Characterization of the Insect Assemblage and Associated Floral Volatiles of Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Black cherry is an ecologically important high-value wood. A decline of its regeneration has been reported in the USA, which could be associated with a lack of pollination. This study was conducted to identify insects visiting black cherry flowers, to determine whether insects captured on the flowers carry black cherry pollen and to identify the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by flowers of black cherry. A two-year insect survey was conducted before, during and after the black cherry bloom. A total of 9533 insects were captured in traps and Diptera was the most abundant (64.1%). Significantly more insects in Diptera, Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera were captured in the traps installed in the canopy than those on the ground, and Anthalia bulbosa (Diptera: Hybotidae) was the dominant species. Electron microscopy analyses demonstrated that insects captured in the canopy indeed carried black cherry pollen. Black cherry flowers emitted a VOC blend that is composed of 34 compounds and dominated by β-ocimene and several phenylpropanoids/benzenoids. This floral VOC profile is similar to that of other pollinator-dependent Prunus species. This study reports pollinator insects and associated VOCs, for the first time, that could play a significant role in the pollination and regeneration of black cherry.

Diversity and abundance of insects in the recreational forest of Bukit Keluang, Besut, Terengganu.

Bukit Keluang is one of the famous natural recreational sites in Besut, Terengganu due to their beautiful sandy beaches and beautiful landscapes. Bukit Keluang recreational forest consist coastal and lowland dipterocarp forest. The studies on the biodiversity are never been reported at this area and thus, we aimed to investigate the diversity and abundance of insects in the coastal and inland forest of Bukit Keluang recreational forest. We built two plots which are Plot A in the coastal area and Plot B in the inland forest at Bukit Keluang. For each plot, three types of insect traps were used; yellow pan traps, pitfall traps, and Malaise traps. The traps were left for seven days and all insect samples collected were brought to the laboratory for sorting, enumerating and identifying up to order level. A total of 455 individuals of insects consisted of 10 orders (i.e. Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Collembola, Homoptera, Orthoptera, Dermaptera, Blattodea and Isoptera) were successfully collected from the forest of Bukit Keluang. Among them, Hymenoptera order dominated the number of individuals collected at 67.25% followed by Diptera (11.21%) whilst Collembola and Dermaptera were the least abundance order collected at 0.22%, respectively. The coastal forest recorded a total of 271 individuals (nine orders) while inland forest recorded 184 individuals (eight orders). No significant difference (p>0.05) of insect abundance was recorded between both plots. However, the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H’) showed that the diversity of insects in the inland forest was slightly higher (H’=1.52) than the coastal forest (H’=0.86). We conclude that the insects’ diversity in Bukit Keluang is relatively higher in inland forest but lower in coastal forest. As no other insect survey has been conducted in this study area in the past, this study delivers a basic evidence and dataset of diversity and abundance for insect which may beneficial for further conservation research at Bukit Keluang in the future.

High-altitude migration of Psylloidea (Hemiptera) over England

Some species of psyllid (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) are known to make high-altitude windborne migrations, but compared with their sister superfamily, the Aphidoidea, our knowledge of these movements is rudimentary and unsystematised. Here we have extracted psyllid capture data from day and night aerial sampling carried out at a height of 200 m above ground at Cardington, Bedfordshire, UK, during summers between 1999 and 2007. These records were consolidated with high-altitude psyllid catches made over England during the 1930s and with some other trapping results from northwest Europe which were indicative of migration. Information on aerial densities, diel flight periodicity, and the sex-ratio of the aerial psyllid populations is presented. We also compared our results with those of a recent study which used the Rothamsted Insect Survey network of suction traps (sampling at a height of 12.2 m); this provided confirmative evidence that the suction-traps were indeed detecting migrating psyllids. Finally, both aerial netting and suction trap data were used to tentatively interpret the seasonal timing of migrations in terms of the breeding/overwintering cycles of some common psyllid species.

Bloom evenness modulates the influence of bloom abundance on insect community structure in suburban gardens

As land use change drives global insect declines, the value of enhancing habitat in urban and suburban landscapes has become increasingly important for flower-visiting insects. In order to help identify best landscaping practices, we conducted plant surveys and insect bowl-trap surveys in 34 suburban yards for 21 months in Gainesville, FL, USA, which resulted in 274 paired days of plant and insect survey data. We assessed the impact of nearest greenspace size, distance to greenspace, yard area, plant richness, plant type, bloom abundance, bloom richness and bloom evenness on insect abundance and richness. Our samples include 34,972 insects captured, 485,827 blooms counted and 774 species of plants recorded. We found that bloom evenness had a modulating effect on bloom abundance—a more even sample of the same number of blooms would have a disproportionately greater positive impact on flower visitor richness, insect richness and insect abundance. Bloom abundance was also highly significant and positively associated with flower visitor abundance, but nearest greenspace size, distance to greenspace, plant type (native vs. non-native vs. Florida Friendly), and yard area were not found to be important factors. Plant richness was a highly significant factor, but its effect size was very small.

The Insect database in Dokdo, Korea: An updated version in 2020

Dokdo, a group of islands near the East Coast of South Korea, comprises 89 small islands. These volcanic islands were created by an eruption that also led to the formation of the Ulleungdo Islands (located in the East Sea), which are approximately 87.525 km away from Dokdo. Dokdo is important for geopolitical reasons; however, because of certain barriers to investigation, such as weather and time constraints, knowledge of its insect fauna is limited compared to that of Ulleungdo. Until 2017, insect fauna on Dokdo included 10 orders, 74 families, 165 species and 23 undetermined species; subsequently, from 2018 to 2019, we discovered 23 previously unrecorded species and three undetermined species via an insect survey. As per our recent study, the database of insect species on Dokdo has been expanded to 10 orders, 81 families, 188 species and 23 undetermined species. This database has been registered in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; www.GBIF.org) and is the first record for insect fauna on Dokdo.

The Insect database in Dokdo, Korea: An updated version includes 22 newly recorded species on the island and one species in Korea

Dokdo, an island toward the East Coast of South Korea, comprises 89 small islands. Dokdo is a volcanic island created by a volcanic eruption that promoted the formation of Ulleungdo (located in the East sea), which is ~87.525 km away from Dokdo. Dokdo is an important island because of geopolitics; however, because of certain investigation barriers such as weather and time constraints, the awareness of its insect fauna is less compared to that of Ulleungdo. Dokdo’s insect fauna was obtained as 10 orders, 74 families, and 165 species until 2017; subsequently, from 2018 to 2019, 23 unrecorded species were discovered via an insect survey. As per a recent study, the database of insect species on Dokdo has been identified as 10 orders, 81 families, 188 species, and 23 undetermined species. This database has been registered to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; www.GBIF.org), and is the first record for Dokdo’s insect fauna.

Insect survey in the Vila Velha State Park, Brazil, in areas subject to fire action

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Artificial neural networks for monitoring network optimisation—a practical example using a national insect survey

Monitoring networks are improved by additional sensors. Optimal configurations of sensors give better representations of the process of interest, maximising its exploration while minimising the need for costly infrastructure. By modelling the monitored process, we can identify gaps in its representation, i.e. uncertain predictions, where additional sensors should be located. Here, with data collected from the Rothamsted Insect Survey network, we train an artificial neural network to predict the seasonal aphid arrival from environmental variables. We focus on estimating prediction uncertainty across the UK to guide the addition of a sensor to the network. We first illustrate how to estimate uncertainty in neural networks, hence making them relevant for model-based monitoring network optimisation. Then we highlight critical areas of agricultural importance where additional traps would improve decision support and crop protection in the UK. Possible applications include most ecological monitoring and surveillance activities, but also the weather or pollution monitoring.

Transcriptional variation in glucosinolate biosynthetic genes and inducible responses to aphid herbivory on field-grown Arabidopsis thaliana

Recently, increasing attempts have been made to understand how plant genes function in natura studies. To determine whether plant defense genes are activated under multiple biotic stimuli, we combined a high-throughput RNA-Seq with insect survey data on 19 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana growing on the field site of Switzerland. We found that genes with GO annotations “glucosinolate biosynthetic process” and “response to insects” were the most significantly enriched, exhibiting largely variable expression among plant accessions. Nearly half of the total expression variation in glucosinolate biosynthetic genes, AOPs, ESM1, ESP, and TGG1, was explained by among-accession variance. Combined with the field RNA-Seq data, bioassays confirmed that AOP3 was up-regulated in response to the mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi. In addition, we also found that the expression of a major cis-jasmone activated gene CYP81D11 was positively correlated with the number of the flea beetles Phyllotreta spp. The combined results from RNA-Seq and insect surveys suggested that plants can activate their defenses even when they are exposed to multiple biotic stimuli in natura.