We compare the efficiencies of different stages of Hippodamia variegata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) preying on Aphis fabae (Scolpoli) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) by estimating the functional responses of all stages. The experiments were carried out on leaf disks in petri dishes with 15-20 replicates. Our results revealed that all larval instars and adult males and females of H. variegata exhibited t...

Last-instar larvae of Bagous elegans (F.), Bagous aliciae Cmoluch, and Bagous lutulosus (Gyllenhal), and the pupa of B. elegans, are described and illustrated for the first time. Biology of these species is analyzed in association with larval morphology and feeding habits. Overall larval and pupal morphological diagnoses of the genus Bagous are updated.

The ambient temperature experienced during development is a crucial factor affecting survival and adult phenotype in ectotherms. Moreover, the exact response of individuals to different temperature regimes is frequently sex-specific. This sex-specific response can result in varying levels of sexual dimorphism according to the experienced conditions. The majority of studies have investigated the...

1. Carbonic anhydrase was measured in tissues of silkmoths, Hyalophora cecropia, reared on either a wheatgerm-based synthetic diet or wild cherry foliage in feeding fifth-instar larvae, throughout the larval-pupal transformation and in newly ecdysed pupae. 2. Carbonic anhydrase activity was present in fat body, midgut and intgeumentary epithelial cells, but not in haemolymph, cuticle or the int...

Biosynthesis of most peptide hormones and neuropeptides requires proteolytic excision of the active peptide from inactive proprotein precursors, an activity carried out by subtilisin-like proprotein convertases (SPCs) in constitutive or regulated secretory pathways. The Drosophila amontillado (amon) gene encodes a homolog of the mammalian PC2 protein, an SPC that functions in the regulated secr...

Two gene-specific probes were generated from the unique sequences in the 3' non-coding regions of the two insecticyanin genes, ins-a and ins-b to study the developmental expression of these genes in Manduca sexta. Both genes were initially transcribed in the freshly hatched first instar larvae and then expressed in the epidermis and to a lesser degree in the fat body during every larval feeding...

The number of larval instars varies widely across insect species. Although instar number is frequently considered to be invariable within species, intraspecific variability in the number of instars is not an exceptional phenomenon. However, the knowledge has remained fragmentary, and there are no recent attempts to synthesize the results of relevant studies. Based on published case studies, we ...

The present study was carried out to establish the properties of Acalypha alnifolia leaf extract and microbial insecticide, Metarizhium anisopliae on larvicidal and pupicidal activity against the lymphatic filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. The methanol extract of A. alnifolia leaf showed larvicidal and pupicidal effects after 24 h of exposure; with, the highest larval and pupal mortality...

Aims: To observe the morphology of the larva of A. aegypti in detail and to evaluate their morphometry. Place and Duration of Study: Place – St. John’s College, Agra. Duration – June, 2011 to May, 2012. Methodology: Morphology of larval head, antennae, compound eyes, median brush (palatum), lateral brush; neck; thorax; abdomen, comb spine, siphon, siphon teeth and anal papillae were observed an...