A cytoplasmically inherited microorganism associated with male killing in the two-spot ladybird beetle, Adalia bipunctata, is shown to be closely related to bacteria in the genus Rickettsia. Sequencing of a PCR-amplified product of the 16S genes coding for rRNA (16S rDNA) shows the organism associated with male killing in ladybirds to share a common ancestry with the Rickettsias relative to oth...

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 ...

The male-killing ladybird beetle (LB) bacterium (AB bacterium) was analyzed with specific rickettsial molecular biology tools in the LB Adalia bipunctata strains. Eight phenotype-positive LB strains showing mortality of male embryos were amplified with rickettsial genus-specific primers from the gene for citrate synthase (CS) and the gene for a 17-kDa protein and spotted fever group-specific pr...

Sexually selected male ejaculate traits are expected to depend on the resource state of males. Theory predicts that males in good condition will produce larger ejaculates, but that ejaculate composition will depend on the relative production costs of ejaculate components and the risk of sperm competition experienced by low- and high-condition males. Under some conditions, when low condition lea...