Induction of sterility in Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) by gamma radiation

In relation to the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), we analyzed the effect on adult fertility of different doses of gamma irradiation and the age of pupae at the time of irradiation. In a first experiment, we applied doses of 50, 70, and 90 Gy to pupae at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h before adult emergence. In a second experiment we irradiated pupae 48 h before emergence with 20, 40, and 60 Gy and estimated male and female fertility and sperm transfer by irradiated males. The results indicated pupal age at irradiation does not significantly affect male fertility. If males irradiated with 60 Gy are crossed to non-irradiated females the fertility is about 1%. Females irradiated with 40 Gy did not lay eggs independently of the male to which they mated. No significant effects of radiation were observed with respect to the ability of males to transfer sperm. A dose of 70 Gy applied 48 h before adult emergence induces 100% sterility in both males and females.Fil:Vilardi, J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Aphid species (Hemiptera: Aphididae) reported for the first time in Tucumán, Argentina

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are considered among the most important pests all around the world. The total number of aphid species recorded in Argentina between 2003 and 2013 has risen from 200 to 237, which demonstrates the continuous introduction and discovery of new species in the territory. Therefore, faunistic studies should be conducted without interruption in areas of interest. The aim of this study was to establish if there were aphid species in Tucuman Province, Argentina that had not been recorded previously in the province. Aphids were collected with modified Moericke yellow water pan traps in potato crops during 2 seasons in 3 regions of Tucumán. Seventeen species, among the 47 species identified, and the genus Illinoia represent new records for the Province.Los pulgones se incluyen entre las plagas más importantes del mundo entero. El número total de especies de áfidos registrados en Argentina entre 2003 y 2013 se incrementó de 200 hasta 237, lo que demuestra la permanente introducción y hallazgo de nuevas especies en el territorio. Por lo tanto, son necesarios constantes estudios faunísticos en las áreas de interés. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si existían especies de áfidos en Tucumán, Argentina, que no habían sido citadas anteriormente en la provincia. Los pulgones se recolectaron con trampas amarillas de agua tipo Moericke durante dos temporadas de cultivo de papa, en tres regiones de Tucumán. Entre las 47 especies identificadas, 17 y el género Illinoia, representaron nuevas citas para la provincia.EEA MendozaFil: Avila, Ana Lucía. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Vera, M. Alejandro. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; ArgentinaFil: Ortego, Jaime. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Ploper, Leonardo Daniel. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Conci, Vilma Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Muestreo de adultos de Rhyssomatus subtilis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) en soja, utilizando el método del paño vertical

Rhyssomatus subtilis Fiedler (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) adults were sampled in 10 soybean crop fields in Northwestern Argentina throughout 2012 and 2014, using the vertical beat sheet (VBS) method. The obtained values were contrasted with the total number of adults actually present in those fields, which demonstrated that the abovementioned method caught 60% of individuals. Therefore, it became evident that these data needed to be corrected by dividing the values obtained with VBS by 0.65, number obtained with a linear regression analysis.Se realizaron muestreos de adultos de Rhyssomatus subtilis Fiedler (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) con el paño vertical en 10 lotes de soja durante 2012 y 2014, en el Noroeste Argentino, comparando estos resultados con el total de la población de adultos realmente presentes en esos campos. Este método capturó el 60% de la población de adultos de esta especie, por lo que fue necesario corregir los datos dividiendo el valor obtenido con el paño vertical por 0,65, número que se obtuvo mediante un análisis de regresión lineal.Fil: Cazado, Lucas Emiliano. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Casmuz, Augusto S.. Provincia de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial. "Obispo Colombres". Sección de Zoologia Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Scalora, Franco S.. Provincia de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial. "Obispo Colombres". Sección de Zoologia Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, César Horacio. Provincia de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial. "Obispo Colombres". Sección de Zoologia Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Murúa, María Gabriela. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Gastaminza, Gerardo A.. Provincia de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial. "Obispo Colombres". Sección de Zoologia Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Willink, Eduardo. Provincia de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial. "Obispo Colombres". Sección de Zoologia Agrícola; Argentin

On an Asymptotic Series of Ramanujan

An asymptotic series in Ramanujan's second notebook (Entry 10, Chapter 3) is concerned with the behavior of the expected value of $\phi(X)$ for large $\lambda$ where $X$ is a Poisson random variable with mean $\lambda$ and $\phi$ is a function satisfying certain growth conditions. We generalize this by studying the asymptotics of the expected value of $\phi(X)$ when the distribution of $X$ belongs to a suitable family indexed by a convolution parameter. Examples include the problem of inverse moments for distribution families such as the binomial or the negative binomial.Comment: To appear, Ramanujan

Foraging niche separation of social wasps in an invaded area: Implications for their management

Foraging niche separation may be a mechanism to promote coexistence of two competing species by concentrating intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition. The present study investigated foraging behaviour and microhabitat use of two coexisting species of invasive social wasps, Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris, when foraging for two different food resources. Also, we tested the attractiveness of traps baited with a synthetic lure for those two species. We found that V. germanica wasps prefer to forage at ground level regardless of the resource, while V. vulgaris prefers protein resources at the shrubland level given a choice between a protein bait at ground or at shrubland level. However, when baited with the synthetic lure, the species caught was not affected by the height at which traps were placed. That is, in a no choice scenario, the traps were sufficiently attractive to lure both species of wasps to both microhabitats (ground and shrubland levels). Thus, our results support the existence of spatial niche differentiation at least in protein foraging and suggest that the synthetic lure evaluated could be used to trap both species of Vespula wasps present in Argentina. These results could help to improve management strategies of these social wasps in an invaded area.Estación Experimental Agropecuaria BarilocheFil: Masciocchi, Maite. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituo de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche. Grupo de Ecología de Poblaciones de Insectos; ArgentinaFil: Unelius, Carl Rikard. Linnaeus University. Faculty of Health and Life Sciences; SueciaFil: Buteler, Micaela. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente; Argentin

The Bivariate Normal Copula

We collect well known and less known facts about the bivariate normal distribution and translate them into copula language. In addition, we prove a very general formula for the bivariate normal copula, we compute Gini's gamma, and we provide improved bounds and approximations on the diagonal.Comment: 24 page

Second-Generation Large Civil Tiltrotor 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel Test Data Report

An approximately 6-percent scale model of the NASA Second-Generation Large Civil Tiltrotor (LCTR2) Aircraft was tested in the U.S. Army 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center January 4 to April 19, 2012, and September 18 to November 1, 2013. The full model was tested, along with modified versions in order to determine the effects of the wing tip extensions and nacelles; the wing was also tested separately in the various configurations. In both cases, the wing and nacelles used were adopted from the U.S. Army High Efficiency Tilt Rotor (HETR) aircraft, in order to limit the cost of the experiment. The full airframe was tested in high-speed cruise and low-speed hover flight conditions, while the wing was tested only in cruise conditions, with Reynolds numbers ranging from 0 to 1.4 million. In all cases, the external scale system of the wind tunnel was used to collect data. Both models were mounted to the scale using two support struts attached underneath the wing; the full airframe model also used a third strut attached at the tail. The collected data provides insight into the performance of the preliminary design of the LCTR2 and will be used for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation and the development of flight dynamics simulation models

Oviposition behaviour and larval development of Anastrepha fraterculus from Argentina in citrus

Citrus peel physicochemical attributes are considered the main components conferring partial oreven total resistance to fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) infestation. Fruit fly females adapt their ovipositionalstrategies to overcome such resistance. Here, we explored the effects of citrus species (Rutaceae)on the ovipositional behaviour of the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus(Wiedemann), and on its immature development. Particularly, we investigated the effects of (1)citrus species on oviposition behaviour and immature development, (2) citrus species on ovipositionpreference and on the location of the eggs at different depth in the citrus peel, and (3) harvest seasonand post-harvest storage time on oviposition behaviour and immature development in lemon. Citrusspecies influenced ovipositional behaviour and affected survival of immature stages. Females laideggs in lemon [Citrus limon (L.) Burm.], orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], and grapefruit (Citrusparadisi Macfadyen). In orange and lemon, larvae were found dead close to the oviposition areas,suggesting chemically mediated resistance mechanisms. Under choice conditions, females preferredgrapefruit over lemon and bigger clutches were found in the layers where embryonic development isfavoured. Unsuitability of lemon as a medium to complete development was neither affected by harvestseason nor by storage time of the fruit after harvest. The physical and chemical characteristics ofthe peel were distinctive to each citrus species and may have affected the specific levels of resistance ofthese citrus species to infestation by A. fraterculus.Fil: Ruiz, María Josefina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Juárez, María Laura. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Alsogaray, R. A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Arrighi, Carlos Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Tucumán. Unidad de Administración Territorial; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Arroyo, L.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Tucumán. Unidad de Administración Territorial; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Gastaminza, Gerardo Alfredo. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; ArgentinaFil: Willink, Eduardo. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; ArgentinaFil: Bardon, Alicia del Valle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Vera, María Teresa. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentin

Espécies de cochonilhas-algodonosas (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) associadas à dispersão de vírus em vinhedos na Região da Serra Gaúcha.

Dentre os insetos-pragas que ocorrem na cultura da videira destacam-se as cochonilhas-algodonosas (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), as quais são responsáveis pela dispersão de vlrus. Até o momento, não foi realizado um inventário das espécies de Pseudococcidae associadas à videira com potencial de dispersar virus na cultura.Resumo