Observations on the Interrelationships among Ants, Aphids, and Aphid Predators

Excerpt: The literature concerning the interactions of these insect groups is as interesting as it is extensive. It has generally been accepted that the relationship between ants and aphids has been one of mutualism in which ants derive all or a large part of their nutrients from aphid honeydew and perform special functions in return, primarily that of protecting aphids from their enemies. Every aspect of these associations has been covered by the excellent reviews of Nixon (1951) and Way (1963). It now appears that the nature and effectiveness of the protective value afforded the attended aphids by ants cannot be reduced to a simple statement of symbiosis. Nixon (1951) pointed out numerous situations that are responsible for fluctuations in the ant-aphid relationship. The emphasis in the present study was on the protection extended to Aphis rumicis Linn., a small aphid found on spirea shoots by the common tending ants. This restriction allowed constant surveillance of the protection supplied to a single aphid species by ants against the seasonal succession of predators. Aphid parasites were ignored in this study

Eugenics, Population Research, and Social Mobility Studies in Early and Mid-Twentieth-Century Britain

Eugenics and sociology are often considered polar opposites, with the former seen as a pseudo-science that reduces everything to genes and the other a progressive social science focused on the environment. However, the situation was not quite so straightforward in mid-twentieth-century Britain. As this article shows, eugenics had a number of important formative intellectual, institutional, and methodological impacts on ideas and practices that would find a home in the rapidly expanding and diversifying discipline of sociology after the Second World War. Taking in the careers of leading individuals, including Alexander Carr-Saunders, William Beveridge, Julian Huxley, and David Glass, and focusing on the relationship between eugenics, 'population research', and the emerging field of social mobility studies, the article highlights the significant but underappreciated influence interwar biosocial thinking had on intellectual, scientific, and political cultures in postwar Britain. In so doing, the article draws on recent scholarship on the 'technical identity' embedded in mid-century British social science, which, it is suggested, provided the link between the research under consideration and the progressive politics of those who carried it out

Myrmecological Techniques

An ant colony collection-maintenance unit is described and various adaptations of it are described and illustrated. These adaptations may be used to study food preference, interspecific fighting, or predation. Methods of feeding and watering colonies and examination of individual ants are also included as well as maze constructions and colony-recognition devices that may be attached. Only techniques for observation of ant behavior are presented; experimental results are omitted

Developing of new technologies driving advances in precision agriculture to optimise inputs and reduce environmental footprint

Avances en el sector de la agrotecnología ofrecen la oportunidad de que los sistemas agroalimentarios contribuyan a conseguir objetivos políticos mundiales como lograr sistemas de carbono neto cero y reducir la huella ambiental mediante la eliminación de emisiones nocivas y el aumento de la biodiversidad. Una serie de sensores puede detectar la salud y el estrés de los cultivos debido a amenazas bióticas y abióticas. La detección precoz permite tomar medidas adecuadas antes de que el rendimiento de los cultivos se vea afectado o la presión de plagas y enfermedades no pueda controlarse sin el uso de pesticidas sintéticos. La tecnología de detección utiliza técnicas de imagen o detección de compuestos volátiles mediante e-nose y diagnóstico molecular en tiempo real, identificando patógenos vegetales recogidos en muestras de aire. Los datos generados por estas tecnologías proporcionan a los agricultores información temporal y espacial. Permite identificar plantas individualmente, incluso desde satélite, lo que posibilita aplicar con precisión fertilizantes y pesticidas, directamente a la planta o a la zona de cultivo afectada con técnicas de pulverización controladas a partir utilizando los datos adquiridos.Technological advances in the agri-tech sector offer the opportunity for food production systems to contribute to achieving global policy aims such as achieving net zero carbon systems and reducing environmental footprint through eliminating harmful emissions and increasing biodiversity. Arange of sensors can detect crop health and stress due to biotic and abiotic threats, often with an early detection which permits appropriate action to be taken before crop yield is affected or pest and disease pressure cannot be controlled without the use of synthetic pesticides. Detection technology uses imaging techniques, often beyond the visible spectrum, detection of volatile compounds using e-nose techniques and real time molecular diagnostic techniques to identify plant pathogens collected in air samples. The data generated by such technologies relies on connectivity of the hardware and subsequent analytical processes to provide growers with temporal and spatial information. It is possible to identify plant locations with great accuracy, even with satellite systems, which permits precision application of crop inputs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, directly to the plant or crop area as required. Spray application techniques can now treat individual plants, both crop and weeds, using data acquired to control the flow to individual nozzles

Reconciliation of data from the lobster fisheries on Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough Islands

For the years between 1997 and the present, a number of different data sources exist for the Tristan lobster (Jasus tristani) fisheries on the islands surrounding Tristan da Cunha . In an accompanying document (MARAM/Tristan/07/Dec/05), the sources of fisheries related data for Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough, and the limitations of that data are described in detail. Catch and effort values from these sources had been shown previously to exhibit major differences. Here we relate progress made on reconciling these differences

Campaniform sensilla Patterns on the Wings of Drosophila

Campaniform sensilla have been described from the wings, mouthparts, legs, and other parts of the insect body. These small sense organs were known under several terms until Berlese ( 1909) applied the term campaniformi because of their dome, or bell-shaped character. Numerous functions have been suggested for these organs which seem to be stress receptors of some sort. Very few attempts have been made to utilize these sensilla as taxonomic characters