Fossil Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from Baltic amber

Seven subfamilies of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), Banchinae, Cryptinae, Orthocentrinae, Pherhombinae, Stilbopinae, Townesitinae and Tryphoninae in Baltic amber are reviewed. Two species, Rovenosa alexrasnitsyni Manukyan, sp. nov. and R. khalaimi Manukyan, sp. nov. (Stilbopinae) are described as new to science. The male of Rovenosa rasnitsyni Khalaim, 2011 is recorded and described for the first time. The discovery of the puparium of an aphidophagous syrphid fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) with an emergence hole characteristic for Diplazontinae is the first fossil evidence of the subfamily. The strong bias in composition of the Ichneumonidae fauna in Baltic amber is noted. The presence of certain taxa in amber is suggested to be primarily due to specific properties of the pine resin, and only secondarily due to their occurrence in the “amber” forest.

Tales from the crypt: a parasitoid manipulates the behaviour of its parasite host

There are many examples of apparent manipulation of host phenotype by parasites, yet few examples of hypermanipulation—where a phenotype-manipulating parasite is itself manipulated by a parasite. Moreover, few studies confirm manipulation is occurring by quantifying whether the host's changed phenotype increases parasite fitness. Here we describe a novel case of hypermanipulation, in which the crypt gall wasp Bassettia pallida (a phenotypic manipulator of its tree host) is manipulated by the parasitoid crypt-keeper wasp Euderus set , and show that the host's changed behaviour increases parasitoid fitness. Bassettia pallida parasitizes sand live oaks and induces the formation of a ‘crypt’ within developing stems. When parasitized by E. set , B. pallida adults excavate an emergence hole in the crypt wall, plug the hole with their head and die. We show experimentally that this phenomenon benefits E. set , as E. set that need to excavate an emergence hole themselves are about three times more likely to die trapped in the crypt. In addition, we discuss museum and field data to explore the distribution of the crypt-keeping phenomena.

Response of Pea Varieties to Damage Degree of Pea Weevil,Bruchus pisorumL.

A study was conducted to determine the response of five pea varieties (Pisum sativumL.) to damage degree ofBruchus pisorum: Glyans, Modus, Kamerton, and Svit (Ukrainian cultivars) and Pleven 4 (Bulgarian cultivar). The seeds were classified into three types: healthy seeds (type 1), damaged seeds with parasitoid emergence hole (type 2), and damaged seeds with bruchid emergence hole (type 3) and they were sown. It was found that the weight of 1000 seeds did not affect the field germination of the pea varieties. Healthy and damaged seeds with parasitoid emergence holes (first and second seed types) provide a very good opportunity for growth and development while plants from damaged seeds with bruchid emergence holes had poor germination and vigor and low productivity. These seeds cannot provide the creation of well-garnished seeding and stable crop yields. Among tested varieties, the Ukrainian variety Glyans had considerably higher seed weight, field germination, and index germination and weak egg-laying activity ofB. pisorumcompared to others. Use of spring pea cultivars that are weakly preferred by the pea weevil in breeding programs would reduce losses due to pea weevil and provide an environmentally safer option to its control.

A technique for the topical application of poisons to non-anaesthetised house-flies for knockdown assessments.

An apparatus and technique are described for handling, immobilising by suction, and individually dosing house-flies, Musca domestica L. The apparatus consists of a suction platform connected to a vacuum cleaner, a specially designed cage and a measured-drop apparatus. The suction platform consists essentially of a circle of terylene gauze, on to which the flies are drawn from the cage and held by suction during treatment. The cage can be made to contract, so that the flies may be crowded together near the special emergence hole through which they are to be withdrawn. The technique avoids the use of cooling and anaesthetics, which affect the metabolism of the flies, and is therefore especially suitable for measuring knockdown, although it can equally be used to estimate toxicity. Some factors likely to influence the results are examined and discussed, and an example is given of two experiments with house-flies, to show that the method gives reproducible results.