Life Cycle of the Water Scorpion, Laccotrephes japonensis, in Japanese Rice Fields and a Pond

A Laccotrephes japonensis (Nepidae: Heteroptera) population was studied based upon mark and recapture censuses in order to elucidate the seasonal pattern of habitat utilization in a rice paddy system including an irrigation pond between April and October, in 2006 and 2007. The seasonal pattern of nymphs and adults did not differ markedly between the rice fields and the pond. Survival rates of L. japonensis of all stages did not differ between the rice fields and the pond in 2006, but were lower in 2007 in both habitats. In 2007, however, the survival rate of L. japonensis nymphs in the pond was higher than in the rice fields. In rice fields, 36.3% of the overwintering adults were recaptured the following year. On the other hand, the recapture rate after overwintering in the pond was only 6.4%. Migration from the pond to the paddies and vice versa was observed. In summary, the rice fields and the pond may reinforce each other as reproductive and overwintering sites of L. japonensis, especially during unfavorable years

Elastic modulus of tree frog adhesive toe pads

Previous work using an atomic force microscope in nanoindenter mode indicated that the outer, 10- to 15-μm thick, keratinised layer of tree frog toe pads has a modulus of elasticity equivalent to silicone rubber (5–15 MPa) (Scholz et al. 2009), but gave no information on the physical properties of deeper structures. In this study, micro-indentation is used to measure the stiffness of whole toe pads of the tree frog, Litoria caerulea. We show here that tree frog toe pads are amongst the softest of biological structures (effective elastic modulus 4–25 kPa), and that they exhibit a gradient of stiffness, being stiffest on the outside. This stiffness gradient results from the presence of a dense network of capillaries lying beneath the pad epidermis, which probably has a shock absorbing function. Additionally, we compare the physical properties (elastic modulus, work of adhesion, pull-off force) of the toe pads of immature and adult frogs

Case 3406 Belostoma annulipes Herrich-Schaeffer, 1845 (currently Lethocerus annulipes; Insecta, Heteroptera, BELOSTOMATIDAE): proposed conservation of usage of the specific name by designation of a neotype

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