The widespread distribution of wolf poison (Stellera chamaejasme L.), spanning from southern Russia to southwestern China and the western Himalayas, contributes to its prevalence as an invasive species in grassland ecosystems. Its extensive range, coupled with its ability to thrive in harsh environments, enables it to rapidly colonize grasslands. Once established, it rapidly spreads and dominates large areas. This process inevitably leads to grassland degradation over time, thereby exerting significant impacts on both ecology and economy. In China, grasslands (26.45 million hectares, 27.5% of land area) face severe degradation, with over 90% impacted by overgrazing and climate change. S. chamaejasme infestations exceed 1.4 million hectares in Qinghai, 546,700 in Gansu, and 133,000 in Inner Mongolia, causing annual forage losses of 137.5 million kg and economic damages of 15–20 million yuan in Gansu alone. These impacts threaten ecosystem stability and pastoral livelihoods. Therefore, research on the spread mechanisms of invasive plants is crucial. In this comprehensive description, we investigated the effects of S. chamaejasme on plant communities and herbivore interactions. Our research showed how this species successfully invades grasslands and establishes itself as a dominant species. S. chamaejasme enhances Its expansion alters soil physicochemical properties, reduces nutrient cycling, and increases pathogenic fungi abundance while enhancing microbial diversity, creating self-favoring soil conditions. With high genetic diversity, robust reproductive capacity, and potent allelopathic effects, it suppresses neighboring vegetation and escapes herbivory due to toxicity, accelerating invasion. These interrelated traits facilitate the rapid invasion and spread of S. chamaejasme on grasslands, ultimately leading to its dominance. This trend poses a significant threat to the health and stability of the grassland ecosystem. Future research should delve into the ecological adaptability and allelopathic mechanisms of S. chamaejasme, aiming to develop effective management strategies for controlling its spread and promoting grassland recovery and biodiversity conservation.

An artificial diet formulated for continuous rearing of the predator Arma chinensis was inferior to natural prey when evaluated using life history parameters. A transcriptome analysis identified differentially expressed genes in diet-fed and prey-fed A. chinensis that were suggestive of molecular mechanisms underlying the nutritive impact of the artificial diet. Changes in the diet formulation were made based on the transcriptome analysis and tested using life history parameters. The quantity of pig liver, chicken egg, tuna fish, biotin, nicotinamide, vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C, L-glutamine, and sucrose was reduced, and wheat germ oil, calcium pantothenate and folic acid were increased. Ecuadorian shrimp was added as a partial substitute for tuna fish. Several parameters improved over six generations, including increased egg viability, and decreased egg and adult cannibalism. Additionally, several parameters declined, including longer developmental times for 2nd–5th instars, and decreased nymphal weights. The improvements in life history parameters support the use of transcriptome analyses to help direct formulation improvements. However, the decline in some parameters suggests that additional information, e.g., proteomic data, may be useful as well to maximize diet formulations.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the biological characteristics of Pachygrapsus marmoratus in the southern Black Sea, Ordu, Turkey. A total of 1503 crabs, ranging from 0.9 to 4.3 cm in carapace length (CL), were collected monthly from November 2012 to October 2013. Female:male ratio was found to be 1:1. Measured male and female crabs were grouped in 0.49 cm CL class intervals. The mean CL, carapace width (CW) and weight (W) were determined as 2.55 ± 0.02 cm, 2.90 ± 0.02 cm and 14.21 ± 0.27 g, respectively, for all individuals. Correlation analysis was also conducted to reveal relationships between size parameters for males and females as well as between egg number and size. The b values of CW and W for male, female and ovigerous crabs were found to be 3.1, 3.06 and 2.95, respectively. Number of large-sized individuals and growth rate was higher in males compared to females.The highest correlation was found between CW and CL in both sexes. The mean condition index values were calculated as 49.03 for males and 45.79 for females. Ovigerous females were observed only from May to July 2013. The fecundity estimates ranged from 8989 to 151,578 eggs/crab, with an average value of 57,814.53 ± 3349 eggs/crab. The egg diameter ranged between 328.40 μm and 423.38 μm, with a mean size of 365.83 ± 1.97 μm. There was a positive relationship between egg number and female size.

The development and morphometrics of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) were studied on cassava and a description was made of the different nymphal instars and oter biological characteristics. The nymphal instars were distinguished using easily recognisable morphological characteristics. Abnormally developing individuals were also easily recognised. Regression analysis was highly significant between the length and width of nymphal instars modelled collectively indicating two-dimensional growth at least across three nymphal stadia. Males were smaller than females on the basis of body length, wing width and width of the abdomen. The insects showed better development on a Colombian cassava variety as compared to an African variety, Ebwanateraka from Uganda, and consistently showed a higher proportion of males than females (2.33: 1) for early-emerging individuals. Mean developmental period on both varieties was 22 days and the first instars accounted for the major part of the developmental period which ranged from 19 to 29 days. The mean number of eggs/female/day was 4.89. The actual events of first instar eclosion, which can last up to approximately five minutes, were described. The intervals of honeydew flow to the vasiform orifice lasted a minimum mean time of 20.8 seconds and a maximum mean time of 123 seconds.