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With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking-for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Tracing Booth's story from his uncertain childhood in Maryland, characterized by a difficult relationship with his famous actor father, to his successful acting career on stages across the country, Alford offers a nuanced picture of Booth as a public figure, performer, and deeply troubled man. Despite the fame and success that attended Booth's career--he was billed at one point as \"the youngest star in the world\"--he found himself consumed by the Confederate cause and the desire to help the South win its independence. Alford reveals the tormented path that led Booth to conclude, as the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, that the only way to revive the South and punish the North for the war would be to murder Lincoln--whatever the cost to himself or others. The textured and compelling narrative gives new depth to the familiar events at Ford's Theatre and the aftermath that followed, culminating in Booth's capture and death at the hands of Union soldiers 150 years ago. Based on original research into government archives, historical libraries, and family records, Fortune's Fool offers the definitive portrait of John Wilkes Booth.

In defensive mimicry, resemblance between unequally defended species can be parasitic; this phenomenon has been termed quasi-Batesian mimicry. Few studies have used real co-mimics and their predators to test whether the mimetic interactions were parasitic. Here, we investigated the mimetic interaction between two well-defended insect species, the bombardier beetle Pheropsophus occipitalis jessoensis (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and the assassin bug Sirthenea flavipes (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), using their potential predator, the pond frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Anura: Ranidae), which coexists with these insect species in the same habitat in Japan. We observed behavioural responses of this frog species (adults and juveniles) to adult Ph . occipitalis jessoensis and adult S . flavipes under laboratory conditions. Among the frogs, 100% and 75% rejected Ph . occipitalis jessoensis and S . flavipes , respectively, suggesting that, compared with the assassin bug S . flavipes , the bombardier beetle Ph . occipitalis jessoensis is more well-defended against frogs. An assassin bug or a bombardier beetle was provided to a frog that had encountered the other insect species. Frogs with a history of assassin bug encounter demonstrated a lower rate of attack toward bombardier beetles. Similarly, frogs with a history of bombardier beetle encounter demonstrated a lower rate of attack toward assassin bugs. Therefore, both the bombardier beetle Ph . occipitalis jessoensis and the assassin bug S . flavipes benefit from the mimetic interaction.

This study was conducted in Tashkent in 2022 – 2023. As a result of this study, the species Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857, was discovered for the first time for the fauna of Uzbekistan. Zelus renardii is an invasive species that has recently been actively spreading in new territories for it. Most likely, the samples we found were imported to Uzbekistan from Turkey.

Invasive non-native predators significantly impact biotic communities, affecting native species through both direct and indirect interactions. Native species have evolved warning colors and defensive mimicry in response to selective pressures from native predators. These adaptations can be influenced by non-native predators, although few studies have focused on their impacts on mimetic interactions. In this study, we examined the impact of the invasive non-native American bullfrog (Aquarana catesbeiana) on the mimetic interaction between two native insect species: the bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus occipitalis jessoensis) and the assassin bug (Sirthenea flavipes). These insects, well-defended against the native pond frog (Pelophylax nigromaculatus), now also confront the invasive bullfrog in Japan. Our laboratory observations revealed that both native and invasive frogs consistently rejected the bombardier beetle due to its chemical defenses. Although 75% of native frogs rejected the assassin bug due to its defensive stab, only 30% of bullfrogs did so. Further experiments showed that bullfrogs’ previous encounters with one of these insects influenced their response to the other. Specifically, bullfrogs with prior exposure to bombardier beetles were less likely to attack assassin bugs. These findings suggest that assassin bugs may benefit more from the mimetic interaction via invasive bullfrogs compared to bombardier beetles, although both insect species benefit from the mimetic interaction via native frogs. Therefore, the presence of invasive bullfrogs could significantly alter the mimetic interactions between these native insect species. Consequently, mimetic interactions between natives may mitigate the impacts of non-native predators on native co-mimics.

Assassin bugs are venomous insects that prey on other arthropods. Their venom has lethal, paralytic, and liquifying effects when injected into prey, but the toxins responsible for these effects are unknown. To identify bioactive assassin bug toxins, venom was harvested from the red tiger assassin bug (Havinthus rufovarius), an Australian species whose venom has not previously been characterised. The venom was fractionated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and four fractions were found to cause paralysis and death when injected into sheep blowflies (Lucilia cuprina). The amino acid sequences of the major proteins in two of these fractions were elucidated by comparing liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry data with a translated venom-gland transcriptome. The most abundant components were identified as a solitary 12.8 kDa CUB (complement C1r/C1s, Uegf, Bmp1) domain protein and a 9.5 kDa cystatin. CUB domains are present in multidomain proteins with diverse functions, including insect proteases. Although solitary CUB domain proteins have been reported to exist in other heteropteran venoms, such as that of the bee killer assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis, their function is unknown, and they have not previously been reported as lethal or paralysis-inducing. Cystatins occur in the venoms of spiders and snakes, but again with an unknown function. Reduction and alkylation experiments revealed that the H. rufovarius venom cystatin featured five cysteine residues, one of which featured a free sulfhydryl group. These data suggest that solitary CUB domain proteins and/or cystatins may contribute to the insecticidal activity of assassin bug venom.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to estimate the probable impact of predation of the exotic snail Anentome helena on two co-occurring freshwater snails, Racesina luteola and Physella acuta, in the laboratory set-up. Methodology: In the initial experiment, the predatory efficiency of A. helena was observed using R. luteola and P. acuta as prey, separately, under varying prey and predator densities. In the following experiment, the prey snails were provided in both conspecific and heterospecific conditions with different predator densities to deduce the prey preference of A. helena, if any. Results: The experiments show that A. helena can consume a considerable number of R. luteola and P. acuta. The predation rate of A. helena varied significantly (p< 0.0001) with different sizes of prey, prey and predator densities. Although the predation rate differed among conspecific and heterospecific prey conditions, A. helena did not demonstrate any significant prey preference towards any of the prey. Interpretation: The study revealed that the chance dispersal of predator A. helena from household aquaria to natural habitats may directly impact the population of the freshwater snail R. luteola and P. acuta.

The Heteroptera are a diverse suborder of phytophagous, hematophagous, and zoophagous insects. The shift to zoophagy can be traced back to the transformation of salivary glands into venom glands, but the venom is used not only to kill and digest invertebrate prey but also as a defense strategy, mainly against vertebrates. In this study, we used an integrated transcriptomics and proteomics approach to compare the composition of venoms from the anterior main gland (AMG) and posterior main gland (PMG) of the reduviid bugs Platymeris biguttatus L. and Psytalla horrida Stål. In both species, the AMG and PMG secreted distinct protein mixtures with few interspecific differences. PMG venom consisted mostly of S1 proteases, redulysins, Ptu1‐like peptides, and uncharacterized proteins, whereas AMG venom contained hemolysins and cystatins. There was a remarkable difference in biological activity between the AMG and PMG venoms, with only PMG venom conferring digestive, neurotoxic, hemolytic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic effects. Proteomic analysis of venom samples revealed the context‐dependent use of AMG and PMG venom. Although both species secreted PMG venom alone to overwhelm their prey and facilitate digestion, the deployment of defensive venom was species‐dependent. P. biguttatus almost exclusively used PMG venom for defense, whereas P. horrida secreted PMG venom in response to mild harassment but AMG venom in response to more intense harassment. This intriguing context‐dependent use of defensive venom indicates that future research should focus on species‐dependent differences in venom composition and defense strategies among predatory Heteroptera. In true bugs, venom is used not only to kill and digest invertebrate prey but also defensively when they are disturbed. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of venom components from two assassin bug species, employing a combination of transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, conducted in vitro bioactivity assays to investigate venom effects and identified context‐dependent venom deployment. Our comprehensive analysis of venom composition, effects, and deployment by two assassin bugs revealed intriguing species‐dependent differences and highlights the complexity and context dependence of venomous insect behavior.

The genus Grypoctonus Speiser, 1928 (Diptera: Asilidae) is a fuzzy-looking assassin fly, and adults have only been observed in autumn and winter. Currently containing four described species, this genus is readily distinguished from other Chinese asilids by the presence of two r-m crossveins. Through integrative taxonomic analysis of over 200 specimens from multiple Chinese provinces, we combined morphological assessment with DNA barcoding and four species delimitation methods (ABGD, ASAP, mPTP, and GMYC). Four species are newly described: G. aureus sp. nov., G. sagittatus sp. nov., G. solarius sp. nov., and G. yongshani sp. nov. (the latter described solely from morphological examination of historical specimens). Genetic analyses revealed distinct barcoding gaps, with an interspecific distance of 1.38–7.07% versus an intraspecific distance of no more than 0.92%. We revised the generic diagnosis, provided a distribution map, and a revised key to all known species of Grypoctonus.

We recently published the description of three new species of the genus Biasticus Stål, 1867 (Insecta, Heteroptera, Reduviidae, Harpactorinae) from Central Highlands, Vietnam (Ha NL, Truong XL, Ishikawa T, Jaitrong W, Lee CF, Chouangthavy B, Eguchi K 2022). However, the first author made mistakes when indicating the deposition of the holotype and paratype of the three new species regardless of some regulations and agreements about those specimens. In this corrigendum, we made a revision of the status of the holotype and paratype deposition.

A lawyer-turned-terrorist is catapulted on a mission traversing Cairo, Sudan, Paris and Afghanistan in this revenge thriller deftly-written by a Middle East political insider A lifetime ago, Fakhreddin had been an idealistic young lawyer, seeking to fight corruption from his modest quarter of Cairo.