[en] The biology and predatory potential of Coccinella septempunctata (Linn.) were studied on aphid, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) at three constant temperatures 20+-1 degree C, 25+-1 degree C and 30+-1 degree C in Insectary-Bio Control Laboratories, National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. The results revealed that incubation period of C. septempunctata was 5.12, 3.62 and 3.20 days with 75.6%, 82.0% and 71.2% hatchability, respectively. The larval durations were 29.5, 15.9 and 8.1 days with predatory potential of 573.7, 575.0 and 667.8 aphids per larvae. The results indicated that with increasing temperature, develop-mental duration decreases significantly. The pupal developmental duration was 14.0, 9.2 and 5.2 days, respectively which are significantly different from each other. The adult male and female longevity were 44.7, 37.7, 30.0 and 60.3, 58.9 and 43.7 days. Fecundity rate of females were 123.5, 251.5 and 293.2 eggs per female, respectively. This indicates that adult male and female developmental duration, female fecundity rate were significantly different from each other at three constant temperatures. Maximum female and male predatory potential was 3262.8 and 2571.7 aphids at 25 +-1 degree C while minimum was 2276.8 and 1890.6 aphids, respectively. (author)

[en] The primary objective of this project is to investigate the effects of global change on the biodiversity of aphid communities in Western Europe. Biodiversity has been examined at 3 levels: total number of species, phenology and reproductive strategy. Data were provided by EXAMINE, the European suction traps network which has been now operating for 35 years. 392 different species have been identified. At each location, total number of species has been regularly increasing, one additional species being caught every 1 or 2 years depending on location. This is due to introduced species but also to warming which favours rare species. No general trend of increasing density has been detected, but phenological earliness of almost all species (annual date of first appearance in suction traps) is strongly correlated with temperature and especially with mean daily temperature (during more or less long periods of time lying principally in February and March) or number of days below 0 C. Strong relationships between aphid phenology and environmental variables have been found and there is strong discrimination between species with different life cycle strategies, and between species feeding on herbs and trees, suggesting the possible value of trait-based groupings in predicting responses to environmental changes. These preliminary results suggest that 1) biodiversity has increased during the last decades; 2) there is a pool of species among which some of them reach a detectable density only during years where temperatures are high enough; 3) a set of newly introduced species succeed in settling being favoured by warming and 4) phenology of aphids is expected to advance and their abundance to increase with temperature, and the possible role of natural enemies to regulate abundant species is discussed. (author)

No abstract available

[en] Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) has a broad aphid host range; however the quality of these preys may interfere in its biological feature. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of three Macrosiphini, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.), Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and three Aphidini Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch) and Aphis gossypii Glover as hosts to L. testaceipes and to determine the relation possible of host preference, of size and quality of the host. The tests were carried out in climatic chamber at 25 ± 1 deg C, RH 70 ± 10% and 12h photophase. The parasitoid did not oviposite in B. brassicae and L. erysimi, while the other species were nutritionally suitable to the parasitoid. L. testaceipes showed preference for aphids from tribe Aphidini and these hosts presented better quality to the parasitoid when compared to Macrosiphini. Interactions among size, preference and quality between the Aphidini were found. L. testaceipes showed preference (parasitism rate 76.7%) for R. maidis, the bigger host (hind tibia with 0.281 mm). This host provided bigger size (hind tibia with 0.49 mm) and higher emergence rate (95.6%) to the parasitoid when compared to A. gossypii (parasitism rate of 55.7%). Also the smaller host A. gossypii (0.266 mm) provided smaller size hind tibia (0.45 mm) and higher mortality of the parasitoid (emergence rate 72.1%). However, the development time was shorter and the longevity was higher in A. gossypii (6.3 and 5.4 days, respectively) when compared to the host R. maidis (6.7 and 3.8 days, respectively), and not been related to host size. (author)

[en] Predator species under field conditions can face different and variable densities of prey species. This work evaluated the functional response of the neotropical lady beetle Eriopis connexa (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) subjected to different densities of the aphids Brevicoryne brassicae and Aphids craccivora (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Thus, predation rates were analyzed of fourth-instar larvae and one-day old adults of the lady beetle preying upon the aphids at constant densities of 20, 40, 50, 60, and 70 aphids with 15 repetitions per density. The aphids were offered on 5 cm leaf discs of each plant host. The handling times and attack rates were 0.03 h-1 and 0.27 h-1 for larvae and 0.03 h-1 and 0.15 h-1 for adults fed B. brassicae and 0.59 h-1 and 0.35 h-1 for larvae and 0.70 h-1 and 0.95 h-1 for adults fed A. craccivora, respectively. Both larva and adult lady beetles increased predation rate as a function of prey density offered, with an estimated maximum number of prey consumed of 30.3 and 31.6 B. brassicae and 36.3 and 34.6 of A. craccivora by larva and adult lady beetles at the highest prey density, respectively. In conclusion, larvae and adults of E. connexa exhibited a type II functional response.

No abstract available

[en] Small differences in resistance are often available to plant breeders but their use presents practical difficulties, needing sensitive assessment techniques and careful evaluation in the field. Low levels of resistance to aphids in sugar beet, field beans and adult cereal plants were observed in the glasshouse. Field experiments with resistant beet showed reduction of aphid numbers and in some years of virus yellows infection. Breeding programmes in progress with sugar beet and field beans (V. faba) are based on selection amongst small differences of resistance to aphids. It is argued that low-level resistance can contribute significantly to the success of breeding for resistance, whether based on natural variation or on induced mutation. The time over which resistance remains useful in agriculture depends unpredictably on the evolutionary relationship between crop plants and their pests, but low levels of resistance should maintain their usefulness. (author)

[en] Sacha inchi, Plukenetia volubilis L. (Euphorbiaceae: Malpighiales) is a nut native to South America and has economic importance, including food production, cosmetics, and medicinal purposes. To date, no data is available on the tritrophic interactions among P. volubilis, insects, and the microbe species, thus this will be the first data obtained worldwide. Interestingly, this study has highlighted the aphids, the pests of Sacha inchi, predator of aphids, and the microfungi infecting the predators. The data was collected from an organic farm, as a model sampling site in two fruiting seasons. In this study, aphids species (Aphididae: Hemiptera) that infesting the Sacha inchi tree, and their predators (ladybirds) (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera) have been discovered morphologically and molecularly. The species taxonomic status on both species’ groups (aphids and ladybirds) were confirmed using cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), which successfully documented 12 species (9 genera, 3 subfamilies) of ladybirds that parasitizing nine aphids species (8 genera, 5 subfamilies). Furthermore, the ant species, Camponotus sp. (Formicinae: Hymenoptera) was identified morphologically and was observed to act as a natural enemy of Cryptogonus spp. (Coccinellidae). Besides that, the seed of the Sacha inchi was also recorded to be infested by an ant species, Crematogaster sp. (Myrmicinae: Hymenoptera). Moreover, a ladybird species, Coccinella transversalis was infected with microfungi, Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota: Fungi). Based on the findings, all the species distinctly separated and presented on the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) tree using the COI sequences, and the dominant coefficient analysis for all the species was calculated. Our results presented the first and novel data findings from Malaysia and worldwide on the interaction among the Sacha inchi, insects, and microbe. It is very important as preparation data for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by structuring the control management through green practices against the pest species, whenever the situation is required. (author)

[en] The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glove, is one of the pests of cotton crop and its relation with the host seem to depend on the amount of nitrogen available to the plant. The biology of A. gossypii using different cotton nitrogen fertility regimes was studied under greenhouse conditions, in Dourados, MS. A completely randomized design with nine replications in a factorial scheme (2x4x2)+1 was used. Two nitrogen sources (sulphate of ammonium and urea), four doses of nitrogen (50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1), two different times of nitrogen application and one additional treatment without nitrogen were taken as factors. The nymphal phases, the pre-reproductive, reproductive and pos-reproductive periods, longevity, the life cycle and fecundity of the cotton aphid were evaluated. The doses of nitrogen influenced the cotton aphid biology in both sources and times of application, favoring its development and fecundity. (author)

[en] The purpose of this study was to explore a possible relationship between the soil availability of metals and their concentrations in various parts of Philadelphuscoronarius plants. Moreover, the possible impact of an aphid infestation on the contamination and antioxidant response of plants from the urban environment of Krakow and the reference rural area of Zagaje Stradowskie (southern Poland) was analyzed. The contents of the glutathione, proline, non-protein - SH groups, antioxidants, and phosphorous and the levels of guaiacol peroxidase and catalase activity in leaves and shoots either infested or not by the aphid Aphis fabae Scop., were measured. The potential bioavailability of metals (Cd; Cu; Ni; Pb; Zn) in the soil and their concentrations in P. coronarius plants originating from both sites were compared. The antioxidant responses were generally elevated in the plants in the polluted area. Such reactions were additionally changed by aphid infestation. Generally, the concentrations of metals in the HNO₃ and CaCl₂ extractants of the soils from two layers at the 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths from the polluted area were higher than in those from the reference area. Such differences were found for nickel and lead (in all examined extractants), zinc (in soil extractants from the layer at 20-40 cm) and cadmium (in HNO₃ extractants). Significant positive relationships between the lead concentrations in the soil and in the plants were found. In the parts of plants from the polluted area, higher concentrations of Pb and Zn (leaves and shoots) and Cd (shoots) were recorded. The shoots and leaves of plants infested with aphids had higher concentrations of Zn but lower Pb. Moreover, their leaves had higher contaminations of Cu and Ni. In conclusion, aphids affected not only the antioxidant response of the plants but also their contamination with metals, especially contamination of the leaves.