The complete arrangement of genes in the mitochondrial (mt) genome is known for 12 species of insects, and part of the gene arrangement in the mt genome is known for over 300 other species of insects. The arrangement of genes in the mt genome is very conserved in insects studied, since all of the protein-coding and rRNA genes and most of the tRNA genes are arranged in the same way. We sequenced...

Insects form an extremely large group of animals and bear a consequently large variety of associated microbes. This microbiota includes very specific and obligate symbionts that provide essential functions to the host, and facultative partners that are not necessarily required for survival. The Tephritidae is a large family that includes many fruit pests such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (the...

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is one of the economically most damaging insects to crops in tropical and subtropical regions. Severe damage is caused by feeding and more seriously by transmitting viruses. Those of the genus begomovirus (Geminiviridae) cause the most significant crop diseases and are transmitted by B. tabaci in a persistent circulative mode, a process which is largely unknown. To an...

Because true bugs continue to pose a challenge to current and future efforts concerning cotton insect management, we must continue to investigate the potential for yield loss under various circumstances. Excessive terminal and fruit losses from insects, specifically the bug complex (stink bugs or plant bugs), in earlysquaring cotton can result in significant loss of canopy structure and yield. ...

We determined the audiograms of two short-tailed fruit bats (Carollia perspicillata), 18-g phyllostomids from Central and South America. For testing, we used a conditioned suppression/avoidance procedure with a fruit juice reward. At an intensity of 60 dB SPL, the hearing of C. perspicillata extends from 5.2 to 150 kHz, showing a best sensitivity of 0 dB at 25 kHz and a secondary region of sens...

Neurotrophin receptors corresponding to vertebrate Trk, p75NTR or Sortilin have not been identified in Drosophila, thus it is unknown how neurotrophism may be implemented in insects. Two Drosophila neurotrophins, DNT1 and DNT2, have nervous system functions, but their receptors are unknown. The Toll receptor superfamily has ancient evolutionary origins and a universal function in innate immunit...

Phenological patterns have a great influence on community ecology. I have quantified fruit abundance using fruit traps, phenological transects, and observations on marked trees of selected species. All methods showed the main peaks of fleshy fruit production between the dry period and the middle of the rainy season. Wind, water, and mechanically dispersed seeds showed a peak of production at th...

Cotton at three stages of crop phenological development was infested with eggs and third instar larvae of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), to determine the effect of larval feeding on fruit damage and yield. Regression analyses indicated that numbers of damaged squares and bolls were significantly (P @ 0.05) influenced by the number of egg masses and third instars placed o...

UNLABELLED Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is the type member of tospoviruses (genus Tospovirus), plant-infecting viruses that cause severe damage to ornamental and vegetable crops. Tospoviruses are transmitted by thrips in the circulative propagative mode. We generated a collection of NSs-defective TSWV isolates and showed that TSWV coding for truncated NSs protein could not be transmitted by...

The primary function of fruit is to attract animals that disperse viable seeds, but the nutritional rewards that attract beneficial consumers also attract consumers that kill seeds instead of dispersing them. Many of these unwanted consumers are microbes, and microbial defense is commonly invoked to explain the bitter, distasteful, occasionally toxic chemicals found in many ripe fruits. This ex...