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.

On the footsteps of Théodore Monod: biogeographical and ecological implications of an insect assemblage from the hottest spot on earth (in central Lut Desert, SE Iran)

We present the entomological results of a geological and biological exploration in the Lutdesert, performed in 2014 by the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and AtmosphericSciences (INIOAS) and the University of Tehran. Five localities were sampled, including theone considered as the the hottest spot on Earth. They yielded 15 insect taxa belonging to Blat-todea, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Heteroptera, suggesting that in spite of being originally de-scribed as “abiotic” or “aphytic”, the Lut desert shelters a diverse insect fauna with someremarkable elements such as the endemic desert cockroache Leiopteroblatta monodi. Compar-ison with results obtained by Franco-Iranian expeditions in the sixties and seventies revealsseveral taxa in common, but also striking differences in the composition of the insect assem-blages, suggesting that the insect fauna in the Lut desert is potentially much more diverse thanpreviously expected.

The Middle-Late Jurassic Yanliao entomofauna

The Yanliao entomofauna, first established by Hong in 1983, refers to a Middle Jurassic insect assemblage widely distributed in northern China. The fossil insects are primarily preserved in the Haifanggou Formation and its correlated strata. In the beginning of this century, the Yanliao entomofauna was revived thanks to the discovery of abundant exceptionally preserved fossils, especially a huge number of insects, in the Daohugou area. Then, the Yanliao biota became well-known, and subsequently enlarged with more fossils collected from the interbeds of the overlying Tiaojishan Formation. Recently, the Yanliao biota has been divided into an early assemblage, represented by the Daohugou beds (Middle Jurassic to earliest Late Jurassic), and a late assemblage, represented by the Linglongta beds (early to middle Late Jurassic). The early insect assemblage, i.e. fossil insects from Daohugou, contains at least 24 insect orders, representing one of the most diverse entomofaunas in geological history. The age difference between core fossil layers of the Daohugou assemblage and the Linglongta assemblage is less than 5 Ma, but no same animal species from both have been discovered to date, because of violent tectonic movements and fierce volcanic eruptions. The representative insect from the early assemblage is Yanliaocorixa chinensis, which is distinctly different from the dominated corixids from the late assemblage. Insects of Yanliao entomofauna generally resemble those from the Shar Teg biota from Mongolia and the Karatau biota from Kazakhstan. The Yanliao biota rapidly declined in middle of the Late Jurassic (ca. 155 Ma) with the advent of arid climate, whereas some of the relict groups migrated southwards. Until the mid-Cretaceous, represented by the Burmese amber, a number of endemic insect groups of Daohugou are still recorded, but they have never been found in the Jehol biota, representing relicts of the Yanliao entomofauna.

Cave benthic invertebrates in south-eastern Brazil: are there 'key' factors structuring such communities?

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of microhabitat traits related to water quality and physical features of stream channels (substrate, channel morphology and hydraulic characteristics) on the richness and structure of the aquatic insect assemblage in cave streams. Sampling was conducted in three subterranean streams in Brazil. Aquatic insect richness was significantly and positively related to water depth and the presence of shelters for invertebrates. These shelters are directly related to channel heterogeneity, a factor that determined the surface area of habitats suitable for colonisation, refuges and the amount and variety of nutrients in streams where resources are extremely limited. Furthermore, analyses of community composition revealed that aquatic insect assemblages in each cave were structured by distinct factors (including physicochemical characteristics of the water or hydraulic features of the channel). Together, these findings highlight that different factors are responsible for structuring the assemblages in each cave, which may reflect their local variability, and that silting of cave streams would likely have deleterious effects on aquatic insect communities through reductions in overall habitat heterogeneity.

Debris-carrying camouflage among diverse lineages of Cretaceous insects

Insects have evolved diverse methods of camouflage that have played an important role in their evolutionary success. Debris-carrying, a behavior of actively harvesting and carrying exogenous materials, is among the most fascinating and complex behaviors because it requires not only an ability to recognize, collect, and carry materials but also evolutionary adaptations in related morphological characteristics. However, the fossil record of such behavior is extremely scarce, and only a single Mesozoic example from Spanish amber has been recorded; therefore, little is known about the early evolution of this complicated behavior and its underlying anatomy. We report a diverse insect assemblage of exceptionally preserved debris carriers from Cretaceous Burmese, French, and Lebanese ambers, including the earliest known chrysopoid larvae (green lacewings), myrmeleontoid larvae (split-footed lacewings and owlflies), and reduviids (assassin bugs). These ancient insects used a variety of debris material, including insect exoskeletons, sand grains, soil dust, leaf trichomes of gleicheniacean ferns, wood fibers, and other vegetal debris. They convergently evolved their debris-carrying behavior through multiple pathways, which expressed a high degree of evolutionary plasticity. We demonstrate that the behavioral repertoire, which is associated with considerable morphological adaptations, was already widespread among insects by at least the Mid-Cretaceous. Together with the previously known Spanish specimen, these fossils are the oldest direct evidence of camouflaging behavior in the fossil record. Our findings provide a novel insight into early evolution of camouflage in insects and ancient ecological associations among plants and insects.

Bioindicator beetles and plants in desertified and eroded lands in Turkey

The xerophilous vegetation with characteristic insect assemblages is described in the main agricultural regions and native landscapes of Turkey. Long term intensive investigations documented vast biotic degradation of soil and vegetation (commonly referred to as desertification) by overgrazing, construction, recreation etc. Two main types of xeric landscape are under investigation: 1) natural highly specific deserts, semi-deserts, dry mountain slopes and screes; and 2) anthropogenic, newly emerged, floristically impoverished desertified areas. The presence of a multi-species insect assemblage on a xerophilous plant in certain area testifies its indigenous nature, whereas the absence of the specific consortium suggests recent plant invasion. The examples of the first case are the consortia of 3–6 species of Coleoptera, mainly Buprestidae, Chrysomelidae, and Curculionoidea, on some Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Ephedraceae (Ephedra spp.) and Polygonaceae (Calligonum polygonoides L.). Extreme examples of anthropogenic vegetation are overgrazed wormwood steppe and semidesert which lack usually diversified coleopterous consortia, including the most characteristic of this landscape, e.g., tenebrionids, and orthopterans. Rapid disappearance of the xerophilous complexes from the extraordinarily diversified and largely uninventoried Turkish biota makes preservation of the endangered plant and animal assemblages in different climatic zones of Turkey an urgent task.

Ecosystem Health of Lake Tamrangabeel, Bongaigaon District, Assam, India with Special Reference to Aquatic Insect Assemblage

This study investigated the ecosystem health of a floodplain lake, Tamrangabeel of Bongaigaon district, Assam, India using aquatic insects as bioindicator. The aquatic community of Tamrangabeel was represented by 37 species belonging to 19 families and 5 orders. Shannon –Wiener diversity index (Shannon Hꞌ) values were recorded less than 1 in all the sites of the lake which indicated perturbed condition of the lake. Order Hemiptera was found to be the largest order with highest number of species. Eudominant species recorded in this lake were Micronecta siva (order Hemiptera) and Cloeon sp. (order Ephemeroptera). Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) Score, Average Score per taxon (ASPT), and Stream Invertebrate Grade Number-Average Level (SIGNAL) Score reported from the study reflected good ecological potential as well as slightly impacted nature of the water body. The values of different environmental variables of water of all the sites of the lake were found conducive for aquatic life. This study provided an early warning of perturbation of the lake which is to be addressed before it is too late.