RESPIRATORY RATE OF THE DIFFERENT CASTES OF POLYBIA-(MYRAPETRA) PAULISTA (IHERING, 1896) HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE

UNIV ESTADUAL PAULISTA JULIO MESQUITA FILHO,INST BIOCIENCIAS,RIO CLARO,SP,BRAZILUNIV ESTADUAL PAULISTA JULIO MESQUITA FILHO,INST BIOCIENCIAS,RIO CLARO,SP,BRAZI

Post-embryonic development in Brazilian Social Wasps

This chapter presents a review of morphological studies of the immature stages of social Brazilian wasps, discussing aspects such as oviposition; instar larva, pre-pupa, and pupal stages; as well as duration times of the immature stages. Those themes have been explored in less than 20% of the species recorded for that country. Most of those articles represent only descriptions of the last instar larva, so that there is still much to explore in terms of comparative studies.Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociências UNESP-Universidade Estadual PaulistaInstituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde UFBA-Universidade Federal da BahiaDepartamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociências UNESP-Universidade Estadual Paulist

Desenvolvimento da broca-das-cucurbitáceas em diferentes tipos de substratos alimentares Development of melonworm on different feeding substrates

Aspectos biológicos de Diaphania nitidalis foram estudados sob dietas natural e artificial em condições de laboratório, à temperatura de 25±1ºC, umidade relativa de 70±10% e fotofase de 14 horas. Como dieta natural foi utilizada abóbora 'Jacaré', pepino 'Japonês' e abobrinha 'Caserta' e, como artificial, a dieta utilizada em criações de Diatraea saccharalis, broca da cana-de-açúcar. As lagartas de D. nitidalis foram inoculadas nos diferentes tipos de substratos e criadas por todo o ciclo. Ocorreu diferença significativa entre a maioria dos parâmetros testados dentro dos tratamentos, sendo as dietas à base de abóbora e artificial as que proporcionaram maior potencial biótico para criação de D. nitidalis. Pela facilidade de aquisição dos ingredientes e manipulação dos insetos, a dieta artificial se torna mais eficaz para criação massal dessa espécie em laboratório.<br>The aim of this research was to evaluate the biological behaviour of melonworm at different natural and artificial diet under laboratory conditions (25ºC, 70% RH, 14 h photofase). Squash 'Jacaré', cucumber 'Japonês' and zucchini 'Caserta' were used as natural substrates compared to na artificial diet developed for the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis). The caterpillars were inoculated in each substrate and reared for a full cycle. The biological parameters were different among treatments. An artificial diet and squash cv. Jacaré substrate showed higher performance for the multiplication of D. nitidalis. The artificial diet is recommended because it is easy to obtain the ingredients and nultiply this insect under laboratory conditions

Effects of the flood regime on the body condition of fish of different trophic guilds in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil

In this study, we evaluated the influence of various hydrological cycles on the feeding body condition of fish species of different trophic guilds in the Paraná River floodplain, as well as the impacts of upstream impoundments on fish conditions. Attributes of the river floods (duration, time of year, intensity, and variability in a given year) and the body condition, measured by the mean residuals of length-weight ratios, of the detritivorous, herbivorous, insectivorous, invertivores, omnivorous, piscivorous, and planktivorous species were evaluated. Fish were sampled during a period before (1986-1994) and after (2000-2004) the completion of filling of the Porto Primavera Reservoir, which is located upstream from the floodplain area under study. Three sub-basins in the floodplain were sampled: the Ivinheima River, which has no dams; the Paraná River, which has several dams; and the Baia River, which is influenced by the Paraná. A two-way ANOVA identified significant variations in mean body conditions for localities and for the hydrological cycles, and the interactions were also significant. The findings revealed that before the Porto Primavera Reservoir was filled, the body condition of the feeding guilds varied similarly in the three sub basins, but this pattern was not observed after filling was completed. However, in years with minor or no floods, the body condition was high, especially in the sub-basins influenced by Porto Primavera (Paraná and Baía). Pearson's and Spearman's correlations showed that most effects of the floods were unfavorable to the body condition of the guilds, except for the annual variation in water level, which aids herbivores in accessing allochthonous food resources. Detritivores were negatively affected by all flood attributes. A correlation between the relative stomach weight (mean residual of the ratio of total and stomach weights) and the body condition demonstrated the poor relationship between the amount of food intake and weight gain; insectivores were the exception, showing a significant negative correlation. Therefore, for this guild, there is evidence that their food sources during floods have low nutritional value. It is hypothesized that dry years lead to improvement in the nutritional quality of food resources, and that the water released from the upstream dam dilutes and removes these resources without providing new food inputs. This exacerbates the effects of floods on body conditions