INSECTICIDAL AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF SECONDARY METABOLITES FROM MELIACEAE ON BEMISIA TABACI (HEMIPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE)

We studied the effects of crude extracts and fractions of Azadirachta indica, Melia azedarach, Toona ciliata and Trichilia pallida on both egg and nymph mortality and embryonic development of Bemisia tabaci B biotype, using tomato plants grown in a greenhouse. Next, we studied the host selection behavioral effects on the adult whitefly under laboratory conditions. The dichloromethane extracts from all plant species and fractions of the extract from branches of T. pallida (EBTPD) and of the extract from leaves of T. ciliata (ELTCD) in dichloromethane caused mortality of nymphs, but neither affected egg viability. However, the branches of the ethanolic extract of A. indica increased the period of embryonic development of the B. tabaci. In addition, the tomato leaflets treated with the fraction of ELTCD dichloromethane (0.28%) were the least preferred by adults, reducing the number of insects resting on the tomato leaflets. The ELTCD methanol and EBTPD dichloromethane fractions inhibited B. tabaci oviposition. Thus, Meliaceae derivatives can contribute to the reduction of the B. tabaci population. The susceptibility of the B. tabaci to Meliaceae derivatives and the relevant behavioral changes of this pest are discussed.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with small terrestrial mammals in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

From June 2005 to November 2010, 43 small mammals encompassing 6 species of Didelphimorphia, 8 species of Rodentia, and 1 species of Lagomorpha were found parasitized by ticks in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Nine tick species, in total 186 specimens, were identified as follows: Amblyomma cajennense (larvae and nymphs) on opossums and rodents; Amblyomma ovale (nymphs) on rodents; Amblyomma parvum (nymphs) on rodents; Amblyomma coelebs (nymphs) on opossums; Amblyomma dubitatum (nymph) on opossums; Ixodes amarali (females, nymphs, and larvae) on opossums and rodents; Ixodes loricatus (male, females, nymph) on opossums; Ixodes schulzei (female) on rodents; and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (female) on rabbits. Most of the tick-host associations found in the present study have never been recorded in the literature; those include three new host records for I. amarali, four for A. cajennense, one for A. dubitatum, two for A. ovale, and one for A. coelebs. In addition, we provide the first record of A. coelebs in the state of Minas Gerais.

Description of the larva of Mnesarete pudica (Hagen in Selys, 1853) (Odonata: Calopterygidae) and notes on known genera of South American Calopterygidae larvae

The final instar larva of Mnesarete pudica is described and illustrated based on reared specimens collected in Brazil. This species can be distinguished from others by presenting: a) five palpal and three premental setae; b) no posterodorsal hooks on abdominal segments; c) lateral spines only in S9-10. M. pudica is compared to other South American calopterygids and biological notes are presented.

Molting dynamics and juvenile hormone titer profiles in the nymphal stages of a lower termite, Cryptotermes secundus (Kalotermitidae) - signatures of developmental plasticity

Termites are social cockroaches and this sociality is founded on a high plasticity during development. Three molting types (progressive, stationary and regressive molts) are fundamental to achieve plasticity during alate/sexual development, and they make termites a major challenge to any model on endocrine regulation in insect development. As the endocrine signatures underpinning this plasticity are barely understood, we studied the developmental dynamics and their underlying juvenile hormone OH) titers in a wood-dwelling termite. Cryptotermes secundus, which is characterized by an ancestral life style of living in dead wood and individuals being totipotent in development. The following general pattern elements could be identified during winged sexual development (i) regressive molts were accompanied by longer intermolt periods than other molting types, (ii) JH titers decreased gradually during the developmental transition from larva (immatures without wing buds), to nymph (immatures with wing buds), to winged adult, (iii) in all nymphal stages, the JH titer rose before the next molt and dropped thereafter within the first week, (iv) considerable variation in JH titers occurred in the midphase of the molting cycle of the 2nd and 3rd nymphal instar, inferring that this variation may reflect the underlying endocrine signature of each of the three molting types, (v) the 4th nymphal instar, the shortest of all, seems to be a switch point in development, as nymphs in this stage mainly developed progressively. When comparing these patterns with endocrine signatures seen in cockroaches, the developmental program of Cryprotermes can be interpreted as a co-option and repetitive use of hormonal dynamics of the post dorsal-closure phase of cockroach embryonic development. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All tights reserved.

Distribution of Rickettsia rickettsii in ovary cells of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille1806) (Acari: Ixodidae)

Abstract Background Considering the fact that the dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, has a great potential to become the vector of Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) for humans, the present study aimed to describe the distribution of the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiological agent of BSF, in different regions of the ovaries of R. sanguineus using histological techniques. The ovaries were obtained from positive females confirmed by the hemolymph test and fed in the nymph stage on guinea pigs inoculated with R. rickettsii. Results The results showed a general distribution of R. rickettsii in the ovary cells, being found in oocytes in all stages of development (I, II, III, IV and V) most commonly in the periphery of the oocyte and also in the cytoplasm of pedicel cells. Conclusions The histological analysis of the ovaries of R. sanguineus infected females confirmed the presence of the bacterium, indicating that the infection can interfere negatively in the process of reproduction of the ticks, once alterations were detected both in the shape and cell structure of the oocytes which contained bacteria.

Ornithodoros peropteryx (Acari: Argasidae) in Bolivia: an argasid tick with a single nymphal stage

By the end of the 1960s, the argasid tick Ornithodoros peropteryx was described from larval specimens collected from the bat Peropteryx macrotis in Colombia. Since its original description, no additional record of O. peropteryx has been reported, and its post-larval stages have remained unknown. During July 2010, 18 larvae were collected from 9 bats (Centronycteris maximiliani), resulting in a mean infestation of 2.0 ± 2.2 ticks per bat (range 1–8). These bats were captured in a farm in northeastern Bolivia close to Guaporé River in the border with Brazil. Morphological examinations of the larvae revealed them to represent the species O. peropteryx. One engorged larva that was kept alive in the laboratory moulted to a nymph after 9 days. Fourteen days after the larval moulting, the nymph moulted to an adult female without taking any blood meal during the nymphal period. This adult female was used for a morphological description of the female stage of O. peropteryx. In addition, the larvae were used for a morphological redescription of this stage. One larva and two legs extirpated from the adult female were submitted to DNA extraction and PCR targeting a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene, which yielded DNA sequences at least 11 % divergent from any available argasid sequence in Genbank. We show that O. peropteryx ontogeny is characterized by a single, non-feeding, nymphal stage. This condition has never been reported for ticks.

Ornithodoros peropteryx (Acari Argasidae) in Bolivia an argasid tick with a single nymphal stage

By the end of the 1960s, the argasid tick Ornithodoros peropteryx was described from larval specimens collected from the bat Peropteryx macrotis in Colombia. Since its original description, no additional record of O. peropteryx has been reported, and its post-larval stages have remained unknown. During July 2010, 18 larvae were collected from 9 bats (Centronycteris maximiliani), resulting in a mean infestation of 2.0 ± 2.2 ticks per bat (range 1–8). These bats were captured in a farm in northeastern Bolivia close to Guapore´ River in the border with Brazil. Morphological examinations of the larvae revealed them to represent the species O. peropteryx. One engorged larva that was kept alive in the laboratory moulted to a nymph after 9 days. Fourteen days after the larval moulting, the nymph moulted to an adult female without taking any blood meal during the nymphal period. This adult female was used for a morphological description of the female stage of O. peropteryx. In addition, the larvae were used for a morphological redescription of this stage. One larva and two legs extirpated from the adult female were submitted to DNA extraction and PCR targeting a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene, which yielded DNA sequences at least 11 % divergent from any available argasid sequence in Genbank. We show that O. peropteryx ontogeny is characterized by a single, non-feeding, nymphal stage. This condition has never been reported for ticks.

Transcriptional regulation of the Borrelia burgdorferi antigenically variable VlsE surface protein.

The Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi can persistently infect humans and other animals despite host active immune responses. This is facilitated, in part, by the vls locus, a complex system consisting of the vlsE expression site and an adjacent set of 11 to 15 silent vls cassettes. Segments of nonexpressed cassettes recombine with the vlsE region during infection of mammalian hosts, resulting in combinatorial antigenic variation of the VlsE outer surface protein. We now demonstrate that synthesis of VlsE is regulated during the natural mammal-tick infectious cycle, being activated in mammals but repressed during tick colonization. Examination of cultured B. burgdorferi cells indicated that the spirochete controls vlsE transcription levels in response to environmental cues. Analysis of PvlsE::gfp fusions in B. burgdorferi indicated that VlsE production is controlled at the level of transcriptional initiation, and regions of 5' DNA involved in the regulation were identified. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays detected qualitative and quantitative changes in patterns of protein-DNA complexes formed between the vlsE promoter and cytoplasmic proteins, suggesting the involvement of DNA-binding proteins in the regulation of vlsE, with at least one protein acting as a transcriptional activator.

Soil characteristics and Collembola and Acari abundance in control and warming plots at Abisco Research Station

Extreme weather events can have negative impacts on species survival and community structure when surpassing lethal thresholds. Extreme winter warming events in the Arctic rapidly melt snow and expose ecosystems to unseasonably warm air (2-10 °C for 2-14 days), but returning to cold winter climate exposes the ecosystem to lower temperatures by the loss of insulating snow. Soil animals, which play an integral part in soil processes, may be very susceptible to such events depending on the intensity of soil warming and low temperatures following these events. We simulated week-long extreme winter warming events - using infrared heating lamps, alone or with soil warming cables - for two consecutive years in a sub-Arctic dwarf shrub heathland. Minimum temperatures were lower and freeze-thaw cycles were 2-11 times more frequent in treatment plots compared with control plots. Following the second event, Acari populations decreased by 39%; primarily driven by declines of Prostigmata (69%) and the Mesostigmatic nymphs (74%). A community-weighted vertical stratification shift occurred from smaller soil dwelling (eu-edaphic) Collembola species dominance to larger litter dwelling (hemi-edaphic) species dominance in the canopy-with-soil warming plots compared with controls. The most susceptible groups to these winter warming events were the smallest individuals (Prostigmata and eu-edaphic Collembola). This was not apparent from abundance data at the Collembola taxon level, indicating that life forms and species traits play a major role in community assembly following extreme events. The observed shift in soil community can cascade down to the micro-flora affecting plant productivity and mineralization rates. Short-term extreme weather events have the potential to shift community composition through trait composition with potentially large consequences for ecosystem development.

Morphological descriptions from the recent bivalve of the genus Calyptogena (Vesicomyidae)

The genus Calyptogena (Bivalvia: Vesicomyidae) comprises highly specialized bivalves living in symbiosis with sulphur-oxidizing bacteria in reducing habitats. In this study, the genus is revised using shell and anatomical features. The work is based on type material, as well as on the extensive collection of vesicomyids obtained during twelve expeditions to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Nine Recent species are ascribed to the genus Calyptogena, four of which are new: C. pacifica Dall, 1891, C. fausta Okutani, Fujikura & Hashimoto, 1993, C. rectimargo Scarlato, 1981, C. valdiviae (Thiele & Jaeckel, 1931), C. gallardoi Sellanes & Krylova, 2005, C. goffrediae n. sp., C. starobogatovi n. sp., C. makranensis n. sp. and C. costaricana n. sp. The characteristic features of Calyptogena are: shell up to 90 mm in length, elongate-elliptical or elongate; presence of escutcheon; presence of broad posterior ramus (3b) of right subumbonal cardinal tooth as well as right posterior nymphal ridge; absence of pallial sinus as a result of attachment of intersiphonal septal retractor immediately adjacent to ventral surface of posterior adductor; absence of processes on inner vulva of inhalant siphon; presence of inner demibranch only, with descending and ascending lamellae with interlamellar septa not divided into separate tubes. The most closely related taxa to Calyptogena are probably the genus Isorropodon Sturany, 1896, and the group of species represented by 'Calyptogena' phaseoliformis Métivier, Okutani & Ohta, 1986. These groups have several characters in common, namely absence of pallial sinus, presence of single inner pair of demibranchs and absence of processes on inner vulva of inhalant siphon. The worldwide distribution of the genus Calyptogena suggests that methane seeps at continental margins are the major dispersal routes and that speciation was promoted by geographical isolation. Recent species diversity and fossil records indicate that the genus originated in the Pacific Ocean. Sufficient data to discuss the distribution at species level exist only for C. pacifica, which has a remarkably narrow bathymetric range. Published studies on the physiology of C. pacifica suggest that adaptation to a specific geochemical environment has led to coexisting vesicomyid genera. The bacteria-containing gill of C. pacifica and other Calyptogena species is one of the most specialized in the family Vesicomyidae and may reflect these ecological adaptations.

Memoria de una Ninfa Cantábrica

En este texto se rinde un emotivo y poético homenaje a la memoria de Carmen Chamizo Vega.

Water scenes; 5 pieces for the pianoforte.

Dragon-fly.--Ophelia.--Water nymph.--Narcissus.--Barcarolle.

The book of Saint Nicholas.

The legend of Saint Nicholas. - The little Dutch sentinel of the Manhadoes. - Cobus Yerks. - A strange bird in Niew-Amsterdam. - Claas Schlaschenschlinger. - The revenge of Saint Nicholas. - The origin of the bakers' dozen. - The ghost. - The nymph of the mountain. - The ride of Saint Nicholas on Newyear's eve.

Select specimens of the theatre of the Hindus /

I. Treatise on the dramatic system of the Hindus. List of Hindu plays. Dramas translated from the original Sanscrit: The Mrichchakati, or, The toy-cart. Vikrama and Urvasí, or, The hero and the nymph. Uttara Ráma cheritra, or, Continuation of the history of Ráma.--II. Dramas translated from the original Sanscrit (cont'd.): Málati and Mádhava, or, The stolen marriage. Mudrá Rákshasa, or, The signet of the minister. Retnávali, or, The necklace. Appendix, containing short accounts of different dramas.

Elizabethan love-songs /

As Flora slept / John Hilton -- A shepherd in a shade ; Come again / John Dowland -- Come, Phillis / Thomas Ford -- Deare, if you change / John Dowland -- Deare, though you mind / WIlliam Corkine -- Diaphenia / Francis Pilkington -- Fain would I change that note / Tobias Hume -- Faire, sweet, cruell / Thomas Ford -- Fine knacks for ladies ; Flow not so fast, ye fountains / John Dowland -- Go to bed, sweet muse / Robert Jones -- Here she her sacred bower adornes / Thomas Campion -- If I urge my kind desires ; If she forsake me / Philip Rosseter -- On a time / John Attey -- Phillis was a faire maide / Giles Earle's ms. -- Shaded with olive trees / Thomas Greaves -- Shall I come, sweet love, to thee? / Thomas Campion -- Sleepe, sleepe / Giles Earle's ms. -- Sweet cupid, ripen her desire / William Corkine -- Sweet Kate / Robert Jones -- Sweet nymph, come to thy lover / Thomas Morley -- There is a garden in her face / Thomas Campion -- Underneath a cypress tree / Francis Pilington -- What if I seek for love / Robert Jones -- When Laura smiles / Philip Rosseter -- When lo! by breake of morning / Thomas Morley -- Why dost thou turn away? / Giles Earl's ms. -- Woeful heart with grief oppressed / John Dowland.