Critical size at which metamorphosis is initiated represents an important checkpoint in insect development. Here, we use experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to test the long-standing hypothesis that larval malnutrition should favour a smaller critical size. We report that six fly populations subject to 112 generations of laboratory natural selection on an extremely poor larval foo...

Background The Mantispidae are a distinctive group of Neuroptera known for the adults' possession of raptorial forelegs. There are four recognised, extant subfamilies of Mantispidae: the Mantispinae, Symphrasinae, Calomantispinae and Drepanicinae. The life history and larval behaviour of the subfamily Mantispinae is best known: the immatures are spider egg predators. Among the three remaining s...

International efforts are underway to establish well-connected systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering at least 10% of the ocean by 2020. But the nature and dynamics of ocean ecosystem connectivity are poorly understood, with unresolved effects of climate variability. We used 40-year runs of a particle tracking model to examine the sensitivity of an MPA network for habitat-forming col...

Blowflies utilize discrete and ephemeral breeding sites for larval nutrition. After the exhaustion of food, larvae begin dispersing in search of sites to pupate or additional food sources, a process referred as postfeeding larval dispersal. Some of the most important aspects of this process were investigated in the blowfly Chrysomya albiceps, employing a circular arena to allow radial dispersio...

the elm leaf beetle xanthogaleruca luteola müller (coleoptera: chrysomelidae), is a serious pest of elm (ulmus spp.) throughout iran. in the present study, lethal and sublethal effects of neem, achook® containing 0.03% azadirachtin, were assessed on mortality, growth, larval weight and feeding deterrence as well as enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities of third instar larvae of the elm leaf be...

We studied life history responses of larvae of three coccinellid species, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, and Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), when deprived of food for different periods of time during the fourth stadium. The coccinellid species did not differ in starvation resistance when larvae were starved throughout the stadium; however, for larvae fed onl...

The composition of a chloroform seed extract of C. papaya was determined by GC-MS. Nineteen compounds were identified, with oleic (45.97%), palmitic (24.1%) and stearic (8.52%) acids being the main components. The insecticidal and insectistatic activities of the extract and the three main constituents were tested. Larval duration increased by 3.4 d and 2.5 d when the extract was used at 16,000 ...

Consumption rates, development times, and life table parameters of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), were determined on Þve host plants: cabbage, Brassica oleracea capitata L; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L.; bell pepper, Capsicum annuum L.; pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L.; and sunßower, Helianthus annuus L. Mean total leaf weight consumed by larvae was highest in cabbage (2.7 g) ...