Inclusions of wood debris loosened from pine-like trees are abundant in Baltic amber of Eocene and Oligocene age. The possibilities to find insect frass and excrement among wood debris are outlined and some examples are given. Comparison with the frass and excrement produced by present-day insects provide a possibility to identify insects even though their fossils are lacking. This information ...

The ecosystem consequences of intraspecific genetic variation is an emerging field of research that strengthens the link between population and ecosystem ecology. Despite recent advances, it remains unclear under what conditions (abiotic and biotic) plant genetic variation will be important to belowground processes. Forest canopy herbivores can have large influences on soil processes by alterin...

The larvae of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Dru.), though vulnerable to cyanide poisoning, consume the cyanogenic leaves of black cherry, Prunus serotina, without apparent harm. The cyanide contents of leaves, defensive regurgitant, the bolus, and frass were assayed by ion chromatography to determine the fate of the toxin in the caterpillar. Leaves collected in September, when the caterpi...

The dynamics of association between pathogens and vectors can strongly influence epidemiology. It has been proposed that wilt disease epidemics in cucurbit populations are sustained by persistent colonization of beetle vectors (Acalymma vittatum) by the bacterial phytopathogen Erwinia tracheiphila. We developed a qPCR method to quantify E. tracheiphila in whole beetles and frass and used it to ...

This thesis is based on three inter-related studies: the first part deals with the microbial consortium, the identification of microbes and their volatiles, the second part deals with the study of bio-chemical control methods of two conifer pests; the pine weevil Hylobius abietis (L.) and the root rot fungi Heterobasidion spp., and the third part describes the production of styrene by a fungus ...

Invertebrate iridescent virus 6 (IIV6) was determined to cause infection in Phyllophaga vandinei Smyth (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) through a range of modes of transmissions. This is the first evidence of IIV6 infection in P. vandinei that caused both patent and sub-lethal infections in larvae and adults. Mortality rates were determined to be ~30% when virus inoculum was injected into larvae or a...