Effects of Sperm Conjugation and Dissociation on Sperm Viability In Vitro

Sperm conjugation is an unusual variation in sperm behavior where two or more spermatozoa physically unite for motility or transport through the female reproductive tract. Conjugation has frequently been interpreted as sperm cooperation, including reproductive altruism, with some sperm advancing their siblings toward the site of fertilization while ostensibly forfeiting their own ability to fertilize through damage incurred during conjugate break-up. Conversely, conjugation has been proposed to protect sensitive regions of spermatozoa from spermicidal conditions within the female reproductive tract. We investigated the possibility of dissociation-induced sperm mortality and tested for a protective function of conjugation using the paired sperm of the diving beetle, Graphoderus liberus. Sperm conjugates were mechanically dissociated and exposed to potentially damaging tissue extracts of the female reproductive tract and somatic tissue. We found no significant difference in viability between paired sperm and dissociated, single sperm. The results further indicate that the reproductive tract of female G. liberus might not be spermicidal and conjugation is not protective of sperm viability when damaging conditions do exist. Our results support the interpretation that, at least in some taxa, sperm conjugation is neither protective nor damaging to sperm viability

Biological controls investigated to aid management of olive fruit fly in California

The widespread and rapid establishment of the olive fruit fly in California required immediate changes in integrated pest management (IPM) programs for olives. After finding that resident natural enemies did not provide adequate control, researchers began a worldwide search for parasitoids, with exploration in the Republic of South Africa, Namibia, India, China and other countries. Parasitoids were shipped to California, and most were studied in quarantine to determine the best species for release. Two parasitoid species — Psyttalia lounsburyi and Psyttalia humilis — are now being released throughout the state’s olive-growing regions, and researchers are studying their effectiveness

Intrasexual Aggression in the Stick Insects Diapheromera Veliei and D. Covilleae and Sexual Dimorphism in the Phasmatodea

Volume: 85Start Page: 395End Page: 40

Arthropods Attracted to Luminous Fungi

Volume: 88Start Page: 383End Page: 39

A Kleptoparasitic Cecidomyiid and Other Flies Associated With Spiders

Spiders and their webs are predictable sources of insect cadavers. A small number of animals regularly exploit this resource, either as kleptoparasites or commensals, depending on whether symbionts compete for the same prey (see Robinson and Robinson, 1977, for more detailed terminology). Among the thieves are specialized spiders (citations in Vollrath 1979a, 1979b), mature male and juvenile spiders (Stowe 1978, citations in Nyffeler and Benz 1980), Hemiptera (Davis and Russell 1969), a hummingbird (takes webbing in addition to small insects, Young 1971), panorpid scorpion-flies (Thornhill 1975), Lepidoptera larvae (Robinson 1978), wasps (Jeanne 1972), damselflies (Vollrath 1977), and a handful of flies (reviews in Knab 1915; Bristowe 1931, 1941; Lindner 1937; Richards 1953; Robinson and Robinson 1977). Only a few of the reports on Diptera kleptoparasites originate from North America (McCook 1889, Frost 1913, Downes and Smith 1969). With a single exception (Downes and Smith 1969), all of the previously described kleptoparasitic flies belong to the Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha. We report here on a surprisingly diverse kleptoparasitic Diptera fauna in north central Florida with a cecidomyiid (Nematocera) as its dominant member

The Role of Males in Host-Fruit Selection by Females of a Walnut Infesting Tephritid (Diptera) Rhagoletis zoqui

Rhagoletis zoqui Bush flies have a mating system in which males guard and defend walnut fruit-hosts from other males and mate, apparently without courtship, with females as they arrive to oviposit. Hypothetically, female selection of a particular fruit may be due to the quality of fruit for larval development (previously determined by guarding males), the quality of the male upon the fruit as a mate, or both, but this is not clear. We performed an experiment to determine if R. zoqui females or males select the fruit to oviposit or guard based on its quality for larval development (i.e., size, sugar-content [brix] or hardness), or following male-mediated cues such as chemical residues, related to prior fruit occupation by the male during guarding. Fruit choice by R. zoqui females and males were examined under semi-natural conditions on caged branches of English walnut trees, Juglans regia L., growing in the highlands of south-central Mexico. A single male or female was allowed to select a fruit and was then removed. An individual of the opposite sex was then introduced to the same branch and presented with the opportunity to choose among the same array of hosts. The pattern of fruit choice was consistent, with female choice on the basis of male presence, suggesting that males left a chemical cue that persisted in their absence. No fruit quality differences were detected between selected and non-selected fruit. Fruit features selected by females and males matched almost exactly, although males rarely select the same fruit as females. We conclude that females preferentially selected fruit previously occupied by males although additional studies are required to determine the cues used by R. zoqui for oviposition resource selection by both females and resource guarding males.Fil: Guillen, Larissa. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología. Instituto de Ecología; MéxicoFil: Sivinski, John. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Rull Gabayet, Juan Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiologicos; Argentin

Efficacy of the "Mitchell Station," a New Bait-Station for the Control of the Caribbean Fruit Fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Insecticide bait sprays for the control of fruit flies are often applied to nonagricultural areas. As a result urban populations and environmentalists have expressed concerns for both human health and the conservation of nontarget organisms. One alternative to bait sprays is the deployment of portable bait units which attract pests to a limited number of sites and there expose them to the toxicant. The late Dr. Everett Mitchell designed such an "attract and kill" device and considered the possibility of its use in fruit fly suppression / eradication programs. The ability of this "Mitchell Station" (=MS), with or without the addition of an ammonium acetate and putrescine attractant, to kill Caribbean fruit flies (Anastrepha suspensa [Loew]) was compared in field cages to the standard McPhail and Multi Lure® traps. The MS station was not as efficient as either the McPhail or Multi-lure traps. However, it would be considerably less expensive to manufacture and deploy, and might find a niche within area-wide management programs. Subsequent deployment of the MS in the field significantly suppressed previously released populations of sterile A. suspensa

Application of Nuclear Techniques to Improve the Mass Production and Management of Fruit Fly Parasitoids

The use of irradiated hosts in mass rearing tephritid parasitoids represents an important technical advance in fruit fly augmentative biological control. Irradiation assures that fly emergence is avoided in non-parasitized hosts, while at the same time it has no appreciable effect on parasitoid quality, i.e., fecundity, longevity and flight capability. Parasitoids of fruit fly eggs, larvae and pupae have all been shown to successfully develop in irradiated hosts, allowing a broad range of species to be shipped and released without post-rearing delays waiting for fly emergence and costly procedures to separate flies and wasps. This facilitates the early, more effective and less damaging shipment of natural enemies within hosts and across quarantined borders. In addition, the survival and dispersal of released parasitoids can be monitored by placing irradiated sentinel-hosts in the field. The optimal radiation dosages for host-sterility and parasitoid-fitness differ among species, and considerable progress has been made in integrating radiation into a variety of rearing procedures