Predators of Marchalina hellenica (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae) on pine forests in Turkey

The honeydew of Marchalina hellenica is collected by honeybees for pine honey production, which is of great economic importance in Turkey. During 2009-2011 we investigated the predators of M. hellenica, which is distributed mainly in the areas with a Mediterranean climate - in the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions of Turkey. The findings showed that M. hellenica has many predators in the studied areas and that these play an important role in the forest ecosystem. These predators are: Anystis baccarum (L.) (Acarina: Anystidae); Allothrombium triticium Zhang and Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing (Acarina: Trombidiidae); Neoleucopis kartliana (Tanasijtshuk) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae); Myrrha octodecimguttata (L.), Rodolia cardinalis Mulstant, Scymnus subvillosus (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Dichochrysa genei (Rambur), Dichochrysa prasina (Burmeister) and Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae); Wesmaelius subnebulosus (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae), Cardiastethus nazarenus Reuter and Elatophilus pachycnemis Horvath (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). The most efficient and common predator was N. kartliana, here recorded for the first time from Turkey

Cryogels for Biotechnological Applications

Cryogels are formed in a semifrozen state when the solvent is frozen, but solutes are still soluble. The ice crystals are porogens and, upon thawing the system, pores appear where the frozen solvent was found earlier. Such gels have large pores, are elastic, and offer interesting opportunities in biotechnology. Cryogels with their large pores can meet demands that traditional chromatographic media cannot. This also opens up opportunities for the separation of cells because upon passage through the gel cells may interact with specific groups on the pore walls, thereby becoming retarded and/or captured. A range of applications have been studied: isolation of microbial cells, capturing of cancer cells, and use of cryogels as matrices for immobilized cell reactors. Furthermore, the robustness of the gels allows new applications, for example in environmental separation