Distribution and biology of the yellow-spotted longicorn beetle Psacothea hilaris hilaris(Pascoe) in Italy

The Asiatic yellow-spotted longicorn beetle, Psacothea hilaris hilaris, was found for the first time in Northern Italy in 2005. As this xylophagous insect is considered one of the most important pests of Morus spp. and of Ficus carica in its countries of origin, a multiyear study was carried out to determine the spread of the pest in Northern Italy, to evaluate its establishment potential and to improve knowledge on its biology in the new habitat. The survey confirmed that P. hilaris hilaris has established in Italy and has colonized an area of about 60 km2. The species overwinters as eggs or larvae. Adults are present from June to October. Damage has been recorded mostly on Ficus carica plants, and very rarely on Morus alba. Both young and older plants, healthy and weakened hosts can be attacked by the pest. Severely attacked plants become weakened and eventually die.Psacothea hilaris hilaris, (capricorne asiatique a taches jaunes) a ete identifie en Italie septentrionale pour la premiere fois en 2005. Puisque cet insecte xylophage est considere comme un des ravageurs les plus importants de Morus spp. et de Ficus carica dans sa zone d\u2019origine, une etude pluriannuelle a ete entreprise pour determiner la dissemination de cet organisme nuisible dans le nord de l\u2019Italie, determiner son potentiel d\u2019etablissement, et ameliorer les connaissances sur sa biologie dans ce nouvel habitat. Les resultats confirment que P. hilaris hilaris s\u2019est etabli en Italie et a colonise une zone d\u2019environ 60 km\ub2. Cette espece passe l\u2019hiver sous forme d\u2019oeuf ou de larve. Les adultes sont presents de juin a octobre. Les degats ont principalement ete observes sur des Ficus carica, et tres rarement sur Morus alba. Le ravageur attaque aussi bien les plantes jeunes qu\u2019agees, saines que malades. Les plantes severement atteintes sont affaiblies, et finissent par mourir

Feeding in the adult of Hermetia illucens (Diptera Stratiomyidae): reality or fiction?

Hermetia illucens(L.) (Diptera Stratiomyidae) is a promising species as alternative protein source for animal feed, able to convert a wide range of organic materials. The knowledge on larval biology, development, nutritional needs, and nutritional composition is rich, while few information is available on adult traits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the adult nutrition on the survival, the longevity and the ovaries development of H. illucens. In detail, three food sources have been compared to starvation. Water, a sucrose solution and a protein solution were given to new emerged adults and data on longevity and ovary development were acquired. Trials were conducted on single specimen and on a cohort of adults. In all the trials, starved adults survived significantly shorter than all other thesis. When adults were maintained isolated, the survival was significantly influenced by the nourishment: longevity was longer when adults were feed with a sucrose solution, while the supply of a protein source provideda lifespan significantly higher than starvation but similar to water or to sucrose solution. In cages longevity was always shorter than in isolated adults for both males and females and the overall trend was similar to single individual trials with the exception of protein solution. Ovary development of females under different nourishment did not show differences.More studies are necessary to identify a correct nutritionconsideringthe integration of different chemical compounds to obtain optimal adult performancein terms of longevity and reproduction

Understanding trichopria drosophilae performance in laboratory conditions

The recent worldwide interest in the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) has risen the interest to its biological control agents. Among the parasitoids, Trichopria drosophilae (Perkins) is a cosmopolitan species found in association with the pest in different countries. As different populations of the parasitoid can adapt to different geographical areas, this study is focused to deepen the effect of temperature and host on an Italian population. The performance of T. drosophilae was studied under controlled conditions at seven constant temperatures (5-40 \ub0C), and on two hosts, the native Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) and the invasive D. suzukii. Information on survival, oviposition and sex ratio were acquired for all temperatures. A GLM analysis showed the influence of temperature and host species on the biological parameters analysed. The best performance in terms of fertility and offspring production were obtained between 25 and 30 \ub0C, while the upper thermal limit for the adult survival was identified at 40 \ub0C. Finally, two equations useful to help predictive models have been obtained. We conclude that T. drosophilae has the potential to be efficiently mass-reared at 25 \ub0C

An artificial diet for rearing three exotic longhorn beetles invasive to Europe

Anoplophora glabripennis, Anoplophora chinensis and Psacothea hilaris hilaris are three invasive exotic longhorn species (Coleoptera Cerambycidae) threatening native broadleaf trees in Europe and North America. Field studies on invasive species are somewhat difficult in the areas of introduction due to the application of eradication measures and the activation of quarantine protocols. Rearing these species in standard laboratory conditions would allow specific ecological and biological investigations to be conducted. In this paper, the rearing of these longhorn beetles has been tested on an artificial diet in laboratory conditions. The tested diet can be used to obtain viable healthy adults of each of the three studied species. P. h. hilaris had the best rearing performance with 74% of eggs producing new adults, while A. chinensis and A. glabripennis were poorer with 24.7% and 23.3%, respectively. The low percentage of emerging A. glabripennis and A. chinensis adults was due mainly to a high mortality of their first instar larvae not entering the diet. Moreover, A. chinensis and A. glabripennis had a mean development time, 60.06 and 37.29 weeks, respectively (including the chilling periods required for pupation), longer than P. h. hilaris (16.1 weeks). During development, larval moults varied according to species and within species ranging from 5-7 (P. h. hilaris), 6-11 (A. chinensis) and 7-8 (A. glabripennis) moults, respectively. Adults of A. glabripennis and P. h. hilaris reared on the diet were bigger than wild specimens collected from the same population, whereas A. chinensis adults were smaller. Adult survival was shorter in A. glabripennis (62.9 days) than in P. h. hilaris (119.3 days). According to the different performance of the three species, the rearing costs were about 2.0, 8.1 and 16.1 US dollars per adult beetle for P. h. hilaris, A. glabripennis and A. chinensis, respectively. A laboratory insect population has to be cost effective and self-sustainable over time, and the tested diet provided valuable results for the low-cost mass rearing of these invasive longhorn beetles

The butterfly Cacyreus marshalli in northern Italy, and susceptibility of commercial cultivars of Pelargonium

Studies on the biology of geranium bronze butterfly (C. marshalli) were conducted in Milan (northern Italy) on Pelargonium spp. from April to the end of December, observing directly the presence of adult, larvae, eggs or damage. To test the susceptibility to the attack of the butterfly, 40 different ornamental geraniums were used: 10 cultivars of zonal pelargoniums (Pelargonium hortorum); 3 cultivars of ive-leafed pelargoniums (P. peltatum); 3 cultivars of regal pelargoniums (P. domesticum) and 16 species or cultivars of scented-leafed pelargoniums. The plants were exposed to the pest from the end of May to September. The plants were observed every week, and data on damage and their symptomatology were collected. Many overlapping generations of the pest occurred, with adults detected from the beginning of May to the middle of October. Damage was first observed on zonal and ivy-leafed pelargoniums in June; regal and scented-leafed pelargoniums were attacked later and less severely. Most of the plants tested were attacked. Only on some scented-leaf pelargoniums (Abrotanifolium, Concolor lace, Denticulatum, Fair ellen, Filicifolium, Odoratissimum, Purple unique, Prince of orange, Royal oak and Wayward angel) where no larvae or damage was found

Classification of rib fracture types from postmortem computed tomography images using deep learning

Human or time resources can sometimes fall short in medical image diagnostics, and analyzing images in full detail can be a challenging task. With recent advances in artificial intelligence, an increasing number of systems have been developed to assist clinicians in their work. In this study, the objective was to train a model that can distinguish between various fracture types on different levels of hierarchical taxonomy and detect them on 2D-image representations of volumetric postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) data. We used a deep learning model based on the ResNet50 architecture that was pretrained on ImageNet data, and we used transfer learning to fine-tune it to our specific task. We trained our model to distinguish between “displaced,” “nondisplaced,” “ad latus,” “ad longitudinem cum contractione,” and “ad longitudinem cum distractione” fractures. Radiographs with no fractures were correctly predicted in 95–99% of cases. Nondisplaced fractures were correctly predicted in 80–86% of cases. Displaced fractures of the “ad latus” type were correctly predicted in 17–18% of cases. The other two displaced types of fractures, “ad longitudinem cum contractione” and “ad longitudinem cum distractione,” were correctly predicted in 70–75% and 64–75% of cases, respectively. The model achieved the best performance when the level of hierarchical taxonomy was high, while it had more difficulties when the level of hierarchical taxonomy was lower. Overall, deep learning techniques constitute a reliable solution for forensic pathologists and medical practitioners seeking to reduce workload

Pheromone-mediated mating disruption of the European grain moth Nemapogon granellus in ham factories

Nemapogon granellus is a lepidopteran species that can cause significant damage to stored animal products such as meats, sausages and cheeses. In the warehouses where such products are stored, pheromone-based control ap-proaches can avoid or reduce insecticide chemical treatments and be more effective than traditional control methods. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mating disruption (MD) techniques to control N. granellus populations in ham factories. Trials were conducted in two factories located in Northern Italy. In both locations two warehouses were selected: a warehouse test where dispensers, loaded with 10 mg of N. granellus pheromone, were deployed at a density ranging from 1 unit/22.5 m3 (factory A) to 1 unit/25 m3 (factory B), and a control warehouse left untreated. To assess the mating disruption efficacy, the reduction of the number of mated females in water traps, placed in control and treated warehouses, was used as main parameter. The results indicated a substantial reduction in mated females in the treated warehouses in comparison with control warehouses in both the sites of experiments. In detail, the total number of mated females sampled in water traps was above 90% in control warehouses, in warehouses treated with MD technique this percentage was below 50%. In addition, a "trap shutdown" effect was recorded in MD treated warehouses of both factories. These findings suggest that mating disruption is a promising technique that can be positively applied in the integrated pest management of N. granellus in ham factories

How many cooperators are too many? Foundress number, reproduction and sex ratio in a quasi-social parasitoid

In the parasitoid genus Sclerodermus, multiple foundresses produce and care for communal broods on large hosts, which can lead to greater reproductive success for group members than attempting to reproduce alone. We explore the consequences of foundress group size on the benefits of cooperative brooding and on brood sex ratios by providing groups of 10-55 foundresses with a single host and no alternative reproductive options. Within this range, increasing foundress group size leads to increasingly common failure in brood production and diminished per capita success. Group production of adult offspring declines once foundress number reaches around 25. Brood failure is usually at the early developmental stages, and current evidence suggests that there may be competition among foundresses for oviposition sites, possibly involving reproductive dominance and ovicide, which also delays initial brood production. Once broods become established, their rate of development is enhanced by large foundress numbers. The sex ratios of broods are very strongly female biased, irrespective of the foundress number. As this bias is not easily explained by standard models of local mate competition or by a recent model of local resource enhancement, we suggest an explanation based on control of sex allocation by a minority of dominant foundresses, which monopolise the production of adult males.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of a therapy protocol for the treatment of chronic digital dermatitis in European bison (Bison bonasus)

Digital dermatitis (DD) associated with the presence of multiple Treponema spp. was recently described for the first time in European bison (Bison bonasus). DD is characterized by skin inflammation in the distal foot area in various ungulates. The objective of this proof of concept study was to test a treatment protocol adopted from cattle for its applicability in this wildlife species using five animals. Keratolytic salicylic acid paste was administered topically under bandages for seven days to enable removal of the

Between hope and disillusionment: ECMO seen through the lens of nurses working in a neonatal and paediatric intensive care unit

BACKGROUND: Using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in paediatric and neonatal intensive care units (PICU/NICU) creates ethical challenges and carries a high risk for moral distress, burn out and team conflicts. AIM: The study aimed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying factors affecting moral distress when using ECMO for infants and children by examining the attitudes of ECMO nurses. METHODS: Four focus groups discussions were conducted with 21 critical care nurses working in a Swiss University Children's Hospital. Purposive sampling was adopted to identify research participants. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Unlike "miracle machine" stories in online media reports, specialized nurses working in PICU/NICU expressed both their hopes and fears towards this technology. Their accounts also contained references to events and factors that triggered experiences of moral distress: the unspeakable nature of the death of a child or infant; the seemingly lack of honest and transparent communication with parents; the apparent loss of situational awareness among doctors; the perceived lack of recognition for the role of nurses and the variability in end-of-life decision-making; the length of time it takes doctors to take important treatment decisions; and the resource intensity of an ECMO treatment. CONCLUSION: The creation of a multidisciplinary moral community with transparent information among all involved health care professionals and the definition of clear treatment goals as well as the implementation of paediatric palliative care for all paediatric ECMO patients should become a priority if we want to alleviate situations of moral distress. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: The creation of a multidisciplinary moral community, clear treatment goals and the implementation of palliative care for all paediatric ECMO patients are crucial to alleviate situations of moral distress for nurses, and thus to improve provider well-being and the quality of patient care in PICU/NICU