Arthropods Utilizing Sticky Inflorescences of \u3ci\u3eCirsium Discolor\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ePenstemon Digitalis\u3c/i\u3e

Cirsium discolor (Muhl) Spreng (Asteraceae) and Penstemon digitalis Nutt. (Scrophulariaceae) produce sticky material only in their inflorescences. While there is a wealth of printed information concerning such sticky traps occurring in other parts of plants, there is relatively little about those specifically in inflorescences. In order to determine whether sticky traps in the inflorescences of these two plant species defend against seed predators and other herbivores and predators, it was necessary to discover what arthropods use them. Literature search revealed very little about arthropods associated with C. discolor, and nothing about those associated with P. digitalis. Observations showed that, for both plant species, pollinators do not come in contact with the traps, and each plant has several seed predators able to successfully avoid the traps. Several predatory arthropods occur on C. discolor. Two of them, a minute pirate bug and a small salticid spider, seem to glean from its sticky traps. A theridiid spider occasionally builds its web in P. digitalis inflorescences, but was not seen to glean from sticky traps. An undescribed pteromalid parasitizes one of the seed predators of P. digitalis. Ants and aphids are deterred by the traps

Sticky Exudates on the Inflorescences of \u3ci\u3eCirsium Discolor\u3c/i\u3e (Asteraceae) and \u3ci\u3ePenstemon Digitalis\u3c/i\u3e (Scrophulariaceae) as Possible Defense Against Seed Predators

From 1982 through 1987, I investigated whether sticky exudates released by Cirsium discolor and Penstemon digitalis in their inflorescences provide defense against seed predators. I tested two hypotheses: 1: Exudates directly deter seed predators, and 2: Insects struggling in exudates attract predatory arthropods that remain and defend the inflorescences against seed predators. These hypotheses predict that neutralizing the stickiness will increase seed predation (by allowing access to more seed predators, or by decreasing the number of predatory arthropods attracted), and therefore decrease successful seed production. Results did not support either hypothesis, with no increase in seed predators (nor decrease in predatory arthropods), and no decrease in seed production, when traps were neutralized

Encapsulation of polyaniline in zeolite Y and mordenite

Synthetic strategies to encapsulate polyaniline in the crystalline channel system of faujasite (three-dimensional) and mordenite (one-dimensional) have been explored. The adsorption of anilinium precursor into the zeolite host and its successful oxidation to polyaniline have been studied utilizing FTIR, Fourier Transform Raman, and electronic spectroscopies. The dimensionality of the host channel system and the concentratio

Intrazeolite synthesis of polythiophene chains

Adsorption of thiophene and 3-methylthiophene into the channel system of transition metal-containing zeolites Y and mordenite results in oxidative polymerization to give encapsulated chains of polythiophene and poly(3-methylthiophene)

O-Minimal Hybrid Reachability Games

In this paper, we consider reachability games over general hybrid systems, and distinguish between two possible observation frameworks for those games: either the precise dynamics of the system is seen by the players (this is the perfect observation framework), or only the starting point and the delays are known by the players (this is the partial observation framework). In the first more classical framework, we show that time-abstract bisimulation is not adequate for solving this problem, although it is sufficient in the case of timed automata . That is why we consider an other equivalence, namely the suffix equivalence based on the encoding of trajectories through words. We show that this suffix equivalence is in general a correct abstraction for games. We apply this result to o-minimal hybrid systems, and get decidability and computability results in this framework. For the second framework which assumes a partial observation of the dynamics of the system, we propose another abstraction, called the superword encoding, which is suitable to solve the games under that assumption. In that framework, we also provide decidability and computability results