The metameric organization of the insect body plan is initiated with the activation of gap genes, a set of transcription-factor-encoding genes that are zygotically expressed in broad and partially overlapping domains along the anteroposterior (AP) axis of the early embryo. The spatial pattern of gap gene expression domains along the AP axis is generally conserved, but the maternal genes that re...

The exotic syrphid Eumerus strigatus (Fallén) is reported for the first time in Argentina. Individuals of this species were captured two sites distant more than 1,000 km (Villalonga, province Buenos Aires, and Pocito, San Juan) associated with onion crops (Allium cepa L.). We propose monitoring phytophagous hover fly because its potential risk important horticultural crop

The ancient Great Wall of China has long suffered from damage due to natural factors and human activities. A small low-cost unmanned helicopter system with a laser scanner and a digital camera is developed to efficiently visualize the status of the huge Great Wall area. The goal of the system is to achieve 3D digitisation of the large-scale Great Wall using a combination of fly-hover-scan and f...

Materials and methods: On 15 British farms, invertebrate communities were trapcollected (14 per year), counted, and sorted into species groups. Lawsonia serological tests were conducted and total DNA was extracted from pig feces; DNA was also extracted from adult flies, pupae, and larvae samples and viscera of Blatta species. Each DNA sample was tested for L intracellularis by polymerase chain ...

This paper presents a relaxed definition of hover for multicopters with propellers pointing in a common direction. These solutions are found by requiring that the multicopter remain substantially in one position, and that the solutions be constant when expressed in a coordinate system attached to the vehicle. The vehicle’s angular velocity is then shown to be either zero or parallel to gravity....

Most hummingbirds and some species of nectar bats hover while feeding on floral nectar. While doing so, they achieve some of the highest mass-specific V(O(2)) values among vertebrates. This is made possible by enhanced functional capacities of various elements of the 'O(2) transport cascade', the pathway of O(2) from the external environment to muscle mitochondria. Fasted hummingbirds and necta...

This paper describes the design of dragonfly-inspired robots. Dragonflies demonstrate unique and superior flight performances than most of the other insect species. They are equipped with two pairs of independently controlled wings. The high level of dexterity in wing motion of the dragonfly allows it to hover, fly fast forward, make turns rapidly, fly sideways, and even glide. A dragonfly-insp...

Here, we describe a nano-scale surface structure on the rat-tailed maggot, the aquatic larva of the Drone fly Eristalis tenax(L.). Larvae of this syrphid hover fly live in stagnant, anaerobic water-courses that are rich in organic matter. The larvae burrow into fetid slurry and feed on microorganisms which they filter out from the organic material. This environment is rich in bacteria, fungi an...

'Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of Man could invent. We could not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. Ifwe could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs and peep in at the queer things which are going on; the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful c...