Mining bee Andrena (Agandrena) agilissima (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae): A new record from India with morphological and molecular notes

The mining bee Andrena agilissima (Scopoli, 1770), is recorded for the first time in India from the western agro-climatic zone of its Punjab state. This is the first account of morphological and molecular characteristics of A. agilissima. This new record now increases the number of mining bees known in India to 21. Taxonomic commentsand metric values of 40 morphological characters have been presented. The mean values for body length, head width, compound eye length, median ocellus diameter, forewing length and hamuli number were 14.04±0.04 mm, 4.26±0.003 mm, 2.327±0.008 mm, 0.255±0.005 mm, 12.75±0.022 mm and 17.00±0.00, respectively. Using thestandard barcoding protocols, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 marker (standard DNA barcode region) based 658 bp DNA barcode sequence of the species has been established, as a first step towards the DNA barcode library of solitary bees of Punjab. The barcode sequence generated for the species has been registered by Gen- Bank, National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under accession ‘KT960836’ and Barcode of Life Data (BOLD) Systems under Barcode Index Number ‘BOLD:AAY6909’. The floral sources for A. agilissima in Punjab are also provided. The results can be used to further study the races/ecotypes in different parts of country, habitat management studies, plant-pollinator interactions and in conservation programmes for the species. Further, the precise identification of A. agilissima and the inventory of its foraging plants would provide new opportunities for its potential use as pollinator of crops

Comparative evaluation of Doolittle, Cupkit and Karl Jenter techniques for rearing Apis mellifera Linnaeus queen bees during breeding season

Comparative evaluation of Doolittle, Karl Jenter and Cupkit techniques of Apis mellifera Linnaeus queen bee rearing was done during spring (mid February- mid April 2013) breeding season. The highest acceptance of cell cups (66.00 %), queen cells raising (64.00 %), their sealing (60.67 %) and emergence of gynes (54.67 %) was recorded in Cupkit apparatus. Maximum weight of newly emerged gyne was recorded in Doolittle method in plastic cell cups (212.36 mg), while the mean weight was 184.96 mg in case of Cupkit apparatus. Overall, Cupkit proved to be the best option for queen bee rearing because of its better performance in terms of acceptance of larvae (66.00 %) and the number of successfully produced gynes i.e. 16 queens/colony/cycle of 12 days

A novel leaf rust resistance gene transferred from Aegilops caudata L. to Triticum aestivum L. maps on chromosome 5D

Relatório do estágio realizado no Museu de Lanifícios da Universidade da Beira Interior, no âmbito do 2º Ciclo em Gestão e Programação do Património Cultural, apresentado à Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra.Das ruínas das antigas fábricas de lanifícios, reflexos da desindustrialização, despoletou a instituição responsável pelo renascimento da cidade, e que se se transformou ela própria uma marca inapagável da história da Covilhã: a Universidade da Beira Interior, que se tornou, ao tomar parte deste património, igualmente, responsável pela história da cidade, assumindo como encargo a salvaguarda e preservação dos vestígios que herdou desta forma de produção têxtil milenar. A UBI teve o mérito de valorizar a Covilhã, criando o Museu de Lanifícios da Universidade da Beira Interior, responsável pela salvaguarda da área das tinturarias da antiga manufatura de estado, fundada pelo Marquês de Pombal, em 1764. O Museu garante a preservação, manutenção e divulgação deste património, o instrumento mais eficaz na transmissão da história e dos factos em torno do labor às gerações seguintes, honrando as memórias dos construtores desta indústria e os vários momentos dessa construção. No entanto, nem sempre os mais jovens, temporalmente afastados desta importante industria, demonstram o interesse que seria esperado pelo Museu, que, para se tornar suficientemente atrativo, carece de uma constante adaptação. Neste contexto, após uma reflexão sobre a importância da indústria e dos seus vestígios, desenvolveu-se um estudo cujo propósito é contribuir para o aumento do conhecimento do Museu de Lanifícios sobre o público jovem universitário da UBI, a nível dos seus hábitos e motivações culturais. Conhecer o perfil deste público possibilitou o desenvolvimento de estratégias de melhoramento da imagem do Museu, através de ações adaptadas aos seus gostos, ao nível de comunicação e da programação. Através destas propostas, procedeu-se ao desenvolvimento de projetos, que visaram a valorização e rentabilização do património que se encontra sobre a alçada do MUSLAN, assim como a ampliação da sua oferta cultural.The ancient ruins of the wool factories, triggered the institution responsible for the rebirth of the city itself in a indelible mark in the history of Covilhã: the University of Beira Interior. This, to be part of this heritage, has also become responsible for the city's history, assuming the duty to safeguard and preserve the traces which inherited from this industry. UBI had the merit to value Covilhã, creating the Wool Museum of the University of Beira Interior, responsible for safeguarding the area of the former dye manufacturing state, founded by Marquês de Pombal in 1764. The MUSLAN ensures the preservation, maintenance and dissemination of this heritage, the most effective tool in conveying the story and the facts surrounding the labor to succeeding generations, honoring the memories of the builders of this industry and the various moments of this construction. However, not always the younger, temporally away from this important industry, demonstrate the interest that would be expected by the Museum, lacking the constant adaptation to become attractive enough. In this context, after a discussion about the importance of this industry and its traces, a study was developed, whose purpose is to contribute to the increase in knowledge of the Wool Museum on UBI's young audience, regarding their habits and cultural motivations. Knowing the profile of this audience enabled the development of strategies to improve the image of the museum, through actions tailored to their tastes, in the level of communication and programming. Through these proposals, several projects were developed, aimed at the appreciation and profitability of the patrimony which is about the scope of MUSLAN, as well as the expansion of its cultural offerings

Aegilops tauschii: A valuable source for karnal bunt resistance

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Stability analysis for grain yield and some quality traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

The present study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity and stability for grain yield (GY), 1000- grain weight (TGW), protein content (PC), grain iron (Fe) and grain zinc (Zn) concentration under three varied environmental locations using 28 diverse wheat genotypes (including three checks i.e., WH1105, DPW621-50, and HD2967 ). The material was sown at three locations during Rabi 2015-2016. Pooled analysis of variance revealed highly significant variance due to environments for all the traits studied indicating differential response of the genotypes. The genotype BWL 3584 exhibited stable performance across the environments for grain yield and grain zinc concentration under un-favorable environment also shows potential for high grain yield and high grain zinc concentration. After further confirmation, genotype BWL 3584 could be utilized as potential donor in hybridization programme to improve grain yield and grain zinc concentration. Further, genotype SABW 225 showed consistent performance across the environments for TGW and PC content. Whereas, PBW 744 was found to be suitable for GY (6142 kg/ha), coupled with PC (12.09%) and Zn (52.18ppm) across the locations followed by PBW 725 (6094, 12.26 and 46.96) and BWL 3584 (5219, 12.63 and 50.23) GY, PC and Grain Zn, respectively)and BWL 3584 (5219, 12.63 and 50.23) could be utilized as a donor in routine breeding programme to improve grain yield and quality traits in bread wheat

Evaluation and utilization of Aegilops germplasm for biofortification of wheat for high grain iron and zinc content

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Validation of hygienic Apis mellifera L. colonies against Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman infestation

656-660Varroa destructor is a major bee parasitic mite causing huge losses to Apis mellifera colonies worldwide. Apart from various chemical based strategies, hygienic behaviour is an important ecological Varroa management strategy. This trait plays an important role in imparting the colony resistance against the V. destructor. Here, we assessed the colony level hygienic behaviour of 100 colonies using pin-killed brood method and from these 100 colonies, ten colonies (7 hygienic and 3 non-hygienic) were validated against V. destructor infestation for two seasons, autumn and spring. The worker larval brood near capping stage was inoculated with Varroa mite. In total, 21 inoculations were made in every test colony and replicated thrice. The observations were recorded at every 2 h interval till complete removal of mite. During the autumn season, in the 7 hygienic colonies, the mean of Varroa mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h was 1.36±0.11, 3.17±0.10 and 5.66±0.68%, and while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was 0±0.00, 0.52±0.10 and 2.11±0.53%, respectively. After 24 h a mean of 93.43±2.43% of brood cells were emptied in the hygienic colonies, while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was only 61.90±4.59%. During the spring season, in the hygienic colonies, mean mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h were 3.62±1.24, 6.57±0.73 and 7.25±0.47%, respectively while in the non-hygienic colonies the mean was 0±0.00%, 1.57±0.00 and 2.11±0.53%. After 24 h, it was 96.83±1.86% and 77.25±0.53% in the hygienic and non-hygienic colonies, respectively. In the autumn season, the hygienic colonies on an average took 28 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 50.67 h to achieve 100% uncapping and cleaning of cells. On the contrary, the hygienic colonies on an average took 25.71 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 47.36 h to achieve the same in the spring season. Hence, the hygienic behaviour can contribute to the colony’s resistance towards V. destructor mite inoculation in capped brood cells and result in reduced use of chemicals into the honey bee colonies