Entomology news in mass media

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23.02.2016 0:01, ИНО

What are the osmium colonies? These are solitary bees. In my opinion, bumblebees, as well as osmium (but so far on a much smaller scale), are bred mainly for pollination of plants in greenhouses. Where can riders come from in such conditions? With osmias, it is easier in the sense that they can be vyplozhdat clearly under the flowering of a plant, until this moment storing the nest tube in the refrigerator. Plus, they say, their pollination efficiency is higher. No hemorrhoids with the foundation of families and other social phenomena. For mating, too, no additional conditions are needed, they are very willing to do it right on the flowers, on-the-job. And for the open ground, there is a long-proven and comprehensively studied melifera, which has the widest range of forage plants, and most importantly-it gives additional, in addition to pollination, valuable products. Well, unless she has a problem with the clover.

This post was edited by ENO - 02/23/2016 00: 02

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04.11.2016 11:57, CosMosk

According to the site data gubernator74.ru It became known that the governor of the Chelyabinsk Region proposed to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev to extend forms of state support to biofactories that produce products for biological plant protection. Boris Dubrovsky voiced this proposal during the visit of the Prime Minister to the stand of the Chelyabinsk region at the exhibition "Golden Autumn 2016" in Moscow, which, we recall, ended recently.

The Governor of the Southern Urals told Dmitry Medvedev that the first stage of a modern biofactory for the production of entomophages with a capacity of up to 6 billion individuals per year has now been built in the Chelyabinsk region. Reaching the design capacity of the biofactory will allow replacing imports by 40%. The market for entomophages is more than 100 billion individuals per year and is growing annually by 59%. 95% of it is made up of imported goods.

For reference: Entomophages (from the Greek entomon — insects and phagos — eater) are useful insects, predators that destroy pests and carry out biological protection of plants, without the use of chemicals. The biological method of protection allows you to get natural and safe products.

Dmitry Medvedev became interested in the biotechnological novelty and instructed the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation to consider the issue of state support for biofactories.

Interestingly, the breeding of worms that are producers of vermicompost has been carried out for several years in the territory of the Krasnoarmeysky district.

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30.11.2016 21:18, CosMosk

outsiders are not uncommon in anthills and termite mounds. There are many species of insects that have adapted to live exclusively in a colony of a certain type of social insects, eating from their table. For successful survival, they are usually helped by chemical camouflage, and some of them even emit special substances that seem especially attractive to ants, so that the owners of the anthill are ready to tolerate freeloaders, just to be able to taste this delicacy.

Even the fearsome nomad ants were spared such cohabitants. Although when a colony of stray ants is removed from its place, not a single extraneous insect can survive in its path, these cohabitants travel with them, and some even ensure that the ants carefully carry them in their jaws, as they carry their own larvae and pupae. Currently, 340 species of nomadic ants are known, and each of them has its own species of freeloaders. Often these are representatives of beetles. The way of life caused them to lose their resemblance to the typical beetles in our view, and become similar in appearance, smell and behavior to their hosts-ants.

Among these beetles are many representatives of the Staphylinidae family. This family is so remarkable that it is worth making a small digression and telling a little more about it. Staphylinids have little resemblance to beetles. They have a narrow, elongated body, and their short elytra cover only the upper third of the abdomen. They usually live in dead leaves, in cracks in the soil, under the bark of fallen trees, and are found in rotting remains. Most staphylinids, both in adult and larval age, are active predators that play an important role in regulating the abundance of many other arthropod species. They lead a hidden lifestyle and are little known to the general public. Meanwhile, the number of species in this family is huge. According to the seven-volume consolidated catalog published in 2001, there were 45,707 species of staphylinid beetles in the world. Over the past 15 years, entomologists have discovered many new species, so now there are already 61 thousand of them – this is slightly more than the total number of species of all existing chordates.

Previously, entomologists believed that at some point in time, one of the ancient staphylinid species learned to cohabit with ants, thereby mastering a new ecological niche. And all the other staphylinids, leading the same way of life, were considered his descendants.

However, a recent study showed that everything is more complicated. Entomologists Joseph Parker of Columbia University and the American Museum of Natural History and Munetoshi Maruyama of the Kyushu University Museum Entomology Laboratory conducted a genetic study of staphylinid beetles living among nomadic ants (the result is available http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/09/2...5.full.pdf+html on the site of biological preprints bioRxiv.org).

The task was not easy, and it took scientists almost ten years to complete. Fresh specimens were collected for DNA isolation in marching columns of aggressive ants. Besides, the beetles weren't so easy to find. As a rule, in a colony there is one beetle per thousand ants.

When the necessary data were collected, it turned out that all staphylinids living among nomadic ants descend from a single ancestor who lived about 105 million years ago. But neither this ancestor nor its immediate descendants made the transition to a parasitic lifestyle among ants. This was done at least 15 times independently by representatives of different branches of the family tree of these beetles.

An important adaptation, which is observed in all staphylinids living with ants, was a change in the secretion of a gland located on the beetle's abdomen. Usually, staphylinids spray the substances released by it (they belong to the quinone group) to scare off the attacker. But for those who have grown fond of living with ants, the abdominal gland secretes substances that the ants themselves use to identify their own. Other adaptations that have emerged independently in 15 different beetle branches include changes in appearance: narrowing of the " waist”, lengthening of the legs and antennae, and a gait similar to that of an ant. All this helps the beetle pass for its own.

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Staphylinid ants and beetles from the subfamily Aleocharinae

A-free-living representatives of the genera Oxypoda and Atheta; B-examples of social parasites of nomadic ants with a characteristic external appearance: Ecitocryptus (lives among ants of the genus Nomamyrmex) and Pseudomimeciton without eyes and elytra (lives among ants of the genus Labidus); C-E-staphylinid beetles and their hosts: Ecitophya with an ant Eciton (Peru), Aenictoteras with the ant Aenictus (Malaysia), Beuegia with the ant Neivamyrmex (Ecuador). (Maruyama, Parker 2016)

Daniel Kronauer, an evolutionary biologist at Rockefeller University in New York, described the fate of these staphylinids as "an amazing example of parallel evolution over a long period of time." Representatives of different branches of the staphylinidae, which sometimes diverged millions of years ago, actually independently developed similar adaptations for life among ants. Terry Ord of the University of New South Wales in Sydney agrees, saying that this example is worthy of being included in textbooks on the theory of evolution.

Most recently on the same site bioRxiv.org appeared (http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/27/083881.full.pdf+html) preprint of the study, which suggests that a similar story – multiple independent transition to social parasitism-occurred among representatives of staphylinids that live in termite mounds. It was written by Taro Eldredge of the University of Kansas, Taisuke Kanao of Kyoto University, and Munetoshi Maruyama.

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Representatives of staphylinid beetles inside termite colonies (Kanao, Eldredge, Maruyama 2016)

Scientists have not yet collected enough species ' DNA samples to fully analyze and build a phylogenetic tree. But they have already proposed a scenario that could lead to the transition of these beetles to life in termite mounds. Many staphylinids that have adopted this way of life have a feature of appearance that is common to another group of these beetles that live and hunt along the surf. Their head is protected by a kind of visor, which is formed by one of the thoracic segments. In beetles that lead a free lifestyle, the visor serves as a protection from grains of sand. According to the researchers, it could also help staphylinids withstand attacks by termites when they began to enter their homes.

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Appearance of various staphylinids living in termite mounds (Kanao, Eldredge, Maruyama 2016)

Initially, staphylinids may have only made brief incursions into the entrance to the termite bed, eating individual termites. But some of them managed to “ingratiate themselves " and began to live inside. Later, a number of staphylinid species that settled in termite mounds changed their appearance, becoming more similar in appearance to their hosts.

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06.12.2016 23:31, CosMosk

Belgian entomologists have shown that red ants from the genus Myrmica can identify themselves with their own reflection in a mirror. Previously, it was believed that only some species of mammals and birds have this ability. In front of the mirror, ants clean themselves up or make unusual movements with their heads and antennae, which is not observed when they see their relatives behind the glass. This behavior suggests that ants may have the beginnings of self-awareness.
http://elementy.ru/novosti_nauki/432881/
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This is really serious news that needs to be checked.
In any case, I myself observed how a slow-moving bug-shield, released a few days later from the jar to freedom, came to scratch its back on a twig of grass (just like a pig on a fence). went up and down, came back and again(!) he scratched his head and continued to stare at the free breeze before deciding to go somewhere else. I was more than impressed by this, although I understand what the anti-anthropomorphist gentlemen might object to. I don't know what happened to the overtones of the bug's feelings,and how much he was already aware of his doom for several days, but I definitely saw that he WAS EXPERIENCING PLEASURE!
(without the dominants of fear and hunger - "burned out"))

This post was edited by CosMosk-08.12.2016 16: 17

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