Insect recognition is a hard problem because the difference of appearance between insects is so small that only some entomologist experts can distinguish them. Besides that, insects are often composed of several parts (multiple views) which generate more degrees of freedom. This chapter proposes several discriminative coding approaches and one decision fusion scheme of heterogeneous class sets ...

The transformer-2 gene is involved in sex determination in tephritid flies (Tephritidae). It is required for the auto-regulation of the transformer gene (the memory device for sex determination in these insects) and for the female-specific splicing of doublesex pre-mRNA, the last gene in the sex determination gene cascade. The present manuscript addressed the question of the functional conserva...

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) harbor stable bacterial communities in their digestive system, composed mainly of members of the Enterobacteriaceae. However, the Enterobacteriaceae are not the sole community in this habitat. We examined the hypothesis that Pseudomonas spp. form a cryptic community in the gut of Ceratitis capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly ('medfly'). Suicide polymerase re...

Tephritid fruit flies are a diverse group of phytophagous insects within Diptera with more than 4000 described species. Some tephritids have been thoroughly studied due to their economic importance. Nevertheless, Tephritidae includes numerous species and entire subfamilies that are harmless to man and that in some cases have been beneficial (weed biocontrol agents). Tephritids are acalypterate ...

The present study constitutes a first attempt to identify the larval salivary gland polytene chromosome arms of Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock. This species belongs to the family Tephritidae and is commonly known as the Asian papaya fruit fly. A photographic representation of the polytene chromosomes of this species is provided and the identifying tips as well as most prominent landmarks of ...

Short-fringed or tyrol knapweed, Centaurea dubia (Asteraceae) is an invasive plant of fields and roadsides in the eastern United States. Insects from the plant’s native Eurasian range have been introduced into North America in an attempt to control the spread of related Centaurea species. One of these biological control agents, Urophora quadrifasciata (Diptera: Tephritidae), a picture-winged se...

Host shifts and the formation of insect-host races are likely common processes in the speciation of herbivorous insects. The interactions of goldenrods Solidago (Compositae), the gall fly Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the beetle Mordellistena convicta (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) provide behavioural, ecological and genetic evidence of host races that may represent incipient specie...