Difficulty is being experienced in obtaining natural regeneration of Juniperus procera in the Daloh Forest, Erigavo, British Somaliland due to infection of the seed by an unidentified species of Megastigmus. In 1953, Mr. A. R. Tribe succeeded in breeding specimens from infested seed, and this material, together with a subsequent collection by Mr. J. J. Lawrie in January 1954, has been used as the basis of the following description.

The genus Sosylus includes important natural predators and parasites of ambrosia beetles (Platypodidae). Nine species of Sosylus are recorded from New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya in Indonesia), and a key is provided for their identification. Five of the species, S. giluwe sp. n., S. hyweli sp. n., S. minusculus sp. n., S. morobensis sp. n. and S. reflexus sp. n., are described as new and one, S. erosus (Pasc.), is recognised as an extension to the known range of an existing species. New information is presented concerning the distribution and sexual dimorphism of the previously described species, and lectotypes are designated where necessary and feasible.

Triatomine bugs carry the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease. It is known that both the parasite and entomopathogenic fungi can decrease bug survival, but the combined effect of both pathogens is not known, which is relevant for biological control purposes. Herein, the survival of the triatomine Meccus pallidipennis (Stal, 1872) was compared when it was coinfected with the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) and T. cruzi, and when both pathogens acted separately. The immune response of the insect was also studied, using phenoloxidase activity in the bug gut and hemolymph, to understand our survival results. Contrary to expectations, triatomine survival was higher in multiple than in single challenges, even though the immune response was lower in cases of multiple infection. We postulate that T. cruzi exerts a protective effect and/or that the insect reduced the resources allocated to defend itself against both pathogens. Based on the present results, the use of M. anisopliae as a control agent should be re-considered.

Methoprene, a juvenile hormone analog, is used to accelerate sexual maturation in males of species of economic importance in support to the sterile insect technique (SIT). In the SIT, mass-reared sterile males are released into the field and need to survive until they reach sexual maturation, find a wild female, mate with her and then induce female sexual refractoriness, so she will not remate with a wild counterpart. The use of methoprene shortens the time between release and copulation. However, in South American fruit flies, Anastrepha fraterculus, the ability of methoprene-treated males to inhibit female remating has been shown to be lower than wild males, when methoprene was applied by pupal immersion or topical application. Here we evaluated the possibility of incorporating methoprene into the male diet at different doses and the ability of those males to inhibit female remating, as well as the effect of methoprene on male reproductive organ size, due to the possible correlation between male accessory gland size and their content, and the role of male accessory gland proteins in female inhibition. We found that A. fraterculus males fed with methoprene in the adult protein diet at doses as high as 1% were less likely to inhibit female remating, however, at all other lower doses males had the same ability as untreated males to inhibit female remating. Males fed with methoprene had bigger male accessory glands and testes compared to methoprene-deprived males. We demonstrate that the incorporation of methoprene in adult male diets is possible in this species and potentially useful as a post-teneral, pre-release supplement at doses as low as 0.01%. Even at higher doses, the percentage of females remating after 48 h from the first copulation is sufficiently low in this species so as not compromise the efficiency of the SIT.

When fasting fifth-instar larvae of Rhodnius prolixus Stål were poisoned with a lethal dose of DDT, the rate of oxygen consumption increased from the onset of hyperactivity, reached a marked peak shortly after knockdown, and then declined. For some days after the peak the oxygen consumption was markedly in excess of that prior to poisoning with DDT. Eventually, the oxygen consumption fell below the pre-teatment value and continued at this low level for some days, although the insect was then undoubtedly dead and in one case had been bisected. There was no marked discontinuity in the declining phase of oxygen consumption and therefore there is no indication of when death occurred. It is concluded that the time of death in DDT-poisoned larvae of Rhodnius cannot be determined by measurements of oxygen consumption.

The total oxygen consumed from poisoning until death was always less than that consumed in the normal use of all metabolic reserves by the fasting insect, and these experiments do not support the hypothesis that death in DDT poisoning is due to total exhaustion of metabolic reserves. However, it is pointed out that, in Rhodnius, some of the metabolic reserves are contained in the undigested residue of the blood-meal and in the massive endocuticle and that there is no reason to think that either digestion of the remaining blood-meal or resorption of the endocuticle could be speeded up during DDT poisoning. Hence there is a strong possibility that, in DDT-killed Rhodnius, death is brought about by exhaustion of the available reserves.

The peak rate of oxygen consumption during poisoning was greatest in very recently fed larvae and decreased as the interval between moulting and DDT-treatment was increased. This suggests that knockdown occurs when the fuel demands of the DDT-induced activity exceed the rate at which the fuel can be mobilised from the metabolic reserves.

The role of bees in the environment, economic, biodiversity and pharmaceutical industries is due to its social behavior, which is oriented from the brain and hypopharyngeal gland that is the center of royal jelly (RJ) production. Limited studies have been performed on the head gene expression profile at the RJ production stage. The aim of this study was to compare the gene expressions in 9 and 1-day-old (DO) honeybee workers in order to achieve better understanding about head gene expression pattern. After sequencing of RNAs, transcriptome and their networks were compared. The head expression profile undergoes various changes. 1662 gene transcripts had differential expressions which 1125 and 537 were up and down regulated, respectively, in 9_DO compared with 1_DO honey bees. The day 1th had more significant role in the expression of genes related to RJ production as major RJ protein 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 encoding genes, but their maximum secretion occurred at day 9th. All process related to hypopharyngeal glands activities as CYP450 gene, fatty acid synthase gene, vitamin B6 metabolism and some of genes involved in fatty acid elongation and degradation process had an upward trend from 1_DO and were age-dependent. By increasing the age, the activity of pathways related to immune system increased for keeping the health of bees against the chemical compound. The expression of aromatic amino acid genes involved in Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis pathway are essential for early stage of life. In 9_DO honeybees, the energy supplying, reducing stress, protein production and export pathways have a crucial role for support the body development and the social duties. It can be stated that the activity of honeybee head is focused on energy supply instead of storage, while actively trying to improve the level of cell dynamics for increasing the immunity and reducing stress. Results of current study identified key genes of certain behaviors of honeybee workers. Deeper considering of some pathways will be evaluated in future studies.

In an experiment carried out in 1963 on the control of Glossina swynnertoni Aust. infesting open bushland in northern Tanganyika, 3 per cent, dieldrin or endosulfan was applied to certain of the resting sites of the flies. These had been determined by previous observations and consisted of the undersides of tree branches between 4 and 9 ft. from the ground, with diameters of 1 to 4 in. and inclined less than 35° from the horizontal. Eradication was achieved in an area of 35 sq. miles at a cost of £42 per sq. mile. In a subsidiary experiment, G. pallidipes Aust. infesting the narrow forest bordering a seasonal river was attacked by spraying the vegetation on the river bank up to a height of eight feet. Complete eradication was not attained, due, it is thought, to removal of the insecticide by heavy rain, so that some newly emerged flies escaped exposure to a lethal deposit. The flies were, however, eliminated from the greater part of the river at a cost of £12.5 per mile.

The performance (development and reproduction) of generalist predators can vary greatly among the prey species that they use, and these differences can influence the ability of predatory insects to suppress pest populations. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of larvae of the green lacewing Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister, 1839) by offering 16 species of aphids and by assessing the effects of each species on the survival, larval development time, prey consumption, pupal mass and egg load of adult Chr. rufilabris females taking aphid phylogeny into account. Chrysoperla rufilabris larvae preyed on individuals from all 16 aphid species, but complete development, adult emergence and egg load production were achieved only in seven species. As a general pattern, the best levels of performance were achieved for an aphid clade that includes the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines (Matsumara, 1917), and for a milkweed-feeding species, Myzocallis asclepiadis (Monell, 1879). We found significant phylogenetic clustering for most of the performance traits indicating the aspects of specialization in the diet breadth of Chr. rufilabris despite the fact that this species is considered a generalist aphid predator. These findings can help us to understand the interactions of this species in agroecological food webs, where it is commonly found, and provide insights into why natural, conservation biological control or augmentative releases may succeed or fail.

A total of 4420 male Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood were captured on man fly-rounds in Katete District, Eastern Province, Zambia between February 1991 and December 1993. Of these flies, 1680 were captured before June 1992, during which period 989 flies were also captured on odour-baited electric screens operated in the same area. Non-teneral flies were analysed for fat, haematin and residual dry weight and their wing-vein length was measured. There were well marked annual cycles in wing length, fat and residual dry weight. Flies were biggest at the end of the rainy season, and smallest at the end of the hot dry season. Fat levels were lowest before the onset of the rains and highest in the cool season. Residual dry weight was a function of haematin content and the degree of wing-fray; these factors were used to correct the residual dry weight to zero haematin. Corrected residual dry weight and wing-vein lengths were most highly correlated with relative humidity in the month prior to capture (r > 0.8 and 0.6 respectively). Correlations with saturation deficit were weaker; temperature accounted for <20% of the variance. Fly-round flies had a consistently higher residual dry weight than those from the electric screen, but their fat levels were lower. The distributions of log haematin levels differed little between the two sampling methods and were adequately described by a model where capture and feeding rates increased exponentially after each meal. The increase in the feeding rate after each meal differed little with season and was closely similar to that estimated for female G. pallidipesAusten in Zimbabwe.

The genus Heterococcus was erected by Ferris (1918) for a new species. H. arenae Ferris, having 9-segmented antennae, a denticle on the claw and with the normal trilocular pores replaced by quinquelocular pores. Other species were added later and Morrison (1945) discussed the genus at some length and described in detail three other related genera.

A new member of the larch-feeding genus Anoplonyx has recently been described in Britain. The species, A. destructor Benson, has been common in British larch woods for some years without, however, causing any very serious amount of damage to the tree crops. Notes on the biology of the species, including larval descriptions, are given and the present forest status of the species is reviewed. Apparently unsuccessful attempts to achieve biological control by the release of Dahlbominus fuscipennis (Zett.) are recorded.

Among the insects which do serious damage to grasses grown for seed, the larvae of gall midges (Cecidomyidae) are of great importance. Very little is known about their bionomics, except in the case of the Sorghum midge (Contarinia sorghicola), and the Meadow Foxtail midges (Dasyneura alopecuri, Contarinia merceri, and Stenodiplosis geniculati). In view of this and the fact that several grasses are grown for seed with advantage in Great Britain, it has been thought advisable to collect together all the available information.

A series of six substituted phenyl N-methylcarbamate insecticides were applied to laboratory-reared adults of G. morsitans Westw. as solutions in di-isobutyl ketone. Only the 2-isopropoxy and the 3-isopropyl compounds were toxic at 0·0068 µg. per fly and the former, being apparently more active, was evaluated more fully. It was found to be equitoxic with γ BHC to young flies, and not synergised to any significant degree by five parts of piperonyl butoxide. Pregnant flies were considerably more tolerant than young flies to low dosages but not to high ones. The suggested explanation postulates that the developing larva is a potential site of detoxification but that the rapid action of high dosages results in the death of the parent before the insecticide can reach the larva and be detoxified by it.

The following description is based on material submitted for identification to the Commonwealth Institute of Entomology by the Government Entomologist, Coimbatore, S. India. The specimens were immediately recognisable as a new genus of the well-defined Mirid subfamily Bryocorinae tribe Odoniellini of which only 18 genera are known. Of these no less than 15 genera are represented in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.).

The following observations on cotton stainers were made in the Eastern Group of the West Indies, or Lesser Antilles, which extend from Trinidad to the Virgin Islands. Some idea of their size and geographical relationships will be obtained from fig. 1.

During investigations on the ecology of Aphids infesting the potato crop it became necessary to study the precise effect of the different meteorological factors upon migration. Traps, treated with adhesive material, which depended on a wind-vane to keep them at right angles to the direction of migration were first used but proved unreliable, since it was found that aphis migration attains a maximum when there is little or no wind. Kites, also, proved impracticable for the same reason. It was, therefore, essential to construct a trap which worked independently of meteorological conditions. I am indebted to Dr. C. B. Williams and Mr. P. S. Milne, of Rothamsted Experimental Station, for the opportunity of discussing and examining the construction of their electrical mechanical trap, described in the preceding paper, which formed the basis of one constructed at the College Farm, Aber, near Bangor. Since, however, the village of Aber has no electricity supply it was necessary to alter, materially, the mode of construction in order to drive the trap by water-power. For this reason and, since the modified form can be used in districts where there is no electricity supply, it was suggested that the present account of the water-power mechanical insect trap should be published along with the description of the Williams and Milne trap. I am, therefore, grateful to the authors of the preceding paper for the opportunity of seeing their manuscript, thus avoiding, by reference, repetition of the description of several parts.

The species composition and population dynamics of mosquito adults trapped at 76 sites in southern Israel are described. Almost 200 000 specimens representing 23 species were collected. Five species, Aedes detritus (Haliday), Culiseta subochrea (Edwards), Culex antennatus (Becker), Cx. martinii Medschid and Cx. poicilipes (Theobald), are new records for this area, with Cx. poicilipes being recorded for the first time outside Africa. Six types of distribution patterns were discerned. The most abundant species was Cx. pipiens L. (79·7% of the total catch) followed by Ae. caspius (Pallas) (10%), Anopheles sergentii (Theobald) (2·1%), An. tenebrosus Dönitz (1·8%) and Cx. perexiguus Theobald (1·3%). All other species found each made up less than 1%. The spatial and temporal patterns of mosquito species in southern Israel are discussed.

A radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed that utilizes 125I-linked Protein A as a tracer to detect the presence of antibodies to an antigen of Mansonia larvae. Antiserum was made by periodic injections of ground gut of fourth-instar larvae of M. dyari Belkin, Heinemann & Page into a rabbit, bleeding the rabbit by cardiac puncture and separating the serum. Using the rabbit antiserum at various dilutions, the specificity of the antibody to Mansonia was examined in tests with seven other mosquito species of different genera. Although there was low-level cross-reactivity with all the other species, the differences in reactivity between those and Mansonia larvae ranged between 2·5 and 8·4-fold; therefore, positive identification was possible. Furthermore, one fourth-instar Mansonia larva could be detected within a predator (fourth-instar larvae of Toxorhynchites rutilus rutilus (Coquillett) 48 h after consumption using the RIA.

Establishment of non-native species and human-driven alteration of habitats are major causes of the decline of native faunas. Interference between native and non-native cockroach species was evaluated here by comparing their distribution areas in two oceanic islands: Mayotte and La Réunion. A factorial correspondence analysis showed that their presence is related to environmental parameters among which human activity, humidity and altitude are the three most important. Human activity and humidity favour establishment and development of non-native species, whereas altitude limits their presence. Non-native species form guilds (up to seven species). Their distribution areas overlap and illustrate their colonizing capacities. On the contrary, distribution areas of native species never overlap, although some co-occur with non-native species. Native species are more endangered when they are established in cultivated areas than when they are in protected natural areas.

The persistence and toxicity to Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.) of initial deposits approximating to 10, 20 and 40 mg. per sq. ft. of γBHC were studied over a period of three weeks in a typical warehouse in Kano, Northern Nigeria. Chemical and biological assessments indicated that the lowest rate of application was inadequate for practical insect control whilst the other two rates showed very similar biological activity up to eight days after treatment. Thereafter small quantities persisted from applications at the highest rate for a further week but the resultant mortalities were inadequate for purposes of field control. It was concluded that to maintain control of T. castaneum, weekly applications of BHC would be required and that the rate of application should approximate to 20 mg. per sq. ft.