The hypothesis that rapid [gamma]-aminobutyrate (GABA) accumulation is a plant defense against phytophagous insects was investigated. Increasing GABA levels in a synthetic diet from 1.6 to 2.6 [mu]mol g-1 fresh weight reduced the growth rates, developmental rates, and survival rates of cultured Choristoneura rosaceana cv Harris larvae. Simulation of the mechanical damage resulting from phytopha...

medicinal plants were used from past to present. different small arthropods such as acari were found on these plants. therefore a study on the acari fauna associated with some medicinal plants (family: asteraceae) in hamedan region was carried out during 2008–2009. in this survey, 23 species belonging 18 genera from 15 different families of the subclass acari were collected and identified. two ...

anastrepha bezzii (diptera: tephritidae) larvae are common inside fruits of sterculia chicha (malvaceae) in minas gerais state, brazil. the seed dormancy and attack by a. bezzii of the native species s.chicha can be detrimental to seed germination and thus the natural spread of this plant. the objectives of the current study were to compare ecological observations of a. bezzii and s. chicha in ...

There is growing awareness of the importance of natural selection in driving genetic divergence and speciation, and several of the most apparent cases of this ecological speciation are provided by the existence of genetically distinct host forms in phytophagous insects. Such examples of host-associated differentiation (HAD) have become increasingly documented, and the implications of this pheno...

This review reevaluates the importance of interspecific competition in the population biology of phytophagous insects and assesses factors that mediate competition. An examination of 193 pair-wise species interactions, repre­ senting all major feeding guilds, provided information on the occurrence, frequency, symmetry, consequences, and mechanisms of competition. Inter­ specific competition occ...

The chemical composition of the watery saliva of hemipteran (both homopteran and heteropteran) insects is crucial for effective feeding, because these insects rely heavily on saliva for extra-oral digestion (Cohen, 1995, 1996, 1998) or detoxification of defensive chemicals (Miles & Oertli, 1993). For phytophagous hemipterans, saliva can also be involved in plant injury. Yet, salivary compositio...

Abstract Background There is a consensus that the conservation of natural enemies most important biological control strategy, but it has also been least attended. The reason simple: there strong contradiction between modern agriculture and control. Various strategies have proposed for enemies, among others, protection against pesticides establishment nectar plants as alternative food. Less atte...

The importance of interspecific competition is a highly controversial and unresolved issue for community ecology in general, and for phytophagous insects in particular. Recent advancements, however, in our understanding of indirect (plant- and enemy-mediated) interactions challenge the historical paradigms of competition. Thus, in the context of this rapidly developing field, we re-evaluate the...

Sympatric speciation is the splitting of one evolutionary lineage into two without the occurrence of geographic isolation. The concept has been intimately tied to entomology since the 1860s, when Benjamin Walsh proposed that many host-specific phytophagous insects originate by shifting and adapting to new host plant species. If true, sympatric speciation would have tremendous implications for o...