Sawflies are important pests of various plant species. Diprion pini (L.) and Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) are two of the most important sawfly pests in Italy, and both species are parasitized by the hymenopteran parasitoid Dahlbominus fuscipennis (Zetterstedt). Bacterial endosymbionts are currently studied for their high potential in strategies of biocontrol in a nu...

We herein report the design of a dumbbell-shaped DNA probe that integrates target-binding, amplification and signaling within one multifunctional design. The dumbbell probe can initiate rolling circle amplification (D-RCA) in the presence of specific microRNA (miRNA) targets. This D-RCA-based miRNA strategy allows quantification of miRNA with very low quantity of RNA samples. The femtomolar sen...

Five genera and 26 species belonging to two subfamilies Arteminae Simon, 1893 (one genus and one species) and Pholcinae C.L. Koch, 1850 (four genera and 25 species) are reported from northern Vietnam, including 19 new species of three genera: Belisana babensis sp. nov. (male, female; Bac Kan), B. cheni sp. nov. (male, female; Bac Kan), B. clavata sp. nov. (male; Ha Giang), B. curva sp. nov. (ma...

Lake Rauwbraken was impacted by eutrophication caused diffuse external phosphorus (P) loads (total 1.21 mg m−2 d−1, estimated in 2008). Over 40 years, this load built up a legacy pool the sediments, resulting 6.82 d−1 PO4-P internal (estimated 2008), causing cyanobacterial blooms and swimming bans. To address lake, low dose treatment of flocculant (polyaluminium chloride) combined with solid ph...

[4] J. Finsterbusch and M. A. Koch, J. Magn. Reson. 195, 23 (2008) [2] Callaghan, P. E. and Komlosh, M. E., Magn. Reson. Chem., 40, S15 (2002) [5] M. A. Koch and J. Finsterbusch, Proc. ISMRM 16, 764 (2008) [3] M. A. Koch and J. Finsterbusch, Magn. Reson. Med. 60, 90 (2008) Fig. 1: Histograms of signal difference between anti-parallel and parallel gradient orientations, (S(q,π)-S(q,0))/S0, in a ...

Some parasites have an ability to fabricate the behavior of their host and impel the host to guard parasites' offspring, which is popularly called as bodyguard manipulation. Psalis pennatula larva parasitized by a braconid parasitoid wasp Microplitis pennatula exhibits some behavioral changes including the guarding of the parasitoid pupa from its natural enemies. We hypothesized that these beha...

The knowledge on ovigeny in parasitoids is important for basic studies on physiology and applied biological control. The ovigeny pattern and type of ovariole of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare & LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were studied in newly-emerged females at seven, 14, 24 and 48 h intervals after their emergence from Tenebrio molitor L. pupae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)....

The mass rearing of parasitoids represents a fundamental stage for programmes of biological control. The progeny of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare and LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were evaluated on previously refrigerated pupae of Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). Forty-eight to 72 hours-old pupae of B. mori were stored at 10 degrees C for five, 10, 15 or 20 days and ...

Recent attention has focused on the harmful effects of introduced biological control agents on nontarget species. The parasitoid Compsilura concinnata is a notable example of such biological control gone wrong. Introduced in 1906 primarily for control of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, this tachinid fly now attacks more than 180 species of native Lepidoptera in North America. While it did not pre...