The ectoparasite fauna for island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on Santa Cruz Island (California, USA) in April (wet season) and September (dry season) 1998 was evaluated. Three taxa of ectoparasites were identified. These were fleas (Pulex irritans), lice (Neotrichodectes mephitidis), and ticks (Ixodes pacificus). Ectoparasite abundances varied seasonally. Typical of insular endemic species, isla...

We describe a new Amphisbaena from the Brazilian coastal zone at the municipalities of Guamaré and Macau, state of Rio Grande do Norte. The new species, Amphisbaena littoralis sp. nov., is characterized by six precloacal pores, 252-264 body annuli, 30-34 tail annuli with autotomy on the 6th tail annuli, 20-22 dorsal and 21-24 ventral segments to the midbody annulus.

Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of egg lipids during development of Spodoptera littoralis showed the presence of 13 fatty acids ranging in carbon chain length from caproic (C6:0) to linolenic acid (C 18:3). Palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids composed over 90% of the total fatty acids. Palmitic acid was always the predominant fatty acid and oleic acid was the second mos...

There is an increasing appreciation of the importance of transgenerational effects on offspring fitness, including in relation to immune function and disease resistance. Here, we assess the impact of parental rearing density on offspring resistance to viral challenge in an insect species expressing density-dependent prophylaxis (DDP); i.e. the adaptive increase in resistance or tolerance to pat...

Climate warming is expected to impact the response of species insecticides. Recent studies show that this interaction between insecticides and temperature can depend on other factors. Here, we tested for influence transgenerational effects Insecticide × Temperature in crop pest moth Spodoptera littoralis. Specifically, analysed reaction norms among experimental clutches based a split-plot desig...

The induced defense response in plants towards herbivores is mainly regulated by jasmonates and leads to the accumulation of so-called jasmonate-induced proteins. Recently, a jasmonate (JA) inducible lectin called Nicotiana tabacum agglutinin or NICTABA was discovered in tobacco (N. tabacum cv Samsun) leaves. Tobacco plants also accumulate the lectin after insect attack by caterpillars. To stud...

Adult Lepidoptera use their antennae to probe their distant and proximate environment with sensory organs which detect volatile and contact chemicals. In this work, we have investigated the role and the sensitivity of antennal contact chemoreceptors of Spodoptera littoralis. Adults of both sexes have long and filiform antennae composed of about 70 flagellomeres. Each flagellomere bears six tast...