The success of beetles is mainly attributed to the possibility to hide the hindwings under the sclerotised elytra. The acquisition of the transverse folding function of the hind wing is an important event in the evolutionary history of beetles. In this study, the morphological and functional variances in the hind wings of 94 leaf beetle species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelinae) is explored using geom...

We present the first morphological study of larvae and adults of Mikado sp. - one of the smallest known beetles and free-living insects (body length of adult is 390-455microm). Morphological and developmental consequences of miniaturisation in Mikado and insects in general are discussed. We used histological sectioning, scanning electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy and 3D-computer rec...

Aggregation behavior of herbivorous insects is mediated by a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors. It has been suggested that aggregation behavior of the blue willow leaf beetle Phratora vulgatissima is mediated by both host plant odor and by odor released by the beetles. Previous studies show that the beetles respond to plant odors according to their prior host plant experiences. Here, we ...

We conducted laboratory and Þeld bioassays to characterize the pheromone system of an ash bark beetle, Hylesinus pruinosus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae). Solitary females in newly initiated galleries in ash logs produced ( )-exo-brevicomin, whereas male beetles paired with females produced ( )-endo-brevicomin, lesser quantities of ( )-exo-brevicomin, and a third compound that...

Individuals of widely spread species are expected to show local adaption in temperature tolerance as they encounter a range of thermal conditions. We tracked thermal adaptations of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) that invaded Europe within the last 100 years. It has occupied various conditions although, like the majority of invasive species, it lost a measurable amount of...

Cucumber beetles, Acalymma vittatum (F.) and Diabrotica undecipunctata howardi (Barber), are specialist herbivores of cucurbits and the vector of Erwinia tracheiphila (E.F. Smith) Holland, the causative agent of wilt disease. Cucumber beetles transmit E. tracheiphila when infected frass falls onto leaf wounds at the site of beetle feeding. We show that E. tracheiphila also can be transmitted vi...

Johansson, T. 2006. The conservation of saproxylic beetles in boreal forest: importance of forest management and dead wood characteristics Doctoral dissertation ISSN 1652-6880, ISBN 91-576-7115-X Forest management has altered the age structure, tree species composition and dead wood availability of Swedish boreal forests. As a consequence, many saproxylic (wood living) insect species have decre...

Investigation of gas exchange patterns and modulation of metabolism provide insight into metabolic control systems and evolution in diverse terrestrial environments. Variation in metabolic rate in response to environmental conditions has been explained largely in the context of two contrasting hypotheses, namely metabolic depression in response to stressful or resource-(e.g. water) limited cond...

The role of bacteria in animal development, ecology and evolution is increasingly well understood, yet little is known of how animal behaviour affects bacterial communities. Animals that benefit from defending a key resource from microbial competitors are likely to evolve behaviours to control or manipulate the animal's associated external microbiota. We describe four possible mechanisms by whi...

background: the main object of this experimental work was to practise laboratory production both adult and the larval stage of hymenolepis diminuta with conventional modification to make further studies easier. materials & method: adults h. diminuta were collected from urban rats in tehran, iran. the beetles became infected using blended gravid segments with flour as bait. cysticercoids have be...