies is structured at the landscape level is important to better understand when semi-natural habitats promote the conservation of natural enemies and ultimately enhance biocontrol. We explore the relative influence of agricultural abandonment and the proportion of semi-natural habitats at the landscape level on the diversity and abundance of parasitoid wasps in the Ichneumonidae family. We studied changes in parasitoid diversity both at local and regional scales (i.e. alpha vs beta diversity), and both at the taxonomic and functional level (i.e. species vs guild identities). We extracted landscape features in circular buffers of varying radii to perform a multi-scale analysis, and to assess at which scale landscape-level effects influenced parasitoid assemblages. We found that parasitoid alpha and beta diversity decreased with an increasing proportion of semi-natural habitats. The multi-scale analysis revealed that for this group of natural enemies, landscape-level effects occur at mid to low distances (i.e. less than 500m). Our results provide insights into the origin of pest natural enemies, their spillover to croplands, and may help to understand under which circumstances semi-natural habitats fail at promoting biocontrol services.

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is an X-ray-based technique that allows visualisation of the internal anatomy of insects in situ and does not require dissections. Traditionally, the study of insect anatomy has been mainly based on dissection techniques and microtome sections. However, micro-CT is becoming an increasingly widespread study technique. We report the use of micro-CT scans to study, in detail, the external and internal structures and organs of the third instar larva of the dipteran Syrphidae Sphaerophoria rueppellii , a Palaearctic species included in the list of effective agents used in European biocontrol programmes against aphids. Detailed images and videos provided evidence of the external morphological characteristics and an overview of the internal anatomy (musculature, digestive tube, salivary glands, Malpighian tubules, fat body, circulatory system, nervous system, cephalopharyngeal complex, tentorium, and mouth parts). The study evidenced the following: an external lateroventral complex of muscles that form muscular rings that allow the compression of the body segments in a similar functional way as occurs in annelid worms; the existence of mandibles with prosthecae; the nervous system present a conspicuous distinguishable suboesophageal ganglion; the so-called antennomaxillary organs are the antennae; the maxillae are separate structures, with an articulated maxillary palpus; S. rueppellii has only one pair of Malpighian tubules instead of the two pairs that were thought to be the general rule for Syrphid larvae; and the evidence of an imaginal disc of genitalia in the posterior part of the body, below the rectum, which in male larvae has a clear correspondence with the morphology of the external male genitalia, which allows to differentiate the sexes in the larval stage. This study constitutes a true anatomical atlas of the third instar larvae of S. rueppellii . High-quality rendered images and additional supplementary videos together with a 3D model, suitable for use with mobile devices, are useful tools for future research and teaching aids.