Alternative strategies to the common practice of spraying with insecticide in order to control the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea (Pass.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) are required. Biological control by natural enemies is a possible tool. In Asturies, despite the tradition of growing local cider apple trees, there are no studies about the community of D. plantaginea predators and their impact ...

Mass releases of two parasitoid species, Aphidius matricariae and Ephedrus cerasicola, may provide an alternative measure to pesticides control the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea in organic orchards. As exploratory study, we tested if presence flower strips between tree rows could improve action three early releases––and other naturally present enemies––on colonies number aphids per tree...

The aim of this study was to determine whether britanin, isolated from the flowers of Inula japonica (Inulae Flos), modulates the generation of allergic inflammatory mediators in activated mast cells. To understand the biological activity of britanin, the authors investigated its effects on the generation of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), leukotriene C4 (LTC4), and degranulation in IgE/Ag-induced bon...

All aphid species studied so far share the same sex pheromone components, nepetalactol and nepetalactone. Variation by different enantiomers and blends of the two components released by different aphid species are limited and can only partially explain species-specific attraction of males to females. While some host-plant odours are known to enhance specific attraction of aphid species, herbivo...

The adaptive value of autumn colours is still a puzzle for evolutionary biology. It has been suggested that autumn colours are a warning signal to insects that use the trees as a host. I show that aphids (Dysaphis plantaginea) avoid apple trees (Malus pumila) with red leaves in autumn and that their fitness in spring is lower on these trees, which suggests that red leaves are an honest signal o...

Adulterant herbal materials are a threat to consumer safety. In this study, we used DNA barcoding to investigate the proportions and varieties of adulterant species in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) markets. We used a DNA barcode database of TCM (TCMD) that was established by our group to investigate 1436 samples representing 295 medicinal species from 7 primary TCM markets in China. The re...